Rational Thoughts

The purpose of this chapter and the next is to remind ourselves of the elements of precalculus mathematics by studying a little history. Some readers may have the urge instead to jump flat-footed into an attack upon the problem that arose in Chapter 1, the problem of how the highest and lowest points of a curve may easily be found. Those readers may scan these short chapters quickly and jump into Chapter 4 if they wish, but they are warned that flat-footed jumps are awkward without a firm foundation from which to leap. Studying history builds foundations.