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The calculus of variations today

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This article is an edited translation ofVariationsrechnung heute, which was published by the Rheinisch-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften inNatur-, Ingenieur- und Wirtschaftswissenschaßen 345 (1986). The original paper in German was based upon a lecture intended for non-mathematicians.

The translator wishes to thank the author and his friends George Booth and Hardy Grant for reading the translation and suggesting a number of improvements.

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Hildebrandt, S. The calculus of variations today. The Mathematical Intelligencer 11, 50–60 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03025887

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