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The essence of calculus

3Blue1Brown · course · Watch on YouTube

Pure mathematicsRecreational & visual math

What it is

The first video of 3Blue1Brown's Essence of Calculus series, which builds toward integrals, derivatives, and the fundamental theorem of calculus from a simple geometry question. It aims to make viewers feel they could have invented calculus themselves.

Why Hacker News recommends it

A staple recommendation for anyone learning math, praised for visual intuition that makes memorized formulas make sense.

  • 10 people recommended it
  • 9 different months
  • 3 strong recommendations
  • first 2017, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “uncanny ability to explain difficult concepts and the fundamental intuition behind them”

    Explains calculus intuition as if inventing the topic.

    willurd, 2018-05 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: How do I learn math/physics in my thirties?”

  2. “I know of no better way to both learn, truly understand, and enjoy calculus than the visual approach of 3Blue1Brown”

    Visual approach to understanding and enjoying calculus.

    gibsonf1, 2019-07 · Strong recommendation · in “Calculus for Beginners and Artists (2003)”

  3. “When I discovered that video, all the formulas they tried to make me memorize started making a LOT more sense.”

    Made memorized calculus formulas finally make sense.

    tstrimple, 2023-06 · Strong recommendation · in “What I Learned from Two Years of Teaching High School CS”

  4. “check out this series”

    Video series for learning calculus.

    hatsunearu, 2017-06 · Recommendation · in “Georgia Tech's free math textbook collective”

  5. “And definitely follow through his”

    Math fundamentals series for building abstract thinking.

    hiaux0, 2018-03 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: How to self-learn math?”

  6. “Take a look at his course, Essence of Calculus”

    Fascinating calculus course recommended among math channels.

    kebman, 2019-07 · Recommendation · in “Math Basics for Computer Science and Machine Learning [pdf]”

  7. “Builds intuition behind calculus concepts.”

    jlos, 2020-10 · Recommendation · in “Euler's Formula: A Complete Guide”

  8. “Its very easy to understand and somes with some great visuals”

    Easy-to-understand calculus series with great visuals.

    loftyal, 2021-07 · Recommendation · in “Calculus Made Easy (1910)”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: calculus, derivatives, integrals, visual math, 3blue1brown

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