Computer Science is a sub-field of mathematics. Mathematical concepts usually become more useful, not less, as they become more general. Even elementary ideas l

Computer Science is a sub-field of mathematics. Mathematical concepts usually become more useful, not less, as they become more general. Even elementary ideas like counting and arithmetic don't include practical limits. My favorite example is the concept of periodicity, which is usually defined something like this: A signal x(t) is periodic if, for some nonzero value T (called the period), x(t + T) = x(t) for all t. This implies that all periodic signals are eternal, which is never the case in the real world! But we talk about "periodic" signals all the time because the concept is still useful.