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What Is a Function?

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Calculus Made Easy

Abstract

No concept in mathematics, especially in calculus, is more fundamental than the concept of a function. The term was first used in a 1673 letter written by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the German mathematician and philosopher who invented calculus independently of Isaac Newton. Since then the term has undergone a gradual extension of meaning.

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© 1998 Martin Gardner

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Thompson, S.P., Gardner, M. (1998). What Is a Function?. In: Calculus Made Easy. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15058-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15058-8_1

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-333-77243-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-15058-8

  • eBook Packages: Engineering

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