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pjm

Ooh! Ooh! Multivariate calculus all the way!!!!!!!

(Sorry, had to get that out.)

Not isolating your subjects much, are you? I should point out that A. was a WS major at the college under discussion...

I was about to say, "I wish I worked for an employer which let me take classes," but then I realized, hey! I do!

(Way) Over the Line

Is Neel Smith teaching the Classics class?

Byron

Just out of curiosity, why is multivariable calculus appealing, and what are the prerequisites to take it? When I took it, it was pretty far into the math sequence of classes required for mechanical engineering majors.

I assume you will be auditing the classes? I could never audit a class. I can't work up motivation to work unless the class is for a letter grade. Even if it is pass/fail, I will slack.

dgm

i consider free tuition at my campus one of the benefits of my job, too. every semester i come up with a wish list much like yours, plus a list of all the campus outdoor adventure trips i would like to go on. i have yet to take advantage of any of it. (sigh)

i've finally resigned myself to the fact that if i stay here long enough, my kids could get the tuition benefit. sigh.

Scheherazade

Byron -- I won't be auditing, unless the fee to take the class as a "special student" is much higher than I anticipate. Like you, it's hard to work as hard as I should unless I'll be evaluated with a grade.

I can't explain why I circled multivariate calculus. I took integral and differential in high school and college, and this is the next one in the sequence. I'm sure I wouldn't remember any of the earlier stuff though. I remember liking calculus, and I guess it appealed to me because it's been a long time since I've done that kind of thinking, and it seems like it might be a good stretch.

PG

If you want something that will be a bit of a stretch, I'd recommend the Ornithology over the multivariate calculus. At least for me, math tends to be a get-it-or-don't proposition, and I wouldn't want to take a class for fun that ended up requiring me to dig out decade-old notes from undergrad. Ornithology also is one that will allow you to impress your friends and neighbors by being able to recognize and know a lot about something people encounter on a daily basis, which probably is less true of multivariate calculus.

bill

The drawing class would be awesome. Another side of the brain and all that.

David

I would recommend taking MATH 222 instead of multivariate calculus. Linear algebra is at the heart of EVERYTHING that we do and will give you a lot more insight in how to describe things than the calc class will. That particular calc class (versus the first and second semesters) is much more tools oriented and if you don't have occasion to use the tools, you'll probably come away frustrated because the topics are unmotivated.

Em

I'd second taking linear algebra over multivariable calculus. For me, multi was the same as previous calc courses, except more of a headache because there were more dimensions. Linear algebra is much more interesting.

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