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That is hilarious. I have an engineering degree and a math minor.
Last time I used Pre-Calc for my job? 5 years ago. Diffy EQs? Not once. Linear Algebra? Not yet once.
There are many engineering disciplines and career paths that don't require a ton of math on any frequent basis.
Looking back (I’m 71), I have to agree that math curriculum requirements were completely out of line for what was actually useful in my path (biologist). I’m retired now and not once did I have used for calculus, advanced algebra, etc. I tried to get some of those courses waived and substitute an electronics course but requirements were fairly inflexible back then. I did make use of some basic algebra and statistics but otherwise, just basic math got me through what I needed. I’m disappointed I didn’t have more freedom of choice in course offerings.
...not once did I have used for calculus, advanced algebra, etc. I tried to get some of those courses waived and substitute an electronics course but requirements were fairly inflexible back then.
I was told that Calculus was required because it demanded mastery of symbolic logic. (I hated that class, and never saw any logic in it at all.)
Looking back (I’m 71), I have to agree that math curriculum requirements were completely out of line for what was actually useful in my path (biologist). I’m retired now and not once did I have used for calculus, advanced algebra, etc. I tried to get some of those courses waived and substitute an electronics course but requirements were fairly inflexible back then. I did make use of some basic algebra and statistics but otherwise, just basic math got me through what I needed. I’m disappointed I didn’t have more freedom of choice in course offerings.
I find this a bit strange. Particularly that you had no use for Calculus. A lot of statistics is based on calculus and statistics is critically important in research.
The problem was that Isaac Newton was a physicist. If he had been an economist, instead of inventing The Calculus, he would have invented Linear Programming & the Simplex Method. We'd all take a couple years of linear optimization in college. At the end of the first year of LP, the professor would say, "hey, if you ever run across a truly smooth & continuous function, there's this neat trick called Calculus. Let me show it to you, but don't worry; it's not on the final exam."
I find this a bit strange. Particularly that you had no use for Calculus. A lot of statistics is based on calculus and statistics is critically important in research.
It probably depends on the specific field of interest, populations studies, biomedical engineering or biophysics would be much more math intensive for example. I worked mainly in cell biology, light and electron microscopy, and immunocytochemistry, as applied to retinal regeneration, pathology and mammary gland carcinogenesis, depending on where I was.
There are students who score straight A's in every high school math class and than have trouble managing a C in the math classes at the University.
I'm addressing this comment more than I am the OP.
I am a math tutor. Most of my students are high school and below, but I occasionally work with college students.
Students are able to get A's and B's in high school math because the teachers allow them to retake the tests and because they are allowed to use "cheats" on the tests. Generally the teacher hands out 3-by-5 cards and allows the students to fill them up however they want. Short term, this helps them "succeed," but the long-term result is that they go through the math classes without really learning much at all.
The students I have helped with calculus (college) and precalculus (HS and college) ran into trouble because they had not mastered topics they should have learned in Algebra 1 and 2. Sure, they'd done a chapter on logarithms, but they'd never really understood them. Yeah, cosine sounds familiar, isn't it something over something? . . . They couldn't solve quadratic equations by any method, though they should have learned at least three in Algebra 1. Quadratic formula? Huh? They'd forgotten how to factor polynomials, if they'd ever learned. Even their grasp of linear equations was shaky.
These were good students who cared about their grades and were diligent to do what the teachers assigned. But in high school, the teachers apparently didn't assign much.
I'm addressing this comment more than I am the OP.
I am a math tutor. Most of my students are high school and below, but I occasionally work with college students.
Students are able to get A's and B's in high school math because the teachers allow them to retake the tests and because they are allowed to use "cheats" on the tests. Generally the teacher hands out 3-by-5 cards and allows the students to fill them up however they want. Short term, this helps them "succeed," but the long-term result is that they go through the math classes without really learning much at all.
The students I have helped with calculus (college) and precalculus (HS and college) ran into trouble because they had not mastered topics they should have learned in Algebra 1 and 2. Sure, they'd done a chapter on logarithms, but they'd never really understood them. Yeah, cosine sounds familiar, isn't it something over something? . . . They couldn't solve quadratic equations by any method, though they should have learned at least three in Algebra 1. Quadratic formula? Huh? They'd forgotten how to factor polynomials, if they'd ever learned. Even their grasp of linear equations was shaky.
These were good students who cared about their grades and were diligent to do what the teachers assigned. But in high school, the teachers apparently didn't assign much.
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Yep, I remember there were a few students when I was a freshman, who went into Math 101 thinking it would be easy after all their straight As in high school and they got a big surprise when the first quiz came back with a 3 or 11 out of 100. Wake up kiddies, you're playing with the big kids now.
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