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The gradient is a fancy word for derivative, or the rate of change of a function. Itâs a vector (a direction to move) that. 1  Points in the direction of greatest increase of a function (intuition on why)  Is zero at a local maximum or local minimum (because there is no single direction of increase)
The gradient or slope of a graph is a number which represents the steepness of a straight line or the rate at which the line rises vertically for every unit across to the right. gradient is how much height you achieve within how much distance... so you climb a hill...