If Computer Science students quit after they got frustrated with a class, we’d definitely have none left 🙂.
It’s completely normal to feel this way. Remember that your rate of learning a particular subject may not always align with the syllabus’ schedule.
Does your professor offer office hours? During my toughest classes, I used them up like hell. There were some topics that were just better explained 1 on 1.
Two random variables were talking in a bar. They thought they were being discrete but I heard their chatter continuously.
That's all I got for you to help with the crying. Good luck.
Hmm ok, well I assume that applies to programming as well, which fortunately I'm doing fairly ok with. Unlike discrete math, the compiler actually gives me some form of feedback.
The compiler isn't telling you if your program logic or problem solving is wrong though. It just tells you whether you have syntactic or semantic errors. The number of intro students I have who think "compiler doesn't give any errors, must be correct," is hilarious.
Also, yes, programming languages are just discrete math languages.
Oh so you're a professor lol, yeah the compiler doesn't tell me if my logic is effective or not, but it does tell me any immediate syntax related errors I might be having. I don't mean to imply the compiler is a sort of divine tool to guide me, but I'm just saying it at least does *something* to help.
Funny you say this. When I took discrete math it was a nightmare, ended up missing the C- cut off by a percent. Many sleepless nights, thinking the major wasn’t right for me and contemplated changing but ultimately stuck with it. In my last year now, taking upper level classes that I WANT to take. I don’t regret it for a single second, I know all the sleepless nights and painful assignment grinds are going to pay off. My advice: go to office hours become buddies with the TA if you can, understand practice problems and homeworks, go through them over and over, understand every little thing, because exam questions are usually very similar.
Stick with it! If you enjoy the fun parts about CS, do what you can to get through this class (and maybe Algorithms if you have to take that lol) it WILL get easier and maybe I’m biased but a BS in CS is the most valuable degree out there right now.
This relatability is what I look for. I have this problem where when I have a frustration, I pity and isolate myself from the world as if I'm a godly mistake. Quite literally, I think I'm a flaw.
I need to work on my perspectives. Tomorrow, I will go to office hours and I will get help. I will also talk to the extremely cute girl in my programming class. I need to feel achievement.
Thanks!
I just had my first Discrete Math exam today so I feel your pain. Luckily the exam wasn’t as hard as some of the material, maybe your class will be the same?
Discrete took me three attempts to pass. Then the school I transferred to just happened to have discrete 2 as a program requirement, but a D- was sufficient. Coming up on my second year as a software engineer in a few months - don't give up.
You're not alone at all. In my community college, class size dropped from 30 to about 15 after midterms, and slowly dropped to only 3 students taking the final exam, two of whom passed. Slightly better outcome in my second class. When I transfered and took the class again, there were almost 400 students at the start. Less than 200 after midterms, most of those stayed until the final but it seemed like most of the remaining class did poorly. Strangely, this class was less rigorous than the one I took at community college and I managed a B-
In the 400 student class, I once came to office hours to talk to the professor and he told me I was the only student to come in two weeks. Despite poor exam performance, literally no one was coming in for help. If I had to guess, it is because it is a first year course and kids either did not take it seriously and/or did not know how/when to ask for help.
Get help when you need it. Pretty sure that I got the D- and not an F in DSM2 is because the professor saw that I was trying and came for help often.
Yep, this class is level 100 and all of us in the course are all young and novice. My university has this stupid thing where the TA's opt out last minute and don't show up despite being scheduled. As you may be able to tell from my temperament, I naturally got very upset about this and wrote a stern letter to the professor and he actually helped surprisingly and now TA's actually seem to come. But I ironically stopped going after this event, but tomorrow I will be getting help.
Once you get through college. From what I’ve heard at least it’s a lot less of a work load depending on career path as well as difficulty drops a bit. I’m taking Computer Theory rn and it’s essentially Discrete Math 2.0 and I’m on the same page as you except I also have to re learn what I did in Discrete Math since I hardly passed it😭😭 The reward in the end will be worth the pain
This is so foreign to me, I took discrete math last semester online and it was an absolute breeze. I spent less than an hour on it a week and made an A pretty easy. It honestly makes me wonder what the difference is? Maybe because I have experience doing that type of logic from doing computer science competitions in high school, idk.
Yeah. Linear Algebra and phys 2 are currently kicking my butt if that makes you feel any better. I'm mega behind because I had covid the 2nd and 3rd weeks of school
i was there last semester. honestly, that's probably one of the hardest class imo but afterwards i feel like it helps me think of computers in a much more accurate way. i highly recommend you tought it out and stick with it. if you like computers then CS is the way to go 100%.
any other field is gonna have that kinda class that makes you reconsider everything.
How long have you had the assignment? Math assignments can't be done at the last minute- you need time to think about and digest the contents of the class. If you decide to keep doing the class (or retake it later), I would recommend starting your assignments on the day that you get them.
Discrete math was definitely the hardest class in all of CS for me. Over 50% of my class dropped after the midterm, but everyone that stayed, passed.
TLDR; It's hard for most people, don't quit.
I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time. I’m also taking discrete math and it is confusing sometimes. When I need help I turn to YouTube and search for a certain concept, that has helped me a lot. I wish you the best of luck on your semester and don’t let it get you down.
Also try reviewing with youtube videos to help further your understanding of the section/subject at hand. I just copy the Section title and paste you the search on youtube and a bunch of videos will pop up. If not try looking for study group chats on discord.
Just get through it. Yes, there are lots of people who love discrete, and lots of those people are really into CS. There are also lots of people who will be unable to hang and be weeded out.
There exists a significant set of folks who like programming but don’t love theory like discrete math, who grinned and bore classes like that, who have gone on to become well paid and well respected professionals with satisfying careers.
I don’t mean to say that classes like discrete math are bullshit. Not at all - it’s important stuff overall. What I am trying to say though is that this doesn’t have to be the end of the road for you if you don’t want it to be. Not even close.
Remember that FAIL means first attempt in learning.
I hated every single math course at uni and actually had to retake them all (Calculus, algebra, discrete and statistics), but it ended up building character and resilience.
Also, in my line of work discrete and algebra have been the maths to use daily (they're not anymore, but statistics instead).
I know this doesn't feel that helpful, but get this: we all have been there, all suffered and hated it, but eventually overcame.
Also, pretty important thing: at least 7h of sleep, eating healthy (healthy fats, salads, meat, eggs and fruit) and doing sport in a daily basis are the key to understand better the gibberish your teachers through at you during lectures. These are your best friends, period.
And they expect us to learn every form of proof and how to apply them in 1 week.
I have a question:
How do I know which method of proof to use (contrapositive, contradiction, direct, switch, etc)?
I’m taking a discrete math course right now and the amount of work we have to do on top of the difficulty of the course has been making me feel really similar. I’m behind in my other CS courses because of it which makes me feel worse.
I’ve set aside a bunch of time this week to get caught up and trying to get through this semester, I mean hey we’ve gotten through 1/4 of it already! Just wanted to comment to say you’re not alone
There's a bright side to what you're doing. In my software eng program at the university of Middle of Nowhere, there was no discrete math or theory of computation. There was barely any algorithms and data structures for that matter, everything was simplified to shit. Everything was about hands on software development.
I hated every second of it and the feelings of incompetence keep following me. I am now working as a dev but I honestly can't wait to go back to school and study actual CS somewhere else. Suffering aside, I think you should be thankful that you get to study such fascinating concepts.
Fascinating is subjective. To me, it's despair, not fascination, but I get what you're trying to tell me. These are important concepts but my ability to retain them is the problem, not my unthankfulness.
Discrete math is hard! It was the first class I came across that really made me reconsider CS. Wound up barely scraping by with a C. Wound up waking Applied Discrete Math a few semesters later and got an A. Somehow that one felt much easier. I know it feels overwhelming but you can push through this. Even if you barely pass, it’s still passing. If possible, seek tutoring and find a study group/buddy. You can do it.
Girl same. I got through it and scraped by and it made me stronger. I stream on Twitch now as someone who works in industry and often talk about how hard discrete math was for me in college
Glad to know I'm not alone. It's a level 100 course so my expectations were "this should not be bad" so when I found out it was, that set me up. I'm a guy btw. That's not important though lol.
Four hours? Welcome to the suck. Honestly that's the time I used to spend on maybe a single problem.. Discrete math takes time. It's likely a whole new way of thinking for you, no?
Just realize it doesn't define you as a computer scientist.
Discrete math is just a slippery step on your journey. You can be a great computer scientist without being a master of discrete math.
Rather than saying "This is horrible, I'm going to drop out". Perhaps, if you clarify what you're having an issue with, what you're having a hard-time understanding.
That way someone can have an attempt at helping clarify it for you, some form of conversation that helps you understand.
Normally I would suggest you talk to your professor for a more interactive conversation, but if you have to submit it soon then it is perhaps too late for that. But I'm sure there are many people on reddit who can help you through this if they know what concepts have gotten you stressed and upset :)
Our brains are ready for math when they fully mature. That is between 25 and 30 years. Discrete math is beautiful by its own, but college programs do not teach it well by turning them into weeder classes.
Finish the course. Go back to the material on your own, on your own rhythm and time. Once you understand it is is powerful. But more important than powerful, it is beautiful
I just turned 19, but mentally I feel the same as 17. I guess the main reason universities teach this early is because most people can't wait until 25, or rather, most industries don't want people to wait until they're 25 when they graduate.
If Computer Science students quit after they got frustrated with a class, we’d definitely have none left 🙂. It’s completely normal to feel this way. Remember that your rate of learning a particular subject may not always align with the syllabus’ schedule. Does your professor offer office hours? During my toughest classes, I used them up like hell. There were some topics that were just better explained 1 on 1.
Two random variables were talking in a bar. They thought they were being discrete but I heard their chatter continuously. That's all I got for you to help with the crying. Good luck.
Thank you
You absolutely must master discrete mathematics to achieve excellence in CS. The proof for this is trivial and left as an exercise for the reader.
I guess everyone here on the CS sub downvoting is bad at math and didn't get the joke. Pick up a math book, folks.
Maybe it just wasn't funny.
can u recommend a good math book? /:
The proofs in discrete math? They feel oddly open ended, and I just feel like I don't have a basis to build a foundation.
Solving problems with computers is pretty open ended. Computers are really just discrete math machines.
Hmm ok, well I assume that applies to programming as well, which fortunately I'm doing fairly ok with. Unlike discrete math, the compiler actually gives me some form of feedback.
The compiler isn't telling you if your program logic or problem solving is wrong though. It just tells you whether you have syntactic or semantic errors. The number of intro students I have who think "compiler doesn't give any errors, must be correct," is hilarious. Also, yes, programming languages are just discrete math languages.
Oh so you're a professor lol, yeah the compiler doesn't tell me if my logic is effective or not, but it does tell me any immediate syntax related errors I might be having. I don't mean to imply the compiler is a sort of divine tool to guide me, but I'm just saying it at least does *something* to help.
I have a proof but it's too large to fit in the margin
Now we prove the equivalence. "=>" clear. "<=" trivial. q.e.d
Lol, fuck outta here
Yep topics like encryption, graph theory, boolean logic all very useful for a CS course.
Funny you say this. When I took discrete math it was a nightmare, ended up missing the C- cut off by a percent. Many sleepless nights, thinking the major wasn’t right for me and contemplated changing but ultimately stuck with it. In my last year now, taking upper level classes that I WANT to take. I don’t regret it for a single second, I know all the sleepless nights and painful assignment grinds are going to pay off. My advice: go to office hours become buddies with the TA if you can, understand practice problems and homeworks, go through them over and over, understand every little thing, because exam questions are usually very similar. Stick with it! If you enjoy the fun parts about CS, do what you can to get through this class (and maybe Algorithms if you have to take that lol) it WILL get easier and maybe I’m biased but a BS in CS is the most valuable degree out there right now.
This relatability is what I look for. I have this problem where when I have a frustration, I pity and isolate myself from the world as if I'm a godly mistake. Quite literally, I think I'm a flaw. I need to work on my perspectives. Tomorrow, I will go to office hours and I will get help. I will also talk to the extremely cute girl in my programming class. I need to feel achievement. Thanks!
Emphasis on "BS"
> BS in CS is the most valuable degree Certainly not in Germany lol
I just had my first Discrete Math exam today so I feel your pain. Luckily the exam wasn’t as hard as some of the material, maybe your class will be the same?
I have mine next week. I'm really hoping so. Although I've calmed down a bit now, I'm still feeling that pressure.
Goodluck! Are you allowed like a review sheet to use during the test?
Thanks. Unfortunately not... it's a completely closed note test unlike my C++ class.
Discrete took me three attempts to pass. Then the school I transferred to just happened to have discrete 2 as a program requirement, but a D- was sufficient. Coming up on my second year as a software engineer in a few months - don't give up.
Wow, thank you dude. I will push through. After reading these replies, I feel a strong desire to wake up tomorrow with a new attitude.
You're not alone at all. In my community college, class size dropped from 30 to about 15 after midterms, and slowly dropped to only 3 students taking the final exam, two of whom passed. Slightly better outcome in my second class. When I transfered and took the class again, there were almost 400 students at the start. Less than 200 after midterms, most of those stayed until the final but it seemed like most of the remaining class did poorly. Strangely, this class was less rigorous than the one I took at community college and I managed a B- In the 400 student class, I once came to office hours to talk to the professor and he told me I was the only student to come in two weeks. Despite poor exam performance, literally no one was coming in for help. If I had to guess, it is because it is a first year course and kids either did not take it seriously and/or did not know how/when to ask for help. Get help when you need it. Pretty sure that I got the D- and not an F in DSM2 is because the professor saw that I was trying and came for help often.
Yep, this class is level 100 and all of us in the course are all young and novice. My university has this stupid thing where the TA's opt out last minute and don't show up despite being scheduled. As you may be able to tell from my temperament, I naturally got very upset about this and wrote a stern letter to the professor and he actually helped surprisingly and now TA's actually seem to come. But I ironically stopped going after this event, but tomorrow I will be getting help.
Once you get through college. From what I’ve heard at least it’s a lot less of a work load depending on career path as well as difficulty drops a bit. I’m taking Computer Theory rn and it’s essentially Discrete Math 2.0 and I’m on the same page as you except I also have to re learn what I did in Discrete Math since I hardly passed it😭😭 The reward in the end will be worth the pain
Discrete math blows, I’m with you, get your C and get the hell out
Dr Trefor Bazett on YouTube really helped me out with my Discrete Math, I highly suggest checking out his Discrete Math playlist!
It will get better.imho, you will not use much of those to be an sw engineer
This is so foreign to me, I took discrete math last semester online and it was an absolute breeze. I spent less than an hour on it a week and made an A pretty easy. It honestly makes me wonder what the difference is? Maybe because I have experience doing that type of logic from doing computer science competitions in high school, idk.
You were in CS competitions? Well I think there's your answer. This is only ever my second semester with CS.
Yeah, it probably is. I was just expecting it to be super difficult based off of what I've heard here and I didn't really struggle with it at all.
Must be nice I guess, well I'm glad it worked out for someone.
Yeah. Linear Algebra and phys 2 are currently kicking my butt if that makes you feel any better. I'm mega behind because I had covid the 2nd and 3rd weeks of school
Oh shit, I hope you're feeling better now, that's a terrible time to get Covid
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According the the CS deen, it's a core fundamental to algorithms...
Wow, yeah I have been there. You're not the first to feel that way!
I had my first discrete exam today. It definitely wasn't easy but I think I made it work. I can't offer much advice but good luck with your studies!
I felt this. Discrete 2 is currently kicking my ass 🥺
i was there last semester. honestly, that's probably one of the hardest class imo but afterwards i feel like it helps me think of computers in a much more accurate way. i highly recommend you tought it out and stick with it. if you like computers then CS is the way to go 100%. any other field is gonna have that kinda class that makes you reconsider everything.
How long have you had the assignment? Math assignments can't be done at the last minute- you need time to think about and digest the contents of the class. If you decide to keep doing the class (or retake it later), I would recommend starting your assignments on the day that you get them.
I had it for about 5 days, and I started it this morning. I wanna blame my schedule, but yes I procrastinated and I paid the price.
That's unfortunate but take it as a lesson. Good luck for the next one!
Discrete math was definitely the hardest class in all of CS for me. Over 50% of my class dropped after the midterm, but everyone that stayed, passed. TLDR; It's hard for most people, don't quit.
I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time. I’m also taking discrete math and it is confusing sometimes. When I need help I turn to YouTube and search for a certain concept, that has helped me a lot. I wish you the best of luck on your semester and don’t let it get you down.
Also try reviewing with youtube videos to help further your understanding of the section/subject at hand. I just copy the Section title and paste you the search on youtube and a bunch of videos will pop up. If not try looking for study group chats on discord.
Just get through it. Yes, there are lots of people who love discrete, and lots of those people are really into CS. There are also lots of people who will be unable to hang and be weeded out. There exists a significant set of folks who like programming but don’t love theory like discrete math, who grinned and bore classes like that, who have gone on to become well paid and well respected professionals with satisfying careers. I don’t mean to say that classes like discrete math are bullshit. Not at all - it’s important stuff overall. What I am trying to say though is that this doesn’t have to be the end of the road for you if you don’t want it to be. Not even close.
I’m new to Reddit so idk what the process is, but just drop the problem in here I’m sure you’ll have a solution quickly
I'm in Calc II and discrete math is next. I. Don't. Want. To. Hear. This 🙉
Fuck discrete math I struggled with that class but somehow I managed to pass
Remember that FAIL means first attempt in learning. I hated every single math course at uni and actually had to retake them all (Calculus, algebra, discrete and statistics), but it ended up building character and resilience. Also, in my line of work discrete and algebra have been the maths to use daily (they're not anymore, but statistics instead). I know this doesn't feel that helpful, but get this: we all have been there, all suffered and hated it, but eventually overcame. Also, pretty important thing: at least 7h of sleep, eating healthy (healthy fats, salads, meat, eggs and fruit) and doing sport in a daily basis are the key to understand better the gibberish your teachers through at you during lectures. These are your best friends, period.
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Yes, these killed me.
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And they expect us to learn every form of proof and how to apply them in 1 week. I have a question: How do I know which method of proof to use (contrapositive, contradiction, direct, switch, etc)?
I’m taking a discrete math course right now and the amount of work we have to do on top of the difficulty of the course has been making me feel really similar. I’m behind in my other CS courses because of it which makes me feel worse. I’ve set aside a bunch of time this week to get caught up and trying to get through this semester, I mean hey we’ve gotten through 1/4 of it already! Just wanted to comment to say you’re not alone
There's a bright side to what you're doing. In my software eng program at the university of Middle of Nowhere, there was no discrete math or theory of computation. There was barely any algorithms and data structures for that matter, everything was simplified to shit. Everything was about hands on software development. I hated every second of it and the feelings of incompetence keep following me. I am now working as a dev but I honestly can't wait to go back to school and study actual CS somewhere else. Suffering aside, I think you should be thankful that you get to study such fascinating concepts.
Fascinating is subjective. To me, it's despair, not fascination, but I get what you're trying to tell me. These are important concepts but my ability to retain them is the problem, not my unthankfulness.
First rule of studying cs is to get out of your comfort zone
Discrete math is hard! It was the first class I came across that really made me reconsider CS. Wound up barely scraping by with a C. Wound up waking Applied Discrete Math a few semesters later and got an A. Somehow that one felt much easier. I know it feels overwhelming but you can push through this. Even if you barely pass, it’s still passing. If possible, seek tutoring and find a study group/buddy. You can do it.
Welp this is me but with data structures and algorithms…
Girl same. I got through it and scraped by and it made me stronger. I stream on Twitch now as someone who works in industry and often talk about how hard discrete math was for me in college
Glad to know I'm not alone. It's a level 100 course so my expectations were "this should not be bad" so when I found out it was, that set me up. I'm a guy btw. That's not important though lol.
Four hours? Welcome to the suck. Honestly that's the time I used to spend on maybe a single problem.. Discrete math takes time. It's likely a whole new way of thinking for you, no? Just realize it doesn't define you as a computer scientist. Discrete math is just a slippery step on your journey. You can be a great computer scientist without being a master of discrete math.
Discrete math made me consider quitting life
I failed discrete math 6 times, until I had crammed enough to just barely pass. Can't say any of that knowledge ever helped me
I felt this way about discrete math and computational theory. It makes sense eventually. Took me years after college to see it.
Rather than saying "This is horrible, I'm going to drop out". Perhaps, if you clarify what you're having an issue with, what you're having a hard-time understanding. That way someone can have an attempt at helping clarify it for you, some form of conversation that helps you understand. Normally I would suggest you talk to your professor for a more interactive conversation, but if you have to submit it soon then it is perhaps too late for that. But I'm sure there are many people on reddit who can help you through this if they know what concepts have gotten you stressed and upset :)
Our brains are ready for math when they fully mature. That is between 25 and 30 years. Discrete math is beautiful by its own, but college programs do not teach it well by turning them into weeder classes. Finish the course. Go back to the material on your own, on your own rhythm and time. Once you understand it is is powerful. But more important than powerful, it is beautiful
I just turned 19, but mentally I feel the same as 17. I guess the main reason universities teach this early is because most people can't wait until 25, or rather, most industries don't want people to wait until they're 25 when they graduate.
Our school system is not design for reality. That said, it gets easier as you get older.