<p>Hey guys, I know this is kind of a broad question but if I'm majoring in CompSci and I have to choose one and not the other, which math would be the most useful to learn for CS?</p>
<p>Linear algebra.</p>
<p>Linear algebra! I have taken both and would say that lin al is going to be more helpful; diff eq is a more specialized topic (and sometimes even requires linear algebra as a pre-req, anyway). </p>
<p>Linear algebra, most definitely. The chances of differential equations ever coming in handy for you as a computer science major are very slim (full disclosure: I’m not a computer science major, but I’m currently taking both linear algebra and differential equations). Work with matrices and systems of equations would definitely come in handy though, especially since linear algebra deals with a lot of optimization issues. Furthermore, some linear algebra topics, like LU factorization, are taught to reduce memory usage during programming. Linear algebra is even used in computer graphics (although it’s just more of a neat way of understanding what’s going on) and statistics.</p>