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An accountant using quadratic functions? I would guess that the most advanced math people use in their daily lives is cross-multiplication. That is also true

An accountant using quadratic functions? I would guess that the most advanced math people use in their daily lives is cross-multiplication. That is also true for what is usually considered math heavy fields. I've studied in mechanical engineering. I've never EVER seen anyone use calculus to solve their problem in the real world.

nickpinkston 13y ago
Well, we do it a lot when we make your engineering tools ;-)
adrianm 13y ago
When you specify you have "studied in mechanical engineering", is it safe to assume that you have never held a position as a mechanical engineer in a non-educational capacity? If that is the case, how is your anecdotal observation that you have "never EVER seen anyone use calculus to solve their problem in the real world" even remotely close to relevant? Furthermore, I have noticed that people have a tendency to conflate "using calculus" with their experience completing homework assignments in their high school/college calc 1 courses. No, that's not what "using calculus" is, unless of course you're still a student or cannot conceive of a world beyond your own narrow life experiences. Many of us use mathematics to solve real problems in the real world on a daily basis - and it would be beyond arrogance to suggest that calculus is irrelevant. If you get a chance, pick up the book "Concrete Mathematics" - and "Concrete" is a play on "Continuous and Discrete" math. It's by Donald Knuth and it's a wonderful read. If you're a working programmer or employed in a technical field, you will be better off after understanding how to solve the problems in that book. Calculus and all derivative mathematics touches more facets of our daily lives than perhaps any other "theoretical" field in academia.
sigkill 13y ago
I have studied Mechanical Engineering as well, and I, on the other hand see plenty of opportunities to use things taught in ME in real life. Might be as simple as "How safe is this plank for me to walk on" (bending moment) to "It's strange that there are cold pockets in this room, what's the optimum positioning of a flow mixer". But we don't generally think even for a second. People just take a 'common sense approach' to most things, which while good enough for a large set of applications breaks down in many cases. And come on, you're an engineer, you should try to get the optimum solution possible. Obviously, I'm not pointing to you directly but to people in general. And yes, I do know that there's analysis paralysis situation as well, but a good engineer know where that line is, and to stop just before that line.
bostik 13y ago
> I've studied in mechanical engineering. I've never EVER seen anyone use calculus to solve their problem in the real world. Consider yourself lucky you haven't been exposed to process chemistry. Those people have to rely on experimentally discovered equations where fractional exponents are the the norm. Not to mention that the math involved is, to an IT person, counterintuitive at best - and outright opaque at worst. The impossibly devious math involved in that field was one of the major reasons I switched my major. (The same maths come across everywhere in that field.) It is hard to imagine the joy you feel once you get to deal with discrete, math after spending a couple of years trying to wrap your head around the mental torture of applied physical chemistry.

nickpinkston 13y ago

Well, we do it a lot when we make your engineering tools ;-)

adrianm 13y ago

When you specify you have "studied in mechanical engineering", is it safe to assume that you have never held a position as a mechanical engineer in a non-educational capacity? If that is the case, how is your anecdotal observation that you have "never EVER seen anyone use calculus to solve their problem in the real world" even remotely close to relevant? Furthermore, I have noticed that people have a tendency to conflate "using calculus" with their experience completing homework assignments in their high school/college calc 1 courses. No, that's not what "using calculus" is, unless of course you're still a student or cannot conceive of a world beyond your own narrow life experiences. Many of us use mathematics to solve real problems in the real world on a daily basis - and it would be beyond arrogance to suggest that calculus is irrelevant. If you get a chance, pick up the book "Concrete Mathematics" - and "Concrete" is a play on "Continuous and Discrete" math. It's by Donald Knuth and it's a wonderful read. If you're a working programmer or employed in a technical field, you will be better off after understanding how to solve the problems in that book. Calculus and all derivative mathematics touches more facets of our daily lives than perhaps any other "theoretical" field in academia.

sigkill 13y ago

I have studied Mechanical Engineering as well, and I, on the other hand see plenty of opportunities to use things taught in ME in real life. Might be as simple as "How safe is this plank for me to walk on" (bending moment) to "It's strange that there are cold pockets in this room, what's the optimum positioning of a flow mixer". But we don't generally think even for a second. People just take a 'common sense approach' to most things, which while good enough for a large set of applications breaks down in many cases. And come on, you're an engineer, you should try to get the optimum solution possible. Obviously, I'm not pointing to you directly but to people in general. And yes, I do know that there's analysis paralysis situation as well, but a good engineer know where that line is, and to stop just before that line.

bostik 13y ago

> I've studied in mechanical engineering. I've never EVER seen anyone use calculus to solve their problem in the real world. Consider yourself lucky you haven't been exposed to process chemistry. Those people have to rely on experimentally discovered equations where fractional exponents are the the norm. Not to mention that the math involved is, to an IT person, counterintuitive at best - and outright opaque at worst. The impossibly devious math involved in that field was one of the major reasons I switched my major. (The same maths come across everywhere in that field.) It is hard to imagine the joy you feel once you get to deal with discrete, math after spending a couple of years trying to wrap your head around the mental torture of applied physical chemistry.