Mathematical Statistics good for Computer Scientists?

[Pithikos]

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.

 

[Niles]

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.

 

[Hobin]

Everyone should know statistics. Take the course. ;)

Also, Java? Blegh.

 

[hadsed]

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.

 

[Matrix0]

I can say with confidence that mathematical statistics is indeed very useful for computer scientists. In fact, statistics is a fundamental tool in many areas of computer science, such as data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

Statistics allows us to understand and make sense of large amounts of data, which is essential in computer science where we are constantly dealing with vast quantities of information. It helps us to identify patterns and trends in data, and make informed decisions based on these findings.

Furthermore, statistics is crucial in the design and testing of algorithms and computer systems. It allows us to assess the performance of our programs, identify and correct errors, and make improvements.

In addition, many fields within computer science, such as bioinformatics, economics, and social media analysis, heavily rely on statistical methods for their research and development.

Therefore, I would highly recommend taking the statistics course as it will provide you with valuable skills and knowledge that will be applicable in your future career as a computer scientist. It is also important to have a well-rounded education, and statistics is an integral part of that.