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How much do you use Mathematics in your life, and to what extent?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 23850
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Deleted member 23850

Oct 28, 2017
8,689
Since the quarantine is keeping everyone locked up, I've made it a point (heh) to go back and study Geometry, nearly thirty years after should have started taking it seriously. I used to (OK, still am) REALLY BAD at math, as it used to be my absolutely nemesis (it used to bring me to tears due to frustration constantly back in school). Currently, I'm slow to start, but it's starting to reveal how useful it is. I'm also an urban planner, so double its use for me.

I don't see the beauty in it yet like really good mathematicians, but we all have to start somewhere. Who knows where it will go?
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,571
here
naw

r8rIH0E.jpg
 
iksenpets

iksenpets

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,484
Dallas, TX
In terms of actually sitting down and doing equations or whatever, virtually never, other than basic arithmetic, but even not actually applying pure math in my day to day, having gone through the math education really strengthens your ability to understand anything involving numbers in the world. And I don't just mean in sense of having middle school math down so you can read charts and stuff, but having a grasp of calculus, even if you've forgotten all the formulae and couldn't do it to save your life, knowing the concepts is still pretty powerful in understanding
 
Aureon

Aureon

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,819
I've spent the last few days wrestling rotator math for some goddamn 3d widgets in ue4.

So, yeah, plenty. even integrals and differentials come into play sometimes.
 
Pau

Pau

Self-Appointed Godmother of Bruce Wayne's Children
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,838
Congratulations on going back to it! I think a good learning environment and proper encouragement and support can do wonders with math learning.

Generally be comfortable with numbers seems to open up a lot of doors. I wish people had better experiences in math classes in school so that they wouldn't (understandably) close themselves off to learning such things.

Personally, I use it pretty much every day as a graduate student since all my classes are computer science or statistics courses. We'll see how much I use it when I get a job.
 
GamePnoy74

GamePnoy74

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,536
I just started to get into data analytics and statistics the past couple of weeks, I find it pretty interesting so far.
 
Ragnar

Ragnar

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,354
I'm a biologist who leans towards the more mathematical and statistical side of things, or rather, my goal of conservation is heavily reliant on mathematics. I use it almost daily, although the most demanding I tend to do is to establish equations which describe natural phenomena.
 
Steel

Steel

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,220
A lot.

Don't worry about seeing the beauty in math, OP. People who see beauty in math itself are weird even among those who are proficient in it. There's the type who see beauty in what you can do with math and what can be explained with math, but math itself is mostly annoying.
 
Zaphod

Zaphod

Member
Aug 21, 2019
1,100
I am an engineer and a cook, so everyday.

That said, math is neither intuitive or easy. Most people, including engineers and scientists only get good at it though practice and hard work.
 
Reym

Reym

Member
Jul 15, 2019
2,649
Math, I'm not your therapist. Solve your own problems.


...but seriously. I work with financials, so - a lot.
 
Aztechnology

Aztechnology

Community Resettler
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
14,134
Basic alegbra, maybe some slightly more advanced maths on occasion, but I'm likely going to reference material to make sure anyway, rarely anything beyond that. I'm a software engineer. Most people really don't need to take calculus etc. Better to teach them statistics, financially literacy etc.
 

Pico

Member
Oct 28, 2017
317
While learning geometry/maths, find an objective to motivate yourself. For instance, geometry could be used in video game asset production.
 
Nothing Loud

Nothing Loud

Literally Cinderella
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,975
Andrew Korenchkin said:
Since the quarantine is keeping everyone locked up, I've made it a point (heh) to go back and study Geometry, nearly thirty years after should have started taking it seriously. I used to (OK, still am) REALLY BAD at math, as it used to be my absolutely nemesis (it used to bring me to tears due to frustration constantly back in school). Currently, I'm slow to start, but it's starting to reveal how useful it is. I'm also an urban planner, so double its use for me.

I don't see the beauty in it yet like really good mathematicians, but we all have to start somewhere. Who knows where it will go?
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I started in remedial college algebra in 2010, got a BS in chemical engineering with a math minor in 2015, now I'm about to be a second year PhD student in engineering. Starting from the bottom, you can learn anything. Anybody can perform math with enough practice and time devoted to it. But unfortunately most people depart from math before it can really shine.

There is immense beauty and application in math but it won't be revealed much unless/until you study calculus and physics. it's incredible (calculus was invented by Leibniz and Newton for physics).

if you are interested in math there are a lot of resources online, and you can begin to learn its beauty, but at the lower level courses, it's mostly rule-learning and practice. Creativity and ingenuity of math doesn't really appear until calculus, which hinges on being clever and knowledgeable about trigonometry.

My favorite topic is differential equations. They model everything in the universe. It's wild.
 
ken_matthews

ken_matthews

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
838
As a data scientist, I use it a lot. However, I was never really good at pure math in school (never got past calc 1), but I've since learned a new appreciation for it with code. Code logic and math formulas are very similar in kind, and I've since learned to code some very complicated math. Particularly, I analyze a lot of geospatial data with statistical methods and there are many Python libraries that handle much of the complicated math for you, but there are many instances where the analysis calls for coding in the math formulas and doing things "by hand". Now, I won't pretend to really understand the math at some deeper level, but so long as I can code and use it correctly, meaning the math is actually appropriate for what I am intending, then it does not matter.
 
THErest

THErest

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,092
As a high school math teacher, students always ask "why do I need to know this?" Not because they actually care, but because they don't want to do/learn anything, and are groping for a 'gotcha!'

When the question is asked in sincerity, my thought is always thus: don't focus on the wax on/wax off--you're learning karate, you just don't realize it.
 

Deleted member 4614

Oct 25, 2017
6,345
I'm using it more often at work! Pretty happy development
 

Deleted member 2652

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,434
i really want to make art through creative coding, but it requires so much math so at some point i'll have to force myself to learn/relearn.
 
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,107
THErest said:
As a high school math teacher, students always ask "why do I need to know this?" Not because they actually care, but because they don't want to do/learn anything, and are groping for a 'gotcha!'

When the question is asked in sincerity, my thought is always thus: don't focus on the wax on/wax off--you're learning karate, you just don't realize it.
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That's a huge pet peeve of mine, it's so frustrating to hear grown men and women complaining that school is useless because they spent all that time learning geometry and algebra even though they never used it after high school.

Personally I guess I technically use math every day but I'm not actually solving anything myself. I work in data analytics, software handles most of the actual calculating.
 
ken_matthews

ken_matthews

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
838
Clay said:
That's a huge pet peeve of mine, it's so frustrating to hear grown men and women complaining that school is useless because they spent all that time learning geometry and algebra even though they never used it after high school.
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I went to a blue ribbon high school in the 90s and I still kind of get that sentiment. Back then, most of school was really memorization exercises. From my experience, you didn't really learn anything useful until college. And even then, your real learning started with your first career job. Maybe it is different with math and some of the hard sciences because there is so much prerequisite information you need to know before you can apply it and learn how to solve real problems.
 
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,107
ken_matthews said:
I went to a blue ribbon high school in the 90s and I still kind of get that sentiment. Back then, most of school was really memorization exercises. From my experience, you didn't really learn anything useful until college. And even then, your real learning started with your first career job. Maybe it is different with math and some of the hard sciences because there is so much prerequisite information you need to know before you can apply it and learn how to solve real problems.
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I mean yeah, you're not going to qualify for many high-paying and stimulating jobs with just high-school math under your belt, but exactly like you said, you need that knowledge to excel in college.

I have family members who struggle with money and work low-paying retail positions and they'll say stuff like "I haven't used algebra a day in my life!" in front my young nieces and nephews. Stuff like that is what I'm talking about, it's irresponsible to teach kids math (or education in general, really) is pointless. Yeah, you can be successful in a job that doesn't require math, but the idea that you're safe ignoring what you're taught in school is not going to set you up for success.
 
Threadkular

Threadkular

Member
Dec 29, 2017
2,414
I do software defined radio work, so quite a lot. Admittedly I couldn't calculate any type of Fourier Transform by hand anymore.
 
GYODX

GYODX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,233
I'm an engineer, so almost every day. Lately, it's been mostly linear algebra and discrete math as I do some research-type work on homomorphic encryption.
 
Maple

Maple

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,719
ken_matthews said:
As a data scientist, I use it a lot. However, I was never really good at pure math in school (never got past calc 1), but I've since learned a new appreciation for it with code. Code logic and math formulas are very similar in kind, and I've since learned to code some very complicated math. Particularly, I analyze a lot of geospatial data with statistical methods and there are many Python libraries that handle much of the complicated math for you, but there are many instances where the analysis calls for coding in the math formulas and doing things "by hand". Now, I won't pretend to really understand the math at some deeper level, but so long as I can code and use it correctly, meaning the math is actually appropriate for what I am intending, then it does not matter.
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That's pretty cool. From what I've read, most data scientists have either a PhD or MS. Or maybe I'm mixing up data scientists and data analysts (if there's a difference).

For someone looking to get into the field, what should be the focus - math or programming?
 
GYODX

GYODX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,233
Maple said:
That's pretty cool. From what I've read, most data scientists have either a PhD or MS. Or maybe I'm mixing up data scientists and data analysts (if there's a difference).

For someone looking to get into the field, what should be the focus - math or programming?
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I'd say Computer Science and Applied Mathematics are both good to get your foot in the door. The best Data Scientist I personally know has a Master's in Applied Math.

Some universities offer Master's degrees in Data Science, but I would recommend against those. Computer Science and Applied Math both have more established and mature curricula, and would put you on very solid grounding to pursue Data Science later on.
 

Deleted member 12790

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
24,537
I use heavy trig, calculus, boolean algebra, and linear algebra virtually every day of my life, my white board is pretty much constantly filled with complex math problems. Just earlier tonight I was solving some fourier-related math problems.
 
SABO.

SABO.

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,870
All the time. Not anything complex of course as it isn't really required for my job or personal life.
 
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