# How much math do you do on a regular basis (for work and otherwise)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840 "2012-02-14T19:16:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/1 "2012-02-14T19:16:10Z")
A friend of mine from high school just asked me if I could help her son with his trigonometry. Had to say no because though I made all A’s in that subject back in the day, and went as far as Calculus II in college, that was twenty more than twenty years ago and those skills have all atrophied. I am still comfortable with algebra up to about logarithms (though I’m not sure how useful those are any longer). Anyway it got to me thinking: what is the highest math you were trained in? What is the most advanced math you do on a regular basis at your job? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/2 "2012-02-14T19:34:39Z")
A lot. I spend all day writing machine checked proofs in a constructive higher-order logic and I do “real” mathematics with a pen and paper on the side. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/3 "2012-02-14T19:36:10Z")
I never received any training higher than the basics of quadratic equations and plane geometry. I use binary logic and symbolic logic all the time while working, but those are easy, you only have to count up to one. The vast majority of people do not have a need to use higher math in any part of their life. But an awful lot of people benefit from the experience of understanding and learning how to use complex methodologies. Really, isn’t a lot of education this way? We get more benefit from studying history by learning how to research, organize, and communicate. We learn chemistry to understand and use the scientific method even though we may never work as chemists. The subject doesn’t have to be directly relevant to any particular aspect of life. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/4 "2012-02-14T19:56:29Z")
Arguably a lot, though not particularly high-level. I write software, so I’m constantly doing small amounts of arithmetic and logical operations in my head as I’m coding them up. Occasionally I’ll hit the whiteboard to calculate something out, but I usually don’t have to use anything more complicated than algebra or discrete math. I have to _understand_ algorithmic complexity, but it’s pretty rare that I need to do anything really novel. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/5 "2012-02-14T19:58:48Z")
Huge heaping gobs of Math. I am a statistician. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/6 "2012-02-14T20:00:02Z")
> [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](#): > > A friend of mine from high school just asked me if I could help her son with his trigonometry. Had to say no because though I made all A’s in that subject back in the day, and went as far as Calculus II in college, that was twenty more than twenty years ago and those skills have all atrophied. I am still comfortable with algebra up to about logarithms (though I’m not sure how useful those are any longer). > > Anyway it got to me thinking: what is the highest math you were trained in? What is the most advanced math you do on a regular basis at your job? I got the usual 1980-era US High School college track maths (algebra, trig, calculus) and I do a fair amount of math in my job. Well, let me clarify that: I do a lot of word problems, translate them to Excel, write some formulas, and let Excel do the actual math. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/7 "2012-02-14T20:04:13Z")
I had to help my kid with trig this past semester. Although I don’t use it everyday, luckily, it’s all on the internets now. You could help your friend’s kid by showing him/her what to search for. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/8 "2012-02-14T20:07:46Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I got the usual 1980-era US High School college track maths (algebra, trig, calculus) and I do a fair amount of math in my job. > > Well, let me clarify that: I do a lot of word problems, translate them to Excel, write some formulas, and let Excel do the actual math. What’s funny is I have found myself and colleagues calling what you just said…‘doing it by hand’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/9 "2012-02-14T20:14:00Z")
I am a plaintiff’s attorney. All I need to do is divide by three. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/10 "2012-02-14T20:14:40Z")
Not that much, but enough that I’m very thankful for the quality math education I received. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/11 "2012-02-14T20:17:46Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > What’s funny is I have found myself and colleagues calling what you just said…‘doing it by hand’ 😃 The old-fashioned way, Math just like how Gauss used to do it! 😃 I will say that while I wasn’t the greatest math student, I (unlike the vast majority of my classmates) had no difficulty setting up word problems. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/12 "2012-02-14T20:26:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Well, let me clarify that: I do a lot of word problems, translate them to Excel, write some formulas, and let Excel do the actual math. …which is a little like saying, “I type some stuff into Word, and let the printer do the actual writing.” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/13 "2012-02-14T20:31:53Z")
None. I’d say “none whatsoever” but, I mean, I calculate tips and figure out how much 15% off is and what have you. I aced the AP Calculus exam in high school and the only thing I remember is that if you take the derivative the graders give you a point so dy/dx that bad boy up. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/14 "2012-02-14T20:41:15Z")
I am a mathematician (well, a graduate student in mathematics) so I guess it would be some kind of cheating to answer the question. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/15 "2012-02-14T20:51:08Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > …which is a little like saying, “I type some stuff into Word, and let the printer do the actual writing.” Well, it depends upon what the OP means, obviously. Doing math as a business executive is different than doing math as a professor on a blackboard which is different than doing math on a piece of paper on a construction site. If the OP is asking how much “grunt work” math do we do, then my answer is “not a helluva lot.” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/16 "2012-02-14T20:54:53Z")
Mech engineer here. I use math a lot - algebra, geometry, trig. Calculus occasionally. Had a year of calc during undergrad college. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/17 "2012-02-14T20:56:58Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The old-fashioned way, Math just like how Gauss used to do it! 😃 > > I will say that while I wasn’t the greatest math student, I (unlike the vast majority of my classmates) had no difficulty setting up word problems. With all due respect to your humbleness…that is what math _IS_. 🙂 At least math in the ‘real world’. ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/18 "2012-02-14T21:01:15Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > I am a mathematician (well, a graduate student in mathematics) so I guess it would be some kind of cheating to answer the question. 😃 Not to me. ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/19 "2012-02-14T21:02:46Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Well, it depends upon what the OP means, obviously. Doing math as a business executive is different than doing math as a professor on a blackboard which is different than doing math on a piece of paper on a construction site. If the OP is asking how much “grunt work” math do we do, then my answer is “not a helluva lot.” Am interested in whatever math responders perform. For example I am sure that an electrical engineer has a lot more occasion to do math than a florist but I would like like to know what specific maths the engineer does regularly. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840/20 "2012-02-14T21:03:03Z")
I did well enough in calculus and took math for the physical sciences (although my grade would suggest that I did not, in fact, learn math for the physical sciences). I run regressions and do other sorts of data analysis with my handy-dandy stats software, which means I do plenty of math at work. I’m sure I’ll be able to help the kids with their trig homework when they get there, but I’m going to have to read up on it first! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-math-do-you-do-on-a-regular-basis-for-work-and-otherwise/612840.md?page=2)