ThisisatranslationofthenoncopyeditedversionofanarticlethatappearedintheGerman

newspaperDIEZEITonOctober2,2014.Despitesomereferencestothelocalcircumstances
inGermany,itraisesglobalquestionsabouthighereducationinengineering.
Math,Lies,andEngineering
Youaregoingtoneedthislaterinlife.Studentsofcollegesanduniversitiesalwaysfelt
theirteachersmaynotbetellingthemthewholetruthwiththesewords.
Forsure,thereismuchmathematicsinsmartphones,cars,andinsurancepolicies.Buthere
isavitalpointconcerningthedivisionoflaborinahightechsociety:Toopenawebpage,I
dontneedtoimplementencryptionusingtheChineseRemainderTheorem.Todriveacar,I
dontneedtoconstructcogwheelswiththehelpoftheinvoluteofacircle.Toenteran
insurancecontract,IdontneedtocheckwiththehelpoftheSolvencyIIStandardFormula
whetherornottheinsurancecompanyisworthmymoney.
Itsparticularlypuzzlingformetoseehowlittlemathematicsmanyrealworldengineersneed
ontheirjobs.
Veryrarely,anengineercreatesnewmathematicalmodelsrather,heorshereliesonknown
formulas.Instandardsandlaws,thesearesimplifiedtohandyrecipes,sotospeakinmany
cases,theengineerisevenforcedbylawtousetheserecipes.Muchhasbeenwrappedinto
spreadsheetswithautomatedcomputations,intowindpowerplanningsoftware,etc.Much
developmentworkwentintosuchstandardsandsoftware.Butduetothedivisionoflabor

thisworkiscarriedoutonlyafewtimesgloballyand,accordingtoIveseensofar,mostlyby
physicists,notbyengineers.
Ratherthanapplyinghighermathematics,mostengineersseemtobelimitedtousing
proportionsandpercentages.WhenIaskengineers(rookiesaswellasoldhands)whatthe
lasttimewastheysolvedadifferentialequation,Ihearsoberinganswers.
Teachingseemstoanticipatewhathappensonthejob.Thestudentsworkarduouslyon
mathematicsduringtheirfirstyear(s),onlytoforgetmostofthesubjectmatterduringthe
remainderoftheirstudyprogramobviously,duetodisuse.Ihavemadeahabitofasking
freshbakedgraduatestotryandsolveasimpledifferentialequation(andtodrawthe
schematicsofacommonemittertransistoramplifier,butthatsanotherstory).
Youmaywanttocryout:ButIdneverdriveoverabridgeconstructedbysomeonewhocant
solveadifferentialequation.TothisIdcounter:Hopefully,theengineerdidnotsetupa
differentialequationandsolveditonhisorherown.Thisseemsmuchtooriskytome!
Hopefully,heorsheusedsimulationsoftwarethatisgenerallyacceptedforthispurposeand
everybodyinvolvedintheconstructionobeyedtherelevantlawsandstandards.
Untilsomeyearsago,Imyselftoldmystudentsthatoneneedstobeabletowritesomerough
versionofsuchsimulationsoftwaretoidentifypotentialpitfalls.Buttimemoveson.Itsnotjust
thatcomputergetmorepowerful.Inaddition,thealgorithmsandtheuserinterfacesof
simulationsoftwareareundercontinuousdevelopment.Touseananalogy:Whereonehadto

handcrankacarusingforceandpatience,nowadaysthemotorstopswhenthecarcomesto
ahaltandautomaticallystartsafterwards.
Thecurriculumtobecoveredinmathematicsandthestyleofteachingmayonlybeabeloved
and/orhatedheritagefromaneramorethanacenturyagowhenpolytechnicuniversities
suchastheTechnischeHochschuleninGermanyandtheMITintheU.S.foughtfor
acceptanceintheranksoftheuniversities.InGermany,theTechnischeHochschulen
eventuallyreceivedtherighttoawardaspecialkindofdoctoraldegree(Dr.Ing.),whichwas
consideredablemishintheearlydays.Inthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury,mostof
GermanysTechnischeHochschulenrenamedthemselvesuniversities.
Historyrepeatsitself:Today,GermanysFachhochschulen(officialtranslation:universities
ofappliedsciences,akindofpolytechnicthatinmostfederalstatesmustnotawarddoctoral
degrees)wanttoclimbontheacademicladder.Insomeplaces,theyalreadycallthemselves
TechnischeHochschuleorUniversitywithouttheaddendumofAppliedSciences.Itlooks
asthoughmathematicsisrequiredascircumstantialevidencetothatend,asymbolof
academicrigor.Incontrasttootherstatussymbolssuchasattheprevalentrenamingof
departmenttofacultyandrectortopresident,mathematicsmeansmorethanasymbol.
WhengraduatesofFachhochschulenwanttocontinuetheirstudiesatUniversittentheymay
berequiredtotakeanumberofadditionalmathematicscourses.
Mathematicsasastatussymbolisasortofrestrictedadmission,veiledeversoslightly.Inthe
Germansystemthatcurrentlydoesnothavetuitionfeesforundergraduates(atleastnotat
stateuniversities)andvirtuallynoentranceexaminations,itiscustomarytoacceptahuge
numberofapplicants,placethemincrowdedlecturesandseminars(atuniversities,these
oftenareaninexpensiveserviceofthemathematicsdepartmentforotherdepartments).The
didacticsoftheselargeclassestendstobequestionableordownrightnonexistent.The
writtenexamattheendcanbegradedrigorouslywithnofearoflegaldispute.Studentswho
(oftenaftermanyattempts)managetopassthisexamhaveagoodprognosistowithstand
theremainderofthestudyprogram.
Thiskindofendurancetestconsumesyearsofastudentslifetime.Inaddition,itissocially
unfair,becausestudentswithweakersocialstatusarenotpushedbyparentsandrelatives
andarenotcoachedbypaidremedialteachers.(YouTubevideosandMOOCsdonotserve
thesestudentswell,asUdacityhadtolearnintheirtrialwithSanJosStateUniversity.)Note
aside:Theideaofmathematicsasaproofofrigorousnessbecomesabsurdwhenstudents
canpassexamsbycopyinganswerstoexercisesorbymemorizingrecipestosolvemath
problemsinwhichonlythenumberschangefromyeartoyear.Idoknowsuchexamplesfrom
Germanuniversities.
Another,atleastpotential,roleofmathematicsinanengineeringprogramcouldbetotrain
studentsincriticalthinking,inselfreflection,informulatingargumentsanddiscussinginthe
relativelyasepticandprotectedsandboxofmathematics.Thisideacould,however,turnoutto
bewishfulthinking,similartotheempiricallyuncorroboratedideathattostudyLatinmeansto
learnlogic.

Ratherthancultivateabugbear,weshouldcontemplatetheraisondtreofmathematicsin
thecurriculum:Knowingoracting?HumboldtianBildungorstraightforwardqualificationfora
job?Shouldmathematicsasasubjectbedissolvedandbecomeanintegralpartofother
subjects?Shoulditbepostponed?Howmuchdointerest,attention,studyhabits,andgrit
matterandwhatcanbedoneaboutthem?Toevadesuchquestionsandtoresorttomoreof
thesamesuchasremedialcoursesandprivatelessonsmayprovegoodintentionsbutmay
bemisdirectedorevencounterproductive:evenmoreexpositoryteaching,more
spoonfeedingandrotelearnedprocedures,lessinitiativefromthestudents,morepushing
andpullingbyteacherswithhelpersyndromewhowearthemselvesout.
Ifstraightforwardtrainingforthejobistobeatthecenterofengineeringprograms,oneneeds
torecallthatgraduatesgointomarketing,distribution,orservice.Andengineersactually
doingdevelopmentareconcernedwithpickingthirdpartycomponentsbydatasheet,possibly
alsowithoperatingsimulationsoftwarebutonlyrarelywiththedetailsofcomplex
mathematicalmodels.
Aflimsybutpopularwaytosimulaterealliferelevanceistocreatepseudopracticalproblems
suchas:Thisistheequationofaskijump.Finditslowestpoint.Studentsgrasp
immediately:Youhavetousetheequationandignorethetext.Assessments(forinformal
testsorforgrading)shouldevaluatewhattheypromisetoevaluate,whichinthiscasewould
mean:thestudentsabilitytocreatemathematicalmodels.
Writtenexamstendtorecallroutinesandtoenforcemindlesscalculation.Thisundermines
thenotionofmathematicsasatraininggroundforcriticalthinkingandcreativework.Thisis
aggravatedbyrotelearningofmathematicalrecipesasprovokedbysometextbooksthatare
popularatGermanuniversitiesofappliedsciences.Therigorousschemedefinition

theoremproofatuniversities(oftentaughtasaservicelecturebythemathematics
department)doesnthelpwithintuitionandexperimentivenesseither.
NobodywouldpositthatthehurdleracefromPEisneededonthejob.Thesameholdstrue
forthehistoryclass(whichcould,however,provehelpfulfortheThirtytoFortyYearsWarin
thecubefarm).Maybe,mathematicsneedsamorerelaxedattitude:lesssubjectmatterbut
morethoroughtraining.Tobeableandnotjusttoknowor:tohaveknownonce,foran
exam.
Inschool,fractions,percentages,proportionalities,unitsofmeasurement,algebraic
transformations,trianglesandcircles,modelingrealworldsituationsanditslimitations,
backoftheenvelopecalculationsneedtobedeeplycomprehended,possiblybediscovered
inconstructivistmethods,butthentrainedoveryearsuntilselfconfidenceandnonchalance
arereached.Withoutsuchabasis,everythingelseinmathematicsisbuiltonshakyground.
However,thetypicalstrategyinhighschools,colleges,anduniversitiesseemstobenotto
aimatselfconfidenceandsubstancebuttofearfullyhassletobuildastockpile:Youare
goingtoneedthislater.
Onthejob,everybodymayfromtimetotimebeconfrontedwithproblemsthesolutionof
whichcouldbenefitfromindepthknowledgeofmathematics.Asociologistmayneedtoknow

ifandhowtocombineanumberofresearchresultsintoametaanalysis.Amechanical
engineermaywanttodescribethehumanperceptionofcarmotornoisebynumbersinorder
tooptimizethedrivingexperience.
Itishighlyimprobablethatsuchquestionshaveeverbeenaddressedinthemathematics
classes.Atanyrate,thesubjectmatterismostlyforgottenevenatthetimeofgraduation.It
maybeeasiertorememberthereluctanceandhelplessness.Theoretically,relearningthe
forgottensubjectmatteronthejobcouldbequickerthanthetimeittookonlearningitforthe
firsttime,asastudent.However,myexperiencetellsmethereislittlehopeforsuchaneffect:
Iseehowharditisforstudentstorelearnfractionsandelementaryalgebraictransformations
duringtheirfirstyearofstudiestopicsthatschoolissupposedtohavecoveredatlength.
Whenoneisconfrontedwithmathematicsinreallife,oneshouldbeabletocommunicate
withexperts(technically,thisisnoproblemthankstotheinternetifonecanexpressoneself
inEnglishandifoneknowswheretostart)andbeabletoupdateoneselfwiththehelpof
books,technicaljournalsandother(online)material.Forthistosucceed,Ifeelthat
selfconfidence,selfreflectionandajoyofcriticalthinkingareofutmostimportance,much
morethanamathematicscurriculumthathasbeencheckedoffdecadesago.
JrnLoviscach(
www.j3L7h.de
),atheoreticalphysicistbyeducationwholaterbecame
deputyeditorinchiefofaleadingGermancomputermagazine,teachesmathematicsand
computerscienceasaprofessoratuniversitiesofappliedsciencessincetheyear2000.He
canbefoundon
YouTube
,
Udacity
,and
Capira
withmaterialrangingfromfractionstothe
aerodynamicsofwindturbinestotheFLRWmodeloftheuniverse.
Clarificationsaddedinhindsight
Mathematicscanbeusedtodescribethegrowthofasnailshellandthemovementsofa
balletdancer.Butneitherthesnailnorthedancerneedtotakeacalculusclasstodowhat
theyaredoing.
Thedisuseofhighermathematicsisnotjustaconsequenceofthepseudoacademizationin
recentyears.Iseeitaffectingmanyengineersclosetoretirementaswell.
WhatdoesithelptobeabletocomputeaFouriertransformortoasolvedifferential
equationbyhandwhenyoudonothaveadecentgraspofproportionality?
IdocherishthebeautyofmathematicssuchasexemplifiedbyEulersidentityorbyGdels
incompletenesstheorems(avideoofmineontheseisupcoming)andIdocherishthe
practicalvalueofmathematics(suchaswhenreasoningabouttheshapeoftherotorblades
ofawindturbine)andthephilosophicalvalueofmathematics(suchaswhenderivingthe
structureoftheuniversefromfirstprincipleswhilesittinginanarmchair).Butsuchaworld
viewisnoprerequisiteforbecominganengineer.
Aninterestingreadabout(thelackof)retentionofmathematicalknowledge:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2014.920531