Some basic facts about calculus textbooks

When I lecture on `purple diamonds' and there is a textbook section called `purple diamonds', a plausible students' question is: which section are we?

Once I pointed out a gross misconception in an example of the textbook to a more experienced colleague giving another section of the same course, and he told me: usually, it's not a problem, the kids won't read it.

So I tried to figure out the reasons why students don't like calculus textbooks. But I failed badly. I couldn't help observing how cool, hip, and up to date calculus textbooks are:

• Glossy paper is a must. So is multi-color print. So is a CD. (CDs are glossy by default)
• If a subject hasn't changed for 100 years, a new edition will be due within 4 years at latest. The material will be the same, some mistakes fixed, some new mistakes introduced (to necessitate a new edition later), and some sections shuffled around to ensure backwards incompatibility and render the old editions to trash. The latest technology gimmicks will also be added.
• Any innovation in one textbook (smart or foolish) is likely to be copied by competing textbooks as of the next edition. Slight modifications that turn a smart innovation into a foolish one are permitted, if the plagiarizer doesn't get the punchline and the referee is too busy to read the manuscript.
• The price of textbooks doesn't matter, if the professor gets them for free. The weight of textbooks is not a problem either, thanks to the invention of on-campus housing. If the same example needs to be repeated in slightly varied dressing 20 times rather than 5 times, the weight will still not be a problem, because, by then, we will have drive-in classrooms.

Fair Price for a Calculus Textbook