Elysian Shadows

So, ever since I started learning computer programming I have steadily become more and more interested in math. About 5+ years ago while I was still in highschool, I honestly could not have cared less about math and never really focused too much on it. These days, I get just as excited about taking math courses at my university as I do when taking programming courses. Anyone else gain a new-found love for math after beginning with programming?

Up until about 6th grade I hated math with a passion. Now when people throw down an equation in front of me I do it without calculators. In my algebra class I do all of my work with out a calculator and have never finished my work slower than third done in the class. I love math now, and I'd like to think I'm good at it too. Well... For my age.

I can agree with that, for me its simply finding something to do with Math. Yes, Math is everything, but as a kid in grade school it was all just a bunch of meaningless problems that I had to keep solving with nothing to show for it. Now with programming its like, hm I want to do this, but how can I achieve this? Oh, I'll just use this formula! *final fantasy victory music*

Trask wrote:I can agree with that, for me its simply finding something to do with Math. Yes, Math is everything, but as a kid in grade school it was all just a bunch of meaningless problems that I had to keep solving with nothing to show for it. Now with programming its like, hm I want to do this, but how can I achieve this? Oh, I'll just use this formula! *final fantasy victory music*

I'm in a very similar situation. Ever since Physics class last where I learned to purposefully apply mathematics to something real, I now understand what makes math so cool and interesting.

tbh none likes numbers, they are cruel and vicious creatures!
what people do like though, are solutions, and one powerful tool to achieve them, is math.

I agree also. I had always been in advanced math courses, but I was one of the shittier/slackier students in those courses throughout highschool.

I can appreciate it much more than I ever did before, because I'm now seeing it applied. I'm not so much interested in raw mathematics (you aren't going to see me changing my major), because I find abstract math and science without an application boring. But I am very much excited, because I view math as a tool to take advantage of with my engineering endeavors.

I'm the most excited about math that I know I will be able to apply.

GyroVorbis wrote:I agree also. I had always been in advanced math courses, but I was one of the shittier/slackier students in those courses throughout highschool.

I can appreciate it much more than I ever did before, because I'm now seeing it applied. I'm not so much interested in raw mathematics (you aren't going to see me changing my major), because I find abstract math and science without an application boring. But I am very much excited, because I view math as a tool to take advantage of with my engineering endeavors.

I'm the most excited about math that I know I will be able to apply.

i tend to agree with you.. but dont forget its the pure mathematicians that makes anything engineers do possible.

Oh wow I thought I was the only one like this...

Back in middle school I couldn't care less about math and was never interested... When I started getting into programming and saw how closely related the two are I quickly started enjoying math. Sometimes when I'm bored in other subjects I'll write random equations or problems for me to solve, just for the fun of it.

Wierd....

gyrovorbis wrote:because I find abstract math and science without an application boring

Thats how I feel about everything. If theres no use for it, and I find that I can't apply it to anything in my interests, I just simply don't give a crap about it. [Example: Social Studies / Geography]

I think we are all in agreement here.

Although I kind of feel what avancs says, because for me it has taken me quite a while to appreciate mathematics through figuring out how to use it in my computer engineering endeavors

So now that I have this "high and mighty" appreciation for math, I feel for mathematicians. It takes someone who knows how to appreciate math, to appreciate what they, the mathematicians do for the rest of us

I don't truely know if they feel appreciated (or whatever) but from almost everybody I know (who is not in the math field directly), nobody gives a crap about what they do

It's good to see that everyone is as enthusiastic (or more so) than I am.

Not really until lately, actually. Most of my math classes have been "eh". But I'm taking Combinatorics & Graph Theory and it's pretty darn cool. Having a great professor helps.

I have honestly never been that crazy about math...

I took a TON of it in college - with a CS degree, I practically have a minor in Math. (Discrete Math was the bane of my existance for 2 semesters...) But, before I got into programming, I wanted to be an artist, so I still have that conflict of left brain vs. right brain.

I will say this, though...I find that math (especially trig and calculus) makes WAY more sense thanks to game development. As other's have said, having something to apply it to makes a world of difference.

I've always loved math and been in advanced classes since middle school. I love solving problems but absolutely hate proofs. I think my geometry teacher in high school damaged me mentally be assigning us so many trivial proofs. As many have already said, I need application for my math. This then led to my love for physics in high school, regardless of it being difficult and somewhat overwhelming in the second year.

I'm ganna go ahead and say math was my gateway drug to programming.
Math = solve problems
Math -> Physics = apply solved problems to real life
Math -> Physics -> Computer Science = use applied equations and formulas to make visual representations of the world around us (fuckin' cool!)

I really loved math through Algebra and Calculus.. took Differential Equations for fun, Discrete Math 1 and 2 were okay. Statistics was kinda fun too.
But last semester I had probability, and this semester Numerical Analysis, and I don't know if it's because it's been so long since I had my core math classes or what, but I'm having a miserable time with those. :/
I do love math problems and solving problems that don't require me to review classes from four years ago, or using matlab. :D

Math is indeed quite better after programming. Math is simple to me now, where at least %25 of the class is failing, me and my friend Kevin have high 90's.

[rant]Only thing I still see no purpose for is proofs. Seriously, they're pointless. Unless you're gonna be a scientist or a hardcore mathematician, I don't see why they're useful. I see no use in writing out every step with definitions and theorems(together they easily make up %50 of my homework). I'm pretty sure they aren't in the curriculum, but the teacher is making us do them anyway.[/rant]