Prompt Cast
The Debate Over the Discovery of Calculus: Newton vs. Leibniz
TLDR The ongoing debate over who discovered calculus, Newton or Leibniz, has been fueled by accusations of plagiarism and conflicting evidence. While both Newton and Leibniz made significant contributions to calculus, there is a possibility that integral calculus was discovered even earlier by Archimedes.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The debate over who discovered calculus, Newton or Leibniz, has been ongoing for 300 years.
01:23
Calculus consists of integral calculus and derivative calculus, which are related to each other and are the basis for modern engineering and science.
02:45
Isaac Newton made significant contributions to science, including discovering the laws of motion, gravity, and light, as well as inventing a new system of mathematics called flexions, which he never published.
04:02
Newton and his supporters in England accused Leibniz of plagiarizing calculus from Newton, citing Leibniz's trip to England, his correspondence with Newton's associates, and his alleged knowledge of Newton's flexion calculus.
05:11
The defense for Leibniz is that there is no evidence to prove that he learned anything about Newton's calculus during his trips to England, and the system of notation he developed was easier to use and became the basis of the calculus we use today.
06:22
The consensus among historians and mathematicians is that Newton and Leibniz developed calculus independently, but there is a possibility that integral calculus was discovered even earlier in antiquity.
07:36
Archimedes laid the foundation for integral calculus 1,800 years before Newton or Leibniz, but his work was lost for centuries.
