Talk:Discrete mathematics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Welcome! This subject is outlined on the List of basic discrete mathematics topics. That list, along with the other Lists of basic topics, is part of a map of Wikipedia. Your help is needed to complete this map! To begin, please look over this subject's list, analyze it, improve it, and place it on your watchlist. Then join the Lists of basic topics WikiProject!

Mathematics Portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Mathematics, which collaborates on articles related to mathematics.
Mathematics rating:	Stub Class	Top Priority	Field: Discrete mathematics
One of the 500 most frequently viewed mathematics articles.
Please update this rating as the article progresses, or if the rating is inaccurate. Click to show/hide comments. Please add to or update the comments to suggest improvements to the article. Needs better overview of major areas, plus history/motivation Tompw 13:27, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Contents 1 Guideline 2 AKA 3 Countable Sets? 4 Discrete maths apply to ALL computer programming languages, etc. 5 Music 6 Dewarneb 7 "Logic"? 8 Regional definitions of "Finite Mathematics" 9 elementry concept of sets

[edit] Guideline

In fact, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) amended the guideline so that a discrete methematics course is required.

What guideline? -- Wapcaplet 01:59 9 Jun 2003 (UTC)

I don't know. The textbook I am using says

Subsequently, discrete mathematics courses were endorsed by many groups for several different audiences, including mathematics and computer science majors. A panel of the mathematical Association of America (MAA) endorsed a year-long course in discrete mathematics. The Educational Acctivities Board of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recommended a freshman discrete mathematics course. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and IEEE accrediation guidelines mandated a discrete mathematics course.

I just summarised this. Do we have to specify what guideline? Is it really significant to do that? -- Taku 05:17 9 Jun 2003 (UTC)

[edit] AKA

So you could also call this fundamentally-unfundamental mathematics, fabricated mathematics or even pseudo-mathematics???

[edit] Countable Sets?

The article says that Most, if not all, of the objects studied in finite mathematics are countable sets, such as the integers. Are they? The article lists linear algebra and set theory as things included in discrete mathematics. In linear algebra one often studies vector spaces with countable dimension, but real and complex vector spaces of any dimension are obviously not countable. Clearly set theory is not restricted to countable sets. Josh Cherry 04:20, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

As you note, set theory, of course, goes above and beyond the countable, and is usually considered discrete math nonetheless. And, naturally, one could study uncountable graphs in graph theory, etc, so countability is hardly essential to discrete math. Nonetheless, I'm surprised to see linear algebra mentioned here. Is that really generally considered discrete math? I wouldn't have thought so; it doesn't have the right "flavor" in my mind. What are other people's opinions? -Chinju 19:46, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Discrete maths apply to ALL computer programming languages, etc.

"Discrete mathematics is a common type of mathematics used particularly in the web programming languages, PHP, ASP, and Perl."

Yeah, I just deleted that silliness. Josh Cherry 00:08, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Music

I deleted the claims for application to musical areas, specifically atonality and muscial analyssi. I couldn't find anything in the articles linked to too support the claim that discrete mathematics was useful in these areas. And I have never heard it before.

If someone wants to put it back in I think they should summarise what the applications consists of here.

[edit] Dewarneb

What does "Dewarneb" have to do with discrete math?

Actually, if I were a registered user I would nominate Dewarneb for deletion, seeing as it gets no google hits outside of WP and seems unverifiable. 70.231.146.142 22:14, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] "Logic"?

Do you mean mathematical logic, or just plain logic? I'm pretty sure it's the former, but I'm not going to change it due to lack of experience in the field (but I'm taking a class in university). -Matt 16:07, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Regional definitions of "Finite Mathematics"

The page for Finite Mathematics redirects here. When I took finite at a university in the USA, it was business math--definitely below the level of the discrete math classes. We did amortization, annuities, etc. etc. (It was horrible and I wish I'd just taken calculus.) After discussing these differences with a Canadian friend, who took a finite class that was what I'd call discrete math, I did some googling. What I found was that some US schools call anything beyond calculus "finite," some treat it as "intro to discrete," and some equate it with "business math." Could someone who knows this stuff better than I do clear it up a little if you think it would be useful? I think it might be helpful to new college students (if only to alert them that they might want to check with the instructor to see what the course really is!). --Wintersweet 21:35, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] elementry concept of sets

Bold text[[[Link title] ---- Insert non-formatted text here<sup><nowiki>Superscript text

^{Superscript text}

Italic text

^{{| class="wikitable"}

^{|- ! header 1 ! header 2 ! header 3 |- | row 1, cell 1 | row 1, cell 2 | row 1, cell 3 |- | row 2, cell 1 | row 2, cell 2 | row 2, cell 3 |}}</nowiki>]]'