As I was finding out about software available for plotting math functions, I found the Mathematica website. Mathematica is the software that tortured me at school. I loved AND hated it. It helped me do my homework and it frustrated my learning experience in so many ways.
I actually owned early versions of MathCAD and Derive. Derive was my favorite. It was simple, logical and helped me get my homework done correctly and quickly. I'm over it now. Mathematica is still around and more powerful and flexible than ever. I can get it for Mac OSX, Linux and Windows platforms. MathCAD, in all its glory, is stuck with Windows. Sadly, Derive has been absorbed into a calculator maker's firmware or has died.
But, coolest of all is a very simple online research tool that will plot mathematical functions as well as tell me wild facts about my birthday. Here's where the company behind Mathematica surprised me. Go ahead and give it a whirl.
www.wolframalpha.com
See their suggested search entries on the website and, above all, don't forget to put in a little test function like f(x)=x/(x^2-1). You won't be sorry.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
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