Subj : Re: Good math skills a requirement?
To   : comp.programming
From : CTips
Date : Thu Aug 04 2005 07:09 am

Russell Shaw wrote:
> Scott Moore wrote:
> 
>> James C. wrote:
>>
>>> This question is probably asked often, but can someone be a decent 
>>> programmer without any advanced math skills? To be more specific, can 
>>> someone get by in programming with simple arithmetic (i.e. addition, 
>>> substraction, multiplication, and division)?
>>>
>>> I don't see how a programmer would need anything beyond simple 
>>> arithmetic to write an email client in a programming langauage such 
>>> as Delphi. How in the heck is geometry, trig, calculus, etc. going to 
>>> aid in this type of project? 
>>
>>
>> A bridge engineer does not need to know math, computers do that.
> 
> 
> But i sure wouldn't trust anything from them. With no concept or feel of
> maths, all the simulation tools in the world are useless.
> 

Very true.

The same point was raised in a conversation (in the late 80s) with an 
engineering VP from a company that designs and builds plants & 
refineries. His problem was that most of the engg. grads had become so 
reliant on CAD programs that they couldn't even guess what order of 
magnitude the results would be. This meant that they wouldn't know when 
the CAD program screwed-up. Paraphrasing his comments - "if the program 
moves a decimal point 2 places over, they'll happily sign-off on a 500 
ton oil drilling platform design"

His short-term solution:
- every design gets looked at by a 50 year old who learnt his 
engineering during the slipstick era.
- hiring people who got undergrad degrees from places like Eastern 
Europe and India.

This conversation took place about 15 years ago. Those 50 yr olds are 
probably retired.

.