Re:Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?
by tpanzarella on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @08:53AM
(#1535034)
I would not classify mathematics as irrelevant. Math serves as the foundation for all of science and engineering. I would bet that most CS and Engineering grad students (and industry professionals) wish they had a stronger mathematics background ... even those with strong mathematics backgrounds ;-)
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Re:Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?
by ido on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @09:15AM
(#1535076)
Can't talk about Engineers, but as a professional programmer of 9 years with many years of undergraduate and graduate (M.Sc) Mathematics education, I must say I rarely/never use any of the math I've learned (at least not something I wouldn't have learned as an undergrad CS major) at work.
I have heard your argument very often though, it seems about as popular as the one that states painters benefit from knowledge of Chemistry[1] ;)
[1] http://www.idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm#...
Re:Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?
by dtegart on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @10:45AM
(#1535285)
As a former automotive engineer, I can say I didn't use my math much either. In fact engineering in my experience was mostly project management, the degree just gave you the background to work with everyone else.
Re:Ask HN: Are irrelevant degrees at all useful?
by tpanzarella on Wednesday July 21, 2010 @12:46PM
(#1535701)
Clearly, it depends on what you do. My experience is quite the opposite of yours. I cannot speak for what you do, but, in my field (robotics) if you do not have a strong mathematics background, you will not last very long.