This course, Calculus for Cranks, will be somewhat unusual. It is a proof-based treatment of calculus, intended for those who have already demonstrated a strong grounding in the calculus, as treated in a high school course. You might ask, “What’s the point?” “Will I learn anything new?” “Will it be at all useful for applied work?” “Are formal proofs just voodoo that has no impact on ’the right answers?” Mathematicians usually defend a course like this in a philosophical vein. We are teaching you how to think and the ability to think precisely and rigorously is valuable in whatever held you pursue. There is some truth in this idea, but we must be humble in its application and admit that the value of being able to think does depend somewhat on what is being thought about. You will be learning to think about analysis, the theoretical underpinning of calculus. Is that worth thinking about?








