Computation Fundamentals
In professional environments, you will use a computer to perform your computations. You likely have lots of practice on calculators. There are significant similarities between the calculator and the computer but there are some important differences.
While we want to develop our intuition when we are estimating with large numbers, performing accurate calculations is also important. You will be able to calculate these numbers on a hand-held calculator, in Excel, and using scientific computing platforms like Python.
Since our calculations are often used as evidence to support an argument, they must be easy to read and have clear methods and assumptions. Using a computer to preserve the details of the calculation is often preferable to using a calculator.
We will start with concepts most familiar to you from your work with calculators and we will build more concepts on that knowledge.
Computers and Humans
Computers can augment our abilities. We want to separate tasks between humans and computers in ways that take advantage of the strengths of each.
Be warned, this work can be very frustrating. To use computers effectively, we have to think in unfamiliar ways. The tools are very powerful but it can be difficult to find mistakes in your work.
Computing platforms
- You are likely most familiar with a calculator
- You enter a series of commands
- When you press enter or equals, they are sent to a small computer for evaluation
- The results are printed for you
- There are many computer programs that do similar things and allow much more power and flexibility
- Other platforms are Mathematica and spreadsheets