Ask HN: Why Study Math?

1 points by ThePaulAlek 4 years ago | 3 comments

Why study math on your own time? Will it help with jobs? Can you solve some cool problem? I just don’t see the practicality of it. I am a software engineer so my mindset might be from practically point of view.

Thank you!

tgflynn 4 years ago |

It all depends on what kind of programming you do and what kind of math you're talking about. Some types of programming are highly dependent on math, such as 3D graphics programming, data science and machine learning. Others have less explicit dependence on what people usually think about when they talk about "math" in general yet mathematical ideas, such as formal logic, can still be applied to them, for example to prove correctness or calculate time complexity.

ThePaulAlek 4 years ago | |

Makes sense. How often will you really use that math? These days people get away with knowing very little math and relying on frameworks to handle the tuff parts.

I guess what is the potential reward in the real world?

j2kun 4 years ago |

I'm writing a book that focuses on the practical aspects of mathematics for software engineers. You might enjoy it, check it out: https://buttondown.email/j2kun/archive/a-week-of-book-writin...