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As an engineering student, I have this problem. (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by BigMw

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[–]BBR91 45 points46 points ago

It definitely raises memories from my Fluid Dynamics semester. It might be a differential form of one of the Navier-Stokes equations.

[–]PippyLongSausage 9 points10 points ago

Came here for navier stokes reference. I need to get a life.

[–]thegreatgazoo 13 points14 points ago

That and robotics, where you get to multiply 6 4x4 matrices with variables in them to arrive at 4 equations with 6 unknowns.

[–]Turbo_Hokie 13 points14 points ago

sounds like you're missing 2 equations.

[–]firebadmattgood 9 points10 points ago

Lots of robots have state estimators, using the Newton-Raphson method to iteratively fit curves. You don't need to know the exact state of something to get a stable control system.

[–]Gorgyworgy 4 points5 points ago

jesus.

[–]firebadmattgood 23 points24 points ago

99% of engineering is "close enough."

[–]TangoEchoXray 7 points8 points ago

And the real world engineering jobs? "Close enough for government work"

[–]BScatterplot 3 points4 points ago

Most of engineering is figuring out the answer as exactly as you can, then doubling it just in case.

[–]RangerSixx 0 points1 point ago

gotta get that safety margin, for the lawsuits.

[–]onederpatatime 2 points3 points ago

there might be a solution set as this is an underdetermined system, and a unique solution does not necessarily exist. then you can do some optimization, like least squares, LP, QP, DP etc to get an optimal solution.

[–]chattyWw 0 points1 point ago

You don't need 1:1 equations to unknowns. Because there is more than one possible solution. For example if you had to grab an object on your desk by only moving your arm (and all the joints on it): there are many possible joint configurations that will result in having 2 figures gripping the object.

[–]genericusername123 2 points3 points ago

Could be reducing the set of equations for faster calculation when you get given two unknowns later? It is robotics, after all.

[–]thegreatgazoo 1 point2 points ago

No, you can get multiple answers (isn't that special?). If you have 2 sticks with a joint between them, you can get to a point by either going up and down or down and up (ie the joint can be above the two ends or below the two ends.

When I took it, there as only one guy in the class who could do the math, and he had a masters in math from a university in Hungary. The teacher was close to retirement and taught off of rolled up overhead slides.

[–]Argoth1295 2 points3 points ago

Oh god....I knew none of those words..

[–]Eklitias 8 points9 points ago

I hope you're not serious. All those words are from high school math program.

[–]meepsicle 3 points4 points ago

Not every high school math program is equivalent.

[–]Pandamana 3 points4 points ago

If their highschool math program didn't include the words 'matrix', 'variable', and 'equation', it wasn't a math program in any sense of the word.

[–]0102030405 1 point2 points ago

Most people in my school didn't learn matricies.

[–]Xenophyophore 2 points3 points ago

ಠ_ಠ

I, as a 9th grader am learning about matrices, in the state that is ranked 45th in math education.

[–]0102030405 1 point2 points ago

That's sad, because I'm in Canada. My gifted class learned them, but in grade ten. And most people that knew about matricies took out of school math education.

That being said, it's not difficult to just learn what they are, i mean it takes about two seconds right?

[–]Xenophyophore 1 point2 points ago

It took some effort, obviously the concept of a grid of number is easy.

But I still don't quite know how to multiply matrices. I can do 2x2s, but nothing else because I have yet to learn about a rule.

[–]Pandamana 0 points1 point ago

That seems so strange, as they simplify solving systems of equations so spectacularly.

[–]chattyWw 1 point2 points ago

In my school for grade 11/12 you choose what level of maths to take (math A/B/C). I think we only learnt about matrices in the highest level.

[–]shadowdude777 0 points1 point ago

After going through most of the math courses in my school including AP Calc BC (which I got a 5 on for the AP), I still never heard the word "matrix" ever.

I didn't take AP Stats though, maybe that's why, though I didn't hear it in my college stats course. But perhaps that's because I go to a shitty college.

[–]AnnFrankHides 2 points3 points ago

Not in America they aren't. Are you Asian?

[–]Ijustlostmyjengajam 1 point2 points ago

As an American who has taken high school math, yes they are.

[–]leinad_02 0 points1 point ago

Ti-93 for the win!

[–]ColdHotCool 0 points1 point ago

You'd be shit at a party.

Instead of bringing the ultra cool robot bartender, you bring applied robotic theories.

[–]krugnasty 2 points3 points ago

Im a bio med major and my buddy is an engineering major and was telling me about equations like that and after plugging it into his calculator and it took it like 15 minutes to calculate (I think thats how long). But you guys are nuts with your math stuff

[–]Annoyed_ME 0 points1 point ago

At that point it's usually better to just solve on a computer.

[–]waldo92 0 points1 point ago

Equation of motion? but different...

[–]calfonso 1 point2 points ago

I'm upset that I can recognize this from my Transport Phenomena class :(

[–]Intrinsic_Value 1 point2 points ago

For me, it brought back memories of the two dimensional heat and wave equations from my Heat Transfer class.

[–]spamdown 42 points43 points ago

As a history student, I feel that this problem will happen again.

[–]singingbeauty126 2 points3 points ago

I see what you did there! :)

[–]adrianmonk 0 points1 point ago

But, probably not to you. This may be by design.

[–]spamdown 0 points1 point ago

Okay...

[–]n4x0s 13 points14 points ago

You don't know the half of it. -Sincerely, a Physics Student

[–]myles92 19 points20 points ago

I actually recognized the last equation. I have a test over it next week

[–]waggle238 8 points9 points ago

good luck, it isn't that the subject matter is that hard, it's just PAINFULLY annoying and tedious

[–]senseless2 20 points21 points ago

Yeah like the integration of trig functions. That is time consuming and triggy

[–]Kheten 4 points5 points ago

This is why I appreciate set and number theory. It's more or less just talking through reasoning rather than tedium. But it does have it's own bullshit. Looking at you, Galois.

[–]Icemasta 1 point2 points ago

My nightmare right now are my physics courses on "Radiation and optics". In itself it's relatively simple, if the teacher wasn't a dick, the exams would be great.

My problem is that my teacher is a great physicist, and an horrible, horrible teacher. He sucks at explaining stuff in front of the group, if someone doesn't understand a section and asks for clarification, he'll simply point at the board and repeatedly yell "It's simple, just look at the board!" louder and louder until everyone stfus.

The second point why the teacher is a dick are his exams. His exams are ridiculously hard, half of them are proving theorems, the other half is using mathematical proof on somewhat complicated problems that requires general knowledge.

(IE: An asteroid dust of unknown diameter and of known density is being attracted by the gravitational pull of the sun. Radiation emitted by the sun are being completely absorbed by the same asteroid dust at known Wattage, in what situation does the gravitational pull equals the force of the solar radiation. I am forgetting some words and numbers).

That example in itself isn't exactly hard, but you have to remember the general formula for gravity, something that wasn't reviewed in that course, and the trick in the question is that instinctively, most people will start looking for the r, the distance between the asteroid dust and the sun, which is impossible in this scenario, and the answer is the radius of the dust, which can be found after several steps.

Oh and we're not allowed to bring calculators for his exams, so you better fucking how to to calculate a cos or a sin without a calculator!

[–]myles92 1 point2 points ago

Well the problem will probably be steady, 1-D, inviscid flow so most of those terms are going to be zero. Still not looking forward to it.

[–]klafka 0 points1 point ago

that's why, computers.

[–]MagiConchShell 1 point2 points ago

Just took a test on this last week too.. Freaking sucked..

[–]crowfeather 0 points1 point ago

4 (I'm Asian.)

[–]DeepFriedChildren 7 points8 points ago

Basically trying to do any math with any BJT. It's always funny seeing the undergraduate students, struggle over incredibly complex calculations and functions trying to solve for exact variables, until we just tell them to just make an educated guess because it really doesn't matter...

[–]CapitaineMitaine 2 points3 points ago

This. The only problem though is that during exams (at least mines) , you have to actually find exact variables and such. So it's a pain in the ass to go through that knowing that you can just take an educated guess and still get something going on.

[–]DeepFriedChildren 6 points7 points ago

'just assume it is 0.7 volts' One of my professors has this embroidered and framed in his office.

[–]PBAsydney 1 point2 points ago

Silicon diodes?

[–]PTSFJaeger 1 point2 points ago

Orly? Hadn't realized I was only entertainment...

[–]rnally 19 points20 points ago

As a physics student... Cry me a river. Here's the equation high energy physics is based on.

[–]Masklin 3 points4 points ago

Where is the equality?

Not an equation without an equality!

[–]M87 4 points5 points ago

=L (Here it is with the equality)

[–]FlyRobot 1 point2 points ago

Couldn't find after 10 seconds...gave up. Hurt my eyes

[–]Dat_Assburgers 3 points4 points ago

Have you tried factoring?

[–]TheMeaning0fLife 5 points6 points ago

Have you tried crumpling the paper into a ball and crying underneath a cold shower?

[–]cmwebs 5 points6 points ago

As a physics and engineering student, I agree.

Math in physics is roughly 10 X more rigorous than math in Engineering.

[–]gcline33 1 point2 points ago

well it can be, unless you just feel like ballparking it

[–]I_RAPE_PEOPLE_II 1 point2 points ago

You people think you're so superior, try being a mathematician.

[–]onederpatatime 0 points1 point ago

That depends really, in control and dynamical systems (which is an arguably an engineering field), it's essentially another applied mathematics field. In academia, everything in CDS needs to be rigorously proved

[–]Wakamezake 3 points4 points ago

Something is very wrong with modern physics

[–]faradayscoil 3 points4 points ago

Because the physics is bad or the equations are complicated? Take Maxells equations, write them in standard notations. There are 8. Put them in Gibbs vector notation. There are four. Write them in covariant notation, there is 1. Same physics. Maybe we haven't been clever enough to find an elegant notation for this equation.

[–]Wakamezake 1 point2 points ago

Because the physics is bad or the equations are complicated?

Because equations are complicated. Obviously I have no idea what it means if I did I probably wouldn't have written the comment, but I'm used to the feeling of elegance. Like Maxwell, when you see it written you just feel "yeah, we got this shit".

[–]druzal 2 points3 points ago

Notice all the patterns you see in the equation. They just expanded it to make it look more impressive. They could make it look even more "impressive" if they expanded all the einstein notation.

Take a look at this. One could say all of E&M is contained in the QED portion.

In the end though, I agree with you. Maxwell's equations are certainly "simpler".

[–]KrunoS 0 points1 point ago

On the right hand weak interaction, why the hell is the weak interaction not laterally symmetric? In other words, why isn't there a T3 _fR inside the parenthesis?

[–]niko2000 0 points1 point ago

The reason it looks complicated is because of the crap notation. A programmer would write variable names descriptively and not just a bunch of single letter variables. How the hell can these guys remember what variable is what?

[–]legradstudent 1 point2 points ago

And that is a deceptively brief form of writing it.

[–]spyrosj 0 points1 point ago

this makes me feel a little better

load more comments (1 reply)

    [–]Get_a_GOB 11 points12 points ago

    Don't listen to the math majors who are trying to terrify you with abstract algebra, graph theory and the like. You don't need it and you won't take it in undergrad. If you ever do postgraduate work there's a chance that you'll need some actual advanced math of one sort or another, depending on what you study.

    But especially don't listen to the ones who are deriding you. Turns out that actually BEING an engineer involves applying the NS equations to real world problems, modeling and simulation, testing, estimating and generally understanding the equation. Not the proof, not the elegance or lack there of. Understanding what it represents and how to use it. THE MATH IS JUST A TOOL FOR YOU.

    I'm not saying this to demean what they do - the most ludicrous math of today is the foundation of the algorithms that computer scientists and engineers will use decades from now. But don't let their holier-than-thou attitude get to you either. You will get used to calculus, linear algebra and differential equations and how to use them. You won't comprehend the deepest mysteries of mathematics, and that's ok: that won't be your job, and that's why your school isn't going to train you in math to that level.

    TL;DR: for engineers, the math is a tool. Deriding it misses the point. You'll be fine.

    [–]veidt_co 0 points1 point ago

    I think of it as playing attack and defence for the same team. You each do something different, and maybe sometimes pure science isn't as sexy as engineering, but both need each other and our team can't win unless they work together and make the most of any advantage the other gives them.

    Also, our team is "the modern world" and our mascot is a robot doing heart surgery for a guy on the other side of the world.

    [–]cmwebs -1 points0 points ago

    TL;DR Engineers are Tools.

    [–]ilikeapples312 -1 points0 points ago

    oompa loompas of science indeed

    [–]ninefinger117 5 points6 points ago

    The first words said after the last equation was created: "Go home bernoulli you are drunk"

    [–]funkme1ster 5 points6 points ago

    In my upper years, we just used integrals to evaluate everything.

    It got to the point where I saw my textbook denote some shit like ʃ[X2~X1] Xdx.

    You'd look at it and realize... "wait, this is just X2 - X1.... WHY IS THIS AN INTEGRAL?!"

    On the plus side, I can tell you that as an engineering student, nothing you do will ever be as complicated as you might expect because all of that abstract stuff gets simplified under the banner of "safety factors".

    Unless you go into heavy academic, you'll never deal with Bessel functions or Fourier transforms or that shit ever again.

    [–]cartoonmeme 0 points1 point ago

    i use fourier, wavelet, hilbert, z, etc transforms all the goddamn time. not just like use the matlab function, no i have to write the whole thing by hand and optimize it.

    [–]ismelldeath 8 points9 points ago

    As a 3rd year CS student, I agree.

    [–]JuicyPoot 6 points7 points ago

    Brace yourself. Partial Differential Equations is coming.

    [–]bartimeas 1 point2 points ago

    That class... shudder What made it worse was that no one could read the teacher's handwriting.

    [–]marbarkar 3 points4 points ago

    Why do we have to use ksi and eta? No one can really draw them, the professor just makes squiggly lines on the board, why?

    load more comments (1 reply)

      [–]alienbringer 3 points4 points ago

      As a math major you are missing a lot of math in there and that math is called "proofs".

      [–]Blackliquid 1 point2 points ago

      It's intriguing how no one is aware that mathematics is about proofs and not calculous. After one semester of Analysis, you begin to understand how much construction is behind the Maths used in school!

      [–]alienbringer 0 points1 point ago

      Yep, yep. Post calc i am amazed if i see actual numbers as a solution. And I am an applied mathematician. I know many a pure mathematicians who dont want to ever do any calculation period. They do math for maths sake and do not want it to be applied anywhere else beyond doing more math... They are the strange ones.

      [–]Adunete 4 points5 points ago

      didn't know reposting was a problem.

      [–]schizodepressed 39 points40 points ago

      It's going to be hilarious if/when OP actually sees real mathematics rather than expressions from first-year multivariate calculus.

      [–]hydraulogic 151 points152 points ago

      The last set of equations is the Navier-Stokes equations, for which an analytical solution has not yet been found. There is currently a USD $1,000,000 prize for solving these equations. Your comment is a bit of an understatement, as first-year multivariate calculus does not include non-linear partial differential equations.

      [–]sb95500 37 points38 points ago

      Hey! I know some of these words!

      [–]Stratisphear 7 points8 points ago

      I recognize some of those letters!

      [–]tinynf89 2 points3 points ago

      Why can't a computer solve it?

      [–]Speedyq24 5 points6 points ago

      Because skynet hasn't become self aware yet.

      [–]Teh_Warlus 3 points4 points ago

      Computers can't solve every problem. With some problems, they are notoriously useless (for instance, the NP-Hard problems). For instance: a salesman has 50 houses where he's supposed to try and sell wares. Each house has a road to each of the other houses, without passing through others on the way - giving a direct route. He wants to not stop at any house twice, and to finish as fast as possible, so he starts looking for the fastest route.

      This is the Travelling Salesman Problem, and as stated above, would require so much computing power that we'd run out of fossil fuels... and the entire sun if used only to power the computers to find the solution. It would require a fundamentally different type of computer to calculate this; not even the futuristic technologies of quantum computers can scratch the surface of this one.

      tl;dr - there are problems all current human technology in all it's forms has not brought us any closer to solving. As of yet, we do not know if these are the majority of problems, but they very well may be.

      tl;dr for tl;dr - computer science.

      [–]schizodepressed 0 points1 point ago

      An enormous misconception here:

      "Computers can't solve every problem. With some problems, they are notoriously useless (for instance, the NP-Hard problems)."

      Computers aren't necessarily "useless" for NP-hard problems, since there could very well exist a polynomial-time algorithm for an NP-hard problem. Nobody has proved or disproved the existence of such an algorithm.

      A more idiosyncratic misconception:

      "This is the Travelling Salesman Problem, and as stated above, would require so much computing power that we'd run out of fossil fuels... and the entire sun if used only to power the computers to find the solution. It would require a fundamentally different type of computer to calculate this; not even the futuristic technologies of quantum computers can scratch the surface of this one."

      Two things wrong here: 1) like I mentioned before, there could be an algorithm in P that solves TSP, and 2) there's definitely no evidence that quantum computers are bad at TSP, even if there's yet to be an efficient algorithm.

      Assuming that we need a fundamentally different type of computer (and hence radically new physics) from a quantum computer to solve TSP in polynomial time is a contention I agree with philosophically, though again, there's no evidence (not even weak heuristic evidence) that this is the case. In fact, the heuristics are significantly weaker than your implicit assumption that P \neq NP - we know so very little about quantum complexity that even our vaguest suspicions are very poorly grounded in science and math.

      It's an interesting misconception on your part, since it seems most CS people have assumed that quantum computers can solve NP-complete problems in polynomial time (that is, they assume the very questionable conjecture that NP \subset BQP) by the magic of superposition and entanglement, possibly due to the overzealous propaganda of the physicists studying quantum information.

      [–]tylerni7 0 points1 point ago

      I'm not sure where you're getting your information about complexity theory (and quantum complexity), because it disagrees with popular scientific opinion.

      If NP = P the results would be astronomically life changing. That doesn't mean they can't be equal, but this is an incredibly unlikely result, and I don't think there are any complexity theorists who believe NP = P.

      Similarly, the modern opinion is that NP is not a subset BQP. This result would be less spectacular until we have working quantum computers, but it is still contrary to popular scientific belief.

      Just because something is unknown, that doesn't mean both possibilities are equally likely. There is no proof that a teapot is not in orbit around pluto, but that doesn't mean a rational person should believe that there is a teapot there.

      I'm sure you realize this, but it just seems to be a disservice to talk as though P = NP or NP in BQP are likely scenarios.

      Computers aren't necessarily "useless" for NP-hard problems

      This is still very much true. The main reason, however, in my opinion, is because heuristics and approximate solutions can still do a damn good job of solving the NP-hard problems which are "interesting". So having something that is NP-hard (or even undecidable) doesn't mean it's a dead end, just that assumptions or approximations need to be made.

      [–]hydraulogic 0 points1 point ago

      Computers can solve these equations through numerical approximation. This sort of modeling is common in fluid dynamics research. However, an analytical solution must be derived using analysis of relevant inputs, equations, physical behavior, etc. That sort of thinking is too complex even for computers. Someday...

      [–]countchocula86 2 points3 points ago

      I am not enjoying fluid mechanics :(

      [–]nerdstokeuptoo 0 points1 point ago

      Me either. I just took a test this morning. It sucked ass. Although I should do better than a 38, like I got on the last one.

      [–]HeAbides 8 points9 points ago

      I had no idea there was a prize for an analytical solution! Do they require it to be for compressible? Removing the density non-linearity simplifies so many terms, although OP did leave out mass conservation.

      If not the vorticity-stream functions can't be too far off, as I thought they at least had some non-discretized approaches.

      [–]schizodepressed 12 points13 points ago

      I think the prize even extends to the existence of a solution - the main physical motivation of that question being "does NS describe turbulence, or do they break down at that point?"

      Incompressibility, from what I understand, makes this near-impossible problem slightly cleaner and just as impossible.

      [–]HeAbides 4 points5 points ago

      Inviscid and incompressible navier-stokes (a.k.a. euler's equation) are linear and solvable, as the two non-linearities lie in the viscous and density terms. I can see how turbulence is impossible to predict with this non-physical lack of viscosity, and why toroidal flow is their benchmark, as its a periodically continuous domain.

      So, essentially, if you can analytically model this then you get a million bucks, as well as a doctoral thesis

      [–]schizodepressed 4 points5 points ago

      No, you're mistaken: Euler's equation is nonlinear and actually considered more difficult to solve (computationally) than Navier-Stokes because the viscosity dampens singularities which arise.

      The fundamental nonlinearity of fluid mechanics is very easy to explain:

      F = ma (okay, m = \rho, but whatever)

      F = m(dv/dt) = mpartial(v)/partial(t) + v(grad(v)) (by the chain rule)

      This v*(grad(v)) is what screws everything up, and it's in the Euler equation.

      [–]metallicgreen 0 points1 point ago

      today l leanred the cosine of pi is 1

      [–]Windeer 21 points22 points ago

      -1*

      load more comments (1 reply)

        [–]HeAbides 1 point2 points ago

        Non-linear and computationally unstable are two entirely different things. If you have incompressible euler's, which I was describing, most people use the 'conservative form'. The name conservative stems from the use of the mass conservation to remove this issue with the expansion of the momentum term. This allows the divergence (or grad(v)) of a flow field to be set to 0 as no mass change may occur in a differential element.

        The computational instability arrives from the speed of propagation of pressure waves within the fluid. These move at the particular speed of sound for the media, requiring a sufficiently small time step to resolve.

        [–]iloveuranus 7 points8 points ago

        iknowsomeofthesewords.gif

        [–]Dat_Assburgers 0 points1 point ago

        It has to have an analytical solution in all cases. Compressible or incompressible and so on.

        [–]ImASoftwareEngineer 0 points1 point ago

        Same with P = NP? problem

        [–]RangerSixx 0 points1 point ago

        i have the weirdest boner right now

        [–]Cryptic0677 0 points1 point ago

        A good majority of practical problems are not generally solved analytically.

        load more comments (5 replies)

          [–]ewacdsnja 10 points11 points ago

          Multivariate calc is still real math, Superior McCockypants.

          [–]SwimmerFan 13 points14 points ago

          As a recent grad in M Eng. and a Math Major I pity his (OP's) ignorance haha.

          [–]Draggedaround 13 points14 points ago

          Question for you. I was 18 went to an art school (I know, stupid) I am a video editor now.

          Anyway, I am back in school for M Eng. I had to go into a pretty remedial math, I am 25 now. I like math, but I hadn't taken one until now in over ten years. So I am in below college algebra (don't laugh.)

          I know I am not a genius in any regard but I enjoy math and sciences, plus want a more practical degree. I suppose my question is whether or not you think, not having done anything above algebra in my life if I will be able to succeed in this program. I am very driven, but hoping my ambition doesn't exceed my ability.

          [–]SwimmerFan 7 points8 points ago

          Yes you can. The first two years (of a typical 4 year full time program) are pretty tough and kind of weed out the ones who don't work hard. I am currently studying for the FE exam which is like the first part before the professional exam (not required for majority of projects/companies but does increase pay) and find myself having to go back and remember things a lot. The cool thing about engineering is they don't really require you to remember a lot of formulas just how to apply them. For instance this test I get like a 100 page book of formulas for reference on the exam. With a quick G search I found an entrance practice exam for engineering link Check that out and try to do that without a calculator! Aside from that, most things you will learn in college just make sure you keep up with the homework especially even if it is not mandatory or graded. The hardest part is calc 1-4, but past that, if you really want to and like engineering I would say get involved in clubs at school. I know that's cliche but you will love the projects you work on and apply your knowledge and actually understand why you learn things you learn. I hope this helps!

          [–]stniesen 3 points4 points ago

          You thought Calculus 1-4 was harder than thermodynamics and fluid dynamics? Interesting. I thought calculus was, aside from the easier "general" courses, one of the easiest parts.

          [–]SwimmerFan 1 point2 points ago

          In regards to the math parts. thermo and Fluids was more understanding (also no one understand fluids haha jk) But yeah I liked fluids and thermo so I guess it wasn't too too hard. Most of what we do in thermo is all the same (cycles and refridg.) I just thought calcs were harder because I couldn't see any real world applications to limits and integrals and all that jazz. obviously yes later it's useful but at the time I didn't get it as easily.

          [–]Irrelevant_User 2 points3 points ago

          FE exam, or as we call it. The fucking easy

          [–]SwimmerFan 0 points1 point ago

          Haha yeah that's what I have been told but I think it is worth my while to go back and learn/review what I don't remember. I like to always keep learning stuff.

          [–]Intrinsic_Value 1 point2 points ago

          I didn't even study for the FE exam and passed. If you make it through an engineering degree with decent grades, that FE is like a simple review.

          [–]roughsketch 0 points1 point ago

          I'm taking this test tomorrow morning. :/

          [–]stefan_89 3 points4 points ago

          Just remember, Calculus isn't hard, Algebra is.

          [–]MadAnthonyWayne 1 point2 points ago

          This. Calculus was invented because the algebra was too hard!

          [–]AlchemyAlice 5 points6 points ago

          THIS. I'm going through almost the same thing right now. I'm wondering if I'm capable of all the math that is ahead.

          Best of luck to you and your future mathematical procedures, fellow (former) BA grad.

          [–]Draggedaround 3 points4 points ago

          Alice we're torn from the same cloth! I feel like I am capable of anything, I have been telling myself this my entire life, or have been told it. But when I see this stuff on reddit, and hear the word around campus I freak out.

          If you are in Colorado we can be study partners.

          [–]AlchemyAlice 1 point2 points ago

          I'd have to agree about being smart but feeling slightly inadequate on the math aspect.

          My only regret is that I didn't get an undergrad degree in a "professional" field. Going back to school at near 30 years old is... anxiety inducing.

          I'm in Florida, unfortunately. I've been to Denver and Lafayette (and surrounding areas) and absolutely loved it. I'd love to settle out there some day.

          [–]kennyrae89 2 points3 points ago

          I had to take calc I three times before I passed it. I now have a BS in BMET.

          Just make sure you get help when you need it. Or even before you need it from a tutor or something.

          [–]lightninhopkins 3 points4 points ago

          I went to college at 26 after working as a Theater Techie(Lights, Sound, Sets, etc..) for seven years. I went to get a CS degree(also requires lots of maths). I had to start in like math 80 and work up. I was worried as well, but I was on a roll by the time I got to calc and blew right through it. You will have good study habits established by the time you get there as long as you work hard in the earlier classes.

          I was never a math whiz in high school, but I got almost all A's in college(shocking to me). Just get good study habits going and try to get in a study group. It will work out.

          [–]I_been_had_reddit 2 points3 points ago

          I'm 26 and I started with MATH095, which at my school is the intro algebra course you take when you fail the placement test. I just finished calc 2 and I'm starting physics and calc 3 this spring. I took one math class right after another; even during summer. Honestly, it has been easier for me than other students because everything is consecutive and building on the previous class.

          Additionally, don't overlook the fact that you are an adult and less distracted with partying and skirt chasing. I get straight As, not because I'm smart, but because I'm paying for my classes out of pocket and I apply myself.

          Edit: P.S. ME Major as well

          [–]mike_b_nimble 1 point2 points ago

          I started an engineering degree at 24 and needed remedial algebra. 3 years later I was working for the university as a tutor in math and physics. Needing a refesher after 8-10 years is nothing to be ashamed of.

          [–]NeverMakesAnEffort 1 point2 points ago

          I have a master in industrial engineering and I'm currently working. I've never had to do any type of math after I graduated. It's a good workout for your brain though, and it helps prepare you for other types of complex problems. What you really need for a lot of jobs is programming skills and business knowledge. All jobs are different of course, but many of my fellow engineering students now say the same things, and they studied electrical and mechanical engineering and computer science. Being an engineer enables you to take on a very wide variety of jobs, so it all depends on what you want to work with. (Sry if not perfect English. Not my first language)

          [–]chrisryan131 0 points1 point ago

          Master in industrial engineering? AlwaysMakesAnEffort - FTFY

          [–]ProfessionalGoat 1 point2 points ago

          I used to love maths, straight A's in it since I was in diapers, cake-walk all the way to engineering.

          Now I hate maths. I hate it with a passion.

          Edit: For me the turning point was when I could no longer see the use of the math in a real-world context. If you take engineering you will probably learn the use for the maths after you've learned the maths, so in time you will understand more and more of it, but the maths you're currently working on will probably be a bitch all the way. If this makes sense.

          [–]schizodepressed 1 point2 points ago

          I think I would have been much more frustrated with my math major if I wasn't simultaneously pursuing a physics major - plus having the knowledge from both majors made my classes a lot easier.

          [–]schizodepressed 1 point2 points ago

          Hey, come on, it's not stupid to go to art school. And it looks like you got a job with your degree, which definitely puts you ahead of a lot of young adult art majors.

          I'll also point out that, as a physics/math major, the job market really sucks without having a PhD or extensive work experience.

          [–]Dat_Assburgers 1 point2 points ago

          Starting below college algebra is the best move you can make when you haven't done or taken math in many years. The math classes build upon themselves so starting low and working up will make sure you are ready for each new class. Personal motivation and determination plus enjoying the material is the key to success.

          [–]tinynf89 0 points1 point ago

          You can do it, it just takes hard work. I'm 23 doing Electrical Engineering and I've found that I just need to keep doing problems over and over and just change the values to get it.

          [–]PBAsydney 0 points1 point ago

          I loved math all through algebra, and even the basics of calculus. But then shit just got insane and my head almost explosed.

          [–]BigMw[S] 2 points3 points ago

          I know I'm in for something, but for the time being this is how I feel.

          [–]kapow_crash__bang 13 points14 points ago

          Don't worry, you're an engineer. All you need to do is know your numerical approximations.

          Leave math to physicists and mathematicians.

          [–]BigMw[S] 1 point2 points ago

          Then I'll do that with it! Thanks hahah

          [–]kaharz 0 points1 point ago

          In materials the professor accidentally assigned a problem that more or less required guessing and testing to factor out. Couldn't get it down to less than 4 unknowns. Pain the in the ass. I asked him about it later and he basically said, "Don't worry in the real world you just use Matlab, wolfram or excel for this stuff. Engineers rarely do math after college." That prof was great. We had more or less as much time as needed (within reason) and open book for every exam since the real world is open book and you can (and will) always work late.

          [–]magictoenail 1 point2 points ago

          It's okay, schizodepressed is just a pretentious twat who has nothing to be proud of but the fact that he understands mathematics that aren't useful in the real world.

          [–]BigMw[S] 1 point2 points ago

          Thank you, and cheers.

          load more comments (6 replies)

            [–]jnyc91 -1 points0 points ago

            Thanks for this comment, encapsulates my thoughts entirely.

            [–]raven12456 0 points1 point ago

            And that is why I changed major my Freshman year.

            [–]gaze 0 points1 point ago

            Real math? Like, a nice equation, then a few sentences explaining some inductive proof with some jargon like "noetherian ring" or "manifold," then another equation, then some more words, etc.? "Real" math is quite pleasant. That last equation is written with some pretty verbose notation...

            [–]lepuma -1 points0 points ago

            lmao, or proofs

            [–]marbarkar 0 points1 point ago

            PDE's are still real math. At the undergraduate level, a real PDE's course (one for math majors) is just as challenging as analysis or algebra. Some of the solutions for those equations are just insane.

            [–]charm__quark 0 points1 point ago

            What does dirt taste like?

            [–]goomplex 0 points1 point ago

            Considering he can't spell, I doubt he'll make it that far.

            load more comments (4 replies)

              [–]keiouu 2 points3 points ago

              We had this in cryptography today.. not fun watching a simple line expand out to fill 3 whiteboards

              [–]Arkanicus 2 points3 points ago

              Ahh good ol Navier-Stokes.

              [–]mcherry3 2 points3 points ago

              Lol, at ops face when he takes 1 and 2 year abstract algebra. Soon...soon.

              [–]DESTROYER3264 0 points1 point ago

              I know that feel bro.

              [–]angelofdeathofdoom 2 points3 points ago

              at least it is still an equation

              [–]GUN00000 2 points3 points ago

              NOT THE EQUATION OF MOTION, NOOOOO!

              [–]ResidentKyantol 2 points3 points ago

              School: I know lots about math!

              High school: I know even more about math!

              College: I know everything about math!

              University: I DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT MATH!!

              [–]SystematicDemon 3 points4 points ago

              Actually 1+1=10 :)

              [–]flackdaddyxpress 1 point2 points ago

              upvote for binary

              [–]EchoKnox 1 point2 points ago

              Truth

              [–]joker_hs 3 points4 points ago

              This was such a hard repost that the link was actually purple.

              [–]Sarge_Sarcasm 1 point2 points ago

              The thing that kills me is sequences and series man. I'm taking calc 2 for the second time and I just took the test covering that shit.

              It does not click for me. Someone should explain it to me like I'm 5.

              [–]mrwill 0 points1 point ago

              The pig to the x minus the dips then dicks.

              [–]nm3210 1 point2 points ago

              Now convert to spherical!

              [–]you_need_to_login 1 point2 points ago

              now to quaternion!

              [–]CallMeAnEngineer 1 point2 points ago

              Fuck.

              [–]aamanderp 1 point2 points ago

              as a general studies student I have this problem

              [–]rogerrrr 1 point2 points ago

              I'm in my last year of high school applying to a bunch of engineering schools. Any advice for me?

              [–]BigMw[S] 0 points1 point ago

              Not really... but good luck! I ended up picking last minute and it turned out quite well. I enjoy myself where I am.

              Again, good luck with your schooling!

              [–]FeelSoEmpty -1 points0 points ago

              Just showed this to my roomate who's a math and physics double major. After explaining them to me he told me to scroll down...

              [–]palordrolap 1 point2 points ago

              This joke seems a little ... derivative.

              [–]Delive 0 points1 point ago

              actually the last panel is easier then the one before

              [–]mark331 0 points1 point ago

              I hate quantum

              [–]evergreentea 0 points1 point ago

              NAVIER STOKES!

              [–]isancho2308 0 points1 point ago

              this is how i feel studying A level maths lol

              [–]deejaybee11 0 points1 point ago

              As a Maths student I have this problem x1000

              [–]antpuncher 0 points1 point ago

              Ugly ain't the half of it. If you can solve that last one, you can win a million dollars!

              Also you'd revolutionize fluid dynamics and be super fucking famous forever. So quit whining and get working.

              [–]Elderh12 0 points1 point ago

              Repost but hey, so true

              [–]phraynk 0 points1 point ago

              I hated fluid mechanics in school

              [–]GARRETTKELLEY 1 point2 points ago

              Repost

              [–]whatsmyPW 0 points1 point ago

              The Navier-Stokes theorem ehh.

              I just was taught it yesterday. We derived the equation, and let me say, definitely not the most difficult derivation of a formula I've seen.

              [–]elesdee 0 points1 point ago

              I don't know why I clicked on the comments. I feel like a big pink ape now.

              [–]silent_jester 0 points1 point ago

              You're too fucking stupid to make some original content. It's only natural that you are bad at math.

              [–]Spiritjump 1 point2 points ago

              Anyone seeking more info might also check here:

              title comnts points age /r/
              Math...NOOOOOOO!!! 0coms -2pts 20dys funny
              Math. STAHP 271coms 803pts 1mo funny
              Math. STAHP! 1com -6pts 1mo funny
              Math, what are you doing? 2coms -3pts 1mo funny

              source: karmadecay

              [–]mknyan 0 points1 point ago

              ITT, and all previous repeat threads - bunch of students say, "Psh... this is nothing... wait till you get to <insert physics/math/engineering class or level>" as if some hot chick/dude might appear out of thin air and then say, "OMG! <Insert name>, you're such a badass yet so brilliant! Let me pleasure you!".

              [–]Scippiriddic 0 points1 point ago

              As an engineering student, this reminds me of my midterm tomorrow... fuck.

              [–]DeerJerky 0 points1 point ago

              1+1=2 is arithmetic

              [–]maibd 0 points1 point ago

              So much easier to just use index notation.

              [–]unsatmidshipman 0 points1 point ago

              Kids this is why you should become a biology or medical major, or both. Cause science is kool and all but fuck math.

              [–]Pancho15 0 points1 point ago

              Feels kind of cool that I actually understand the math at the very bottom.

              [–]darkrift2100 0 points1 point ago

              BigMw

              Wut r u doin

              BigMw

              STOP THIS SHIT, IT'S NOT FUNNY

              [–]jibjaba 0 points1 point ago

              When things start looking like that I'm almost always on the wrong track. If I'm not then it's time to break out every pattern finding trick I know to reduce that shit.

              [–]Bolts_and_Nuts 1 point2 points ago

              SHUT THE FUCK UP

              [–]dorkrock2 1 point2 points ago

              As a redditor, I have that problem too. People think the "stahp" meme has, is, or ever will be funny.

              [–]Chaquator 0 points1 point ago

              Reposts! Wat r u doing! Reposts! Stahp!

              load more comments (24 replies)

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