Symmetric primitives and Lusin's condition \({\mathcal N}\) (Q1271937)

A function \(f\), say \(f:[0,1]\to {\mathbb R}\), satisfies Lusin's condition \(\mathcal N\) if it maps sets of measure zero to sets of measure zero. If \(f\) is differentiable, either in the ordinary sense or even in some generalized sense, then it is of this type. Is this also true when \(f\) is differentiable in the sense of symmetric derivatives? The authors answer this question in the negative. They construct a continuous function \(f:[0,1]\to{\mathbb R}\) which has a symmetric derivative everywhere but maps a closed set \(E \subseteq [0,1]\) of measure zero onto the whole interval \([-1,1]\). The function \(f\) is given as the uniform limit of a sequence of piecewise affine functions; the set \(E\) comes from a Cantor-like construction. The authors also use their example to answer questions about symmetric variations and about the Denjoy-Khintchine integral.