We know that Elon Musk knows a lot of information about a lot of things. The head of SpaceX and Tesla finished reading the entire encyclopedia when he was nine years old. Just for fun. He then went on to teach himself a six-month BASIC programming course in 72 hours when he was still in elementary school. What else does he know? Does Elon Musk know calculus?
Elon does know calculus. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with two degrees; a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Bachelor of Arts Degree. His B.A. was in Physics, and Calculus was one of the mandatory requirements for graduation.
So he at least has a college-level knowledge of calculus. Saying that we’re pretty sure that his college-level knowledge is in fact a pretty high level of calculus as he was required to take at least four levels of calculus.
What is Calculus?
I’m sure we all know that calculus is a form of math, but perhaps not everyone knows what kind of math calculus is. It’s an advanced form of math, you probably won’t need it to help your seven year old with their math homework.
According to Teachnology, calculus is an area of math that is “primarily concerned with functions, limits, derivatives, and integrals just to name a few.”.
We already know that Elon Musk has a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, as well as Economics, and Physics uses calculus quite a bit in its different concepts. Some of the physical concepts of physics that use calculus include motion, electricity, heat, light, harmonics, acoustics, astronomy, and dynamics. In fact, even advanced physics concepts including electromagnetism and Einstein’s theory of relativity use calculus.
This math is more my pace. Yes, I’m aware that it’s trigonometry, but it’s a smol puppy so I’m willing to risk the wrath of the die-hard calculus people.
The Calculus Link
So you can see the link between Musk and calculus. With Tesla and SpaceX, two of the companies in which Musk heads, dealing with the very list of physical concepts that use calculus, it’s no surprise that he knows the mathematical language.
Musk has often been described as a hands-on employee at both companies, getting right down to it with the employees. So not only do his companies deal with calculus on a daily basis, he, himself does as well.
Both the cars and the rockets that he designs deal with motion, electricity, dynamics, and other forms of calculus regularly. So not only does he know calculus, but I think it’s fair to say that he’s an expert in the field.
Physics Degree
Musk had to take at least four calculus courses to obtain his Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, but what is a physics degree? Well, physics is the study of matter, motion, space, and time. Sound familiar? You can see where the calculus might come into play.
According to thebestschools.org, “a physics degree focuses on the nature and properties of energy and matter, covering topics like mechanics, heat, light, radiation, sound, electricity, magnetism, and more, preparing graduates for physics degree jobs in fields like science, engineering, healthcare, education, and more.”.
I’m thinking that Elon Musk has put his education to work more than most people out there.
There are a lot of careers that one can have with a degree in physics, including, but not limited to, meteorologist, biochemist, physicist, and astronomist. Musk has some knowledge in all of these fields, just due to the kind of work he is doing, though most people only concentrate on one area of expertise.
Thankful for Calculus and Musk
Thankfully there are people in the world who not only understand calculus, but excel at it like Musk does. While some of us may understand the basics of calculus, and find the more advanced stuff boring or too hard to comprehend, it’s still nice to know that it exists and people like Elon Musk are making things safer for us because of it.