Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!linus!philabs!cmcl2!harvard!think!mit-eddie!gds
From: gds@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU (Greg Skinner)
Newsgroups: net.cse
Subject: Re: Math and CS
Message-ID: <1194@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU>
Date: Thu, 6-Mar-86 02:28:24 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.1194
Posted: Thu Mar  6 02:28:24 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Mar-86 08:16:45 EST
References: <256@hropus.UUCP> <6400005@ccvaxa> <77@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: MIT Lusers and Hosers Inc., Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 38

Actually, I have found that some hackers have trouble with math also.
Particularly calculus.  I took the first year of freshman calculus in
my first semester, partially because I had a head start in high school
but mostly so I could get it out of the way and get on with my CS
courses :-)  Anyhow, I have always wondered why some hackers had
trouble with calculus.  As far as I could tell, I was using the same
kind of logic in solving a calculus problem as in a programming
problem.  However, I knew of some hackers that dropped out of school
because they couldn't get through calculus, even though they were able
to sort and hash lists, search trees, etc.

Actually, this brings me to a deeper question.  I have always wondered
why some hackers just didn't grit their teeth and suffer through the N
years to get their degrees.  Considering the fact that it was easy for
them to grind out their programs, they could have coasted through all
their programming projects and devoted some of the energy that went
into their programs into learning linear algebra, modern algebra, and
all that other stuff.  I can remember putting in a lot of time on all
my courses -- I didn't like putting in all that time so much but I
considered it necessary, and felt so much better for really
understanding it.  (Yet, I suppose to someone whose goals are only to
put out portable, fast code, without understanding why it is portable
and fast, understanding is of little importance.)

I don't know, maybe I am missing some fundamental issue regarding the
difference between those who sweated out all the courses towards their
degree and those who didn't.  I would appreciate some enlightenment
though.  When I was an undergrad, I would have loved it if I could
whip up fast, portable code for my assignments.  I envied those who
could.  I was just curious why it didn't carry over into their other
courses.

-- 
It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under.

Greg Skinner (gregbo)
{decvax!genrad, allegra, gatech, ihnp4}!mit-eddie!gds
gds@eddie.mit.edu