Re: Dumbing down?

In article <1hymn39.4tfo17apzp9iN%wrf3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
wrf3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Bob Felts) wrote:

Jeff Rollin <jeffrey.rollin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

A friend (who should know better than I) and myself both agree that an
understanding of maths is necessary to be able to program.

So why do so many introductory textbooks insist that it isn't?


Probably because it isn't. The ability to write well is far more
important than knowledge of mathematics.

However, the kind of logical and precise thinking that you learn when
writing mathematical proofs is very similar, IMHO, to what you do when
programming.

So while you don't need to know things like calculus or differential
equations (unless the applications you're writing happen to involve
them), other areas of mathematics provide a good foundation for the
thought processes required.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***
*** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***
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