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If a mathematician has done his graph theory, combinatorics classes, and a special topics class or two, it's probably a good idea to snap them up. A good mathem
by orbitingpluto 15y ago
If a mathematician has done his graph theory, combinatorics classes, and a special topics class or two, it's probably a good idea to snap them up. A good mathematician can sometimes turn O(n^2) performance into O(1). Of course a good mathematician can also create an algorithm that runs as a fraction of O(w) time and be happy about it as long as it proves the theorem.
Academically w.r.t maths, mathematicians start where computer scientists end. The biggest bane to graduation of a CompSci student is usually a basic combinatorics class. One guy I knew was given special dispensation to take the class after having exceeded the maximum number of fails allowed for a single class. He was to devote the entire term to just that class. He had finished everything else. Intro Biochem and Discrete Maths I were the two most failed classes.
- Mgccl 15y agoI'm on the other end. Once I found that I did all the theoretical CS things easily and doing amazingly bad in all "applied" cs courses. I know it's time to switch out of CS and enter math.
- tseabrooks 15y agoInterestingly I've had a somewhat different experience (In the U.S.). Historically, my university had discrete math required for only the C.S. majors and the math majors could take the course as en elective.. few if any ever did. Then the dark times, the school made Discrete Math I a required class for math majors. The math majors rebelled strongly after more than half of them failed the course for 3 semesters straight. Eventually the school removed the requirement on math majors. It seemed in our situation that Math majors were, as a generalized body where exceptions of course exist, unable to accomplish the logic portions of the course. Most did fine with set theory and combinatorics but completely floundered in the rest of the course.