Opinion of multivariable calculus (also known as Calculus III)

[Foucaulf]

Technical post ahead

"Calc III," as I know of it, is split between the analytical geometry of space and multivariable calculus. But the class is still designed for engineers first and foremost, and the goal is to reach a bunch of formulas. Then you have this weird setup where the geometry part is taught in the right way, but the calculus part isn't.

I actually learned multivariable calculus after linear algebra, and therefore got the proper definition of the derivative as a linear operator associated with a function in Euclidean space. The result is that operations like "totally differentiate," "constrained optimization," "change of variables" and "Stokes's Formula" make much more intuitive sense than you would expect them to.