What are the pro and cons of working in degrees.
What about Radians?
(List sources if you can)

What's your personal opinion?

Thanks!

Question

What are the pro and cons of working in degrees. 
What about Radians? 
(List sources if you can) 

What's your personal opinion? 


Thanks!

tkhunny · Answer

There is only one pro for degrees.  Familiarity.

aravindg · Answer

Measures in radians help you directly relate arc length and radius in a circle.

accessdenied · Answer

The 'special' angles in degrees are integers.  30-60-90, 45-45-90 triangles for example.
In radians, they are fractions:  pi/6-pi/3-pi/2, pi/4-pi/4-pi/2.  Depending on which you work better with would be a pro for that side.

If you are getting into Calculus as well, measuring the variable in radians over degrees gives us the most convenient derivative/integral formula for sine, cosine, etc.  d/dx (sin x) = cos x,  no extra coefficients.

wwe123 · Answer

Pros of degrees - whole number of them in a circle, plus that number, 360, is highly divisible. Has long-standing astronomical physical basis. 

Pros of radians - simple to work out lengths of arcs and areas of sectors (and hence segments) from the radius of the circle. 

Even better, enables trigonometric calculus without fiddly correction factors of 180/pi coming in everywhere!