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Mathematicians and software (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by 3h5Hne7t1K@lemmy.world to c/programming@programming.dev

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It is often echoed that mathematicians make excellent software engineers, and that their logic-adjacent work will translate efficiently into coding and designing.

I have found this to be almost universally untrue. I might even say the inverse is true.

While I and many of my peers have capacity to navigate the mathematical world, it certainly is not what sets us (at least me) apart when designing clever algorithms and software tricks.

Point being: I dont think the property/trait that makes good programmers is mathematical literacy.

I would love to hear what others experience is regarding this.

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[–] nnullzz@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I think the same can be said for a lot of fields. E.g., just because someone’s an excellent architect doesn’t make them a good animator by default.

There’s also so many variations on the types of programming. Maybe a mathematician might be better suited for data science rather than frontend stuff. And even then, each person is different and has their own set of skills part from whatever their formal training is.

What I think makes good programmers is having the ability to bash your head against your desk while debugging, but still walking away at the end of the day loving the job and problem solving. Persistence and creativity go a long way in programming.

[–] ggaaap@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

Yeah, the ability to just sit in that chair until the code problem is solved is something that requires much more than just math.. stubbornness+perseverance+bravery to try out some weird stuff

[–] RealBot@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

..ahh, you gotta love that head bashing. It definitely helps if you're masochist.😂

[–] MajorHavoc@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

What I think makes good programmers is having the ability to bash your head against your desk while debugging, but still walking away at the end of the day loving the job and problem solving.

Just quoting you for emphasis here, in case any of our newbies missed it. Well said!