I left the title general hoping that other people would use it for future uncertainties, not just me.



I have one Math elective yet, and I'm between Intro Statistics, Intro Logic, or Mathematics of Finance?

Stats- I took AP Statistics back in high school and didn't like it. My girlfriend is taking it now, says it's easier than it was in high school because it's less material for an intro class. Has little to do with anything I'm interested in, though maybe some journalism application I guess.

Logic- Okay, so this one is pretty closely related to my field (Rhetoric), so I could make an argument (haha) for it, but I've heard it's definitely not a pushover class. Up in the air about it, but at least it doesn't require a calculator... right?

Finance- Yeah, okay, a lot of people say it's a cop-out class, but is it really? I'm interested in it because it sounds like a lot of it would be applied math to everyday life (well not everyday, but things I'd be doing in the future). It seems like it would be useful, probably the most useful of all the choices.

Yes I am interested in something with a light workload--it's an elective and I've got some pretty heavy courses on the table outside of it. I guess that should be taken into consideration. They're all entry-level courses so I can't imagine any of them are HARD, just trying to gauge people's experiences with them I guess.

11/8/2010 2:49:44 AM

for Intro. to Logic, you'll wish calculators were capable of assisting

I mean Mathematica and Maple can help but those can't run on...wait, Wolfram Alpha can help, hope ya gotta smartphone lol: http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/LogicSetTheory.html

11/8/2010 8:34:32 AM

are you in chass?

11/8/2010 9:53:44 AM

Quote :

"ST 507 Statistics For the Behavioral Sciences I UNITS: 3 - Offered in Fall and Spring A general introduction to the use of descriptive and inferential statistics in behavioral science research. Methods for describing and summarizing data presented, followed by procedures for estimating population parameters and testing hypotheses concerning summarized data."

I took this course last spring and found it very practical and helpful for someone who not in a math/engineering field.

Not that this is the course you're looking at, but my only point is that I found an intro statistics course surprisingly more useful for someone outside of a math/engineering arena than I would have expected beforehand.

11/8/2010 1:36:23 PM

You're talking about undergrad courses right?

For stats you would be taking ST 310 most likely. We (the grad students) teach it and it is generally not a difficult course. I would like to think it is useful in that if you ever have to read research lit you'll be able to understand the statistics they use to draw conclusions.

Logic would be LOG 201 I'm guessing. This course melts some people's brain and depending on your professor could be one of the more difficult courses you've taken. Do you have any experience with proofs or set theory? If you haven't you could be in for a rough road.

No experience with Finance but I would guess it isn't too difficult.

What's your background? What do you want from the class?

[Edited on November 8, 2010 at 2:42 PM. Reason : .]

11/8/2010 2:41:26 PM

^Yea, undergrad, may I should have said that. And yes, CHASS.

There's not a specific goal for me as to what I should get out of the class, especially since I can see all the classes being useful. Logic is useful for rhetoric, Stats is useful for research and journalism, and Finance is useful for a future citizen/household/whatever.

So I guess I was more or less just wanting to see people's experience with the classes rather than "help me decide what's best for me". I know that Logic is the hardest but I'm still interested in it (yes I have some experience but I'm not sure it'll help me). The rest aren't really things that immediately interest me, but I know I could perform well in Stats and Finance Math seems useful.

Hm.

11/8/2010 2:47:48 PM

Ok, I was just curious.

Just make sure you don't confuse logic in the everyday sense with formal logic - LOG 201 is the latter. I have a hard time believing that it is in any way related to rhetoric other than in some really loose sense. It's going to be a lot of esoteric symbols and theorem proving.

Something more like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-order_logic

11/8/2010 3:00:15 PM

I know what it is.

Rhetoric (along with linguistics) and Logic share the same origin as one of the three ancient discourses (let's beat Aristotle like a dead horse), and a lot of the inherent processes they serve are shared and build on similar concepts (deductive inference, inconsistency, entailment, predicate logic, argument, et cetera).

I'm not sure why I would confuse this with the colloquial use of informal logic. I get your point that it's difficult and not for everyone.

11/8/2010 3:27:23 PM

I didn't mean to insult your intelligence, just wanted to make sure you knew what the course was about.

11/8/2010 3:47:24 PM

if you are in chass you are in luck, assuming you have placed into and taken MA 114, or any of the Calculuses, MA 121 or above in your freshman year with a grade of C or better, you will not need to take a second math course, they will give you 3 credit hours of math for free but only if you request it. this is a freebie only given to chass students so take advantage if you have the opportunity.
i took calculus and i can confirm it works, in my transcript it just says something like "Transfer Credit: Precalculus I CR" in place of the 2nd math elective.

[Edited on November 8, 2010 at 5:17 PM. Reason : ]

11/8/2010 5:15:00 PM

^Weak sauce.

I think he actually wants to take a math elective. You know, Causa Scientiae.

11/8/2010 6:11:41 PM

Quote :

"Yes I am interested in something with a light workload--it's an elective and I've got some pretty heavy courses on the table outside of it."

so why not just eliminate the whole class from the picture if possible. not really "weak" since you'd had to have taken a more difficult 1st math than required for a chass major. (e.g. calc instead of pre-calc)

[Edited on November 8, 2010 at 9:31 PM. Reason : ]

11/8/2010 9:27:39 PM

While I'm interested in the classes I can take, I would definitely do what I could to get out of it.

I will ask my adviser about this freebie. Never heard of it before (and yea, I meant the requirements, at least as you have outlined).

11/9/2010 2:20:10 AM

Page 10 http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/docs/keypoints08.pdf

Quote :

"GRP 802 Mathematics II. For a freshman who places into MA 114 or one of the calculus courses MA 121, 131, or 141 at NC State, taking that course at NC State and earning a C or better on the first attempt will earn an extra three hours of mathematics credit. (The additional three hours of credit will not be given if a student attempts a lower level math course before taking MA 114, 121, 131, or 141 or if MA 114, 121, 131, or 141 is taken at another institution.) In programs that require Statistics as a second math course, the extra three hours of mathematics credit can be used as free elective credit. Credit is not given for more than one MA 121, 131 and 141. Students will not be given credit for MA 111 if they have taken MA 107 or MA 108."

this was made for my incoming class but they tell you this at each new student orientation

[Edited on November 9, 2010 at 10:20 AM. Reason : ]

11/9/2010 10:16:15 AM