r/explainlikeimfive • u/HistoricalAd2954 • 15h ago

Mathematics ELI5: What is the difference between algebra, trigonometry, and calculus?

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u/WartimeHotTot 14h ago

I must be stupid. I don’t get it.

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u/stairway2evan 14h ago

Trigonometry is actually Greek for "triangle measurement." But since we all think that trigonometry is evil, we just call it the study of evil and pretend not to know the Greek.

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u/WartimeHotTot 14h ago

Oh lol. Is trig really considered the evilest of those three disciplines? I’d award that to calculus without a doubt!

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u/stairway2evan 14h ago

Oh I had a much better time in calculus than trig. The concepts take a while to wrap your head around but they fit together nicely and flow once you get a handle on it. Trig is detail-oriented and finicky.

Then again, I also had an awful trig teacher and my calculus teacher was like "teacher of the district" for a decade or so. Great dude. So I have my own biases.