Does calculus help?

[MrMannix]

SGU does not require calculus as a prerequisite. For those of you that have had calculus, does it help in school? Thanks

[kryptik]

i dont think it does as some schools dont require calculus but having some mathematical sense can never harm you.

[rokshana]

i can honestly say that i have not used a lick of calculus the whole time i was in medical school!!

[kryptik]

why do some schools even require that? is it assumed that if you passed calculus you must be smart? i dont get it.

[bkshah]

Well if you really want to get technical, it will help you understand some graphs in biochem and what Km values of a reaction are. Also it will help you understand certain terms such as dV/dT etc. etc.. Like .00002% of med school.

[stephew]

it will not help you medical school though it might give you better conceptual understanding of some graphs as bkshah said. but I wouldnt take it just for med school. Having said that Im relearning it on my own now as I find it interesting.

[Ishie1013]

I found stat helpful. I have found, very fortunately, that I haven't used a lick of calculus to date, which is good since I never particularly understood it in undergrad.

[Crispy]

I took calculus in high school & freshman year in undergrad and forgot it all by the time I graduated undergrad. Stat would have been helpful when I was doing my research.

[stephew]

stats is much more practical if you were to choose; first, as its required in school and 2nd, you can understand journals critically and not merely report everything you read as gospel truth.

[CaptainInsaneO]

Physiology is much easier with an understanding of Calc. And as most know, physics is pretty much all calc.

[canman]

Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

[jaywalk81]

stat is more useful that calc

[Kongakut]

Agreed. Stats is cool and useful.

[stephew]

Physiology is much easier with an understanding of Calc. And as most know, physics is pretty much all calc.

hardly. once doesnt need the study of calc to understand physio as needed in medicine at all. indeed the physics taught to premeds doesnt really deal with calc. I do medical physics as part of radiation oncology and calc is not a part of grasping those concepts. saying you need calc for this is like saying you need physics so you can understand biology so that you in the end you understand sociology. That infinite reduction is theoretical, not practical, realistic or necessary.

[CaptainInsaneO]

I'm not sure what type of physics you took in undergrad, but mine was calculus with formulas added in here and there. No multiple choice, just calculus adapted to physics.

That knowledge of calculus based physics makes physiology logical and simple to integrate.

You can certainly grasp the physio concepts without calc, but just like my classmates who have master's in health sciences, the classes just seem waaaaaay easier for them b/c of their background.


hardly. once doesnt need the study of calc to understand physio as needed in medicine at all. indeed the physics taught to premeds doesnt really deal with calc. I do medical physics as part of radiation oncology and calc is not a part of grasping those concepts. saying you need calc for this is like saying you need physics so you can understand biology so that you in the end you understand sociology. That infinite reduction is theoretical, not practical, realistic or necessary.

[kryptik]

Captain can you give an example of cal helping one understand physio?

[CaptainInsaneO]

Captain can you give an example of cal helping one understand physio?


In physio, it helps tremendously to understand currents/conductances (for the nervous system), flow rates (for the cardiovascular system), partial pressures and pressure/vacuums (for the respiratory system and chambers of the heart) etc.

All of that is made much simpler with calculus. Of course, you can learn it without calc-based physics but it takes more time to connect the dots.

[stephew]

I'm not sure what type of physics you took in undergrad, but mine was calculus with formulas added in here and there. No multiple choice, just calculus adapted to physics.

That knowledge of calculus based physics makes physiology logical and simple to integrate.

You can certainly grasp the physio concepts without calc, but just like my classmates who have master's in health sciences, the classes just seem waaaaaay easier for them b/c of their background.

sorry but im afraid that misleading. I dont mean to be speaking for your personal experience but I think to say that having calculus is going to make a big difference in the understanding of physiology at the MD level is just not true. Once can be a Phd is some aspects of physio and yes, there it will be necessary. but not at the MD level. I'm not arguing against taking it, but I just dont think it makes a big difference in the understanding of medschool level physio.

I did calc and enjoyed it but the premed physics- at columbia u- didnt use calc (delta V etc is done but not the calc). We didnt need to know the derivations (we had a great prof who took us through them) Your physics clearly was more rigorous in that regard. But having said that, I just dont think it will add anything more than icing to the cake for someone in physio in todays MD programs. Sorry.\

[stephew]

In physio, it helps tremendously to understand currents/conductances (for the nervous system), flow rates (for the cardiovascular system), partial pressures and pressure/vacuums (for the respiratory system and chambers of the heart) etc.

All of that is made much simpler with calculus. Of course, you can learn it without calc-based physics but it takes more time to connect the dots.

ha sorry, i just dont see that. this sounds more like a general argument for erudition in general. And that's great and all. but at the practical level, i disagree that 99% of med students will find their understanding of what's taught in the CV system, nervous system or respiratory any easier.

[BrendaB_MD]

I have taken a ton of advanced mathematics courses and I will say that you absolutely don't need it for medical school. I agree with Steph that it helps you conceptualize some things but I am not sure the pain is worth the gain.

I think the answer depends a bit on where you are in your studies. If you are a freshman, then I think it is worth the investment because it will give you a deeper understanding of things. On the other hand, if you have already finished your bachelors degree and are completing premed courses, then I don't think it is worth the time.

Actually, I find mathematics is most useful for solving decision problems on valueMD....

[rage medicine]

calculus isnt even useful if you are an engineer. it has very few applications. it's almost as pointless as philosophy or sociology. just a fun subject.

[argazul]

fun subject? no way. why do we need to know the area under the curve? can't we just let it be? ;)

[shadyhtown]

Statistics is more useful than Calculus for a physician, especially when reading and interpreting medical articles and reports.

[dunsoon]

I have taken a ton of advanced mathematics courses and I will say that you absolutely don't need it for medical school. I agree with Steph that it helps you conceptualize some things but I am not sure the pain is worth the gain.

Actually, I find mathematics is most useful for solving decision problems on valueMD....

ha ha! so true. I took two years of math in college - didn't need any of it for med school. While learning calc is a nice thing to do for your general education, as most everyone agrees, stats is a better and more practical choice for med school and health sciences.

[stephew]

i enjoy the concepts- as i said Im relearning it now. i appreciate it more. (I will never appreciate chemistry). i just think the arguement that in seriously enhances conceptual understanding of what you'll learn in med school is weak.

[BrendaB_MD]

Statistics is more useful than Calculus for a physician, especially when reading and interpreting medical articles and reports.

True; however, you need calculus if you go beyond the superficial level of statistics used in med school. Once again calculus gives you an understanding of the subject that is not accessible to someone who just knows algebra.

Anyway, nowaday, we have algegraic computing systems like Maple and Matlab that do most of the grunt work. So, you can really sit back and appreciate the big picture without getting caught up in the minutiae of the mathematical manipulations. I suspect people will someday look at learning integration by parts the same way as we do when we look at old books that used to teach methods of calculating square roots and logarithsm.

[Wh0Kares]

In physio, it helps tremendously to understand currents/conductances (for the nervous system), flow rates (for the cardiovascular system), partial pressures and pressure/vacuums (for the respiratory system and chambers of the heart) etc.

almost none of those is related to calculus. how is partial pressure better understood with calculus? i understood partial pressure in grade 10 of my highschool without even knowing how calculus is spelled...how is pressure better understood with calculus? these are all highschool conept chemistry materials with little relevence to calculus...i have taken 3 calculus courses in my undergrad..so im confused by they type of the calculus u took that helped u with partial pressures of physiology

[taggart]

calculus isnt even useful if you are an engineer. it has very few applications. it's almost as pointless as philosophy or sociology. just a fun subject.

Now that I disagree with. I studied biomedical engg for my undergrad and while calculus was never fun, it was almost always useful. You cant model any physical system without calc or diff equations.


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