Should Math Be a Prerequisite for Programming?

https://www.linux.com/blog/should-math-be-prerequisite-programming

by wq • 10 years ago

9 8 10 years ago

Carol Smith seems to have confused "math" with "whatever's covered in math 101/103 and some particular place".

Calling for "mathematics to not be a pre-requisite to programming is like calling for mathematics to not be a pre-requisite for trigonometry. Programming is constructing and manipulating syntactic objects. Programming is, literally and unambiguously, "doing math". They are not separable activities.

Aside from which, elementary algebra is actually extremely important stuff for any programmer to understand. We're not talking group theory, we're talking knowing the difference between a graph of x vs. a graph of x^2 vs. a graph of 2^x. How to manipulate conjunctions and disjunctions and implications. I can't imagine programming anything particularly useful without knowing that sort of stuff. Which doesn't mean that formal elementary algebra is a reasonable pre-requisite course, but it really is pre-requisite knowledge.

internaut2• 10 years ago

Programming is, literally and unambiguously, "doing math". They are not separable activities.

Notably the authors of SICP, no mathematical slouches, would disagree with you, in the first few pages they explain the difference between using symbols to mean what from symbols used to mean how.

_v7gu• 10 years ago

Even if I didn't disagree with that statement, won't having only the knowledge of how and no knowledge of what leave you in a bad place when you move on to non-trivial problems?

unsignedqword• 10 years ago

I'm surprised people don't really think about this in the opposite direction - that programming can be used to help understand math better. How many people have gotten along better with linear algebra and calculus by virtue of messing around in a game engine? Having to actually apply math knowledge to solving problems - some applicable context - works wonders for cementing and fertilizing that knowledge.

Many a student thinks to themselves in a math class: "Man, I'll never use this." When you actually need the math, suddenly you have this "oh shit" moment and you step into gear.

douche• 10 years ago

I'm not sure that the Calc 1/2/3 sequence that tends to be a typical requirement for university CS programs is really anything more than a fairly inefficient bozo filter.

I remember wasting a lot of time learning algebraic and geometric identities that I never ended up using for anything more than rearranging and simplifying nonsense equations.

Ologn• 10 years ago

I have a wallpaper app where you can see which wallpapers are popular. One problem in determining popularity is I continually add new wallpapers. If each download has the same score, then a wallpaper from three years ago that people download once a week will be shown for some time before a newer wallpaper that people download every day. Also, as the wallpapers appearing high on the popular tab have a higher chance of being downloaded, it becomes a self-reinforcing loop, cementing the place of the old wallpapers.

My solution for this was exponential decay. Newer downloads get a higher score than older downloads. The older the download, the lower the score. Now I have a better chance of seeing what's popular no matter when it was added.

This is not the most complex practical problem in the world and the solution is straight out of Calc 2.

ankurdhama• 10 years ago

If programming = "The ability to program a computer to do something aka giving instruction to a machine" then you don't need math.

If programming = "The ability to solve problems by modelling them as computational problems and coming up with the solution aka algorithm and then using computer to solve the problem". Then you do need math.

Remember, you can be a good mechanic without being an engineer but there will always be the ceiling of mechanic that you cannot cross.

Should Math Be a Prerequisite for Programming?

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