It does seem like the sort of math that mostly gets consigned to writing simulations of real-world phenomena, doesn't it? I wonder if it has anything to do wit

It does seem like the sort of math that mostly gets consigned to writing simulations of real-world phenomena, doesn't it? I wonder if it has anything to do with how discrete software is. A program executes in lurches, not as a continuous process. You sort of end up dealing with Riemann rectangles instead of curves, when you look at the time domain. That resemblance is probably just a coincidence, though; maybe it has more to do with the fact that most programs react to input after the fact instead of trying to model the immediate future and act based on predictions.