Which is more useful in the real world?

[Eldanen]

Writing, most definitely.

 

[The Ü™]

Writing, most definitely.

Especially when it's by me.

 

[garbage]

Writing. What good is a proof, a calculus, or really any other idea (mathematical or otherwise) if it can't be effectively communicated?

It seems that most other relevant advances follow from advances in communication.

 

[*Strictly_The_Facts*]

Math. Without the ability to do the math mismanagement of money would surely follow. And we all know where that road can lead...

 

[Nonsensical]

This is a very great question, and I'm afraid I don't have the wisdom to answer it right now. Maybe I'll think on it, and get back to this.

 

[Snoopy22]

Math, math could also be more easily turned into writing.

 

[FDG]

Math. Without the ability to do the math mismanagement of money would surely follow. And we all know where that road can lead...

I don't think that most people here are referring to maths as the basic kind - which is obviously essential - but probably to the more advanced type. I know great accountants that aren't particularly good at maths over the calculus level.

 

[Jack Flak]

Can you write exemplary psychological horror like Stephen King? That's more lucrative than any math success, even Nobel status.

 

[Valiant]

If I have to choose one: writing

But maths is just another language, really. A complex one.

 

[LostInNerSpace]

Writing or Math. You can only choose one.

You can't have math without writing (mathematical writing). Since this impossibly ridiculous question requires one choice I would say the ability to communicate is arguable the bedrock of our existence (society). It makes us who we are.

 

[CzeCze]

Writing or Math. You can only choose one.

You mean to exist or to know?

I'd say math. Because I'd want to be a genius that can speak in numbers and mathemetical formulae.

I can still read, right?

Wait...somehow this question is too open ended.

 

[yenom]

I am talking about english writing vs advance math.

english writing the only develooement and career choices I can see is in literature , journalism, letter and business writing.

 

[yenom]

I am a 22 year old who does not know what to spend time on studying.
These are my three choices , mathematics , English , mandarin. Please advice me which one is more pratical ande useful in the real world. I have 5 years time and I can only do one of these three. These are the three choices:
Mandarin-I forsee the rise of china in the next centruy. Besiudes china is my home country and I feel I should learn at least how to speak and write my language, which I am ignorant of because I live in another province that speaks another dialect. Learning about mandarin in these 5 years would give me a lot of opportunities.

English –this is the hardest one. I am a very poor wreiter. English is the only stumbling block which is stopping me to getting into university. I need to do well in english in oreder to get admission into university. Yet, I would not waste my time to study english just for the sake of getting a successful application. The only thing I see pratical use for English outside university is in literature and philosophy, which is useless in the real world. But a good English mark is absolutely necesseary for me to gert into university, without it, i would be waiting outside university forever.

Mandarin-From an early age, I show a natural aptitude for math in an early age. Math is one of my favorite subjects. Yet Calculus seems extremely theortical and also lack pratical use in the working world, being good at it only served as a limited advantage. Yet If I sped my time well in calculus in these 5 years, I would have more confidence tackling the other sciences which I am interested in (Physics, Chemistry, biology) , since math is the universal language of science. I see huge potential in scientific development in the future.

So which one should I chose and spend the next 5 years doing,. Thanks alot for the feedback.

Please help me make a choice and tell me which is the most useful in the working world.

 

[ygolo]

It really depends on what you want to do, and your general penchant for applying what you learn.

If you are going into Physics, Calculus, and almost all higher mathematics, is a must. From what I've seen, all the other sciences require less Math. Chemistry may benefit from an understanding of Group Theory, Fourier Analysis, and Linear Algebra (but mainly in Physical Chemistry).

All the sciences require an understanding of Statistics, if for no other reason but to keep up with scientific journal reading.

If you're going into any form of engineering (except maybe Computer/Software Engineering which will benefit a lot more from Discrete Math, Algorithm Analysis, Modern/Abstract Algebra, and Category Theory), a conceptual understanding of Calculus, Linear Algebra, statistics, and Fourier Analysis will likely be needed (Civil Engineering maybe another exception if you go into the more book-keeping or Project Management aspect of things where Statistical Analysis plays a much bigger role).

Finance requires some basic Calculus from what I've seen, but I've also seen extensive use of statistics and probability theory (which benifits greatly from Fourier Analysis) in Finance Journals .

Speaking more generally, you will need to be profficient in whatever language will be used in your daily activities. This usually doesn't mean an extensive load of courses in them, however. Proficiency in language comes mainly from use, and not coursework. Communications, Public Speaking, Buiseness writing, and Technical Writing, however, may be useful.

Being conversant in all the classic literature in Mandarin or English, I wager, has little practical value when compared to the mathematics or statistics courses I mentioned (again depending on the feild you choose). However, being learned in literature may make you a more well-rounded person.

 

[BerberElla]

Writing, more than the observation of correct grammar usage, is an art of communication.

Agreed.

Grammar is bound to change with time much as language has changed with time, but writing as a form of communication is priceless.

Doesn't matter how it's written, or what language, or if an apostrophe is missing, it still takes the thoughts of one mind to give to another.

 

[Gauche]

Writing or Math. You can only choose one.

Writing.

We have SJs for that dirty work with math.

 

[entropie]

I would be lieing, if I say writing is not, because there are still enough people who can made believe everything with words.

Besides that I think writing and math do not have much in common and to give one more weight makes no sense to me.

 

[ygolo]

As I understand it, you are asking which courses to take in terms of getting a job in China. Is this true?

The answer to that should be clear based on what jobs are available and lucrative. Simply study to learn to do one of those jobs.

There will be prerequisites for the desired classes, so study those pre-requisites first... and if they have prerequisites themselves, then take those prerequisites ...

This question of whether math or writing is more "important," doesn't seem to be the one you asked. Simply find out based on who has jobs and who doesn't based on what they studied.

I personally don't think coursework in writing beyond basic levels of business and technical writing, helps improve your writng. Journalism will help only if you plan to be a journalist.

Why limit yourself to math or writing? Why not take science, engineering, and whatever else, and the pre-requisites for them first?

 

[yenom]

What other options are there, ygolo.

Well, you see, I need a decent english mark in order to get into universitry.
But other than that , putting effort into english is useless.

My math mark is already excel enough to get a enterance.

I do not want to study english just for the sake of getting into unviersity. Because if i fail , all the five years of studying english would be wasted. There are no practical use for it in the real world. So i see no reason to invest effort into english other than getting an enterance ticket into university.

And I really want to learn something that can help me lifelong, rather than doing it jyust to satisfy the education system.

 

[nightning]

Statistics pwns all.

If you're going to do any sort of scientific research... it behooves you to get a solid grasp of statistics. That might be even more useful than calculus or matrix algebra which are only useful in selected fields.