[Discuss] OT: Do CS grads need calculus?

[bogstad at pobox.com (Bill Bogstad)]

On Sat, Apr 11, 2015 at 6:20 PM, Daniel Barrett
<dbarrett at blazemonger.com> wrote:
>
> Programmers definitely benefit from higher mathematics, but there's
> nothing magical about calculus in this regard. I majored in math in
> college (and have a Ph.D. in computer science) and learned more about
> proofs and rigorous thinking in my junior year algebra courses,
> studying groups, rings, and fields, than in my calculus classes. The

So true.   Much later in life I took some undergraduate algebra courses and I
have to say that it had way more rigor/proofs then any of the high school or
college calculus classes that I ever took.   At times, I felt like my brain was
oozing out of my ears.  And it didn't require Calculus
to get there.   I would still push for Discrete Math (which includes
basic combinatorics
and graph theory) and discrete Probability rather then the Calculus
based continuous Probability that
 is normally emphasized in Math departments.   I think college algebra (at least
as I experienced it) should only be used if you need a "weed out" class.

Bill Bogstad