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To: Clarksterh who wrote (21260)	3/4/1999 4:07:00 PM
From: ScotMcI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25960

Waaaay OT: As long as we're talking calculus, let me plug my favorite book on the subject: "Calculus Made Easy" written by Sylvanus Thompson in the early part of the century. I went thru 2 years of calculus in engineering school, but it was mainly rote. This slender book did more to clear things up for me than those 2 years and 20 pounds of books ever did. I wish I'd discovered it 20 years earlier - I'd have gotten far better grades. If you've got a kid who is going to be taking calculus, get him/her this book first.

To: Clarksterh who wrote (21260)	3/4/1999 4:10:00 PM
From: Zeev Hed	Respond to of 25960

*OT* Clark, what can I say, I am "English Challenged" (VBG). However, I think that if you take a function like sine you move from acceleration (near 0) to decelaration and in between (45 degrees) there is a point where your definition applies but it is not an inflection point satisfying the mathematical definition that both the first and second derivatives are nil. (I had to add my two additional cents). Zeev

To: Clarksterh who wrote (21260)	3/4/1999 4:13:00 PM
From: vince doran	Respond to of 25960

How about one more cent? An inflection point is the point at which the second derivative changes sign, so for example when referring to a simple graph of say, industry sales vs. time, an inflection point could occur when sales were increasing, decreasing, or flat, and would signal that the acceleration of sales had changed from negative to positive, or vice versa. The value, and presumably the usage, is that this is a convenient (sp?) indication that the sign of the trend is going to change (if no other inflections occur first). Given the level of noise in industrial numbers, I think we do well to discern the sign of trend, much less the second der. And by the way, thanks to those who make this thread valuable. If only you had convinced me to run a little further out in the room when I bought in at 6 7/8. V.