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From: lawitzke@eecae.UUCP (John Lawitzke)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Re: Computer Science: where it belongs
Message-ID: <3807@eecae.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Nov-87 10:25:18 EST
Article-I.D.: eecae.3807
Posted: Wed Nov 11 10:25:18 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 13-Nov-87 23:35:33 EST
References: <3355@ames.arpa>
Organization: Engineering, Michigan State U., E. Lansing MI
Lines: 30

>>   Computer science programs for undergraduates are pretty heavy on
>>technique when compared with EE programs.  An attempt is made to point

> 2) Anyone who claims to be either a Scientist or an Engineer should have
>    a knowledge of mathematics at least through "Advanced Calculus" (the second
>    year after Freshman calculus), PLUS, whatever tools of Applied Mathematics
>    are necessary for their particular discipline, e.g. Probability,
>    Statistics, and Stochastic Processes, and/or Differential Equations, etc.

This is quite true. When I went thorugh my EE program, the math required
was 4 terms of basic calculus (we were on trimesters), 1 term of basic
differential equations, and then 1 term of something else, usually
basic linear algebra or intro to statistics. This was quite a joke of 
mathematical background. I had a heavy interest in math and took several
things past this including advanced calculus, a term of algebra, and
some differentiual geometry at the graduate level. This assisted me 
greatly in my engineering classes. Sometimes, especially in
electromagnetics, I had no feel for what the problem meant physically
but I had the mathematical skills to solve the problem and get a proper
answer while the others in the class couldn't do them because of a lack
of math skills.

Any body feel like commenting on the causes of the lack of math skills
of incoming freshman? Primarily those who get to college and can't do
trig or basic analytical geometry?


-- 
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"And it's just a box of rain..." ARPA: lawitzke@eecae.ee.msu.edu  (35.8.8.151)