I tend to memorize the important stuff myself, it really does help expedite the design process. Understanding what each part of an equation does and how the units play into each other is definitely a critical part of EE. I think formulas are relatively useless if one doesn't fully (or at least partially) understand how it's derived.vibratoking wrote:I use Mathcad and Matlab quite often. Both are very good tools in different ways. Just different tools in the toolbox. The right tool for the right job.
I find remembering formulas to be helpful in several ways. It makes things a lot faster. I can get on with the real problem and not waste time digging up the formula that I need to solve the problem. Formulas also give you, or me, insight into how things really work. Formulas often provide me with the link to a real understanding of how things work, not just a lifeless equation that numbers should be plugged into. Of course, this will only happen for you if you make sure to evaluate the equations and derive the real meaning.
Yes, I am an engineer.
I don't use any MathCad but Matlab is a big part of school nowadays, even for analog designers. Lots of useful tools built in too.
Wolfram Alpha is an amazing reference/calculation website as well. It's kind of like Google for math that will solve pretty much anything you throw at it. Check it out, I use it quite often! http://www.wolframalpha.com/
