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Math or Physics students
- Thread starter mark28
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I would use a pen and paper and simply scan your notes later. There is no way to quickly type out a bunch of neat equations. Another option is to consider getting an iPad.
LaTeX use should be a compulsory course for all Science, Maths and Engineering students.
Although it's still not as fast as handwriting notes. So use LaTeX to type up those notes after your class.
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I read chemistry, but that did involve maths (and drawing pictures). Almost everyone used pen and paper. I use to watch the couple of people using laptops and wonder why they would put themselves through that!
I read chemistry, but that did involve maths (and drawing pictures). Almost everyone used pen and paper. I use to watch the couple of people using laptops and wonder why they would put themselves through that!
I use a Livescribe smart pen. It's really nice because you can make an audio recording of the lecture while the teacher is speaking, and the pen tracks all the pen strokes that you make during lecture. So, you can upload the notes later to your computer, and print them out as a pdf, a word document (which will include the complex formulas) and such. It's honestly a really nice thing to have. I would look into it if I were you. http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/smartpen/
This is a really good idea. Other than this though, pen and paper is the best you can do and not lose your mind during a lecture.
Yeah I like it a lot. It's also really nice to have when you are studying as a group, because if you have a question, you can just go into the software on your computer (mac compatible) and type it into the search bar. It will pull up your notes containing the key words you type in.
For Example: If I can't remember how to integrate a triple integral, I can open up the software and type, "triple integral". It will pull up my notes containing those key words, and then I can click on those words, and listen to what the instructor was saying as I was writing those key words down. It's really nice let me tell ya haha. Saves a lot of time having to sift through notes trying to find what you need.
Personally I do the unthinkable and use a PC 
- I use an HP TabletPC to take my notes digitally for Math Classes (Im a Joint Honours student of Maths and Computer Science and took 75% Maths last year) using OneNote 2010. Admittedly its not Mac compatible, but its as good as pen and paper for note taking, as nothing beats a Stylus/Pen for copying down hundreds of formulae and complicated examples (Especially useful for any course marked "Mathematical Analysis" - far too many epsilons to copy down using a notebook computer)
- I use an HP TabletPC to take my notes digitally for Math Classes (Im a Joint Honours student of Maths and Computer Science and took 75% Maths last year) using OneNote 2010. Admittedly its not Mac compatible, but its as good as pen and paper for note taking, as nothing beats a Stylus/Pen for copying down hundreds of formulae and complicated examples (Especially useful for any course marked "Mathematical Analysis" - far too many epsilons to copy down using a notebook computer)
Indeed I am
Unfortunately no. Almost went there back in 03. Awesome campus
I decided to stay instate in Colorado though
I took quantum mechanics this past spring - I give a SOLID LOL at the idea of using a computer in that class. Paper/Pen all the way there is something to truly be said about the relationship of tweaking numbers with a paper and pen, I wouldn't give it up for the world. I could see a tablet/stylus combo working but I really think paper and pen is the absolute best technology for learning physics.
I am a math major going into my last year. The easiest way is definitely pen and paper. However i took a Mathematical Writing course last semester in which we had to make math documents look nice and we used LaTeX which in a way is a programming language. I had to type up all of my assignments in LaTeX(a good program for mac is TexShop). However i would not recommend this method for taking notes as it is quite time consuming. Sometimes to type out a long equation would take around 30 minutes.
It is bulky, but it's actually quite comfortable to write with. As far as battery goes, I can go 2-3 days of 3 classes a day that last an hour each.
Personally I do the unthinkable and use a PC
Don't make excuses
Yes a TabletPC is the only way to go considering the closest thing Apple has come up with is the iPad LOL. (which is not so great for this)
TabletPC's are great for formulas. You can shrink, move, highlight and organize them nice and neatly. An invaluable tool IMHO.
Also invaluable are Maple (my favorite), Mathematica, Mathcad, or Matlab.
It's good to learn at least one of these, as there are lots of times where the algebra gets way out of hand. (simple algebra tools that are very easy to use).
note:
Actually, any PC with Windows 7 is potentially a Tabletpc as it has TabletPC OS incorporated in it. For instance, I'm testing a Fujitsu Q550, wich is sort of like an iPad with a pen running Windows 7 (sort of).
Since this is now the case, there are more options in the PC market.
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If you want to spend an exuberant amount of money you could get yourself a modbook http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook
I use the Livescribe Pen also. I am a Physics major and bought nearly every iPad app for notes that I could find. I really wanted to use my iPad. It never worked for me. I kept going back to the Livescribe pen. Everyone in my classes always knew that if they missed a class they could get my notes uploaded to the website and catch up on what they had missed. I am one of those people who write down everything. I have a friend who tried to take notes with her computer in physics, it didn't work well. She kept falling behind.