Skinny, stooped, and pale, Leibniz might not have been much to look at, but his mind was beautiful. He was the most versatile genius in a century of geniuses that included Descartes, Galileo, Newton, and Bach. Although Leibniz found his calculus a decade after Newton did, he is generally considered its co-inventor for several reasons. He published it first, in a graceful and digestible form, and he couched it in a carefully designed, elegant notation that’s still used today. Moreover, he attracted disciples who spread the word with evangelical zeal. They wrote influential textbooks and
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