Re: You cannot circumvent the "infinitesimal" in dy/dx using ...

From: Sanjay Nawalkha
Affiliation: GIF, Inc.
Address:
Date: 17 Sep 2008
Time: 20:44:55

Comments

Glyn, You are missing the main point totally. Lets forget the infinitesimal for now. The fatal error you make is when you assume that the slope of the tangent which creates the Barrow triangle can be arrived at BEFORE you know dy/dx. If y = X^2, then I need to know that dy/dx = 2x, in order to construct the Barrow triangle. Barrow triangle would be impossible to construct IF you did not know that dy/dx = 2x. You can't sit with a ruler and pencil and do trial and error forever, trying to draw a tangent. So, how do you derive dy/dx = 2x, simply using the Barrow triangle? Sanjay

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