Programming and Math...

Incidentally this question is widely studied, and it seems that mathematical ability does not correlate as strongly as is commonly thought with programming ability. You have people who can program well, but are not good at maths, and people who are good at maths, but not good at programming.

One study found that the best predictor of whether you will be able to program, is the way in which you think about a problem when you solve it. They found that, if you tend to form a mental model of what you expect to happen when problem solving, you are likely to be able to learn to program decently. Doesn't even matter if your mental model is actually incorrect, what matters is that you form a mental model in the first place.

All types of programming require the formation of a mental model, and all of them require logical thinking. But not all of them require mathematical knowledge and skill.
 
If you are a coding clerk who simply translates a given problem solution into some code, then all you would need is a knowledge of the code.

If you are the person who teranslates a real life problem into a logical solution, then you need analytical skills, the same skills as a re required for translating a real life problem into a mathematical formula.
 
On the most rudimentary level, I always encourage people to do a "left-brain" (more organized, logical and systematic) "right-brain" (creative and intuitive) test. While not scientific I have found that people who identify as "right-brain" have a harder time getting into programming and is better suited in a more "creative" role. At the end of the day it is what it is, sometimes you are just going to have to take longer or work harder to grasp something than the next person. It does not make you less intelligent, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Just what I've noticed, not scientific at all.
 
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NullHypothesis said:
On the most rudimentary level, I always encourage people to do a "left-brain" (more organized, logical and systematic) "right-brain" (creative and intuitive) test. While not scientific I have found that people who identify as "right-brain" have a harder time getting into programming and is better suited in a more "creative" role. At the end of the day it is what it is, sometimes you are just going to have to take longer or work harder to grasp something than the next person. It does not make you less intelligent, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Just what I've noticed, not scientific at all.
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Just to add to my above post, I personally identify as "right-brain" yet I work in IT, I'm motivated my making things (and money) and not by perfect code or the code is art / code is poetry movement. I'm a perfectionist but sometimes I get frustrated with too much semantics and just leave it as is "if it works, it works", while others may engross themselves in the challenge. Like I said, it is what it is. My 2c.
 
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The whole left-brain/right-brain thing is a myth just by the way. The differences between the hemisphere are not as consistent as people have been led to believe.
 
Ancalagon said:
The whole left-brain/right-brain thing is a myth just by the way. The differences between the hemisphere are not as consistent as people have been led to believe.
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That is why I put it in inverted commas (and I said its not scientific), but let me be more clear: some people are just more inclined to mathematics and some are not.
 
Mathematics teaches you how to think logically, and in certain patterns which are very useful in coding. Actual math is present here and there, but mostly in very simple equations.

Let's just say you'll have a better chance at becoming a great programmer if you excelled in maths, than if you didn't have it at all.
 
You're still better off learning patterns, and programming concepts than maths if you're involved in the outline design. That said, if you're programming algorithms and such then you need the math logic obviously.
 
Thor187 said:
Back in school we had to take clean Math if we wanted to take IT, most people I have talked to also always tend to say that you need high marks in math to be a programmer.

Then I read this:



So my question... Do you need to be good at maths?

Don't lie please
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Depends what you going into.Business software, not so much, but 3d game engines, more so, but in actual fact if you are a good programmer you are decent in math.I havnt met any programmers who cant math.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
People here are confusing arithmetic with maths...
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01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110101 01100011 01101000 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110011 01101101 01100001 01110010 01110100 00101101 01100001 01110010 01110011 01100101 00100001 00100000 00111010 01000100
 
ponder said:
01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110101 01100011 01101000 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110011 01101101 01100001 01110010 01110100 00101101 01100001 01110010 01110011 01100101 00100001 00100000 00111010 01000100
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01001110011011110111010000100000011101000110100001101001011100110010000001100111011000010110110101100101001000000110000101100111011000010110100101101110001011100010111000101110001000000011101000101000
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
01001110011011110111010000100000011101000110100001101001011100110010000001100111011000010110110101100101001000000110000101100111011000010110100101101110001011100010111000101110001000000011101000101000
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49204C696B652074686573652067616D6573203A29
 
reactor_sa said:
You're still better off learning patterns, and programming concepts than maths if you're involved in the outline design. That said, if you're programming algorithms and such then you need the math logic obviously.
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Separation of concerns is something people don't spend time learning.
 
I recently read an article about the work being done by the University of Kent into this very question i.e. how to assess a person's aptitude for programming. Here's a summary:

Aptitude tests for computing jobs broadly fall into three groups:
  • A standard battery of tests assessing competencies such as numerical reasoning, logical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning which are required in technical computing jobs.
  • A hybrid test comprising of elements involving logical reasoning, numerical problem solving, pattern recognition, ability to follow complex procedures and attention to detail. Neither of these first two types of test require any knowledge of programming
  • A programming simulation involving pseudocode, control structures (e.g. loops), look-up tables, sets, arrays, boolean true/false, looping and other programming structures. These are given to experienced programmers to assess their competence.


Here's their tests (Pssst if you don't like tests well I guess you have your answer):
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/psychotests.htm


Yip looks kind of maths oriented... and more.
 
Ancalagon said:
The whole left-brain/right-brain thing is a myth just by the way. The differences between the hemisphere are not as consistent as people have been led to believe.
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This. My aunts a neurologist
 
Thor187 said:
This. My aunts a neurologist
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Well my dad's a qualified electrician and I can categorically state that earthing your electric wiring in your house is something dreamt up by marketers to sell more wire!


:twisted:
 
Hamster said:
Well my dad's a qualified electrician and I can categorically state that earthing your electric wiring in your house is something dreamt up by marketers to sell more wire!

:twisted:
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I beg to differ!! Many years ago, I did a system for Black Steers Umhlanga Sands. It consisted of a Unix box with about 24 RS232 terminals running their ordering system.
The electrician, in his wisdom, put the whole system on it's on circuit, but never installed any earthing.
The main RS232 ports kept blowing and I could not understand why until I unplugged the RS232 plug at the back and got a mega shock!
Bottom line, the earthing prevents a potential difference between two dissimilar circuits that could cause such problems. Parallel port Laser printers were also famous for this issue.

BTW. My father was also an electrician in his younger years. Earthing is a safety measure so that you only get a few milli-amps of 220 Volts zapping you instead of 15 Amps toasting you to the core!!

Earthing is important!!!
 
patrick123 said:
I beg to differ!! Many years ago, I did a system for Black Steers Umhlanga Sands. It consisted of a Unix box with about 24 RS232 terminals running their ordering system.
The electrician, in his wisdom, put the whole system on it's on circuit, but never installed any earthing.
The main RS232 ports kept blowing and I could not understand why until I unplugged the RS232 plug at the back and got a mega shock!
Bottom line, the earthing prevents a potential difference between two dissimilar circuits that could cause such problems. Parallel port Laser printers were also famous for this issue.

BTW. My father was also an electrician in his younger years. Earthing is a safety measure so that you only get a few milli-amps of 220 Volts zapping you instead of 15 Amps toasting you to the core!!

Earthing is important!!!
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:wtf:

14241083996384-auwll.jpg
 
You don't need math to do programming, but math could be the difference between the £35k job and the £75k job.
 
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