>
> Factor seems to encapsulate a lot of knowledge that a student of computer
> science might encounter.
>
Not sure quite what that means, but in a trivial sense, this would be true
of any (Turing complete) programming language. ;)
Does anyone else think that a university math course sequence is then more
> valuable than a typical Java/C++ CS/IT sequence?
>
That was my philosophy late into my college degree(s). My CS courses fell
into a rut of feeling a bit too easy, but taking abstract algebra,
combinatorics, graph theory, and number theory classes broadened my
horizons (and taught me to use LaTeX!). Not that CS classes aren't
worthwhile; a proper *Computer Science* education is more than just
programming. My favorite CS classes were basically just math classes:
computability, cryptography, formal languages, compiler optimization, etc.
On the one hand, math classes are directly practical in the tools they give
programmers. E.g., graph theory is rich with useful insights and algorithms
about structures that programmers deal with every day. But I think the
biggest benefit I got from my math classes was working directly with
abstractions. In a CS class, you might be given an assignment to code up,
and you just kind of "wing it" in the language you know with some new
techniques from class (e.g., write a game-playing AI with the alpha-beta
pruning algorithm you learned). Your abstractions are limited, because
you're mostly imitating something you've seen. In a math class, you derive
new results (new to you, anyway) from the abstractions studied. You're
directly dealing in building up a framework: given theorem A taught in
class, prove that theorem B in the homework must be true; use theorem B to
prove theorem C (code reuse!). I think it can easily make you a better
programmer. Even in a literal sense, since mathematical proofs are the same
things as programs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry%E2%80%93Howard_correspondence.
Anyway, I could go on. :) Take-home message to The Kids: eat your
vegetables, brush your teeth, do your abstract algebra.
On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 8:55 AM, mr wzrd <wzr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://re-factor.blogspot.com/2015/01/godel-numbering.html
>
> Factor seems to encapsulate a lot of knowledge that a student of computer
> science might encounter.
>
> Does anyone else think that a university math course sequence is then more
> valuable than a typical Java/C++ CS/IT sequence?
>
>
> http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-universe-made-of-math-excerpt/
>
> - mrw
>
>
>
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