What do you like best - pure or applied?
Maths and statistics discussion, revision, exam and homework help.
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View Poll Results: Pure or Applied?
Pure 26 70.27% Applied 11 29.73%
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?But that would relate to A Level maths and this thread relates to Maths beyond that(Original post by raheem94)
A poll differentiating between applied units such as mechanics, statistics and decision would have been better.
I voted pure, if mechanics would have been there then i would have voted for it. -
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?No.(Original post by ThatPerson)
But if you think about it, isn't maths applied philosophy? -
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?That hurts my feelings.(Original post by Bobifier)
I'm sure Combinatorics doesn't count as a branch of Maths because Maths is interesting and Combinatorics is really boring.
Seriously though, what's not to like about graph theory? It can be very algebraic (groups and linear algebra, as well as homomorphisms) which is what I like. -
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?It's often argued that physics (my primary field of interest) is a subset of maths, and maths a subset of philosophy. To me it seems maths is worthless without application. Without maths we wouldn't be as far as we are in answering the fundamental philosophical questions of why we're here, how the universe came in to existence etc. But without these questions maths is just a cold, grey sea of numbers with no meaning. The conclusion that this gives me is as follows: applied maths needs pure maths to exist in the first place, pure maths needs applied maths to be useful. I voted for applied, but not without hesitation, I'd have preferred if there were more specific options to choose from.
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?No.(Original post by ThatPerson)
But if you think about it, isn't maths applied philosophy? -
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?When it's in a Decision 1 module...(Original post by Raiden10)
That hurts my feelings.
Seriously though, what's not to like about graph theory? It can be very algebraic (groups and linear algebra, as well as homomorphisms) which is what I like.
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?(Original post by gff)
Everything is an application of pure Mathematics. Couldn't resist it.
Attachment 140930(Original post by ThatPerson)
But if you think about it, isn't maths applied philosophy?Yes. Philosophy is by far the most fundamental of all disciplines (and this is coming from a maths student), logic is a sub-discipline of philosophy. Without it maths wouldn't exist in the first place, however when it comes to the sort of maths talked about here, from calculus to topology, it's easy to forget that.(Original post by ben-smith)
no.
Philosophy gave birth to maths, and uses it as a tool to answer questions, however philosophy is a broad study; ranging from that which borders on cosmology, to morals, politics and other things that concern human interaction and have no relation to maths at all.(Original post by TenOfThem)
After all, as with anything, Philosophy is a branch of Mathematics
Couldn't have said it better myself.(Original post by James94)
Without maths we wouldn't be as far as we are in answering the fundamental philosophical questions of why we're here, how the universe came in to existence etc. But without these questions maths is just a cold, grey sea of numbers with no meaning. The conclusion that this gives me is as follows: applied maths needs pure maths to exist in the first place, pure maths needs applied maths to be useful. -
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?I love my fluids and am an 'applied mathematician', but this quote I think is great. By the great Russian Nikolai Lobachevsky, and I have never come across a counter example.(Original post by Nikolai Lobachevsky)
There is no branch of mathematics, however abstract, which may not someday be applied to the phenomena of the real world.Last edited by mikeleeds; 12-04-2012 at 21:40. -
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?I guess you are the one who negged me, so I would turn it back.(Original post by HGerhard)
Philosophy gave birth to maths, and uses it as a tool to answer questions, however philosophy is a broad study;
Who is the first Western philosopher? Did he try to extend Greek's current understanding on Mathematics and knowledge about Astronomy, or not?
You seem a bit confused about which came first. -
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Re: What do you like best - pure or applied?levels of bs in this thread are astounding.
Pure for me. I must admit I don't really know any applied. I just view it as fiddly maths.
This philosophy debate is completely retarded.
If it were to have any credible basis we would need well defined definitions of what it means to be a philosopher etc.Last edited by Totally Tom; 12-04-2012 at 23:32.
