The mechanisms of calculus probably don't matter, but calculus is the study of change. In particular, how things change over time in non-linear ways. Calculus i

The mechanisms of calculus probably don't matter, but calculus is the study of change. In particular, how things change over time in non-linear ways. Calculus is the abstraction of multiplication in the same way that multiplication is the abstraction of addition. THIS is the real reason why calculus is important. Knowing how to study, describe, and understand changes that are not constant. If that isn't important in real life, then neither is counting or multiplication. Unfortunately, calculus is so deeply embedded in the vocabulary and forms of mathematics that even people with a "full education in calculus" often can't describe that. So they resort to stupid metaphors. They only unconsciously understand its value and fail to describe it.