> P.S. note: Many people disagree. Good, you should not take it as absolute truth. I guess my real point is that you should question whether you really need to

> P.S. note: Many people disagree. Good, you should not take it as absolute truth. I guess my real point is that you should question whether you really need to take Calculus. Don't just take it blindly because you are told you should. You have other options. I agree, this should be questioned! Calculus is probably not the right choice for everyone, and I think most competent math departments are looking at how to make their curriculum more appropriate and relevant for today's world—certainly mine is. However, I think it is too easy to confuse "I don't see the relevance of this" with "this isn't relevant for me"; most students are not really in a position properly to evaluate whether a course of study is useful for them. Students shouldn't take whatever the university, or their professor, or anyone tells them as gospel—but neither should they think that their individual judgement will necessarily guide them towards the path that will best prepare them for whatever future it is that interests them, or the future that they don't yet know interests them. Perhaps most importantly, it is easy for a student to tell when they aren't using knowledge they have, but it is not so easy for a student to tell when they need knowledge they don't have! I'll also dare to venture the suggestion that a lot of people could benefit from a much less utilitarian approach to education. College for everyone is a wonderful opportunity, but I wish it were that, an opportunity, not a requirement—and, given that it is a de facto requirement, I understand students' frustration with it. But, while a student is here, I wish they would make the most of the experience, and treat as a chance to learn things just because learning is an enriching human experience, without subjecting every bit of knowledge to pure humanitarian experience. I don't program, but I am glad for the knowledge about programming I have; I don't use history directly in any professional historical sense, but I am glad that I know the history I do. I am a professional mathematician and use my knowledge as such—but I'd be glad I learned it even if it weren't my career.