Mathematical Statistics good for Computer Scientists?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the relevance of a Statistics course for Computer Science students, particularly in the context of future applications in various fields within computer science. Participants explore the utility of statistical knowledge in areas such as computational physics, neural networks, and artificial intelligence.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the necessity of Statistics for Computer Scientists, citing that many classmates believe it is not helpful.
  • Another participant suggests that the importance of Statistics may depend on individual interests, particularly mentioning its relevance in computational physics.
  • A different participant asserts that everyone should know statistics and encourages taking the course.
  • Several areas within computer science are identified by another participant as requiring strong statistical analysis, including neural networks, image processing, and artificial intelligence.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is no consensus on the necessity of Statistics for Computer Science students, with some participants advocating for its importance while others express skepticism about its relevance.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying opinions on the applicability of Statistics, indicating that its relevance may depend on specific career paths or interests within computer science.

Pithikos
Messages
55
Reaction score
1
I am finished with the first bachelor year at Computer Science and the next courses are: Assembly, Linear Algebra, Statistics, Java. Many people from my class said that they will not take Statistics as it's not that helpful to them and I was thinking of how accurate that is. Is Statistics something that a Computer Scientist will use? Else I could just pick up an other course to replace Statistics.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I think it depends on what you are interested in. If you like computational physics, it will not be too bad to know statistics: Brownian motion and random walks.

But knowing statistics in general is a good skill to have, I think at least.
 
Everyone should know statistics. Take the course. ;)

Also, Java? Blegh.
 
There are a lot of areas in CS that require some very good statistical analysis. Neural networks, image processing, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence... these are some things that come to my mind when I think CS and stats.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 32 ·
2
Replies
32
Views
4K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
5K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K