Research surface methodology.
Only class I ever had to study for.
Still have no idea what it was about.

I have always struggled with math and can never trust my results unless I can empirically prove it.

I enjoyed physics in high school, for that reason, you had an answer that had to make sense for the problem you solved, not just a number.

After reading some of the replies, I’m embarrassed to say that I only finished with calculus if I recall correctly.

My best friend was an actuarial science major. Smartest dude I knew. RIP

Remember that Newton invented calculus to explain physics.

Long ago, I decided that one could see the sequence thusly:

Life -> Philosophy -> Mathematics -> Physics -> Chemistry -> Biology -> Life

And for memories...I still shudder remembering when I was taking advanced fluid mechanics and advanced DE's at the same time. With finals for each on the same day. I learned that day what it feels like if someone was to put a spigot in my ear and turn on the tap - emptying my brain completely. Far worse than a dissertation defense.

Partial differential equations. It almost killed me. Made dif eq seem like simple addition to me. Couldn’t understand how you can have an infinite solution to every problem.

Very high level.

If I had bothered to do the paperwork, I would have a triple degree in astronomy, physics and math. N-dimentional calculus, differential geometry, and yes, partial diff Eq (quantum mechanics).
No real math classes in grad school, but plenty of math specific topics. I've solved the Dirac equation, and I've solved the Kerr equation for a rotating black hole. Grad thesis was based around Fourier-space transforms in 3 dimensions (AKA, light diffracting through a lens...)

All of it's gone now, I use a computer to convert things and do trig solutions for me now.

I took a statistics class in college. I should have dropped it the first week. Trouble was that it was too damn interesting to sit for an entire semester and not have a freaking clue what the guy was saying. I'm not sure I even knew what language he was speaking.

I got a B in Calc 1 and 2 and a A in Calc 3 and DiffyQ. I took Dify in a summer class and it was the only class I was taking and all I did was the problems in the book. My teacher was cool and I got a better score for each exam I had. I was really in the zone for that class. Too bad I wasn't able to keep the same focus thru the rest of my undergrad but its water under the dam now as one of my former managers said.

A month ago I was digging a ditch for a gas line repair and I'm happier that I'm not having to commute anymore.

Need option in the poll

I once dropped 800 ug of military grade LSD and looked back at the beginning and the end of the universe and had full understanding of all physics and math.

12 hours later i snapped out of it and watched 2 ducks on my lawn. It was a nice day


I forgot most of the math and physics crap tho

I pretty much tap out at 9x9 😁

This was my favorite part of structural molecular biochemistry.

I will be taking a Calc 1 Class this summer- wish me luck ;)

Prior to that: Stats and College Algebra have been the highest.

I can count to:

Infinity. And beyond.

Math has always been easy for me but Differential Equations was the only class I ever flunked :rolleyes: I took it as a 'Self-Study' class that I thought would be easy. I did the self part, but not the studying part and flunked :D So 2 years later at the end of my senior year I still had this Diff Eq class hanging over my head and had to take it in my last semester. That was tough having not had any pure math classes for 2 years!

Differential equations for me also... My biggest gripe and disappointment in the whole calculus through DE was the absence of applicability. We were working through mere math problems without ever knowing a real world example of the type of problem that the answer would address. I think, at least in my case, that these higher maths would been much more meaningful should an actual case accompanied the formulas.

Physics was where calculus started to click for me. Using triple integrals to solve a physics problem.

I had one engineering professor tell us that he didn't really understand thermodynamics until he taught it a few times so that made me feel better about it all.

I was fortunate to COOP with an electric utility during school. Between taking thermo 1 and 2, a lazy young engineer at work handed me an old max capacity performance test (real life thermo 2 calculations) and a stack of data we just collected and asked me to do the report. I worked backwards through the old report and figured it out. So I learned thermo 2 before ever taking the class. When I got to thermo 2 the professor was asking me questions! When I got to heat transfer the professor was a retired PhD from the utility I worked at so that was a bonus for me.

One of my favorite classes was Finite Element methods. The whole point was to understand the method so that when the computers could eventually do it, it would make sense. The 25 MHZ 80386 PC was the top of the line Micro at the time. Some of the "Super" computers and Mainframes could do reasonable FEM at the time.

These days, they sell FEM programs for any PC. But most of the time, I expect the people using FEM don't really understand it. That was a great Grad course and was applied math.

My instructor (He only had a Masters and was working on his phd) was teaching Heat Transfer and I don't think he really understood it. Middle of the semester, he had a wrong answer on the exam and I had to explain to him the real meaning behind the surface to volume ratio. He only checked the "special cases" and concluded they could not be used. I had to go to a wedding and had to do the final early. I spent most of the exam checking my work because one solution was a heat exchanger (shell in tube) 1 meter long but 60 meter in diameter to make it work. Nope, he effed up the numbers. I'm sure he then fixed the exam for the other students.

Matrix algebra. It made me cry. No I didn't finish the class.

IMO, most of calc 1 is easier than Algebra 2/Trig. Most of Calc 1 involves some relatively simple algebra, and memorizing formula for how to take the differential of various things. If you can do algebra, you'll do fine in calc.