Computer science is a branch of mathematics? Solved

Computer science is a branch that stands between computer engineering and mathematics.

computer engineering, because it studies the computer aspects like hardware and other parts and components.

mathematics, it uses math to explain and implements different algorithms that run hardware or computers.

So it is a science that implements mathematics in different computer practicing aspects. But before that you have to know these 6 following approximations :

Computer science is a vast major

computer science is a vast major it contains a lot of specialties of subfields like:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Machine Learning (ML)
  • Data Science
  • Software Engineering
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
  • Cybersecurity
  • Cloud Computing
  • Digital / Interactive Media
  • Bioinformatics
  • computer vision
  • computer architechture

computer science includes a lot of aspects that haven’t or aren’t purely mathematics. So it is hard to consider it as a math major. Mathematics doesn’t have theses all aspects like computer science, in other words, you don’t have to go to college to study math then take specialty afterwords.

Math is unique in its aspect, is a center where a whole science is stemming, it a reference when all other science bases on and need constantly to consult.

When we talk about computer science we include many specialties and gather them in one place. But when we talk about math is another thing.

Math is like a principal source of energy that all science takes to be fueled and ensure its consistency, if this energy source gets distributed the whole scientific system will be frozen and can t go 1 millimeter ahead.

So computer science will always be dependent on mathematics while math can stand without any scientific subject and history prove that.

historically math and CS was one thing

If we look and go back we find that CS major wasn’t alive before 1953 when she gets introduced by the University of Cambridge.

At that time all CS models that students study today were included in mathematics and engineering departments. There wasn’t a major called computer science. But according to the big expansion that this domain has known it was a necessity to give it independence from all science.

So we can admit that a CS is like children of a math branch if the comparison was right.

It is an outcome of the hard work and the math exploration to create a new science that bases finally on math. This aspect makes it hard to adopt a CS mathematical branch.

computer science uses mathematics which means…

computer science students don’t study mathematics, they implement the mathematical tools, in other words, computer science is to construct or describe a model of mathematical objects, even if there’s no implementation of them on any computer to get some result to compute.

computer science use mathematics, like other sciences or engineering like:

  • Architectures
  • economics
  • mechanics
  • physics
  • biology
  • telcomonicatiorn or IT and etc

Many of the founding contributors to these fields were mathematicians. if we look at the history we find most mathematicians that have built the basic mathematics that rule the world today were not only mathematics they were:

  • phlosiphers
  • physicians
  • mathematicians

At that time science wasn’t expanded like in our century, where today is very hard or nearly impossible to become a mathematician or physician at the same time or even philosopher like it was ” Descartes ” for example.

So scientists were considering math as a primordial tool that they should use not a branch or a part of the subject they study or research about. So the difference between a tool and a branch is big.

For example, Descartes was using math to study physics so math was a tool, not a branch.

so can ask this question:

  • Chemists are using math, so can we consider chemistry a branch of maths?
  • physicists are using math, so can we consider a physic a branch of mathematics?
  • Manufacturers are using math, so can we consider manufacturing as a branch of math?

if we take math and all other since to study computer since it doesn’t mean that computer since become a math major. Because finally is not the end goal, the end is finding computer solutions by implementing math as a tool.

mathematician seek perfection but computer scientists

The difference between computer science and math as branches is:

computer science implements mathematics to find an approximate solution, that is to say, doesn’t require always to have a perfect or delicate solution like in math concepts.

In other words, if we can’t get a precise value in mathematics, things are not broken like mathematicians would think. Instead, we can admit the gap and adopt a system to it.

In computer science, you don’t need precise or tiny proof as mathematicians look for, so computer scientists use math in a flexible way.

computer science has an approach also to physic //

Computer science bends a lot to physics and how things behave to the rules of nature. There are a lot of physical aspects in this field as well as math So it is not weird to find someone asking one day.

is a computer science a branch of physics?

Sometimes you have to bend your mind to solve a comptuer since problem, not everything can be explained by math.

Because math comes in the last phase when a scientist should transform his definitions and theories to mathematical solutions by proving them and making them available for use.

But before that, intuition and accumulated experience is what pours into this context.

For instance, the equation of E=MC² wouldn’t be applied or a life today, if Einstein used his imagination and the subconscious intelligence to suggest this theory before it got prooved finally.

So this is what makes humans the most intelligent creatures and better even than any supercomputer made in the world.

Final thoughts

sometimes it gets hard to say whether computer science is a math branch or not. Because anyone has it pooves but finally, it only gets from the definition of each major which means:

  • Should we consider that everything including math is a math branch?
  • Or if a branch contains or includes more than 50% of math, will be considered as a mathematics branch?. which is the case with computer science…
  • or finally, a math branch should be pure mathematics and doesn’t include anything else?
  • The math is purely independent as we see?

Because sometimes mathematics doesn’t explain phenomena and can t reach to delicate solutions which makes scientists look from another angle to solve issues.

So how do you draw the line between what is math and what is not math without ambiguity?

So this question tends to be more philosophical than rational.

Because the definition of what is mathematics branch of computer science is has been laid out by humans and contain a lot of ambiguity. Also, it makes a lot of conflicts show on the surfaces which is valuable for discussion.

yassin.ajanif

Yassin ajanif is a physics graduate and electromechanical engineer width more than 5 years in the field. My goal and my team are to share our experience to help you succeed in your career as a stem major. we talk about all tips, problems, and struggle STEM students face in their career and how to overcome them.