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I agree with you. There's a popular book they recommend around here for learning linear algebra, which they say its very related to coding. I found it to be no
by makz 7y ago
I agree with you. There's a popular book they recommend around here for learning linear algebra, which they say its very related to coding.
I found it to be not the case. Upon reading the first chapters I started wondering how could this be useful for coding. So I jumped to one of the last chapters where they show you practical applications. Upon reading those I thought: "I can do all this in code just fine without using linear algebra".
I never touched that book again.
About two years ago or so I started to make little games for the pico-8 fantasy console. There's some math involved there but almost always you don't use the math formulas as you would in a text book, for example, for something simple like drawing a straight line or a circle, finding paths, collisions... there are very specific algorithms for that, they don't look anything like a math formula, even if they are derived from those.
Just my point of view.
- thfuran 7y ago> there are very specific algorithms for that, they don't look anything like a math formula I'm not sure what you mean by that. I'd describe making a 3D game (engine) with rendering, collision detection, etc as probably one of the math-heaviest areas of programming outside of scientific computing or algorithm R&D.
- lonelappde 7y agoNumerical solutions in computer programs look very different from the closed form symbolic theorems in math books.
- higherkinded 7y agoI think it's pretty safe to assume that you haven't heard of ML language family and Hindley—Milner type system. At the lowest possible level, I mean, yes, numeric solutions are computed by the sets of instructions that are pretty distant from the mathematical level of abstraction. But in higher-level languages, everything remotely readable and reliable usually looks like formal math from the textbooks. I'd say that the representation heavily depends on what language you're using to write your programs, yes, though not everything looks like Algol 68 nowadays.
- kd0amg 7y agoDon't numeric solutions in math books also look very different from closed-form solutions?
- sigjuice 7y agoWhich books is this? Sounds like something I might want to check out. Thanks!