I have struggled with 'dx'. I've spent years trying to study every different approach to calculus that I could find to try and make sense of it. I read about the limit definitions in my first book, vector calculus with them as pullbacks of linear transformations or flows/flux, differential forms from the bridge project, k-forms, nonstandard analysis which enlarges $\mathbb{R}$ to give you infinitesimals (and unbounded numbers) but the same first order properties and lets integral be defined as a sum, constructive analysis using a monad to take the closure of the rationals to give reals... but I am still just as confused as ever, I understand that the mathematical notation doesn't have a compositional semantics but still don't really get it - one of the problems it is despite not really understand understanding it, or having any abstract definition of it.. I can still get correct answers and I really hope this doesn't become a theme as I study more topics in mathematics.
I have struggled with 'dx'. I've spent years trying to study every different approach to calculus that I could find to try and make sense of it. I read about the limit definitions in my first book, vector calculus with them as pullbacks of linear transformations or flows/flux, differential forms from the bridge project, k-forms, nonstandard analysis which enlarges $\mathbb{R}$ to give you infinitesimals (and unbounded numbers) but the same first order properties and lets integral be defined as a sum, constructive analysis using a monad to take the closure of the rationals to give reals... but I am still just as confused as ever, I understand that the mathematical notation doesn't have a compositional semantics but still don't really get it - one of the problems it despite not really understand it, or having any abstract definition of it.. I can still get correct answers and I really hope this doesn't become a theme as I study more topics in mathematics.