New Jersey Institute of Technology’s CS program also doesn’t have Linear Algebra as a requirement… http://catalog.njit.edu/undergraduate/programs/computerscience.php … im guessing NJIT’s system is wierd too…?
I mean, if you really don’t want to take LinAlg, then there’s no point in trying to convince you of its value. Do as you will.
I will say this: I didn’t like the class and I thought it was a lot of tedious and often pointless work. But after taking quite a few classes in the CS/Applied Math field which used the (seemingly overly theoretical) rules of LinAlg as a base, I realized that it does have quite a bit of value.
I didn’t say i really don’t want to, as of now i was deciding which is easier to take since im having hard semesters as of now until like senior year, maybe if i have an easy semester I will take it since you said it would help me and that a lot of other universities have as a requirement for the CS degree, but for now im trying not to kill myself with hard math classes since i have 3 CS classes to take this semester!!
Differentiation is a linear operator. (If you don’t understand what that means, you should take both classes.) Solving differential equations analytically as done in undergrad classes is just monkey work they make you do in order to assign a bell curve of grades. In real world work, differential equations don’t have analytical solutions and are handled through matrices >99% of the time. So without understanding linear algebra, one simply don’t know how to use differential equations in practice. I suppose linear algebra has uses beyond solving DEs, so if you only take one, make it linear algebra.
My mechanical engineering degree program requires differential equations but not linear algebra. I decided to take linear algebra anyways along with calculus III next semester because it seems like a useful class. I will take differential equations fall 2015. Would y’all recommend taking linear algebra now? Basically, is it best before or after differential equations and is there another more useful class out there? I was kind of in a bind for classes to take because I’ve finished my required electives and I can’t take upper level engineering classes or advanced math that I don’t have the prerequisites for yet, so I used linear algebra to fill in the gap.
@Shipsarecool Yes, both of the program’s you linked are “weird” in true grand scheme of things. Linear algebra plays a big role in computer programming.
@Marisa790 It doesn’t really matter what order you take them but you could definitely still benefit from linear algebra. It’s incredibly useful for engineers.
@boneh3ad okay, I trust you because you’ve helped me out before, I only thought differential equations was more of just calculus because I remember being good at differentiation back in calc 1… But actually someone was right on point when they said linear algebra comes before, I think that’ true… ill just take linear algebra then, whats the point in taking a class just because its easier than a class that would help you out more for your major ? thanks guys!! Good looking out ;D
lol my professor: “linear algebra is 97% trivial…” also “this is the one subject where you’ll probably forget everything you’ve learned within a few hours after the final”
but I’d say it definitely depends on your intended major (i.e. theoretical physics would be a bunch of diffeqs, while cs and engineering would have a lot more linalg)