4 ms·
is it usually the case that derivatives are easier to compute than integrals?
by empath75 6y ago
is it usually the case that derivatives are easier to compute than integrals?
- danbruc 6y agoThe general algorithm for calculating integrals [1] is rather complex and I guess not suitable for humans so that calculating integrals sometimes looks much more like a black art then calculating derivatives does. On the other hand one could argue that there are algorithms for doing both and so there is no real difference. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risch_algorithm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risch_algorithm
- abstrakraft 6y agoYes. Most of the time, the reason is that there is a general form for computing derivatives of products ((xy)' = x'y + xy') and composite functions (chain rule) while no such general rules exist for integrals.
- kccqzy 6y agoSymbolically, yes that's almost always the case. Numerically it's the other way around.