Which is more useful in the real world?

[ygolo]

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 entrance.

I do not want to study English just for the sake of getting into university. 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.

The main thing I am suggesting is to start with the end in mind. Forget about Math or Writing for a bit, and pick out what you would like to do in the end. There could be mutiple choices, no need to set things in stone. After you decide what you want to do in the end, which courses you need to take will become self-evident. In general, you will have an easier time finding jobs, if your schooling is targeted at particular jobs.

From your prior posts, it seems like you want to go into Science or Engineering. Engineering pays more in general (unless you decide to go into Medicine or a related field, like Biochemistry, or Biophysics, which you cannot really do in 5 years).

Also, knowing more about your situation would help. In five years, to not have any other options other than Math, English, and Mandarin seems a bit extreme. There will be Science, Engineering, Communications, Public Speaking, etc., no? In addition, framing the problem as HAVING to chose one also seems a bit extreme. You will need all three of Math, English, and Mandarin in the real world (assuming you are staying in China). It would really help to know what sparked your original question.

To be perfectly honest, untypable, relying on China becoming enough of a power in your life-time to make English obsolete is a bit much. English has been established as one of the chief languages of Science by two empires (the British and the American).

Learning to write well is important. As you mentioned, some amount will be needed to get into university, hold particular positions at your job, etc. We all have to do things we don't like just to get through a few requirements.

Depending on where you work, and what type of job you have will determine how well you need to write in English or Mandarin.

Choosing Science, or Business over Engineering will generally require better writing skills. Engineers at lower levels don't necessarily need to be good writers. However, at higher levels in the job, writing is a must. If your company is international, English will likely still be a major language of correspondence.

When it comes to Mathematics, like nightning said, the most practical thing to study is Statistics, and often Statistics is its own separate department because of this.

Beyond all this, even if you get a high paying job, what important is that you like what you do, that you like your coworkers and employers, and that you are appreciated as an individual (trust me on this). So ultimately, you ought to do what you like. From what you've posted, English writing isn't your strong suit, and you don't seem to like it...so do only enough of it to get by, or learn to like it. You will likely need some amount of it for life.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

In response to the title of this thread, I take issue with the term "real world".

 

[yenom]

Hmm....I see thanks for the response.

But i seriously suck at english.

What do you wish to know about my situation, ygolo?

For now, I lack a high enough english qualification to get into unviersity.
And I do not know whether I shold go to university, because I heard from many people that alot of things they learned there are too theortical for the real world.

And I am having doubts about the power of knowledge and books because alot of them seemed unusable in the real world. I really want to learn something rather doing it for the sake of satisfying the education system.

 

[Mondo]

It depends on the profession,
Overall, I would say writing wins by a slight margin, mostly because writing is more popular than math for the common man.

 

[yenom]

We can think about this in the economic perspective? Who makes more money, a mathematician or a writer?
what information is more expensive in this world and has more applications?

 

[bluebell]

Writing. Quite a few of my colleagues seem to be able to get by just fine with minimal maths. (they can add numbers but anything else seems to be beyond them)

 

[Darjur]

Going to a university means going into research.

If you want just the practical real world stuff, go to a college.

 

[527468]

A lot of logical people are good at math, however there are many mathematicians that don't prove very logical, and because logic is a quite useful tool in the world, I don't see how math skills could somehow advance this. If you suck at math you are no match for math, and the same goes for writing. However writing is definitely more useful to the average person. Most math is for computers to do, and high math is reserved for those who can perceive it, like great composers or philosophers. Writing is more persuasive especially in the sense that it can get the job done without making a lick of sense.

 

[FDG]

Going to a university means going into research.

If you want just the practical real world stuff, go to a college.

In many places there is no such distinction (in my country there isn't, for example).

 

[wildcat]

I'm on Team Math for this one.

First you get the maths, then you get the money, then you get the power.

Call me a bitter ex-journo, but it's been my experience that almost no one -- NO ONE -- knows where to put apostrophes or how to spell correctly or how to write coherently -- and no one cares. I don't think writing is as valued as society as it should be -- sad!

But a typo or a poorly written paragraph probably won't bring down a company, where a math error could.

A school mistress philosophy. What do they know.

An error is a divine thing.
The alphabet of learning.

The majority of the school mistresses are men.
Men afraid to commit an error.

They see it as a crime.
And they punish their students for the crime.

A foresight is a novelty.
It is always an error.
A novelty is a find that does not match what you have been previously taught.

Writing or math? They are both in high request.
The subject does not matter.

 

[something boring]

Call me a bitter ex-journo, but it's been my experience that almost no one -- NO ONE -- knows where to put apostrophes or how to spell correctly or how to write coherently -- and no one cares. I don't think writing is as valued as society as it should be -- sad!

I have to agree here, as much as I usually stifle the urge to say anything...

Sadly, I have to agree here, as well.

But a typo or a poorly written paragraph probably won't bring down a company, where a math error could.

In response to the OP, I think it depends on the intended use. For example, math is generally useless when attempting to create interpersonal relationships.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Writing or Math. You can only choose one.

WRATH


/thread

 

[sculpting]

Math. The ability to use modelling or stats can be applied to any situation to better understand it.

 

[ColonelGadaafi]

Lol, It depends on the situation. If you're a maths researcher at university, then you'll need maths. If you're a grammar teacher, then writing is better. Imo you better go with maths. With english you dont need any course to improve. With the increasing globalization and available english literature, you can learn english without having to go through a course, there is tons of self-learning material you can find on the internet or buy. Studying english would only serve you as merit. There are lots of examples of fluent and expert writers in english who did not study nor have a degree, yet they surpass those who do.

 

[speculative]

I don't define writing as the art of grammar. I define it as the art of story-telling and creating meaning. You can't get to the stars without math; without writing there's no reason to go...

 

[ColonelGadaafi]

I don't define writing as the art of grammar. I define it as the art of story-telling and creating meaning. You can't get to the stars without math; without writing there's no reason to go...

You got a point SPecs, however maths is far harder to learn, and he can always compensate his lack formal education in english by reading literature and self-educating himself.

 

[Scott]

Writing, much to my dismay. I would have said math most of my life (most of 24 years, that is... "most of my life" makes it sound like I'm older) and I definitely prefer math and am better at it, but I'm definitely going with writing.

 

[professor goodstain]

It would be writing. It's maths auxilery. 2=two, +=plus, ==equals, ect.

 

[Society]

if you are asking in absolute terms - let's say if you had a head injury and had to choose between your ability to to do any form of math and your ability to do any form of writing - then i'd have to pick writing as the more useful skills.

if we are talking about the higher end, in a situation where you have the basics of both, than math becomes more useful.

if we are talking as a society, then writing wins again. all the conclusions we can use math to reach aren't worth shit if we can't accumulate the knowledge.

p.s.
for the smartass who'll include computations under math:

i'm going to put logic charts under writing, just to screw with you.

 

[RaptorWizard]

Numbers put measures on things, whereas words expand and can take on multiple dimensions, thereby rendering words vastly superior!