Not too good at math. Gameover?

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6 comments, last by double O seven 17 years, 4 months ago
Do you neccesarily need to have an intrest in Math to become a good software developter? If I'm the type of person who struggles with math then would that mean I'll have a hard time in this field?
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A good understanding of English would likely be a better first investment. But math is quite a big part of programming, but it isn't overly complex honestly. I taught myself up to second year college level in the sections I needed. Its a lot more interesting without some lame teacher forcing you to learn what they want you to learn.
I really have a hard time with math too. The only way I got around it was to keep trying, and reminding myself of what the end goal was. I'm doing all kinds of math stuff now that really blows my mind, and the fact that I didn't get my Algebra 30 in high school after three tries should go to show that all it takes is hard work and time.

Not to mention, it helps to receive positive reinforcement from others. A lot of people seem to forget that they weren't born with anything other than the ability to spew nonsense. Apparently some of them haven't advanced much (AP).

So keep trying, and don't forget to breathe! Math isn't everything, and the best insights always seem to come when I'm doing something other than math. Strange, but true.
When I was in middle school I had a difficult time with math, but I could still program without too much difficulty. Then one day I realized programming was essentially algebra, and after that math wasn't too difficult. I say keep programming, I think the math/logic skills will come eventually without you knowing it.
"Think you Disco Duck, think!" Professor Farnsworth
Math isn't important, ability to use brain, and solve problems is.
Also ability to look at the project as a whole, not as a lot of small parts, is important.

Look at this code.

for(U = 0; U < array.length; U++){
gl.drawEle(array);
}

Can you see any math?

Actually in most common software programming positions (game development is slightly different) the most common task is a string manipulation. Majority of PhD level peoples discovered they need what they learned about once per 5 years.

From my experience the most difficult thing I encountered was when I was supposed to learn a Galois field arithmetic in a few days and create functional program for code protection. (I was able to create working encoder, and the program was postponed because there was more important things aka we would try to believe in DVD build in protection, or DVD-RAM are wonderfully durable things.) And guess what, I still don't know Galois field arithmetic. ^_^

Beanshell, Mathematica, Maple are main things that are used to solve mathematical problems, if writing a testing program isn't more simple and comfy. Mathworld.wolfram.com is also cute resource.
You don't need an interest in math, but math is logical problem solving which is the same thing programming is. So if you're bad at math it's an indication that you will be bad programming, but there are lots of software engineering jobs out there that require very little actual programming. And you don't need any adavnced math except for some specialized programming jobs. You should know algebra well though.
- The trade-off between price and quality does not exist in Japan. Rather, the idea that high quality brings on cost reduction is widely accepted.-- Tajima & Matsubara
3d engine programming = math heavy
game programming = math heavy
other fields of programming = doesnt have to be math heavy, eg web development
Go here and study the tutorials. They have all kinds of math from novice to expert. Easy to read and easy to understand. www.math.com

Hope that helps. Good luck.

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