abstract
| - Vector calculus is a branch of mathematics invented by Gibbs and Heaviside in the Good Old Days. Vector calculus lets us predict the behavior of magnetism, gravity, and the X factor discovered by the Fantastic Four. Vector calculus is applicable throughout Euclidean space (at least the portion that is zoned Residential, ). (Also the portion in Soviet Russia zoned Я3.) A more generalized approach called geometric algebra applies to other spaces, including the following:
* Warp Space, where the laws of physics are extended to get our heroes out of tight spots, and
* Parking spaces in Latin American capitals, where a tiny calculus (the calculito) is used, along with a shoe-horn. Basic objects Vector calculus operates on a vector field, which the reader can visualize by taking a drive through Eastern Washington state and admiring the amber waves of grain. This can be either a wheat field or a dental-floss farm. Each individual stalk is like a vector. Any breeze blowing through the field sufficient to create those lyrical waves will illustrate vectors at play. Readers elsewhere can visualize vector fields using LSD, with only slight loss of relevance. Vector calculus, the soup The vector calculus with which the reader will be most familiar is a variety of fish soup known for its salty aftertaste. That it is part of haute cuisine ("fancy cooking") is a given, but vector calculus asks us to consider how fast it is getting hauteur, and in what direction all this is pointing. The soup is served in three flavors, although only a true master of the form differentiates them.
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