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Lambda Calculus since it's a computer science field of study that makes math, in my opinion, useful for most situations in our field. Math isn't majorly needed

Lambda Calculus since it's a computer science field of study that makes math, in my opinion, useful for most situations in our field. Math isn't majorly needed and you can learn what you need on the fly. For instance, if you want to get into game development you need to understand some fairly complex math concepts but nothing is stopping you from attacking the problem and either a) working around it with your understanding of the computing devices you are using or b) by learning what you need on the fly. If you want to practice in a field that operates on computers, don't learn another field. That's like saying "what kind of philosophy most correctly correlates to learning about horticulture?" Just start to learn horticulture and as you need philosophy it will be tied in.

ninguem2 10y ago
>Math isn't majorly needed and you can learn what you need on the fly. I really, really hope that whatever you are doing does not involve cryptography.
- gravypod 10y ago
  Cryptography isn't a computer science field. It is an extension of math. It's the exception to the rule, not the rule itself. Cryptography as a field of study has existed long, long before computer science was a twinkle in anyone's eyes. Modern day cryptography only centers around computer science in the practice of implementation.
  - dietr1ch 10y ago
    Getting crypto right is not only about having a strong encryption algorithm. I'd say that what makes crypto hard is that it requires a lot of knowledge on both math and computers, but it might be considered a not-only CS field as the math requirement is higher than usual on CS.
    - gravypod 10y ago
      As I said, crypto is not CS but CS can be used to implement cryptography. Crypto is no more CS then it is EE. You can implement cryptographic elements in hardware but you don't see the math people setting up shop in the EE labs at a college so I don't know why you see them setting up shop in computer labs.
cableshaft 10y ago
Have you tried interviewing at game development companies? Many will test the hell out of your 3D math concepts and will reject you if you don't already know it well. They don't accept that you can just 'learn it on the fly'. Honestly I'm not sure if I'm be able to handle a modern graphics programming jobs unless I studied and practiced constantly for at least six months straight. And I've worked on a bunch of 2D games before (and one 3D game).
- gravypod 10y ago
  What I said was "Math isn't majorly needed and you can learn what you need on the fly." You said "Have you tried interviewing at game development companies" These are two separate things. It's like saying "Most people can learn how to fill out their tax forms on the fly. You don't need anything special you can just read up what to do when it comes time to." and then you coming back and asking "have you ever applied for a job at H&R Block? You need to be well versed in the tax system to be a full time tax filer" This is not at all what I was referring to. The question at hand was "Which areas of math are practical to programming/algorithms and why?" Would you say that game development is the representation of the entire programming field? No it's a small portion of our profession. If you want to do that professionally round the clock then you need to prepare for what you will be doing in that field but that doesn't mean that if you want to get into programming or algorithmic thinking that you should learn game development. That's just one small element. > Honestly I'm not sure if I'm be able to handle a modern graphics programming jobs unless I studied and practiced constantly for at least six months straight What you have to ask yourself is what is it that I'm practicing for this job You didn't learn the maths first and said "you know game development looks good let me go there" and sit down and start to learn how to program and think algorithmicly. You sat down and said "I need to learn everything that directly applies to this field" which in most cases (for rendering) is vectors, frustum view angles, Eular and maybe Polar coordinates, an understanding of how to use a quaternion, what a matrix is. The remaining, and much more important part in this equation, is understanding how to interface with OGL/DX/Vulkan. This is what a graphics person does best, not math. It boils down to what our field is: understanding, in great depth, the systems of computation and how to interface with them in a structured, maintainable, terse, and fast manor. Math is a cart and programming pulls it to the goal post.

ninguem2 10y ago

>Math isn't majorly needed and you can learn what you need on the fly. I really, really hope that whatever you are doing does not involve cryptography.

gravypod 10y ago
Cryptography isn't a computer science field. It is an extension of math. It's the exception to the rule, not the rule itself. Cryptography as a field of study has existed long, long before computer science was a twinkle in anyone's eyes. Modern day cryptography only centers around computer science in the practice of implementation.
- dietr1ch 10y ago
  Getting crypto right is not only about having a strong encryption algorithm. I'd say that what makes crypto hard is that it requires a lot of knowledge on both math and computers, but it might be considered a not-only CS field as the math requirement is higher than usual on CS.
  - gravypod 10y ago
    As I said, crypto is not CS but CS can be used to implement cryptography. Crypto is no more CS then it is EE. You can implement cryptographic elements in hardware but you don't see the math people setting up shop in the EE labs at a college so I don't know why you see them setting up shop in computer labs.

cableshaft 10y ago

Have you tried interviewing at game development companies? Many will test the hell out of your 3D math concepts and will reject you if you don't already know it well. They don't accept that you can just 'learn it on the fly'. Honestly I'm not sure if I'm be able to handle a modern graphics programming jobs unless I studied and practiced constantly for at least six months straight. And I've worked on a bunch of 2D games before (and one 3D game).

gravypod 10y ago
What I said was "Math isn't majorly needed and you can learn what you need on the fly." You said "Have you tried interviewing at game development companies" These are two separate things. It's like saying "Most people can learn how to fill out their tax forms on the fly. You don't need anything special you can just read up what to do when it comes time to." and then you coming back and asking "have you ever applied for a job at H&R Block? You need to be well versed in the tax system to be a full time tax filer" This is not at all what I was referring to. The question at hand was "Which areas of math are practical to programming/algorithms and why?" Would you say that game development is the representation of the entire programming field? No it's a small portion of our profession. If you want to do that professionally round the clock then you need to prepare for what you will be doing in that field but that doesn't mean that if you want to get into programming or algorithmic thinking that you should learn game development. That's just one small element. > Honestly I'm not sure if I'm be able to handle a modern graphics programming jobs unless I studied and practiced constantly for at least six months straight What you have to ask yourself is what is it that I'm practicing for this job You didn't learn the maths first and said "you know game development looks good let me go there" and sit down and start to learn how to program and think algorithmicly. You sat down and said "I need to learn everything that directly applies to this field" which in most cases (for rendering) is vectors, frustum view angles, Eular and maybe Polar coordinates, an understanding of how to use a quaternion, what a matrix is. The remaining, and much more important part in this equation, is understanding how to interface with OGL/DX/Vulkan. This is what a graphics person does best, not math. It boils down to what our field is: understanding, in great depth, the systems of computation and how to interface with them in a structured, maintainable, terse, and fast manor. Math is a cart and programming pulls it to the goal post.