Math and physics

[short]

So I may be way off other college students, but I am simply curious of what other video game oriented students (people?) thought of taking math and physics in college. This ENTIRE year of school is devoted to math and physics. No programming classes, just math and physics. I'll admit when I got to college I... in retrospect I am unsure how the hell I was aloud to pass algebra II in high school. My math skills were SHIT, and I had never taken a physics course before (I went to a public school, not the best requirements to graduate).

Anyways, I eventually passed the math prereqs for calculus after failing trig twice and college algebra once. I still didn't think I knew it well enough, so I retook a combination of college algebra/trig and really buckled down and got an A in it. Since then math has been a struggle to say the least. The rewards of really buckling down for me are incredible. And physics, well its three semesters of "physics with calculus", I'm pretty sure most students go through something similar for physics.

My question really is how easy is math/physics for you all? It is a huge struggle for me, I devoted an entire year to it. It has opened up the door for understanding so much when it comes to programming. What about everyone not in college, or didn't go, or learn did not learn it on your own. Do you hit road blocks when programming because of a lack of deep understanding in advanced mathematics?

edit: entire year, not term*

[dandymcgee]

I don't find I've used much advanced Calculus in any of my programming thus far. Physics is completely opposite, and that's probably one of the reasons I love it so much. I've struggled quite a bit in Calculus last semester, and am doing even worse this semester. I find the agenda to development much more rapidly than I was used to in high school, but at the same time I love to be challenged. Overall I think I've learned and will learn many useful things in math and physics courses to help me out wherever I may end up in the years following my post-secondary education.

[XianForce]

For me, math and sciences have always come real easy. I'm top of the school in math, physics, and chemistry... But I attend a small school. But numbers have always made sense to me. I barely have to pay attention to any lecture, and I'll know enough to ace the test...

Now if we're talkinga about english... that's a WHOLE other story =/

[Falco Girgis]

Ah, a very interesting topic.

You sound quite a bit like me. I was always in the advanced math classes, but I have also always been a shitty math student. I never used to do my homework, and I would just do and know the bare minimum to scrape by.

In college, it was a little bit different, because I started to genuinely try in (a few of my) math classes. Physics was also a bitch for me in college. Same with Differential Equations. I was pretty good at Linear Algebra, though, given the amount of input I put into the class.

But yes, I'm in the same boat. I can't just pay attention to lectures and understand some new math concept. Even though I'm a programmer, I think, code, engineer, and develop very right-brainedly. Marcel is the strictly left-brained kid of the family. If I put some time and effort into being studious, I always come out doing extremely well in the subjects, but I'm definitely nowhere near a gifted mathematician.

I've noticed that I can learn calculus, differentials, physics, and much more on my own time (and when needed for Elysian Shadows) extremely well, but when I took these classes in college, I was only mediocre at best. It really all depends on how much time you put into them. Don't let the fact that it doesn't immediately click disturb you or handicap you.

[dandymcgee]

If I put some time and effort into being studious, I always come out doing extremely well in the subjects, but I'm definitely nowhere near a gifted mathematician.

I've noticed that I can learn calculus, differentials, physics, and much more on my own time (and when needed for Elysian Shadows) extremely well, but when I took these classes in college, I was only mediocre at best. It really all depends on how much time you put into them. Don't let the fact that it doesn't immediately click disturb you or handicap you.

I'm exactly the same way. I can listen to lectures all day long and learning little to nothing at all. Whereas if I put effort into a subject during my own time I can pick it up rather quickly.

[Trask]

Practical, real world situations always allow me to learn something and more importantly it helps me remember what I'm doing. Math has always been a challenge for me, but I can use it in programming without much issue at all... but yeah, definitely don't let it get you down. Keep plugging away at it and you may not realize how much you learned until you're faced with it in a real life situation.

[qpHalcy0n]

I was an exceptionally crappy math/science for quite some time. I still consider myself to be one. Math was certainly never my strong-suit.

To be perfectly frank, I have taken tons of math and the practical application for most of it is absolutely nil. In engineering you'll take tons of it just because thats usually an engineering dept. requirement. Your Civil and Architectural folks will be using it far more than your CS folk. If your CS schedule is heavy on the EE you'll be using alot of advanced math as well.

In a practical sense, and I've been programming for a long long time. I've put out games and still write them. About 95% of the math I learned I simply can't recall. I never use it, most of it is purely theoretical.
You'll find your niche and hone in on it. So I wouldn't stress yourself out trying to get a grip on every single bit of it. Get your head around trig and know your algebra and you'll be just fine.

[Arce]

Personally, math has come pretty easy to me...And to be completely honest, I really regret not taking more in high-school. My parents advised me to take only one per year of high-school, which was a mistake.

Had I doubled up like I probably should have, I'd be in Linear Algebra right now instead of Calculus B.

Aw, well. Not the only time I've shot myself in the foot...

As for how it relates to programming...To be honest, I'm probably not a good person to answer that, as I learned to program at such an early age that the programming part came well before the math part. Understanding the fundamentals like variables, abstract thinking, functions, related rates, differentials...Those all came pretty easy to me because it's the same kind of mindset you've got when mapping out a game scenario in terms of unknown variables. Granted, much of the math becomes alot more theoretical...It really never bothered me because I guess I learned alot of the applications beforehand (largely through programming).

Though it's possible my mindset will change once I get to Discrete Mathematics and start taking those really theoretical classes that have less of an application...Maybe oneday, I'll let ya know if it does.

[short]

Personally, math has come pretty easy to me...And to be completely honest, I really regret not taking more in high-school. My parents advised me to take only one per year of high-school, which was a mistake.

Had I doubled up like I probably should have, I'd be in Linear Algebra right now instead of Calculus B.

Aw, well. Not the only time I've shot myself in the foot...

As for how it relates to programming...To be honest, I'm probably not a good person to answer that, as I learned to program at such an early age that the programming part came well before the math part. Understanding the fundamentals like variables, abstract thinking, functions, related rates, differentials...Those all came pretty easy to me because it's the same kind of mindset you've got when mapping out a game scenario in terms of unknown variables. Granted, much of the math becomes alot more theoretical...It really never bothered me because I guess I learned alot of the applications beforehand (largely through programming).

Though it's possible my mindset will change once I get to Discrete Mathematics and start taking those really theoretical classes that have less of an application...Maybe oneday, I'll let ya know if it does.

Ditto. My school has three terms of calculus, I am guessing you guys are all on semesters though, we are on four (one being summer) ten week terms. I guess you could say I'm in calc C right now..? Vector calculus..
The most I am getting this year from the combo of physics/adv math is the ability to solve problems in general, which I believe is a huge point. Before this year really got started, I had major difficulties figuring out how to solve new kinds of problems. For example, last year I wanted to calculate the locations of the four corners of a rotating rectangle. Now, I am much more prepared to figure these kinds of things out by myself. Honestly I believe this kind of skill is the best thing to happen to me, and as hard as physics and math are I am really glad I am taking them. BTW discrete is fun.. especially induction proof's, I assume you'll have to do that?

[Falco Girgis]

Like qpHalcy0n said, the closer you are to the hardware (to Electrical Engineering) the more Calculus-related maths you will have to take. Circuitry, Signals and Systems, and that entire area of computing, requires a large amount of calculus, differential equations, integrals, etc.

The Computer Science/Software end of the spectrum requires almost NONE of this stuff (with the exception of physics, I find, and even that is mostly thought of in terms of vectors, so 90% of the Calculus is gone). Computer Science, instead, requires a lot of discrete mathematics. Boolean algebra, linear algebra, set theory, graph theory, inductive reasoning, and the like. Most of what you are doing is abstract, rarely do you ever venture into the realm of discrete mathematics.

But like qpHalcy0n also said, you find what you need to do your job as a programmer, get extremely good at it, then forget 95% percent of the rest of the mathematics you learn. It has a place, a purpose, but as programmers we're only concerned with our own respective niche, and the rest remains completely abstract to us.

[MrDeathNote]

In school maths and physics always came very easily to me, i never really applied myself to it. When i went to college i first began a degree in theoretical physics, i never really fitted into the classes for some reason i found that i had almost no common ground with the other students. We did however cover some programming, as I was already interested in programming this appealed to me right away. At the end of my first year in theoretical physics i changed to a computer science course, but i have found that the maths skills i gained on my first course really helped me, now in the computer science course we have covered set theory, graph thory, predicate logic, etc. pretty much the level of maths that we as programmers need for practical purposes. I'm still interested in physics and maths though, and i think having an affinity for numbers can help you to become a better programmer especially if you're interested in low level programming.