So the actual professors that teach math and write books and articles aren't good at math?
Everyone brains function the same?
You really dont understand how stupid the that quote is that I bolded?
Should you major in Computer Science if you suck at math ?
- Thread starter Raheem95
- Start date
Everyone brains function the same?
You really dont understand how stupid the that quote is that I bolded?
Introductory Math maybe.
Elle Driver
Veteran
Of course they are good at math, but they will readily admit that those who put in the work and practice can do better at math as well. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Performance in math has very little to do with brain function, as neuroscience is the study of brain function and the nervous system. The whole left brain right brain theory is a fallacy. The brain works in concert, some may have strengths in problem solving and analyzing, that's not to say one can't work on those strengths. With practice you can. Some reach cognitive decline earlier than others, some have developmental delays, and cognitive impairments, but generally for those with normal functioning brains - they all work the same.
Of course they are good at math, but they will readily admit that those who put in the work and practice can do better at math as well. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Performance in math has very little to do with brain function, as neuroscience is the study of brain function and the nervous system. The whole left brain right brain theory is a fallacy. The brain works in concert, some may have strengths in problem solving and analyzing, that's not to say one can't work on those strengths. With practice you can. Some reach cognitive decline earlier than others, some have developmental delays, and cognitive impairments, but generally for those with normal functioning brains - they all work the same.
No they fukkin don't
Fam, you're a good poster, but you on some serious
in this thread fo real.Hell your brain doesn't even function the same way it did 15 years ago, and even then it didn't function the same way it did when you were a child
There are some people who visualize equations and values easier naturally, not because they spent all their life doing calculus.
Just like there are some people who have an aptitude for playing musical instruments by ear despite a lack of traditional training.
I feel like you are completely trivializing the people who spend HOURS in the library studying calc day and night and still end up getting a C at best... failing at worse. And these are people who are giving more effort than anyone else in the class.
Same thing can be said for conceptualizing computer languages. I had people in my Assembly Language class who were decent high level language coders, but could not understand low level MIPS to save their life. They... just... didn't.... get.. it. Breaking high level functions into their hexadecimal values and memory address location was just hard for them to comprehend.
Everyone knows those people who are putting in the effort and still not getting the results. Unless you think they just aren't trying hard enough?
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Elle Driver
Veteran
Brains have the same functions essentially, people obviously have different strengths and weaknesses. Scoring poorly on tests isn't a good indicator of whether or not someone is good or bad at Math. For that person studying a billion hours in the library and understanding the concepts only to come out with a C says more about how flawed testing is. You have to take into account test taking anxiety. People might flunk tests but completely understand concepts outside of it. That's why I'm completely against aptitude and standardized testing.No they fukkin don't
Fam, you're a good poster, but you on some serious
Hell your brain doesn't even function the same way it did 15 years ago, and even then it didn't function the same way it did when you were a child
There are some people who visualize equations and values easier naturally, not because they spent all their life doing calculus.
Just like there are some people who have an aptitude for playing musical instruments by ear despite a lack of traditional training.
I feel like you are completely trivialzing the people who spend HOURS in the library studying calc day and night and still end up getting a C at best.
Everyone knows those people who are putting in the effort and still not getting the results. Unless you think they just aren't trying hard enough?
Well... regardless if you are for or against it, you wont get a degree in CS/CE unless you can pass every level of Calc
As someone who considers himself pretty good at math, Calc was easily the hardest part of my degree
Paradise50
Superstar
Nope. You will take every math the school offers as a part of a computer science curriculum. And it makes sense as a lot of coding is math at it's heart. He'd probably take less math going in engineering to be honest.
You a god damn lie
Elle Driver
Veteran
The brain functions the same for everyone, of course the left hemisphere is more involved with language and speech, and the right with memory but all brains function the same unless your brain is compromised causing developmental delays, cognitive decline and impairment, and memory issues such as dementias. People have different and heightened strengths and weaknesses though, but I'm a believer in being able to acquire strengths. In my experience working with students, the anxiety of doing well on a test overwhelms them more than anything.Well... regardless if you are for or against it, you wont get a degree in CS/CE unless you can pass every level of Calc
As someone who considers himself pretty good at math, Calc was easily the hardest part of my degree
agnosticlady
AL loves da kids : )
You don't have to be a math wiz, but you have to have 2 things going for your
1) Resolve
2) Diligence
Math is the barrier for most people who get into engineering.
For my degree I had to take the following
1) Intregal Calc 2 (tested out of multivariable)
2) Differential Equations 1 and 2 (the worst)
3) Linear Algebra
And this doesn't even consider Physics (Mechanics, Fluid Dynamics) which is just Calculus with words
People need to know what they want and where their strengths lie before borrowing thousands for the government to take classes.
So let me be the voice of reason: If you cant cut it with math, you have business in the school of engineering
This is true.....When thinking of a major or career people should look into and ask themselves if they really have the motivation and self discipline to excel in their chosen field. I had plenty of acquaintance who said that since they love kids they wanted to be a pediatrician. I told them, "Why not open a day care, or become an elementary school principle, or be a school board director?".Becoming a pediatrician is more than just loving kids. You really have to know your strengths and weaknesses. With that being said if your heart desires something and you know you want it then go after it. Nobody can stop you.
Alright, i'll play DA with you for a bit.
So if are talking to a youth who has demonstrated such issues, and he absolutely sucks at math (like the OP stated)... are you going to encourage him to go into CS (or even worse CE) knowing damn well that he will have a much harder curriculum than 90% of all non-engineering students?
This topic hits home to me cuz my little brother went to Vanderbilt as well and took the same major I did, CE. My little brother is a fukking genius coder, way beyond me skill wise and has created multiple apps and creates video games in his spare time.
He flunked out of Diffy Q so bad (failed 2 semesters and failed a summer semester) that he changed his major to marketing so that he could graduate. That doesn't mean that he isn't a good programmer. He's the 2nd best programmer in the family (behind my oldest brother), and he has a marketing degree, not CS, not CE, marketing.
My point is that when literally hundreds of thousands of dollars are on the line, don't set yourself up to fail.
Undergrad is bullshyt, you don't need a CS degree to get a job as a dev.
agnosticlady
AL loves da kids : )
No they fukkin don't
Fam, you're a good poster, but you on some serious
Hell your brain doesn't even function the same way it did 15 years ago, and even then it didn't function the same way it did when you were a child
There are some people who visualize equations and values easier naturally, not because they spent all their life doing calculus.
Just like there are some people who have an aptitude for playing musical instruments by ear despite a lack of traditional training.
I feel like you are completely trivializing the people who spend HOURS in the library studying calc day and night and still end up getting a C at best... failing at worse. And these are people who are giving more effort than anyone else in the class.
Same thing can be said for conceptualizing computer languages. I had people in my Assembly Language class who were decent high level language coders, but could not understand low level MIPS to save their life. They... just... didn't.... get.. it. Breaking high level functions into their hexadecimal values and memory address location was just hard for them to comprehend.
Everyone knows those people who are putting in the effort and still not getting the results. Unless you think they just aren't trying hard enough?
There is truth to this. I do believe that some people are just naturally better at certain subjects. I do wonder if it has something to do with their upbringing. My father is a complete math whiz. He rarely if ever uses a calculator and practices calculus/physics for fun
. This man remembers just about every math formula 
. My younger brother is a math whiz too and math was not forced onto him in anyway, so I wonder if it is a natural thing for many. For me, I love reading, writing, and the arts. I always excelled in it and it came naturally to me. I believe that certain things do come naturally to people depending on how their brain is and how they were raised. My good friend is a computer science major former biology major. She dropped bio after organic chemistry. Even though she passed it she said it was mentally exhausting and for the most part she just didn't get it, and yes she spent hours studying it and paid tutors. With musically talented people they sometimes have the gene for it, but being in a musically inclined environment is what makes them who they are. One of my sisters can sing. My mom can sing too, but my sister spent seven years in chorus. Most good singers have musical backgrounds from an early age. I had to do some research on that concerning the voice as a speech pathology major. With that being said, I do believe that if you put your mind to something and seriously put time and effort into you WILL succeed. You may not get it faster than the next person, but everyone's journey is different. I knew people who were straight F students in high school and didn't understand shyt yet when they got to college they excelled, because they chased after what they wanted.
Elle Driver
Veteran
You just proved my point about standardized testing and testing being bullshyt. My bother never graduated from high school but he's absolutely brilliant in Math and Science. I would suggest certs for someone like that, or something more viable. Sometimes, it's just the learning environment that isn't even suitable for them.
agnosticlady
AL loves da kids : )
Could he have transferred schools and earned his degree elsewhere or taken the course and transferred it? I know someone who went Harvard as a computer science major, and failed some classes. He transferred to Florida State University and excelled there. Out of curiosity, do you think that Vanderbilt made your brother the good programmer that he is, or do you think it was him alone? I am not knocking the school at all, but would like your opinion based on what you saw. I agree with the undergrad is bull in many cases. I had a teacher in high school that went to Swarthmore College which is #3 in liberal arts college tell another student and I that Brazil barely has any black people
.Well I never disagreed with that, i'm just saying that if your goal is a CS degree, you gotta deal with the testing bullshyt. Some people simply aren't cut out for that.
However if you want to become a Dev, fukk CS its not that crucial.
Could he have transferred schools and earned his degree elsewhere or taken the course and transferred it? I know someone who went Harvard as a computer science major, and failed some classes. He transferred to Florida State University and excelled there. Out of curiosity, do you think that Vanderbilt made your brother the good programmer that he is, or do you think it was him alone? I am not knocking the school at all, but would like your opinion based on what you saw. I agree with the undergrad is bull in many cases. I had a teacher in high school that went to Swarthmore College which is #3 in liberal arts college tell another student and I that Brazil barely has any black people
Vanderbilt didn't do jack shyt to make him a good programmer. He was a good programmer before he stepped onto that campus.
Not to shyt on Vandy, but I took an Assembly Code class at UTD one summer that was conceptually lightyears ahead of anything I learned at Vandy.
Granted I was a CE major but still.
Going back to what @Elle Driver said, and this is something I've said multiple times on this board, I feel that if you want to get into programming... CS and CE is not the way to do it.
It would be like wanting to learn Spanish and someone telling you the only way was to Major in Spanish in college
Or wanting to learn how to play an instrument and someone saying the only way to learn was to go to a music college like Berkeley
I dont want to get on my anti-college soapbox, but undergrad is utter bullshyt. If i had to do it again I would have gone to a community college, xfered to state school, and avoided over 100k in debt. Fukk private colleges
