A recent Technician column by Joey Rivenbark criticized NC State’s use of the mathematical software Maple, citing its cost, barriers to entry and lack of necessity. Maple, however, can be a great way to introduce students to mathematical programming. Furthermore, many of Rivenbark’s claims reflect a complete lack of understanding about the resources available to students.
To begin, let’s talk about cost. According to Rivenbark, “for a single license of Maple 2017… Maplesoft can charge you up to $1,560.” This is demonstrably false.
A standard, single-user student license of Maple costs $99. Even the most expensive student version, the engineering bundle, costs only $190.40 — the equivalent cost of one or two textbooks.
The author also misrepresents how difficult it is to access Maple. Yes, using Maple over VCL (Virtual Computing Lab) can be frustrating, and the $99 cost would be hard to justify for anyone who isn’t a math major, as well as for many who are. However, as the author fails to address, those are not your only options.
Many of the computers across campus, including those in the libraries, residence halls and classroom buildings, have Maple installed. I’d hardly call that an inconvenience.
The author also critiques the difficulty of writing code in Maple, saying “you are run through one assignment at the beginning that briefs you on a few of the commands that you’ll need to use, but beyond that the user interface is a mess, and several features are left completely untouched.”
Apparently, the author has never heard of Google. A quick search will yield hundreds of pages of documentation that describe how to use every function that the language provides. If you are still confused about something, the Mathematics Multimedia Center in SAS Hall provides free Maple tutoring every weekday.
Finally, mathematical computing is a skill that has become increasingly necessary for many careers. Just because you didn’t major in computer science doesn’t mean that you’ll never need to use code in the workplace. I personally know people who have majored in physics, biology or paper science that regularly use code at their jobs.
Many modern math problems in STEM careers are simply too complex for them to be reasonably worked out by hand.
Maple helps students to think about math problems in ways that they may not have done in the past, with the added benefit of helping them advance their careers. It would be irresponsible if the University were to ignore such an important aspect of the modern workplace.
Adam Davis is a third-year studying computer science and a former member of Technician’s Editorial Board.
