I took two courses this summer. MAT 2384: Ordinary Differential Equations and Numerical Methods, and PHI 2394: Scientific Thought and Social Values. Here is a brief review of each.

MAT 2384: Ordinary Differential Equations and Numerical Methods

General concepts. First order equations. Linear differential equations of higher order. Differential operators. Laplace transforms. Systems of differential equations. Series solutions about ordinary points.

This course is exceptionally easy to do well in. A lot of builds on some pretty fundamental concepts from previous courses. Mainly, strong trig fundamentals, techniques of integrations, linear algebra concepts, and basic algebra. The course itself is quite straightforward, and the problems can’t really be changed much. For this reason, it’s really easy to do well. The only shortcoming of this course, in my opinion, is the fact that it’s vastly unclear what the use is of the different equations are while you are studying them. This mystery is solved later on in the degree, but for the time in which you take the course it can add to the painstaking nature of it. Joseph Khoury is an absolutely amazing professor, who teaches the course every semester.

PHI 2394: Scientific Thought and Social Values

The nature of scientific thought and the relationships between science, culture, religion, politics, technology and society at large.

Apart from technical report writing (ENG 1112), this was the first course I took in my degree outside the Faculty of Science or Engineering. I found it to be really pleasant. If you like the interplay within technology and society, this is a fantastic course that really stays up to date with the changes in society and makes you think. A nice bonus here is that the course, at least in my time, does not test your ability to rehearse back memorized dates. Writing is a key component and so is the application of some core concepts to modern day issues as well. Dean Laurer was an excellent professor for this course.