TITLE: Is Calculus a requirement to become better at Probability and Satistics?
QUESTION [3 upvotes]: Is Calculus really required to be better at Statistics and Probability and to be a good Data Scientist?
Arthur Benjamin says in his TED video:
"Very few people actually use calculus in a conscious, meaningful way in their day-to-day lives.  On the other hand, statistics–that’s a subject that you could, and should, use on a daily basis.”
“If it’s taught properly, it can be a lot of FUN. I mean, probability and statistics–it’s the mathematics of games and gambling, it’s…it’s analyzing trends, it’s predicting the future.”

REPLY [0 votes]: Yes, calculus is required. Statisticians must work with moments. To understand moments, you have to know calculus. It's the same with calculating tail probabilities or using maximum likelihood - you can't effectively do either in a non-textbook application without an understanding of calculus. You may not use it on a daily basis, but you will use it periodically.
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