How to use "Apply" to do differentiation ?
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg114445] How to use "Apply" to do differentiation ?
- From: Mayasky <alix.zhang at gmail.com>
- Date: Sat, 4 Dec 2010 06:16:11 -0500 (EST)
Something simple yet unbelievable occurred when I use: Apply[D[#, x] &, x^5] The output is invariably 1 whether I use x^5 or x^100. Also I suggest you to try "Trace" command to see the weirdness -- the output is messy if pasted as text here. Finally I have to take a detour and use: Nest[D[#, x] &, x^5, 1] I have been using Mathematica for several years and never found that. I myself is wordless, but can anyone explain that?