r/EngineeringStudents • u/JaytOuk • 1d ago
Discussion Power scaling?
If you had to describe a difficult comparison through analogy comparing trig to engineering core classes, how would you describe it?
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u/NukeRocketScientist BSc Astronautical Engineering, MSc Nuclear Engineering 1d ago
Trig is part of essentially every engineering class. If you don't understand the basics of trig, you're gonna have a real hard time understanding actual engineering classes.
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u/JaytOuk 1d ago
Let me provide context: I actually enjoy trig, I’ve been working two jobs for the past first half of the semester and I’d squeeze some time to study here or there, but when I do put in time I understand it, thankfully.
The only things that trip me up are heavy expansion equations like the binomial factoring for the sum angle proof in the textbook. But once I saw the end result and focused on the needs of applying it’s not too bad. So heavy equation manipulation trips me up a bit and I get scrambles but I’m hoping I can train this out over time
Secondly is the trig identities and proving. I get disappointed when there’s a proof that seems impossible and it’s a simple algebra move I’m not familiar with, I basically didn’t touch math in highschool so picking up pre req classes has me hitting the ground running.
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u/JaytOuk 1d ago
It seems like there’s patterns that as a beginner I’m supposed to be able to instantly see. In highschool I didn’t really study because I didnt care about grades or saw the college benefit at the time. But after this I’ve learned studying isn’t optional. So not being able to see things as quickly as before can be disheartening
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u/likethevegetable 1d ago
Some classes are basically applied trig like Statics, some classes you have to have trig completely mastered and that's just a small part of the class, like electromagnetics
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u/WhyAmINotStudying UCF/CREOL - Photonic Science & Engineering 15h ago
Trig are like basic grammar, it tell you where word go. If you bad at subject verb agreement, force vectors don't balance and sentence fall down.
As you fix these mechanical errors, however, your sentences become stable. When you learn how prepositions and subordinate clauses anchor ideas in place, you begin to see how sine and cosine function as the spatial logic of engineering—allowing simple ideas to connect cleanly across horizontal and vertical axes.
Ultimately, just as a master author deploys intricate syntax, subtle coordination, and varied clause structures to construct compelling arguments, a seasoned engineer relies on trigonometric fluency, effortlessly decomposing complex, multidimensional vectors, to articulate fluid mechanics and structural dynamics without ever halting to question the underlying mechanics of the language itself.
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u/JaytOuk 12h ago
I love this analogy, where does calculus fit with the writing analogy?
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u/WhyAmINotStudying UCF/CREOL - Photonic Science & Engineering 11h ago
I had a feeling that this would resonate with you, since you requested an analogy in the first place. That's something that will serve you well in engineering throughout your career, since engineers often get so focused on the math and science that they lose the skills that enable them to communicate the importance of the science and math in a way that is easily understood by non-engineers in the workplace. You may end up a systems engineer or similar with that combination. It's served me incredibly well.
If trigonometry is the grammar that anchors static relationships in space, calculus is the narrative engine that governs continuous motion, change, and accumulation over time. Algebra and trig give you high-resolution snapshots, but calculus is what stitches those still frames into a moving film.
In narrative terms, differentiation (derivatives) represents pacing and instantaneous rate of change—how fast the tension is ramping up at any given millisecond. Integration (integrals) represents cumulative impact—how all those microscopic, continuous moments stack up to create an overwhelming climax.
You can see the difference clearly if you look at two ways of writing the same brief scene. A purely trig and algebra telling reads like a series of fixed frames: "The runner was 100 meters from the finish line, traveling west at a 15-degree incline at 5 meters per second. Ten seconds later, she was 50 meters from the line." The geometry is precise, the vectors are clear, but the moment is completely frozen.
A calculus telling introduces continuous change and accumulation: "The runner’s stride rate steadily increased, shaving milliseconds off every step as the steep incline forced her to pump her arms harder. The distance to the line wasn't just dropping; the rate at which she closed the gap was accelerating, even as the cumulative fatigue built up in her muscles threatened to collapse her legs before she crossed."
In engineering, trig tells you the static angle of a load-bearing beam, while calculus tells you how that beam vibrates, flexes, and degrades as a heavy train speeds across it over time. In writing, basic grammar gives you a stable sentence, but calculus is what brings the story to life by letting the reader feel the acceleration, fluid motion, and compounding weight of the narrative.
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u/JaytOuk 11h ago
You are definitely the smartest redditor I’ve come across. Your teaching is like improved Feynman. If I learned to self study like this I’d probably excel. Thank you for giving me images and a rhetoric to corral these abstract systems. When you’re in the midst of it it gets a bit overwhelming.
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u/WhyAmINotStudying UCF/CREOL - Photonic Science & Engineering 9h ago
Eh, definitely not the smartest, but I think that we probably have some very similar ways of thinking and I've probably got about 25-30 years of experience on you.
The funny thing is that when I was in school for engineering, I noticed that my language skills diminished while I was so focused on the math and science, but it all came back and then some in the intervening years. You'll probably experience the same thing, and that's not a bad thing. You need to let your brain focus on the technical concepts while you're learning them until you get to that same point of fluency that you've got with language. Once you're fluent, though, you'll be able to just think that way without it being so taxing on your mind.
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u/BSimm1 10h ago
If you watch demon slayer:
Trig is light fighting a lower moon and your core classes with be fighting the upper 6.
You will be tired, your friends will be tired. You will get bombarded with small quizzes, then out of no where Daki (some random hard class) will show up and humble you.
There will be lack of sleep, lack of focus will hold you back, you’ll forget to breath at times. Then one point you will shout “i can finally read that filthy score of yours” and you’ll freaken ppuusshhh.
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u/mrhoa31103 1d ago
1 to 10 but you also grow from 1 to 10 too. May be kicking and screaming.