I don't want to sound like a bigot

[james_davis_nicoll]

I'm really annoyed at how completely I've forgotten calculus.

Comments

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why a humanities student would benefit more from linear algebra than calculus. My own "you could actually use this, Citizen" reccomendations are probability, understanding of descriptive stats, and the use of arithmetic, algebra, and approximations for back of the envelope modeling.

[matthewwdaly.livejournal.com]

I feel that calculus, being about instantaneous rates of change and areas of figures bounded by arbitrary curves instead of straight lines, is all but completely useless, outside of science and engineering and specific humanities fields such as economics or political science. So by my reckoning, linear algebra wouldn't have to clear much of a hurdle to be a measurable improvement. I think it reaches that level; thinking about performing a series of closely related calculations in parallel and considering the entities involved as unified multidimensional objects instead of lists of raw data has significant merit. Also, linear algebra is an important tool in many forms of modeling that would be a valuable part of someone's toolbox if it were there.

This is not to detract from my admiration of your list of valuable mathematical skills.