What is calculus used for in the real world?

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Understanding how the car's engine works, how the concentration gradient changes with time of titrating a chemical into another does require calculus.

Understanding how the car's engine works does not require calculus. I doubt that even the inventor of the internal combustion engine used any calculus in its design.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: jman19
Computer programming is a trade skill and isn't equivalent to a computer science education.

Not sure what you are saying here, but if you are claiming that the topics covered in the average comp sci education do not apply to programming positions in the market, it depends quite a bit on the position. There are tons of positions where it will be advantageous to have a comp sci education.

Well, I'm just saying that they aren't the same. You can learn how to program without knowing much CS.

 

[pradeep1]

I studied engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. I took five semesters of calculus and differential equations. I took the honors coures because they were harder and for the kicks. What I learned was a new way to appreciate life and the world around us. I don't use calculus on a daily basis, but I see the world differently having known advance calculus.

You cannot truly understand the miracle of nature and life without understanding the fundamental math that calculus teaches you.

 

[Synomenon]

Originally posted by: pradeep1
You cannot truly understand the miracle of nature and life without understanding the fundamental math that calculus teaches you.

That's a very big generalization there. I "understand the miracle of nature and life" just fine and have so even before all of my calculus courses.

I guess I may have reached this understanding because I had a life-threatening illness and I survived through it.

My grandmother and grandfather both understand this and they don't know what calculus is.

 

[BrownTown]

In terms of computer science it is true that calculus is not as important because you are dealing with discrete signals and not continuous ones. So, you are much more focused on linear algebra and such. I can see a computer science person getting along without calculus, but theres no way you could be worth much without linear algebra unless you are just programming basic stuff. Also, you not going anywhere in electrical engineering without calculus. You NEED vector calculus to have any decent understanding of how electricity and magnetism works. I am somewhat split on whether or not EVERY college student should take calculus. On one had it seems kinda weird to me that someone could not understand calculus given that at least half the courses I have taken in the last four years (senior in high school to junior in college so far) have been based on calculus and therefore it is something that seems as natural and basic as being able to add or subtract. But on the other hand, alot of people wouldn't really need it, so why learn it? But then at the same time, why did I have to take history for 12 years in first through twelfth grade since I am likely never to use that either.

It just comes down to the fact that well educated people are supposed to have a certain core of understanding and I feel like calculus should probably be one of those things.

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: dullard
Do you need to press the breaks to avoid that car in front of you? Answer depends on calculus. You do that each and every day automatically in your head.

Judging by the number of rear end collisions that occur, I'd say a whole lot of people are doing it automatically in their heads wrong.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: JEDI
i've been thinking of all the courses i've wasted time studying, calculus is #1 in my book.

I've taken 4 semesters of it, and i cant figure out if there's any uses for it in normal everyday life.

Can u?

To pass tests to further my paper colelction thus income!

Just joking.

Umm, useless unless you use it for your job ... commonly in an engienering field.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: DVK916

Originally posted by: hans007

i took 2 years of calc in college to get a ... software engineering degree. yeah thats just the way ucla does it.


i havent had to work on a project like this, but you woudl need it for 3d modeling to do gradients and such.

basic calculus would also be needed for things like econonmic modeling (i was an econ minor).

its most important for use in things like physics. i would assume there is a huge application for it in the EE and mechanical engineering fields as well as things dealing with fluids and pressures like say someone building an oil derrick.

2 years, what classes. UCI doesn't require any Calculus for its SE degree, surpised UCLA would require 2.

I had a friend who did ICS at UCI and that is true. I had to take physics (diodes , electricity and magnetism and optics stuff) and EE classes / circuit design labs at ucla too because computer science is under the engineering school and they have different GEs ( no foreign language at ucla for engineering etc). Apparently UCI seperates computer science out to its own department seperate from say mechanical or electrical engineering.

Berkeley has 2 computer science programs, one under eecs and one under bachelors of arts, and only the EECS ones in the engineering school take it.


Most of my calc classes, were the usual integration, differerntiation, multiple variate calc stuff, we did some infinite series stuff. I dont remember exactly at this point because it was like 6 years ago that I took them.

 

[goodoldrebel]

i've been thinking of all the courses i've wasted time studying, calculus is #1 in my book.

I've taken 4 semesters of it, and i cant figure out if there's any uses for it in normal everyday life.

Can u?

True, calculus is the one subject that is truly romanticized to the mass debris of human existence. I think the mindless movie that dramatized the high school math teacher teaching calculus to urban LA students (Stand and Deliver) is an example of how joe public can be led down the garden path like sheep.

Calculus is all about memorizing the chain rule and being good at factoring. I like yourself took Calculus and liked the business application like minimizing cost functions or maximizing revenue functions, yet these are still such esoteric situations and sound nice in the classroom but the real world of business is not so easily summarized into a nice neat formula.

In the end you can make hitting a golf ball a calculus problem but actually hitting the ball is where the reality is.

 

[sonambulo]

Wow. Five fucking years.

Wonder what JEDI's doing with his life now.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Wow. Five fucking years.

Wonder what JEDI's doing with his life now.

Yeah I know. Why the hell did you bump an old ass thread?


Edit: first time poster.

 

[randomrogue]

i've been thinking of all the courses i've wasted time studying, calculus is #1 in my book.

I've taken 4 semesters of it, and i cant figure out if there's any uses for it in normal everyday life.

Can u?

Min/max. Build a deck and calc will tell you the least amount of wood you need.

 

[randomrogue]

stupid necro! diaf

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Is this question seriously being asked or is this a troll?

In my physics/eng classes it is used every day. Just by taking those classes I can see where it is used. When designing any modern technology it is absolutely necessary. The computer you are typing on required somebody who knew calculus to design it.

I know this and I have only taken a year of calc.

You have missed the point entirely.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

True, calculus is the one subject that is truly romanticized to the mass debris of human existence. I think the mindless movie that dramatized the high school math teacher teaching calculus to urban LA students (Stand and Deliver) is an example of how joe public can be led down the garden path like sheep.

Calculus is all about memorizing the chain rule and being good at factoring. I like yourself took Calculus and liked the business application like minimizing cost functions or maximizing revenue functions, yet these are still such esoteric situations and sound nice in the classroom but the real world of business is not so easily summarized into a nice neat formula.

In the end you can make hitting a golf ball a calculus problem but actually hitting the ball is where the reality is.

Nice, showing your ignorance in your first post. Wish some other posters would do this so we wouldn't have to figure it out later.

 

[bommy261]

Calculus = extremely important

Art History, now that was a waste of time

 

[StrangerGuy]

I hope you hate the speedometer because calculus is at work there.

 

[Jeff7]

Calculus = extremely important

Art History, now that was a waste of time

Jazz History: Useful. I now understand a few additional jokes in MST3K.


Worth the cost though? Nope.

 

[Mark R]

A lot of financial work requires calculus.

For example, the APR of a loan is calculated by finding the solution to an equation. The normal method of solving this type of equation is by Newton's method of gradient descent - which has differential calculus at its core.

You will struggle to do the APR calculation if you can't do the calculus. If you make a lot of assumptions (e.g. single loan installment, and x equal repayments) then you can often find formulas in books which people have already done the calculus on. But if you need to deviate from such a simple loan scheme, then you'll need to do the relevant calculus, in order to calculate the APR.

Calculus is also essential in studying the effects of factors in complex systems - e.g. calculus is at the core of financial derivatives pricing.

And, as lots of people have already measured - lots of physics/engineering problems.

 

[SearchMaster]

I hope you hate the speedometer because calculus is at work there.

You utilize calculus to read your speedometer? I think OP/Necroposter are saying most people don't use calculus in every day life so it's a useless endeavor. And there's some truth in that, though if you happen to be the designer of the speedometer, calculus is an invaluable tool.

 

[gorcorps]

Used it here and there as an engineer. Most useful though stops at Trig. IMO everybody should go at least up to and including Trig, then stop if they wanted.

edit: BAH thread necro

 

[FoBoT]

jedi posts all the time, i am sure he'll see this and give us an update

 

[PugLover]

I learned calculus for my CS degree. It helps you think of stuff in an asymptotic approach. so for instance it helps me when i code a program that needs compare 100 thousand items

 

[shortylickens]

Everything.
And if your teacher didnt explain that then you need a new fucking teacher.

 

[Jeff7]

Everything.
And if your teacher didnt explain that then you need a new fucking teacher.

That would seem to be an ongoing issue, as far as my experience goes. My calculus classes focused almost entirely on theory, which is great if you're a math major, planning on being a math teacher or professor.
Wonderful. I can revolve an equation's curve around an axis and compute the bounded volume. Awesome. I'm gonna go impress my friends now, right?

Please connect it to a physical thing that illustrates why this means anything to anyone except people who love nothing but pure theory.