The Immutability of Math and How Almost Everything Else Will Pass

The article argues that the message that you do not need math to program is too short-term. It says that software development is changing quickly, and that future work in areas like machine learning, computer vision, cryptography, big data, and predictive modeling will rely on math more than today’s routine web and mobile work.

Reading notes

#

• The article says the current push to separate math from programming can make the field feel less intimidating, but it may also leave engineers unprepared for newer kinds of work.
• It presents math as a basic pillar of computer science, with logic, algebra, geometry, statistics, probability, linear algebra, Big-O, and optimization all appearing in practical programming situations.
• It argues that saying “I’m not a math person” can become a self-fulfilling belief and that math is often avoided because people see it as dry or uncreative.
• It says the best future jobs will be in specialized areas of computer science, where mathematics will matter more than familiarity with short-lived tools.
• It ends by recommending practice and resources that build confidence in math rather than memorizing school formulas.