4 replies to this topic

[Julia36]

C <=> M

[A941]

What does it mean?
Maybe speed of light equals Matter? (wrong case anyway)
Some sort of word play "See equivalent em" ... makes no sense.

[stponky]

I wonder if advancements in computer science have hindered math. Back in the day, it was impossible to do the sums for curves and such so calculus was invented. If we had the same problem now, we would just buy a new computer and the math would go undiscovered.

[nickthird]

It was always possible to do sums for curves it just takes longer. The same case applies today. Repetitive tasks are sped up but the more we become dependant on computing the more important it becomes to optimize code. This is especially true for low power embedded systems such as cell phones that are becoming more prevalent.

Edited by nickthird, 27 November 2013 - 03:39 PM.

[metacognitive]

I wonder if advancements in computer science have hindered math. Back in the day, it was impossible to do the sums for curves and such so calculus was invented. If we had the same problem now, we would just buy a new computer and the math would go undiscovered.

 

Disagree!  I think we would have been able to explore the concept of integrals earlier with computers, but still come to a mathematical formulation of them as we gained more understanding.  Programming doesn't impede higher conceptual knowledge -- if anything, it just allows us to explore it more easily.  Sure, in the beginning it is messier because we are able to computationally explore concepts that we don't necessarily understand at a high level.  But over time, through that exploration, we can come to a greater understanding and build more and more elegant models of that understanding.  This is similar to how the first iteration of a program is always 'less clean' than the next.  As the concept of the program is explored, a higher understanding of it develops and the code starts to take a more and more elegant shape.

 

Computers are a tool for implementing math.  They exist in a symbiosis, and, while having one without the other might be possible, the existing one would be lonely and less powerful than if they were happily married (as they are in this world!) 

Edited by metacognitive, 06 September 2014 - 08:37 AM.