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liam@w3.org (Liam Quin) writes:
>On Tue, Jan 06, 2004 at 12:40:54PM -0500, Simon St.Laurent wrote:
>> Some programmers definitely need to understand math very well. The
>> vast majority, in my experience, do not.
>
>Part of this depends on what you mean by "math" I think...
I think you're right. I don't think most programmers need a formal
grasp of mathematics as taught in mathematics courses.
>e.g. an understanding of logic is pretty important, and automata
>theory is pretty useful, as is group theory and basic stuff like
>number bases.
Logic, certainly, though there are other ways to learn it. Number
bases, for some applications, yes. For group theory I'd say its a
matter of degree, and may not require much formal understanding.
Automata theory? Depends on what you're writing.
To be a master programmer who does good work requires all of those
things, but about 80% of the programmers I've encountered are
apprentices and journeymen. (I'd put myself at apprentice in this
context.)
>If you view mathematics as the discipline of manipulation of
>symbols, then it's pretty close to computing.
Mathematicians often say that. I still don't see much commonality in
the practice of the two disciplines. In practice, I see more
commonality with building trades.
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