Maths in Engineering

[rstofer]

The University of Florida has two separate math tracks:  One for math majors and the other for engineers.  As engineers, we really don't need the derivation, we don't need to see the inner beauty, we only need to be able to apply the results of the derivations.  In fact, there is pretty much a slide away from even solving advanced equations by hand.  At my grandson's university, MATLAB is used for everything.  His Differential Equations course was more about problem solving with MATLAB than the underlying elegance of the derivations.  Terrific!  It's the application that's important!

I don't personally care a whit about how the equations and derivations came to be, I just want to use the tool.  I don't need the history of fire, I just asked for a match.

Free hint to the up and coming student:  MASTER partial fraction expansion in Algebra or it will come back to haunt you for Inverse Laplace Transforms.  This topic is usually skimmed over in Algebra because it has little application at that level.  It is a make-or-break deal when you get to Laplace.

https://lpsa.swarthmore.edu/LaplaceXform/InvLaplace/InvLaplaceXformPFE.html

So, pay attention!

[coppice]

The University of Florida has two separate math tracks:  One for math majors and the other for engineers.  As engineers, we really don't need the derivation, we don't need to see the inner beauty, we only need to be able to apply the results of the derivations.  In fact, there is pretty much a slide away from even solving advanced equations by hand.  At my grandson's university, MATLAB is used for everything.  His Differential Equations course was more about problem solving with MATLAB than the underlying elegance of the derivations.  Terrific!  It's the application that's important!

I don't personally care a whit about how the equations and derivations came to be, I just want to use the tool.  I don't need the history of fire, I just asked for a match.

This is fine if you are content to spend your life retreading old ground, but its not a suitable grounding for doing novel things. Matlab is a blessing for the working engineer, but its a curse for students. I lets them avoid understanding anything they do, and they are increasingly encouraged to take this path. If they have any aspirations it will come back to bite them.

[rstofer]

In my view, the only reason for being on an engineering track is to get a job as an engineer.  Scientists are in a different program.

How much new grass is there going to be in Mechanical Engineering and what is the probability of grazing there?  Most graduates are going to do grunt level engineering until they retire.  Truth is, engineering is boring.  I hired engineers, I didn’t actually do all that much.  Tell them what you want, how much you want to spend and see what they come up with.

I hired some great engineers.  They made me look good.

[Nominal Animal]

The University of Florida has two separate math tracks:  One for math majors and the other for engineers.  As engineers, we really don't need the derivation, we don't need to see the inner beauty, we only need to be able to apply the results of the derivations.  In fact, there is pretty much a slide away from even solving advanced equations by hand.  At my grandson's university, MATLAB is used for everything.  His Differential Equations course was more about problem solving with MATLAB than the underlying elegance of the derivations.  Terrific!  It's the application that's important!

I don't personally care a whit about how the equations and derivations came to be, I just want to use the tool.  I don't need the history of fire, I just asked for a match.

This is fine if you are content to spend your life retreading old ground, but its not a suitable grounding for doing novel things. Matlab is a blessing for the working engineer, but its a curse for students. I lets them avoid understanding anything they do, and they are increasingly encouraged to take this path. If they have any aspirations it will come back to bite them.

For years, I had the same position, coppice.

Then, I realized that in math, unlike in most other fields, one does not need to "forget" things to learn a new approach, because the different approaches never contradict.  In physics especially, we use approximations, and it is sometimes a hard knock to realize that stuff that you've been told is a hard law, is actually just a model that applies only in specific circumstances.

So, the cost of that "bite" in math is just taking the additional courses: additional study time.  Worst case, the quick Matlab/Octave path was just wasted time.

[coppice]

So, the cost of that "bite" in math is just taking the additional courses: additional study time.  Worst case, the quick Matlab/Octave path was just wasted time.

A very common thing holding people back is when they don't know just how much they don't know. Its hard to fill in gaps when you don't even recognise their existence. That's why a solid grounding in your college years is such a boon throughout your life. The sad thing is this is being lost through universities migrating to trade schools. Students leave with a lot of tactical knowledge that will serve them for a few years, but far too little strategic knowledge that will serve them for life.

[GerryR]

This is fine if you are content to spend your life retreading old ground, but its not a suitable grounding for doing novel things. Matlab is a blessing for the working engineer, but its a curse for students. I lets them avoid understanding anything they do, and they are increasingly encouraged to take this path. If they have any aspirations it will come back to bite them.

I agree here 100%.  What I refer to is what I call "cookbook" engineering.  You don't know why something works, you just look up a formula and move on.  I believe we all do that to some degree, especially in areas that we are not accustomed to working in, but it shouldn't be that way in your professional area.  If you learn the basic principles, you can derive what you need when you need it, and I believe it makes one more creative.