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As someone with a PhD in CS and working at one of the 'Big 4', I would like to disagree with you! I am still afraid of calculus.. The type of math you need fo
by fooker 10y ago
As someone with a PhD in CS and working at one of the 'Big 4', I would like to disagree with you!
I am still afraid of calculus..
The type of math you need for CS should not be too difficult after you get some intuition in programming.
In combinatorics, for example, you just need a clear head to think through the cases, just as you would do when writing a program.
- bogomipz 10y agoCan you elaborate on which types of math you believe one needs for CS?
- Spivak 10y agoI'm not the parent but here's my list. * Discrete Mathematics * Linear Algebra * Combinatorics * Number Theory * Introductory Real Analysis or "Calculus 1" * Probability Theory * Statistics This will prepare you to be a general purpose CS professional. Further specialization will likely require some additional high level topics used in your field.
- fooker 10y agoEven for these, some you will only need in specific fields. Discrete Maths / Combinatorics : Probably everywhere. Linear Algebra : Machine Learning, Computer Graphics, Computational Geometry, etc. Number Theory : Cryptography. 'Calculus 1' : Useful to know for 'maturity', you will likely not use it unless you implement numerical algorithm libraries. Probability / Statistics : Heavily in Machine Learning and related fields, in small doses everywhere else just because you need to be able to create useful observations and presentations. I would add another branch: Logic : If you work with programming languages or verification.
- mr_pink 10y agoYeah, you can't do half of these without understanding Calculus.
- fooker 10y agoWell, understanding calculus and being able to compute indefinite integrals or solve differential equations analytically on paper are very different things.
- mr_pink 10y agoHmm, this says more about the current state of the "PhD in CS" institution and the hiring practices at 'Big 4'...