/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.9234260]

Math or CS?

[Anonymous No.9234267]

>>9234260

[Anonymous No.9234278]

both require phd to be useful

[Anonymous No.9234340]

>>9234260

>tfw my country offers a double major programme in Math and Informatics, and the classes they offer are about the mathematical theory of actual computer science.

Feels good not to be a codemonkey.

[Anonymous No.9234360]

>>9234260
I'm in applied math grad school and I regret not going CS instead of math in my undergrad. The more interesting courses and marginally better job prospects were not worth the ruined ego and near constant suicidal ideation.

[Anonymous No.9234373]

>>9234278
>both require phd to be useful
Nah you only need a BSc in CS with somewhat experience and you are good to go whilst It is indeed true for math

[Anonymous No.9234378]

>>9234260
CS gives you more marketable skills than pure math.

[Anonymous No.9234383]

>>9234260
Math is a subset of CS. What do you mean? Just pick CS and you'll get both.

[Anonymous No.9234389]

I'll have CuntSex anyday over Math

[Anonymous No.9234398]

Chemistry

[Anonymous No.9234399]

>>9234260
Are you more interested in technology or in math itself? If the former, pick CS. Otherwise, pick math.

[Anonymous No.9234405]

>>9234398
>no physics
You subhuman

[Anonymous No.9234435]

>>9234267
btfo'd CS

[Anonymous No.9235375]

EE and go into research.

[Anonymous No.9235407]

>>9234405
IQ too high for graph

[Anonymous No.9235413]

>>9234278
lol yeah there are only like 1500 jobs yearly in america

[Anonymous No.9235427]

>>9234260
Math, learn programming or CS becomes easy if you know math, if you want job study M.S actuary.

Knowledge math of grad CS begins inferior freshman Math.

[Anonymous No.9235456]

Math is for nerds, CS students get all the pussy!

[Anonymous No.9235461]

>>9235456
>CS students get all the pussy!
Inter universal kek, unless you talk about transpussy

[Anonymous No.9235467]

>>9234260
Geology

[Anonymous No.9235480]

>>9234267

Math is a science
CS is a craft with elements of science in the mix

I remember the math students in my cryptography class who'd make one function for each input string handleString1 handleString2 handleString3 doing the same thing.

[Anonymous No.9235496]

Inb4 Math students who think they can learn everything CS related in a few days

[Anonymous No.9235505]

>>9235480

Math is not a science. You don't build up facts in science, you strip them down, and periodically come up with new paradigms when the old ones are useless.

You do not apply the scientific method to eliminate possibilities in mathematical inquiry. The only time that happens is when someone like Bolyai or Russell publish something wrong.

Christ.

[Anonymous No.9235510]

I might be wrong here, but math seems like a waste if you aren't in the top 2/3% of intelligence.

[Anonymous No.9235517]

>>9235510

I think it's worthwhile regardless, but I also don't care about application (I mean, I have a quasi-religious faith that theoretical advancement is useful in some way, but it's not really a layman discussion).

But seriously, there's a lot of great stuff out there (theoretical and otherwise), and I think an interest in studying the mathematics behind something makes it a more insightful experience.

Unless you're talking about calculus. Because that should be taught in middle school.

[Anonymous No.9235521]

>>9235467
Geology student here, are you a geology student too?

[Anonymous No.9235523]

>>9235496
>everyone in my CS class struggle with basic logic so it must be hard

[Anonymous No.9235538]

>>9234260

I thought it was pic related for a minute, so I was looking up how the quadratic equation was related applicable to CS. My b.


Cultural Contrast:

idfk.If you were in a bar, and met the ideal barmate, would you rather talk about the topology of a mobius strip, or about the benefits of lazy expressions in Haskell? (you don't have to answer; that's for you to think about)


Here's some professional contrast:

Here is East Coast CS. You'll make more money, and sooner, as a CS person. You'll also probably go bald and die of a heart attack at 45. Odds are you'll wind up working as a contractor in web design or in internal tooling (which is just web design behind a VPN), and you'll be sitting under a fluorescent light, be required to wear business casual. Out of the dozen places I've worked in CS, I have met one person who remotely gives a shit about anything outside of the newest JavaScript library, and he was a pariah that got fired.

Mathematics: I spent a lot of time studying. It was hard, and I had several breakdowns, sometimes multiple in one week. But, I also had some incredible conversations, and got to know my fellow students very well. I spent as much time wandering around campus, chatting with my colleagues and professors as I did in the classroom. I can't say what happens after your PhD, as I am currently paying off my credit cards with CS, but I'll get back to you when I become a professor. They all look like they have fun, aside from committee meetings.

I can't say anything about the private sector. It's probably closer to my description of CS.

[Anonymous No.9235542]

>>9235505
>Math is not a science.

That depends on how, exactly, you define science. I like the following quote from wikipedia: "In general, mathematics is classified as formal science, while natural and social sciences are classified as empirical sciences."

Certainly math doesn't use the scientific method, and instead applies pure deductive reasoning to find `truths', but it shares many characteristics with science.

[Anonymous No.9235547]

>>9235538
I really really like this post

[Anonymous No.9235560]

>>9235510
Most students are mediocre, math students are no exception. It's fine because you don't have to be extraordinarily smart to do something meaningful or even to enjoy what you do.

Mathematics gives a solid foundation, paired with skills in any of CS / Statistics / EE / ME (to name a few) and a postgraduate degree you are an ideal fit for R&D in industry.

>>9235517
I'm this Anon >>9234360
>I think it's worthwhile regardless, but I also don't care about application
See that's easy to say when you're in the position of someone who can do it. I often feel like there are things I just can't get, or that I've hit the ceiling of how much abstraction I can take in while surrounded by people who are on an intellectual level I can never hope to reach.

[Anonymous No.9235562]

>>9234260
Engineering

[Anonymous No.9235567]

>>9235505

Obviously science is an impossibly diffuse term and I used it only to give a viewpoint in the most understandable way, and you're not even correct you ass blasted turbo autist. I didn't say anything about the scientific method.

God damn I know insufferable people like you in real life. Are you an overweight vegan by any chance?

[Anonymous No.9235575]

>>9235542

I'm in the camp that mathematics is a philosophical endeavor, but I can respect that take.

I probably came off a little strong in my first post, but it's a common misconception that mathematics and, say, physics are structurally similar, and it gets to you after so many beers. Sorry about that; Dogfish bruh.

You seem cool. There's a great book of essays compiled by Reuben Hersch called "18 unconventional essays on the nature of mathematics." You'll have to do some digging, since I can't seem to find it online, but there's a couple of terrific essays in there about how philosophy and science have gotten kinda messed up by the introduction of mathematical reasoning. (There's also the great Feynman lecture on the contrast of mathematicians and physicists). I highly encourage anyone thinking about STEM to try and read these essays.

[Anonymous No.9235592]

>>9235567

No, you didn't mention the scientific method. I bring up the scientific method because it is the core tool in modern scientific discourse, and that scientific disciplines (i.e.: those that rely on them) are completely at odds with the discipline of mathematics.

It's also something not present in mathematical argument. I'm sorry if you got butthurt over me being strong about the point, but plenty of good future-scientists (and future-mathematicians, for that matter) get discouraged by correlating the two.

Hahaha. Overweight yes. Vegan? nah. I'm too old for that bullshit.

[Anonymous No.9235604]

>>9234398
Wtf is that graph format

[Anonymous No.9235609]

God I love these threads. A bunch of math / physics elitists bash on CS and potentially drive away some potential CS majors. Good, the field is saturated with retards anyway.

[Anonymous No.9235614]

>>9234267
I have never smelt so much envy in a greentext. Poor guy

[Anonymous No.9235632]

>>9234260
They shouldn't be separate fields.

[Anonymous No.9235643]

>>9234260

Honestly, if you're going into college or w/e, go talk to some of the faculty at the school you're going to go to. They'll be way more helpful than the assholes here.

[Anonymous No.9235683]

The "CS vs Real(TM) sciences" debate is as silly as "atheists vs theists"
The smart thing is to not even try to "discus"s it, since it always ends in anecdotes about how stupid people of the opposite side are

[Anonymous No.9235697]

Who cares, college is a meme in which people of average intelligence willingly pay money to convince themselves they are "educated". Their professors are generally no more than shills, who want to protect their cushioned job and encourage all the opportunity in the working force for "intelligent" people to make sub-par money working for someone

Trades is where it is at. Define your own hours, income, and earning potential without having to deal with employers

[Anonymous No.9235726]

>>9235697
>muh money
Brainlet

[Anonymous No.9235734]

>>9235726
> t. unskilled cuck

[Anonymous No.9235736]

>>9235734
t. narcissist

[Anonymous No.9236127]

>>9235538
Wow man that's hella cool

[Anonymous No.9236195]

>>9235697
go to an actually good university

[underage b& No.9236207]

>>9234267
Sounds like he went to a retard university.

[Anonymous No.9236227]

>>9235538
As a CS student studying in Boston this is worrysome.

[Anonymous No.9236231]

>>9235510
>aren't in the top 3% of intelligence
129 is the top 3% of intelligence. 125 is Richard Feynman's IQ, and this was while he was young and at his IQ peak. Intelligence is just an opinion.

[Anonymous No.9236570]

>>9234260
In my country you can choose CS on polytechnic where you have more EE subjects and more "physical" stuff and on some pulytechnic and majority of uni you have more "paper math" cs.

Go full academia CS, that is 50% of your study plan is CS based math, other 50% is algos + one low level language, one oop language.


CS derived from math, math will give you strong foundations in any CS field. You can learn any technology or framework in short time and strong math foundations will make you a better programmer in general.


I think Carniege melon CS study plan is one of the best in usa atm.

[Anonymous No.9236645]

Stats

[Anonymous No.9236664]

>>9234260
CS with minor in Math

[Anonymous No.9236913]

If you want to be a high school math teacher, math

If you want to be a software engineer, programmer, sales engineer or a software manager major in cs

>inb4 math teaches programming
discrete math is the only math I have ever actually used in industry. You will have to learn to actually program in your free time or summers and its harder to get a programming job with a major in math imo

[Anonymous No.9237344]

>>9235614
>>9236207

[loser No.9237377]

why you hatin /sci ?
cs is cool topics just not very science like
and theoretical cs is just math, thats why i dont get people who go into cs to specialize in theoretics

[Anonymous No.9237394]

>>9234267
>that paragraph on theoretical CS
how to spot an undergrad who doesn't know anything about a single thing, the image
go tell the Theoretical CS division at the University of Chicago that their field is trivial and that the Math Department could take their jobs in an afternoon and see how fast you get laughed off of campus

[Anonymous No.9237398]

>>9235560
>See that's easy to say when you're in the position of someone who can do it. I often feel like there are things I just can't get, or that I've hit the ceiling of how much abstraction I can take in while surrounded by people who are on an intellectual level I can never hope to reach.
that's just you being intimidated by challenging material and intelligent people for what seems to be the first time in your life
that's not a statement about math vs. computer science, and i can assure you that graduate school in CS, whether applied or theoretical, is every bit as challenging as graduate applied math

t. theoretical CS phd who transferred to an applied math phd program

[Anonymous No.9237400]

>>9235407
sorry to correct you but i think you meant:
>hotness too low for graph

[Anonymous No.9237456]

>>9237398
I don't doubt that CS grad school is hard, my best friend is in theoretical CS.

It's not the first time I face challenging material, but at least it felt like I had a chance before, as opposed to having 2 weeks to figure out enough distribution theory and Sobolev spaces to make sense of my lecture notes and survive a PDE exam.

My issue is I have extreme grade variance from one class to the next, I either am a top student or I'm helpless and completely fail. This contrasts my CS classes where I consistently had the best grade with much less effort, making me question whether I picked the right major. The head of my CS department at the time spontaneously offered to fund and supervise my PhD if I stayed so it can't be me imagining things entirely (big ego boost though).

Sorry for blogging, lately I alternate between excitement and despair. Good luck with your PhD, hope you're having a better time than me !

[Anonymous No.9237476]

>>9237394

He was speaking of undergrad "theoretical CS" you autist

[Anonymous No.9237552]

>>9235575
i agree with this post as well as the post it responds to

[Anonymous No.9237555]

>>9237476
again, go tell that to the undergrad theoretical CS students at the university of chicago
and again, measure the amount of time it takes before they start laughing so hard at you that the wind leaving their lungs physically expels you from the campus

[Anonymous No.9237560]

>>9237456
well i'll give you this much: statistics is painful hell if you're seeing it for the first time in grad school, especially if you don't receive a good formal introduction

i feel your pain though, just keep pushing and realize you're not the only one that feels this way

[Skinny Penis No.9238057]

>>9235604
ITs percentile

[Anonymous No.9238073]

>>9234260
I'd like to complete her square, if you know what I mean.

[Anonymous No.9238125]

>>9234267
I couldn't have said it better myself. CS undergrads really are a bunch of pseudointellectual scumbags. I know this because I am a CS student myself. I have to listen to their whining and complaining about trivial bullshit every single day. And then they go off and pretend their smart. If you want a peak at what kind of people these students become later in their career, just look at a comments thread on a Hacker News article. A bunch of pseudointellectual faggotry.

[Anonymous No.9238130]

>>9238125
All undergrads are pseuds

[Anonymous No.9238133]

>>9238130
The problem is that these particular pseuds stay pseuds for life.

[Anonymous No.9238436]

>>9234260
CS people will be replaced by weak AI in next 20 or so years, so if you can be more than math teacher go for math.

[Anonymous No.9238836]

>>9234260
i wanted to see this model's rack so i spent a long time searching. You're welcome

[Anonymous No.9238899]

>>9238125
Yeah they suck pretty bad, fellow CS student anon. The 10% who don't suck are pretty cool and smart though. They're almost always not pure CS people though, they're usually into math or physics as well.

The pure CS kids are just autists whose mothers told them they were special, but have never done any work.

>mom always said I was smart, but deep down I know I'm not
>ugly as shit
>either small and weak or obese
>no social skills
>no discernible talents
>like the vidya, spend all day on internet
>guess I better get a CS degree

It sucks because I actually love CS, but the people are fucking intolerable.

[Anonymous No.9238907]

>>9238436

They ones who program GUIs and shit likely will, yeah. The bottom of the barrel. I doubt everyone will, especially designers, architects, algorithms people, data science people etc.

[Anonymous No.9238924]

>>9234260

Math is more fun, but shit Jobs unless you are a real hotshot.

CS is more down to earh and easier to find a Job with.


protip:
>why_not_both.csv

[Anonymous No.9238958]

>>9238907
Most of /sci/ thinks CS=programming. There's no real reason to discuss anything CS related here, everyone has bold opinions backed by nothing.

[Anonymous No.9238996]

>>9234398
>r = -.45

[Anonymous No.9239076]

>>9235538
>looking up how the quadratic equation was related applicable to CS
this is why computer scientists are brainlets