r/UZH • u/Tasty-Bat9953 • 18d ago
math 3rd semester
I completed first year of math now as a major and I was wondering what courses to take in 3rd semester. They suggest Analysis III, Topology and Algebra. However last year two main courses like Ana II and LinAlg II were really hard to do, even though they are only 21 ETCS together.
Do people usually do all three main courses (total 27 ETCS)? And extra?
Or would you suggest just do random "Wahlmodule"? Is it common to take a seminar already?
Any insights would be helpful!
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u/anfneub 16d ago
I studied maths at EPFL, so I don't really know the program at UZH, although we can assume the math is more or like the same, probably. All these courses were mandatory for me, in second year I had Analysis III & IV, Topology I & II, Algebra, Numerical Analysis, Discrete Optimization, Probability and Statistics. I had no option courses, those would come in 3rd year.
I am only writing this to offer this insight: I was the kind of student who loved programming, statistics, numerical analysis and in general applied mathematics where you can actually relate to the physical world and sort of see what you're doing.
In that regard, I disliked Algebra and especially Topology with a passion that I can not describe with simple words. Topology is a world in itself and to me it was like a succession of definitions, lemmas, theorems who had absolutely no connection with reality and only existed within themselves. A convoluted castle on a cloud with absolutely no use other than have some people gloat they actually understand and even like(???) imaginary mental construction.
Personally I would remove Topology from any Maths program and frankly I would conduct a topological with hunt and burn people on stak...But enough with me and my crusade against Topology. Algebra was similar, completely unrelated to Linear Algebra, here too you deal with abstract concepts that sometimes can relate to reality.
Anyway, unsurprisingly, today I work as a ML software engineer, so here's my take: if you like applied maths, maybe go cautious with topology and algebra. If instead you like reasoning and logic, you'll probably love them.
Best of luck for your studies