Importance of CS to the Mathematics/Physics Major.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the relevance and importance of Computer Science (CS) for students majoring in Mathematics and Physics. Participants explore the potential benefits of integrating CS into their studies, particularly in relation to academic and career opportunities, programming skills, and research applications.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about the competitive landscape of internships and research opportunities, suggesting that knowledge of CS could provide an advantage.
  • Another participant notes that many successful programmers come from physics backgrounds and did not necessarily have formal CS degrees.
  • Some participants advocate for self-study in programming, arguing that practical experience can be more beneficial than formal education in CS.
  • There is a viewpoint that commercial coding can be uninteresting, and a suggestion to focus on computational science for more engaging programming applications.
  • A participant mentions that some academic programs recommend or require introductory CS courses as part of the mathematics curriculum.
  • Concerns are raised about the challenges of learning programming languages without formal instruction, with some participants sharing their experiences of self-learning.
  • Discussion includes the idea that CS encompasses more than just programming, highlighting the importance of theoretical courses such as algorithms and computational complexity.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the necessity and approach to learning CS, with no clear consensus on whether formal education or self-study is preferable. Some emphasize the value of practical experience, while others highlight the challenges of self-learning.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the varying levels of exposure to CS within their academic programs, indicating that requirements may differ by institution. There is also a recognition of the diverse paths individuals take to acquire programming skills.

Who May Find This Useful

Students majoring in Mathematics or Physics considering the addition of Computer Science to their studies, as well as those interested in the intersection of programming and scientific research.

PFStudent
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Hey,

I'm an undergraduate and since freshman year have been double majoring in: Mathematics and Physics. However, recently things like: NSF REU options, internal/external lab positions, overall academic competitiveness, and finanical options (read: a nice salary); has me really wondering if I should study Computer Science in addition to my majors of Mathematics and Physics?

As it stands I can handle my mathematics and physics majors, however CS is significantly different. I guess if I added CS, I would be going for a double major with a minor in CS (or even a triple major ).

I was wondering if anyone else is seeing this trend? In my perspective, it just seems I see way too much programming in: positions I'd like and internships I want to get. I would also think mathematicians/physicists with a knowledge of CS have an advantage in terms of the options CS provides, that is the ability to create their own programs to help aid their research.

Thanks,

-PFStudent
 
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just study it yourself. Some of the best computer programmers are physicists. Just think: In the 1970's there was no "computer science major."

Many of the best programmers didn't get a computer science "degree."
 
Tronter is right. I have a physics undergrad and now work for a computer company. I am a coder and just learned the language myself.
 
commercial coding is the most boring thing ever, study computational science and then you'll get to program really cool things like trading strategies.
 
I never took any CS courses but picked up two languages in the course of my studies. Once you know one or two languages fairly wel you're ok. Maybe one or two course in CS is enough.
 
i feel pretty useless because i don't know any CS.
 
At some schools as part of the math curriculum they recommend (if not require) you take at least the beginner cs class. Probably just so you can say you have at least one language under your belt or have had exposure to cs that is verifiable by transcript.
 
Amazing that some of you pick up one or two computer languages on your own without attending courses of instruction. Just a type of minimal BASIC in a beginning programming course from a few decades ago was extremely difficult. Learning that or any language without actually attending a course would not have been any easier. That is just me.
 
well, in my lab, there are a whole bunch of undergraduates, including me. None of us has formal training in coding (for me I have never taken a class in CS). Yet, we all just pick up some C++ and do serious coding in root...

for me, the best way to learn a programming language is to actually use it. You'll see why pointers are useful, why kind of standard libraries stuff are useful, and how to smartly implement some alogrithms. Besides, in your research, you'll probably be reading other people's code. A formal class won't be nearly as quick and/or useful as just seeing how other people do things and copy them.
 
  • #10
symbolipoint said:
Amazing that some of you pick up one or two computer languages on your own without attending courses of instruction. Just a type of minimal BASIC in a beginning programming course from a few decades ago was extremely difficult. Learning that or any language without actually attending a course would not have been any easier. That is just me.

meh i don't see any difference between learning a programming language and learning mathematics or a natural language for that matter.
 
  • #11
PhilosophyofPhysics said:
i feel pretty useless because i don't know any CS.

Download a Python or Java compiler, and grab a textbook from a library.

I learned on Java, but if you are going at it by yourself Python is a really nice language as you don't have to compile everytime you run a program (i.e. you don't have to get every line perfect to get something to work.), and Java doesn't have explicit pointers (which you will have to master eventually, but maybe not first up)

Some people are comfortable jumping straight into c/c++, but I wasn't. It's too easy to get lost in it, especially if you're self-taught.
 
  • #12
Amazing thing that no one seems to remark on, that computer science isn't only about programming in some language.

What about courses in computational complexity, algorithms, discrete maths and graph theory and matroids?

I believe you can take these theoretical courses without even enrolling to cs major, ofcourse you need the right preliminaries.
 

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