Should you major in Computer Science if you suck at math ?

[root_eruditorium_org]

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?

I agree with you that not all brains function the same but in order to prove your argument is true beyond any reasonable doubt, you have to treat it like a scientific experiment and take into consideration confounding factors (like previous exposure to calc or low level coding ... etc.). What professions are their parents? There's so many variables.

My take is if you treat it as a scientific experiment you will find that a lot of lost causes weren't lost causes at all. Me I bombed my first discrete math class and had to drop it, when I took the next class (discrete 2), I got a solid A. The class after that I got a solid B+. Now if I had listened to ppl who moan about math ability on some "either you have it or you don't", or I "just suck" I would have never gotten my degree that's why I'm very hesitant with labelling myself or others because you truly don't know what someone's potential is.

So I say OP should really examine himself and his study habits to see if this is something he can succeed in. How badly do you want to get a CS degree OP? If your math skills are already shoddy and you are behind your peers you are going to have to put in a lot of effort to prep.

 

[LV Koopa]

I tutor Math and the biggest problem these kids face is they believe they can't do it and failing is bad. I tell them all the time you get good by failing. But if you don't try or you give up too easily then you're making life way more difficult than it needs to be.

One of my kids hates math and keeps telling me he wants to be an artist or work with graphics. I keep explaining to him if he keeps complaining about linear equations he'll find it difficult to do what he wants.

 

[young3000]

Might want switch to Information Systems if you're don't want to take a lot of math classes

 

[NaijaProdigy Redux]

Don't lie to this man. If he is horrible at math, Computer Science will eat him alive.

This nikka supposed to handle Discrete Math if he wants to cry during an intro course like Calc II?

 

[Mind Over Thirst]

There is a difference between computer science and programming/coding. Programming/coding is like putting building blocks together to create a fort, while computer science is more so focused on creating the actual building blocks. While you may or may not use a ton of math while coding, a CS curriculum will force you take a significant amount of math courses. Outside of your math prerequisites, your core CS courses will require you to be competent in math to design, analyze, and optimize algorithms. You will need to be able to discuss the performance of algorithms in terms Big O notation and use mathematical proofs to validate the performance claims of an algorithm. Now to answer your question, if you suck at Math should you pursue a CS degree? I would say this is the wrong question to ask. It's not a question of if you're good at math at the moment, but if you have the ability and desire to become competent at math. If you feel that you can put in the work to improve your Math skills, while learning new CS techniques then yes pursue a CS degree. If that's not the case, no.

 

[selam]

Thank you, man. This is the best advice I've seen posted in this thread...and it applies to so many areas of life.

Mostly spam bots in python (programs that post my advertisements to various websites) and simple desktop applications in C#.

I didn't work my way up. The main reason I decided to build a poker bot was because I wanted to become a better programmer by pushing myself with a challenging project. I didn't wait for experience before I started, I started to get experience.

I prefer to get started immediately instead of working my way up with less difficult projects. Start simple and then add complexity. Instead of creating a 100BB full ring bot, start with a 10BB heads up bot. Make it play simplified versions of the game like raise/shove before tackling the real thing etc. First get it going then get it good. I didn't think about building a winning bot in the beginning, I just wanted to get something up and running.