Re: Math history - why is it called "the" Calculus?

On Mar 23, 4:31 pm, Bob Kolker <nowh...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Casey Carter wrote:
Hello sci.math! I'm a first-year Calculus student and my teacher didn't know
the answer to this, so he suggested I ask here. I have done a cursory
search, but no clear answer has turned up:

Exactly why is the process invented by Newton and Liebniz so often referred
to as "the" Calculus? Does this suggest that there's actually more than one
Calculus? Is it just a meaningless verbal tic that only infects
mathematicians? Or is there some other reason?

Caculus is a term that can stand for any mode of reckoning. It derives
from the latin word for pebble which has the same root as the word
calcium. Pebbles or stones were used on counting tables which were the
European version of the abacus. The term calculate also has the same
root. It is synonymous with reckoning.

Bob Kolker

That sounds like kidney stone components

.

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