Engineers: how useful is linear algebra?

[ucdbiendog]

my linear algebra class was cake. just had to learn one thing: reduced row echelon form. know that and its properties alone will get you a B in that class. assumgin we are talking baout the same class. I think it is useful to know.

EDIT: get to know the linear algebra commands in MATLAB VERY VERY well. It will make checking your homework answers easy as hell.

 

[cerebusPu]

okay....anyone who says linear algebra is useless for engineering is seriously smoking crack. If you dont use it in your field and your a working professional then you have the right to say "we dont use linear algebra...and this is what we do" it doesnt mean its useless for your type of engineering in general.

I took linear algebra in college and i didnt do too well. It got tedious and boring fast. Ive been out of school for about two years. In my line of work Im involved with robotics, computer graphics, control and dynamics, and signals analysis. And my gawd, everything involves matrices!!

- robotics=> you need to calculate what joint angles are required in a multi-join arm to position an end effector at some point. what do you use? bunch of matrices.
- computer graphics=>bunch o matrices. endless endless amounts of matrices. Doom3 is one big bag of matrices.

anyways, there's plenty more and others have described it better than me. i took 4 years of math in college including, 3 semesters of calc, linear algebra, differential equations, probability and statistics, discrete math, and math modeling for business management. I didnt care so much for math, resulting in countless times copying homework and memorizing equations for tests. Now Im paying up the bumhole for slacking off so much. I have to teach myself everything, and without a strong math background its just so much harder to be a good engineer.

 

I sucked horribly at linear algebra.
It was the last semester I was in school.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: cerebusPu
- robotics=> you need to calculate what joint angles are required in a multi-join arm to position an end effector at some point. what do you use? bunch of matrices.
- computer graphics=>bunch o matrices. endless endless amounts of matrices. Doom3 is one big bag of matrices.

Because we are really in the Matrix.

Å

 

[jacob0401]

I learned introductory LA in IB Calculus this year (HS Senior). Undoubtedly it was probably only the first 1-2 weeks of a college course but I found it to be interesting and quite innovative. However, I found the key was concept not memorization. If you are unable to grasp the concept and visualize the concepts to be used for application to the problem it would be difficult to solve the problems, especially the more challenging ones, on the exam. On the other hand calculus was memorize the concept and practice.