My dad and my physics teacher have (independently) advised me, as a CS major, to minor or double-major, in physics.
Do you think this will really help me get ahead? I want to end up doing something with computer/video games, not writing scientific software, so I think basic general college physics (required for CS major already) is enough.
Name:
Anonymous2005-03-12 4:26
An interesting tale I have to tell:
I used to work in a research division of a large networking company. Well, it was not just research, we were also working on a product that won several major industry awards.
The interesting thing was that only one of the programmers there was a CS major. Every single other guy was a physicist (there two EE's as well).
What does that mean? I don't know. That's just the way it was...
Name:
Anonymous2005-03-12 5:32
EE majors are nutcases... double physics and EE major is just trying to kill yourself
Name:
Anonymous2005-03-12 6:42
EE and physics do share one significant thing in common: they're heavy on the math. Most CS majors know little beyond 1st year calculus and 2nd year discrete math.
Point a: if you're going into gaming, you'll need all the math you can get. Game engines continue to require an increased understanding of mathematics, whether it be for pushing polygons, developing AI, physics, audio, etc.
Point b: only people who hate life work in the game industry. There are only a few lucky ones, and you won't be one of them (the fact you ask such a question is proof enough of that).
Name:
DarkPenguin2005-03-26 23:16
The game industry is VERY unstable and VERY untrustworthy. One week your working on a game for Sony, after it's done you're fired and working on a game at EA being over worked and under paid. If you want to make games you have to know how to do it really REALLY well and get a really early start.
Name:
Anonymous2005-03-28 12:18
let's discuss the uselessness of a cs degree
Name:
Anonymous2005-03-28 12:22
what do cs majors study anyway
because if it is just a new language, then it seems pretty useless because anyone can learn a new language in a week or two
to me it seems like the cs field is too young to be of any use (but what do i know)
Anyway, I tried for a CS minor but I couldn't take the utter boringness of the first-year class.
All it was was learning C++ and making linked lists of employee structs with them. Apparently ODU has a shitty CS department.
Name:
Christy McJesus!DcbLlAZi7U2005-03-30 3:42
>> Apparently ODU has a shitty CS department.
So shitty they apparently think C++ is both Lisp and a good first language. It is of course neither.
My first year was mostly high school maths and a Java module. I learned the language by reading the course text book in a week and didn't bother turning up to lectures for the rest of the year. Good times.
Name:
Anonymous2005-04-01 13:26
If you're going to study physics, you might as well study electrical engineering. They go hand in hand, especially graduate work. At my school we have a joint major called Computer Engineering, its a combination of CS and EE. Go for that if you dare :)
Name:
7600!u4gC.dTYAE2005-04-08 1:41
>>10
When I was first learning Something Other Than BASIC in the early 1990s, my HS was still teaching *Pascal*. (They did have a decent program, though; we learned linked lists and such first thing. And I loved the APCS test problems, especially the ones where you have to work with what was basically a file system API.) VA Tech was teaching C++ back in 1995 or so as well...C pointers and references confused the hell out of me in that class! I eventually ended up learning C from the FreeBSD sources, and from just playing with it on my own.
As for maths, I onl;y got as far as pre-calc on paper, but I'd been dabbling in calc and other high on my own since grade school (rly!), and I'd been programming in some form (started off with Applesoft BASIC and, briefly, Atari Logo) since I was 7, so I was perfectly okay with it.
I think the computer gaming industry is just like the entertainment industry (Hollywood). As every other poster says, its very unstable because it follows the trends.
Name:
abez!XWEgiX8ArQ2005-06-20 22:00
Your undergraduate degree is what you make of it. It really doesn't matter what you do as long as you do something which interests you. Don't waste your time and everyone elses time becoming something mediocre just for the money because there is not a lot to be made.
Name:
Anonymous2005-06-21 3:28
>>1
WhyTF is everybody thinking Physics is like CS? I wouldn't waste my time, there's little in common. Even if you're up for a gaming engine, you'd be better off learning what you need by yourself (because, if you're doing IT, you should be able to learn stuff by yourself already ^_^).
>>6-7 are right, I recommend you to just hack your way through uni, get something you can get started on, then work on something you like and learnt for yourself - because you will have to, don't count on going to "xxx classes" to learn "xxx" which you will use in real life.
I find picking up Physics in my spare time fairly easy, since more complex theorys is in the "I agree with what you say since I can't disprove it" ballot box. The math is second grade best to pure algebra and calculus.
I would stick with some math.
Name:
Anonymous2007-05-22 5:20 ID:gVRBukP7
>>29
Vector calculus, differential equations, and linear algebra are the basic fields you should be competent in to study physics beyond freshman lecture stuff. Some fields are also heavy in statistics.
Also, real physical theories are falsifiable by experiment... it sounds like what you are studying is not Physics.
Name:
Anonymous2007-05-22 6:29 ID:h4rx/9OQ
Once you become a big enough geek, learning anything geeky (science, math, computers) is doable by yourself whenever you need it. Taking some advanced math courses is probably the best way to develop an analytic mind, and it is going to serve you much more than anything you actually learn in school.
Name:
Anonymous2007-05-22 11:23 ID:leVSGJrb
Taking some advanced math courses is probably the best way to develop an analytic mind, and it is going to serve you much more than anything you actually learn in school.
Truth.
Name:
Anonymous2007-05-22 12:25 ID:qlv1Brqp
Do you Americans say "Physic" instead of "Physics"?
Then why do you say "Math" instead of "Maths"?
That really wouldn't help you much unless you're planning on getting into a field where you put maths to good use, like research and development in physics or even physics that requires you to create simulations.
Physics make heavy use of mathmatical concepts and methods, but studying math forms the basis. Physical applications is a subset of all mathmatical applications since they are restricted to real world situations and experiments. Then the rest is all theory.
I'm not taking Physics, only Calculus and Linear Math.
Name:
Anonymous2007-05-23 14:59 ID:od//gVF1
Study Lambda Calculus then write your own Lisp to work with it!