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Calculus Problem Hits Too Close To Home

PULLMAN, WA–The analysis of formulae derived from the fundamental theorem of calculus had a profound and seemingly personal impact on Washington State University freshman Barry Feldman on Monday, teaching assistants in Feldman’s differential calculus section reported. “There was something about having to consider multiple rates of change and their effect on one another that really struck a nerve with Barry. I’ve never seen a student flinch so violently at terms like ’increasingly negative curves’ or ’derivatives,’” TA Melanie Peppers said. “As uneasy as the unresolved equation seemed to make Barry feel, the prospect of eventually arriving at a solution for it actually appeared to upset him more.” Feldman was recently the subject of gossip among the faculty after he interrupted a lecture on increasing-tensor calculus by screaming that “enough is enough” and asking if the professor would “please just change the subject.”