Comments on: Math vs programming (part I) http://4.flowsnake.org/archives/108 A Pythoneer's adventures with Chicken Scheme. ^_^ And more. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:31:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Hans Nowak http://4.flowsnake.org/archives/108#comment-270 Hans Nowak Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:46:14 +0000 http://4.flowsnake.org/?p=108#comment-270 Yes, I agree that in that particular example, vectors were relevant. Most of this post is not a reply to your article, by the way, but rather a reaction to some of the sentiments expressed in comments (here and on Reddit). I am not denying the importance of math (especially in the Collective Intelligence book), I am taking offense to the notion that math is important in EVERY area of programming ALL THE TIME, and that lack of math knowledge means that you cannot be a competent programmer. I know it was not you who said or suggested this. :-) Yes, I agree that in that particular example, vectors were relevant.

Most of this post is not a reply to your article, by the way, but rather a reaction to some of the sentiments expressed in comments (here and on Reddit). I am not denying the importance of math (especially in the Collective Intelligence book), I am taking offense to the notion that math is important in EVERY area of programming ALL THE TIME, and that lack of math knowledge means that you cannot be a competent programmer. I know it was not you who said or suggested this. :-)

]]> By: Louis-Philippe Huberdeau http://4.flowsnake.org/archives/108#comment-269 Louis-Philippe Huberdeau Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:34:43 +0000 http://4.flowsnake.org/?p=108#comment-269 Just as a note... I spend much time that has nothing to do with math. In those cases, formulas are just a waste of time. However, in the example I was referring to, vectors __were__ a fundamental concept to understand the whole point of the code as the problem was solved using a geometrical approach. I just find it really difficult from code to get that 2D view of the problem, while math functions are so closely related to graphics. It really depends on the kind of problem you are working on. Sure, I happened to pull out a math book, or visit wikipedia, to get a refresh on notations once in a while to read an article containing formulas. There is nothing wrong with that. Once you know the basics, it's easy to move up, even if you don't remember the summation operator on top of your head. Just as a note... I spend much time that has nothing to do with math. In those cases, formulas are just a waste of time. However, in the example I was referring to, vectors __were__ a fundamental concept to understand the whole point of the code as the problem was solved using a geometrical approach. I just find it really difficult from code to get that 2D view of the problem, while math functions are so closely related to graphics. It really depends on the kind of problem you are working on.

Sure, I happened to pull out a math book, or visit wikipedia, to get a refresh on notations once in a while to read an article containing formulas. There is nothing wrong with that. Once you know the basics, it's easy to move up, even if you don't remember the summation operator on top of your head.

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