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by Rylan Hoffius
One of the greatest mysteries of the world is not 42 as the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy would have us believe, but rather the 80/20 rule. Also known as the Pareto Principle, it asserts that the minority of causes leads to the majority of a given result. Specifically that in many (but not all) situations 80% of a given property comes from 20% of the population. While this is not an absolute rule, this is seen with remarkable consistency in both the social and physical sciences. Developed by management consultant Joseph M. Juran based on a discovery by Italian sociologist Vilfred Pareto that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by around 20% of the population. It was soon discovered that in many places around the world this tendency continued. Around 20% of the global population lives in wealthy countries, and 20% of the population owns around 80% of the world´s wealth, though wealth distribution varies vastly between different countries. According to Microsoft, ¨80 percent of system failures tend to be the result of 20 percent of the common errors or bugs.¨ In fact Molybdenum, which incidentally has an atomic number of 42, is used in approximately 80% of steel production according to ESPI. It is also a practical way to approach time management and projects in real life. While many variations and exceptions exist, the fact that the 80/20 rule is a noticeable trend in several different fields shows how much we don´t know, and how much we can learn from studying such phenomena. Sources “80/20 - How to Increase Your Productivity by Doing Less.” UBC Science, https://science.ubc.ca/students/blog/how-to-increase-your-productivity-by-doing-less. Accessed 11 October 2022. “Pareto Principle Definition - Economics.” Investopedia, 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/paretoprinciple.asp. Accessed 8 October 2022. Saunders, Laura. “Top 20% of Americans Will Pay 87% of Income Tax.” The Wall Street Journal, 6 April 2018, https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-20-of-americans-will-pay-87-of-income-tax-1523007001. Accessed 11 October 2022. Scheele, Carl Welhelm. “Molybdenum Wire and Rod.” ESPI Metals, https://www.espimetals.com/index.php/technical-data/874-Molybdenum%20Wire%20and%20Rod. Accessed 11 October 2022. “Workload operations in cloud management - Cloud Adoption Framework.” Microsoft Learn, 4 May 2021, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cloud-adoption-framework/manage/considerations/workload. Accessed 11 October 2022.
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by Charlie Snow
Depending on your goals, the type of math necessary may be different from other career fields. This article gives readers a basic overview of common STEM career fields and the mathematics required for each. Engineering: Despite the many different worlds of engineering (ex. Civic engineering vs chemical engineering), the math skills required are typically the same across the board. Engineering requires an understanding of algebra, linear algebra, multiple levels of calculus, and depending on what the program offers, trigonometry. Like most STEM fields, engineers also require a basic understanding of statistics and probability. Computer Science: Computer science, like engineering, is a very broad field and mathematics requirements will depend on your specific interest or program, however, if you plan on majoring in computer science or IT or becoming a worker in the field, you should have a concrete understanding of algebra, discrete mathematics, calculus, and statistics. Research: Research, or data science, can be done across many fields of interest and as such, the math requirements for particular jobs will be affected by what is being studied. For basic data science, however, one should familiarize themselves with algebra, calculus, and especially statistics. STEM Careers With Basic Math: While there are hardly any jobs out there that require absolutely no math, these next few career paths offer options for STEM oriented students who aren’t crazy about mathematics.
STEM Careers With Advanced Math:
So What are These Mathematical Concepts? Algebra: Algebra, put simply, is mathematics that uses variables (ex. X and Y) to derive unknown variables such as proportions or percentages from mathematical equations. Algebra is divided into five subjects: Elementary Algebra, Advanced Algebra, Abstract Algebra, Linear Algebra, and Commutative Algebra.
Calculus: Calculus has many applications and many branches that have either a wide or narrow application- or both.
Statistics: Statistics is a method of analyzing and interpreting data in mathematical terms. Statistics can be split into two types: Descriptive and Inferential.
https://www.wgu.edu/blog/how-much-math-computer-science-require2110.html#close https://bestaccreditedcolleges.org/articles/careers-and-education/what-math-courses-are-required-for-engineering-majors.html https://www.businessinsider.com/high-paying-jobs-for-people-who-dont-like-math-2016-3#2-pediatrician-21 https://byjus.com/maths/algebra/ https://byjus.com/maths/types-of-statistics/ https://www.calculushowto.com/different-types-of-calculus/ by Charlie Snow
When people think of mathematics in STEM, especially students, the first concepts that come to mind are some advanced form of calculus or a combination of physics and math that leaves most minds spinning. As students strive to set themselves apart from their peers in these complicated subjects of STEM, one math class is often pushed to the back of the bunch. Sure, there are people who thoroughly enjoy quantum physics and thermodynamics, however, when it comes to STEM, there's one math class that every STEM student should take. Statistics, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is “the practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample.” As a math class, it sets itself apart from its peers through the enormous amount of writing and reliance on context it uses to often confuse the students trying to understand its picky concepts. As a survivor of AP Statistics, trust me when I say it is very different from any other math class you’ll take in your high school career. Every grade you earn relies on your understanding of statistics vocabulary, concepts, and interpretation of the problem you’re solving. Yet despite its often infuriating nit-picking of your work, statistics can be an incredibly useful tool in your STEM career. To start, if you’re interested in any type of research, statistics is essential. Your data needs to be simplified, explained, and described to an audience that probably won’t have any understanding of your project before reading your paper. Descriptive and interpretive statistics are essential in explaining what your data shows, what it means in the context of your research, and how significant the numbers are. As a math class, statistics helps you to think of things not only in a mathematical context but a scientific one as well. Even a general understanding of statistics can prevent amature mistakes such as overgeneralizing results, equating correlation to causation, and avoiding illogical reasoning. Because of the importance of statistics in scientific fields, knowing concepts like how to conduct data analysis can open up dozens of doorways to careers not only in the mathematics of STEM but in scientific areas as well. If research isn’t your thing, statistics can still help you in your field. Understanding what the meanings of means, standard deviations, significance tests, and confidence intervals is an incredible help when researching topics that interest you or when trying to determine whether facts based on statistics are valid. You’ll be able to research others’ claims and determine on your own if they’re valid. In addition to understanding the mathematics of statistics, understanding how context interacts with statistics can give you more clues on what the numbers mean in that particular situation. And if you don’t feel the need to do any of that, if STEM doesn’t interest you at all, you should still take a statistics class. Understanding how probability works will help you make better decisions based on your chances of getting what you want. Math is certainly not everyone’s preferred career path and you could definitely get through life fine without a concrete understanding of statistics, however, if you want to be in the research field, if you want to understand research, or if you just want to understand more about what numbers and data mean in the context of life, take a statistics class. Sources: https://www.socialsciencespace.com/2018/05/10-reasons-to-study-statistics/ https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/ |
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