Obviously, computers and programs are machines that do logic. And as programmers we manage symbols (like mathematicians do) that help organise that logic. So I see that part of "programming is math," which a lot of people have argued.
But I don't think we're getting at the crux of the argument: that for programming well there's more of a correlation between communication (e.g., exposing a set of ideas clearly and concisely) than there is in a standard math curriculum.
Certainly, some areas of programming and computer science are very math heavy. But where are the arguments that say that knowing math makes you a better programmer in the "best practices" sense?
But I don't think we're getting at the crux of the argument: that for programming well there's more of a correlation between communication (e.g., exposing a set of ideas clearly and concisely) than there is in a standard math curriculum.
Certainly, some areas of programming and computer science are very math heavy. But where are the arguments that say that knowing math makes you a better programmer in the "best practices" sense?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_coding_practices
I.e., for most programmers in the world (they're mostly applications programmers, right?), how does knowing math help them make better programs?
And what kinds of math helps them make better programs?