Agreed. My first thought was also along these lines: Programming is not math, but it is logic, and math is almost always a purer and more demanding expression

Agreed. My first thought was also along these lines: Programming is not math, but it is logic, and math is almost always a purer and more demanding expression of logic than language. Logic is important because programs always have to "resolve" into something specific in order to compile and have a result. Most usage of language is devoid of structured logic, or "fuzzy" logic, and is poor training. Just writing and reading this post is an example. I'm trying to be logical, but logic and persuasion in language is a different ball game - the reader is the "compiler" and as we know, they all work differently. :) So, if you aren't comfortable with math or engineering on at least some level, you're going to be operating at a disadvantage as a programmer IMHO. Doesn't mean you can't do be a programmer "at all", but the most demanding environments will continue to require it.