Comment on TIL science has its own swifties
PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
I studied entry level maths at uni level - a prerequisite course for most STEM degrees to cover the relatively small amount of maths common to nearly all science fields.
Chapter 11 of 12 were Taylor polynomials and series, and it was listed as “optional”.
I looked at it once, read it aloud for my young son to fall asleep to, and never looked at it again.
Neverclear@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
Most aspects of our daily lives rely on Taylor series, polynomial expansion, and approximation theory in general. Everything built or planned using computer modeling software, down to the trig functions on your calculator… they all use polynomial approximations to allow a discrete mathematical machine to get us to within a certain error percentage of a continuous function in a timely manner.
teft@piefed.social 3 weeks ago
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PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
Ah yes, that tracks with the very surface level overview that I picked up from it. It was only when I saw the magic “optional” tag that I was like noooope!
Maybe I’ll have a look at it in more detail when I get a free summer 😊