/sci/ - Science & Math

>>7047529
>Is wolfram alpha worth buying?
FUCK NO!

Mathematica, the engine that underlies W|A is a gigantic PIECE OF SHIT. I'm not saying that, AMS is.

http://www.ams.org/notices/201410/rnoti-p1249.pdf

>Conclusions
>We have been using Mathematica as a tool in our mathematical research. All our computations with Mathematica have been symbolic, involving only integers (large integers, about 10 thousand digits long) and polynomials (with degree 60 at most), so no numerical rounding or instability can arise in them, and we completely trusted the results generated by Mathematica. However, we have obtained completely erroneous results.

It's a steaming pile of shit.

Also, don't give money to that megalomanic nutjob Stephen Wolfram.

If I want to truly understand everything that goes on in an ODE course, should I get calc III and linear algebra under my belt first?

I'm currently enrolled in all 3 courses + a physics course trying to haul ass and make up time where I didn't know what I was doing for the past year and a half, and everyone tells me I should "stick with all 3 it won't be bad," but I really hate not understanding mathematical concepts and just "using" them.