Why is calculus necessary in computer science?

[Anonymous]

[andreasderjuengere]

Aren't computers: technology and engineering?
Science as per dictionary:
''the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.''
So:
How can one be scientific when this person can not even handle calculus?

[NathanDavis]

Calculus is a step-up on mathematical analysis and comprehension, and it is significantly more advanced, which is the kind of stuff one would be dealing with computer science in the first place, if, you really want to be good at it.

[Asker]

Yeah, but even engineer's don't use it. Most of them just use basic algebra on the job.

[NathanDavis]

You don't need "to use it" (even thought you actually do). You maybe thinking of one specific job or task, however Calculus is just the start, and the basis of keeping your mind as sharp as possibkle, so is not exactly how you apply it, but the benefits that it brings to your overall skill set.

[hunsinger]

I think it’s one of those traditional things that kind of stuck around

[Anonymous]

It depends what problems you’re solving with the computer. If it’s a business report, you probably don’t need anything more than arithmetic. If it’s science, engineering, statistics, or design, you’re going to need more advanced mathematics.