Math And The Computer Science Major 1203
An anonymous reader writes "What sort of math are CS majors expected to take? Why are these classes useful? Does programming really have that much to do with math? Lineman.Net has published an article that answers these questions and more. If you are considering a CS degree, be sure to give it a look and make sure you are taking steps to prepare for your college career."
Of course you need math... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Why is maths useful for computer scientists? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:A Warning (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Certain types of programming... (Score:2, Funny)
> straightforward math (arithmetic) but compound
> interest gets a bit more complicated.
At U-Mich, at least when I went there, economics majors were required to take Calculus I, so that for one brief shining moment in their lives they theoretically understood the derivation of the continuously compounded interest formula.
Re:HS math question. (Score:5, Funny)
--mandi
Re: HS math question. (Score:4, Funny)
> my little brother who recently turned 18 for a beer
In my day we turned 18 without any such incentives.
Re:True! (Score:2, Funny)
Should I be scared that my first thought was an image of a nerdy math-type hunched over an HP calculator and unleasing PI=2.7 on the internet.
"I've done it! I've successfully hacked math!
1 0wnZ0rd j00 Py7h4g0r4z!"
Young fellas today (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Certain types of programming... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Math requirements? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Coding IS math. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:HS math question. (Score:3, Funny)
It was really sickening that several students couldn't do relatively simple math or utilize scientific notation. For example, a simple quiz question could boil down to the student multiplying 4000 x 0.00007 and not being able to do it! Some students told me to my face that they couldn't do this type of stuff without a calculator! Sometimes after I explain it to them and point out how obviuos it is, they kind of slap their foreheads for not knowing it. But still, these kind of simple scientific notation calculations should have been taught to them at least in high school, if not earlier.
The scary part is this school is one of the top top pre-med schools, and many of these students will go on to become top doctors in their fields. Some of whom were baffled by simplistic mathematical calculations.
An amusing anecdote, although probably urban legend, goes as follows. Understand that for pre-meds physics is usually considered the hardest class because it's the only one where full-blown memorization doesn't work. A pre-med, frustrated with his/her physics class goes to complain to the professor. He/She says "Physics is stupid, why do pre-meds need to know physics anyway?". The physicist responds "Oh, it saves lives." Premed inquires how. Physicist responds "It stops the idiots like yourself from becoming doctors."
Re:Certain types of programming... (Score:1, Funny)
Math (Score:1, Funny)