Knowing about Mr Calculus – the demystifier of the universe
Mr Calculus is known to be a terror to some, a big mystery to some, speaking a language unknown to others. But in reality, he is the one who has helped us live the comfortable lives we are living today.
He is the reason we understand our universe and ourselves better. We thank Mr Calculus for making time for us in his infinitely busy schedule and being part of the first edition of our interview series.
I will only take you through our fantastic interview with him if I had enough of an introduction. Hopefully, you would wonder at him in awe at the end of it instead of shivering with terror.
With this, read through the fantastic interview
Questions and Answers of the Interview
- Firstly, we warmly welcome you for the day and thank you for your time with us. Tell us something about your birth. When and where was your childhood spent?
I am inquisitive to know the exact date I was born. I was supposedly born in the 17th century. As per others, I was born independently by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz. Since I was very young, I am not sure if it was my birth then or if they found a young me and who among the two of them was first.
Also, they say I was born in the ancient period, but my growth was slow, and I remained unknown. It was only when in the 17th century Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz fed me with “infinite” I was known to the world. So I can call them my Parents, I suppose. - Could you tell us what your life was like with infinite and limits in you?
It was awesome. I used to speak to the motions of the planets, and I understood them quite well! Also, I had a good time working with tangents. Communicating and working with them, I better understood our home, what you call the universe.
I used to tell all the stories I got from the motions and tangents to my parents. They were pleased to know the world around us. - We all know that Feynman has honored you with the title “The Language God Talks”. Could you tell us more about how you were chosen as a recipient and how you feel about it?
I felt honored. I can explain how the universe works, from the particles to the vast cosmological bodies. I could explain the reason for their existence as the way they do, movement, and many more things in my language. Only through my language could people converse with the universe and understand it more.
I suppose that this was the reason that I was honored. I continue to improve my language and serve as a translator between the universe and humans. - That seems impressive. Could you please tell us a story where you conveyed something important related to the cosmological bodies, which would have remained absurd without your translation?
Sure, Let me tell you something you all might be familiar with. We all live in a world created by electromagnetism, from headphones to MRI scans. For the first time, I conveyed electromagnetism in my language to Maxwell.
I am really good at all the curves, tangents, and motions. It was pretty simple for me to understand the lines of fields. I am thankful to Maxwell for his patience in understanding my language and later explaining it to the world. - We must be thankful for you; you are the reason for most of our gadgets, from simplifying our lives to saving our lives. Do you only find yourself in the cosmological world and its forces? Is it only cosmology that knows your language?
Absolutely not. Humans might not identify me, but most of the brains of living organisms converse with the parts of their bodies with my help. I have remained their language too. The brain stem, which controls involuntary and voluntary movements, knows me. Still, the cerebrum, which does most of the thinking, dreads me. I, too, wonder why so? If you aren’t aware, recent research has published how I help your brain control a few quick movements.
“Research published in July in Cell Reports by the neuroscientists Elie Adam, Taylor Johns, and Mriganka Sur of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology explores a simple question: How does the brain — in mice, humans, and other mammals — work quickly enough to stop us on a dime?”
If you read through it, I am behind the quick movement control, and your brain understands my language. It explains how the recent study with mice suggests that the brain precisely controls some quick movements by using principles of calculus in its signaling. - Wow! This was an unexpected answer. So you mean I am not familiar with you, but my brain converses with you? Truly amazing! Could you say something about yourself, what makes you unique with a message to our readers?
It is just the way I look at things. If you ask me anything, I would first divide it into infinitesimally small parts and then understand each part; people call this differentiation. Then I put all the smaller parts together and show you the final big picture, which people call integration.
Everyone before me knew the straight lines, but they would go blank with curves. I did nothing special in understanding the curves; the infinitesimally small part of the curve was no different than straight lines. I used the prior knowledge from my cousins about straight lines, and I could explain the curves.
While doing this, I ensure I am within my limits and can converse accurately. And since the universe has mainly curves, others could not understand it, while I knew how to understand them. This has been one of the reasons I understand the universe better.
Instead of being dreadful of me, look at each of the questions your life gives you as I do. You would excel; I guarantee you that!
- Firstly, we warmly welcome you for the day and thank you for your time with us. Tell us something about your birth. When and where was your childhood spent?
I thank Mr Calculus for his time and patience. It was amusing conversing with him. He is not a scary person or a person of imagination; he is the simple reality around us. I hope you have got to know him better as a person.
We now understand how he has played a vital role in translating the universe and presenting the modern world. Also, I hope you will implement his closing message in your lives and face the challenges courageously.
Comment about your interview insights, and we promise to convey them to Mr Calculus, with the best ones featured.
Stay tuned for further editions of “Whimsical Wisdom: A Chit-Chat’ with different people from STEM each time.
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