Vector calculus is a branch of mathematics invented by Gibbs and Heaviside in the Good Old Days. Vector calculus lets us predict the behavior of magnetism, gravity, and the X factor discovered by the Fantastic Four. Vector calculus, the soup The vector calculus with which the reader will be most familiar is a variety of fish soup known for its salty aftertaste. That it is part of haute cuisine ("fancy cooking") is a given, but vector calculus asks us to consider how fast it is getting hauteur, and in what direction all this is pointing.