Do programmers need to be excellent at maths?
I dont really enjoy maths, but I think I like programming, tho I've only been exposed to it for a few weeks.
Is there hope for me?
Do programmers need to be excellent at maths?
I dont really enjoy maths, but I think I like programming, tho I've only been exposed to it for a few weeks.
Is there hope for me?
Last edited by FloatingPoint; 07-09-2003 at 10:11 AM.
You don't have to be excellent. Hell, for some of it, you don't have to be good at all. There are portions of programming where math is totally required, though. It just depends on what you're trying to program.
-Govtcheez
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It helps if you can count, you know: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Then you have to relearn how to count: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. All set after that.
You don't need to be excellent at mathematics, but it does help a bit if you understand mathematics a bit. Then it will probably be a bit easier understand specific programming things. Algorithms for processing sound or graphics, for example, often require understanding of the underlying math to make optimal use of those algorithms. It also depends on what you want to program, which areas of mathematics you will need.
then you have to relearn to countOriginally posted by Casey
It helps if you can count, you know: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Then you have to relearn how to count: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. All set after that.
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F
all set after that...
You forgot 1, 10, 11, 100, 101...
"Think not but that I know these things; or think
I know them not: not therefore am I short
Of knowing what I ought."
-John Milton, Paradise Regained (1671)
"Work hard and it might happen."
-XSquared
There's always the text book for reference if I dont wanna have to remember all those equations, and here's hoping I wont have to memorize them, just like in physics, chemistry etc., hell how one is supposed to remember everything?Originally posted by Shiro
You don't need to be excellent at mathematics, but it does help a bit if you understand mathematics a bit. Then it will probably be a bit easier understand specific programming things. Algorithms for processing sound or graphics, for example, often require understanding of the underlying math to make optimal use of those algorithms. It also depends on what you want to program, which areas of mathematics you will need.
Well, I guess I shouldnt be too worried abt it now unless somebody there wants me to count in hex!
I think, they should......Do programmers need to be excellent at maths?
It's sucks... when you write code and you u don't understand mathematics and physics......
example:
you work in a company.... and u have to write an algorithm for your prog.... and u get a mathematical formula.... and you dunno anything....
?????
So, it's better to know the most things, you need in mathematics and in physics...
But, for a job, like webdesigner you need no mathematics......
I guess here arises the slight difference b/ween merely understanding and memorizing those formulas.It's sucks... when you write code and you u don't understand mathematics and physics......
For anyone who'd been to college and at least achieved a credit for any maths paper, understanding a revisited formula wouldnt much pose a problem.
It's the "remembering most if not all of those formulas" that's been bothering me, suffice it to say that I'm not that "excellent" at maths. But I'm certain that I can get at least a C+ for my math papers, given a lil extra push
Maths is not really about memorising, IMO its about comprehension and application.
I think you'll do fine. Just determine which of the following 10 categories you fit into:
- Those who understand binary
- Those who don't
Actually that was just a joke I saw inside the Tanner Building at BYU. But seriously, if you can do simple arithmetic, and do the same in other numerical systems, you'll probably be better than most programmers. My book for BASIC (unnecesary, I know), uses a whole bunch of trig, but I've never found a practical use for it.