[thechat] maths /programming

[Dean Mah]

On Tue, Jul 02, 2002 at 11:47:57PM +1000, Lachlan Cannon wrote:
> How many of the programmers on this list are also good at maths? I ask
> because I've seen people talk about a correlation before, and I'm strong
> at both, and they seem to go so logically well together, yet I've seen
> people talk about programmers who absolutely can't do maths and vice
> verse. It makes me wonder, because so many aspects are the same.
> Variables, going from one input to a certain output & rules for finding
> things eg, functions, etc.

I'm a CS graduate and we were required to take a lot of math courses:
linear algebra, calculus, abstract algebra, set theory, number theory,
and statistics.  Along with that we were required to take physics
courses and logic courses.  So if you go through formal education, you
have to be adequate at math, not necessarily good at it.

I've known a couple math graduates that were into pure math.  They
despised application.  It only took a sinlge computer course for them
to realize that they weren't good programmers and hated the subject.
Too much application for them.

Dean