The Lesser Calculus Controversy


In honor of Leibniz’ first use of the big “S” in integral calculus (as seen above and reported in the Jewish World Review to have occurred on this date 335 years ago), I’d like to settle this controversy once and for all.

Which of these statements is correct? 
 
I can’t go to prom, I have the calculus homework.

I can’t go to the prom, I have calculus homework.

Never mind that your high school dances were decades ago and your use of higher math completely forgotten, or even that both statements scream that you’re a serious geek and a very bad planner if math homework prevents you from attending the big night. It’s simply a matter of correct usage at this point, and has always bothered me.

While prom is short for the noun, promenade, meaning a ball or dance, it seems to be used in the first sentence as an infinitive form of the verb.  If it were the object of the preposition, it would require the definite article the before prom. Wouldn’t it?

And how about that calculus?  I read that it is called “the” calculus because it is shortened from the calculus of infinitesimals, but isn’t it simply a field of mathematical study? Like Algebra, or geometry.

I’m just curious.

Comments

Aaron said…
Obviously you're losing sight of the big picture in this grammar worry - i.e. whether a semicolon should be used in place of the comma!
October 29, 2010 at 9:05 AM
Lynne said…
You are so right! But; if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that my indiscriminate use of commas and semicolons (and parenthesis) is basically beyond help.
October 29, 2010 at 9:24 AM
Kelly Elmore said…
I say that prom and calculus have become nouns that do not take articles. In America, we go to college, but we go to the university. In Britain, they go to university. I submit that calculus has long been a non-article noun, but that prom has been in the process of changing. Both sound ok to me. We go to prom. Or we go to the prom. Strikes me that younger people say the first.

What do you think?
October 29, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Lynne said…
I think your analysis is good and your example is terrific. This does not change the fact that I HATE the use of prom without an article! It sounds like fingers on a chalkboard to me. (Could be that I'm just that old.) The calculus, however, just cracks me up.
October 29, 2010 at 10:49 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Contest

Image
Stephen and I spent this last week at the Objectivist Conference ( OCON ) in Boston. We started out the week staying in town, but finished it off commuting. As we stayed at the Seaport Hotel at the beginning of the week when we knew almost no one, we didn’t take advantage of the social atmosphere, but were happily sequestered in our room. After getting to know a few people, we dined, drank, and were generally merry with those few. Through the classes, general sessions, and referenced symposiums (in the ancient Greek sense), I left with a calmer sense of purpose, renewed motivation, and a smoldering desire to make the world a better place. By firmly placing the moral foundation under the tremendous achievements of the Founding Fathers first in my own mind, I then hope to help do so in the minds of others who have chosen the fundamental alternative to live, turning that smolder into a bonfire. One of the most immediately motivating things I learned at OCON this week regards the light tha
Read more

There's No Place Like Home

Vacation was fun, but I like being home. I guess I'm just boring that way. There was plenty of sun, sand, salt water kisses, family, food, and fun. Maybe it was the lack of tutus and tiaras. Now we're all experiencing a slight vacation hangover and need to rest. It's a good thing we have a few days before work and school.
Read more

Objectivist Round Up #153

Welcome to this 153 rd  issue of the Objectivist Round Up, a  blog carnival  of posts written by individuals who are advocates of Objectivism : the philosophy developed and defined by Ayn Rand . If you are new to Ayn Rand and would like to discover more about her "philosophy for living on earth", I recommend you read her two great novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead . If you know her novels, I recommend her non-fiction starting with The Virtue of Selfishness , and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal . The Ayn Rand Institute and the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights provide relevant information and commentary. Following, in the order in which they were received, are the posts for this Objectivist Round Up. John Drake presents Value dense gardening posted at Try Reason! , saying, “I'm all about getting the most bang for the buck in all my activities - that includes gardening. Picking veggies for the garden is all about finding the greatest value with the l
Read more