MESSAGE
| DATE | 2014-09-01 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Math and Computer Sciences
|
On 09/01/2014 08:38 PM, Elfen Magix wrote:
> What it is that you need, Ruben? Going back to college? Though I have not been paying attention to my emails these past weeks, I need to catch up on it. But I might be able to help. I did pass Calc and both Linear Algebra and Matrixes were my thing; I did statistics (and other subjects) tutoring when I was in college and graduated with a BA in communications and multi media arts in 5/11. Could have been a BS but I decided to rush graduation for I did not want to wait until 2012 to graduate.
>
> What subjects you need?
>
> Fernando.
Did this help you find a new career? I need a computer job.
Ruben
>
> --------------------------------------------
> On Sat, 8/30/14, Ruben Safir wrote:
>
> Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Math and Computer Sciences
> To: "Hangout"
> Date: Saturday, August 30, 2014, 9:55 PM
>
>
>
> On 08/27/2014 04:09 AM, Bryan J Smith wrote:
> >>> I remember being confused by the amount of
> calculus involved, and to
> >>> this day, I still haven't used any of it.
> I think there's a danger of
> >>> wanting to give people a "well-rounded"
> education when it really doesn't
> >>> help you in employment situations.
> >>
> >
> > ?Huh? This is the second time this has been
> mentioned, and I don't
> > understand it.
> >
> > All I used in college was calculus ... for
> everything. Not just physics,
> > analysis, environmental impact, mechanics,
> discrete/linear/?DSP (CS/EE/CpE
> > flavors), signals/fields, etc... but also statistics,
> microeconomics,
> > management/risk even resource geography (actually came
> in very handy in two
> > jobs). In addition to the 12 semester hours of
> calculus (4 classes) itself
> > and 12+4 semester class+labs hours of
> chemistry+physics, I had 96 hours of
> > pre-core+core/option+specialty (general/EE+CpE)
> engineering that was all
> > calculus. I think I had a whole 5 classes, 15
> semester hours, of "general
> > ed" (2x compsition, 2x history and philosophy) that did
> not use it.
> >
>
> I'm with you Bryan but right now I feel like a small child
> at a buffy.
> I want big helpings of everything, and the BS would give
> that to me more
> than the MS, but I just can't see passing the MS up for a BS
> at this
> point, and I REALLY don't want to be treated like a 19 year
> old kid,
> chasing my tail all the time and driving me to burn
> out. At least for
> now, I think I'm going to try the MS because lower risk and
> higher reward.
>
>
> That being said, I can't go without this math. Not
> just the Calc, but
> the matrix Math and linear algebra. I need to study
> these as well, and
> as soon as I get settled in, I'm going to be exploring this,
> even if I
> have to do this on my own.
>
> I KNOW that knowing good math skills can get one hired when
> others are
> not. It means you can solve problems that others can
> not.
>
>
>
> Ruben
>
> > Now ... there might be an explanation for that.
> If you attend a college
> > that is an "Technology," but PhD-level research
> institution, you tend to
> > get calculus-based everything -- economics, statistics,
> management/risk,
> > etc... Some schools require it for just
> engineering, while others require
> > it for any science-based degree. My Alma Mater
> (UCF, originally founded as
> > FTU, an engineering college under a NASA space grant
> during Apollo) only
> > requires 100% calculus-based "pre-core" classes for
> engineers. As I
> > understand it, Georgia Tech and other "Institute of
> Technologies" are
> > notorious for requiring a number of math, statistics
> and even CS majors to
> > take engineering pre-core with 100% calculus-based
> classes which are shared
> > with an engineering "pre-core" track.
> >
> > ?It really depends on the institution, but even
> today, I cannot imagine
> > life without knowing calculus.
> >
> > E.g., rate of change in the US deficit is a 2nd order
> differential from
> > overall debt -- and that's very elementary
> calculus. But I can ?understand
> > how most Americans don't get that, and why 2000 --
> despite having a net,
> > although small, surplus -- was a very, very bad time
> for the economy, which
> > led to some of the biggest layoffs in US history during
> Q1 of 2001 (jobs
> > are the last to lose and last to come back).
> >
> >> The question is probably along the lines of "what
> do you want to be when
> >>> you grow up?" Theoretical and practical
> computing are still two wildly
> >>> different things, maybe even more so now.
> What's the goal here?
> >>> Education because that's fun, or to get a job
> at the end of it? Is it
> >>> programmer or CTO? Tech advocate?
> Circuit designer? There are so many
> >>> specialities now; unless you're working for
> yourself, an employer will
> >>> probably be most interested in how you can help
> them, and that's often
> >>> in one specific area. Having a great
> breadth of knowledge is cool, but
> >>> being an expert at something tends to get you
> paid.
> >>
> >
> > ?That's interesting because most of my colleagues
> that majored in
> > Industrial Engineering are all upper-level
> administrators in major
> > corporations, and one is a C-level in a moderately
> sized company. I cannot
> > imagine microeconomics, much more risk management,
> without calculus.
> >
> > E.g., "Linear Feedback" isn't just an Electrical
> Engineering (EE) concept,
> > but applies to not just risk, but CS' concepts of
> "discrete systems" as
> > well as elementary digital signals.** You cannot
> build a system of
> > equations for that interaction without calculus.
> >
> > This "theory v. practical" argument really falls flat
> on its face with me.
> > That "Generation D" Sprint commercial they used
> to push used to make me
> > laugh, because the world is very much analog. I
> had an advisor in college
> > tell me I shouldn't switch away from Electrical
> Engineering to avoid
> > signals and fields because analog is still
> everything. And he was right.
> >
> > I only wished I would have went after jobs in Fields
> because that
> > experience is extremely and heavily sought after in
> today's wireless world.
> > Even though I only worked in aerospace and
> semiconductor a small part of
> > my career (6 years total), I do like being at a client
> and not only knowing
> > what the heck they are talking about. I can even
> relate IT-centric closet
> > and risk to them as well, instead of just talking with
> words.
> >
> > Even just my elementary statistical courses + past
> engineering work alone
> > allowed me to garner great respect at several clients
> with researchers
> > doing a lot of heavy analysis. E.g., it's much
> easier to understand SAS
> > and R if you have such a background, and they are in
> heavy use in many
> > divisions of many corporations and government.
> >
> > Which brings me to the Asimov and Sagan worries that if
> we don't keep
> > teaching our future workers and leaders how to do basic
> -- not theoretical,
> > but "basic" -- math and science, they will quickly
> forget how to build
> > things. In fact we're pretty much reached that
> point with nuclear power
> > plants, and only the US Navy (military) and French
> (commercial) being the
> > sole authorities on the matter these days.
> >
> > -- bjs
> > _______________________________________________
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> > nylug-talk-at-nylug.org
> > http://mail.nylug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nylug-talk
> >
>
>
>
>
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>
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