What is Calculus Calculus is a branch of mathematics that deals with rates of change (differential calculus) and accumulation of quantities (integral calculus). At its core, it’s about understanding how things change continuously over time or space.
Why Calculus is important for me:
- Machine Learning and AI This is probably where you’ll encounter calculus most directly. Neural networks rely heavily on optimization algorithms like gradient descent, which use derivatives to find the minimum of cost functions. Understanding how these algorithms work mathematically makes you a much more effective ML engineer.
- Signal Processing and Data Analysis If you work with audio, video, or sensor data, calculus concepts like Fourier transforms become essential tools for filtering, compression, and analysis.