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I should have been more clear and said "require" instead of "involve". Yes, math can improve almost anything, but you can do an acceptable job at McD with no ma
by zeteo 15y ago
I should have been more clear and said "require" instead of "involve". Yes, math can improve almost anything, but you can do an acceptable job at McD with no math knowledge. Still, it's a McD job, and if you had learnt some math then you could have found something a lot better.
- stcredzero 15y agoYes, math can improve almost anything, but you can do an acceptable job at McD with no math knowledge. The optimally suboptimal queueing at that one place was not acceptable! Still, as my ex demonstrated, you can manage the same optimality at that job just be being observant and using common sense. The human brain is a pretty powerful general optimizer. Math is most useful in situations where data is not so accessible to a casual observer. The problem in those situations, is that the optimization itself then becomes harder to observe/explain/comprehend. There is a similar problem in large enterprises with automated testing and refactoring. Still, it's a McD job, and if you had learnt some math then you could have found something a lot better. Well, in Homer Alaska at the time, from my vantage point, it would've been some more machismo so the right person would give me a job as a forklift driver, some cooking experience, so I could get a job doing that, or maybe some more muscle -- all those would've done a lot more to get me a higher paying job than math.
- zeteo 15y ago"some more machismo [...], some cooking experience [...] or maybe some more muscle -- all those would've done a lot more to get me a higher paying job than math." In the short run.
- stcredzero 15y agoWell, for that, I had the prospect of saving enough money from the diner busboy job so that I could drive back to the lower 48 and grad school.