> Part of the reason I began studying math, is that I felt it was my limiting factor. The range of problems I could tackle as a programmer was limited by math. It turns out this was partly true.
I started studying math intensely (doing every exercise in books, etc) when I realized the same thing: math was a limiting factor for my programming ability. Michael Abrash hints about this in some article, and I sneered at it until I realized it was true.
I considered going back to do a math degree but the amount of hassle involved, as well as other life changes required, made that impossible.
I would like to know how it worked out for you. Are you glad you did a degree program? Do you feel you met people and made connections that were valuable, that couldn't be made by an autodidact?
It was a big hassle and a big life change. But I've always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to do it and I'm glad I did. I put it off because the money I was making, and the places I was traveling, was too good to pass up at the time. So I saved money with the idea that I would get the chance to go to school.
I did try to learn math as an autodidact before I began the degree. The more abstract the math, the harder it was for me to self-study. It was inefficient at best. At worst, I'd hit a wall and not have anyone to reach out to.
I am guessing you went for a graduate degree in math. How hard was it to get admission? Would you like to recommend some good schools for doing something like you did. I am just a little younger but hungry for math knowledge.
Thanks for the reply. My solutions to the problem of not having anyone to reach out to have been to make friends with mathematicians, and to hire grad students as tutors.
I started studying math intensely (doing every exercise in books, etc) when I realized the same thing: math was a limiting factor for my programming ability. Michael Abrash hints about this in some article, and I sneered at it until I realized it was true.
I considered going back to do a math degree but the amount of hassle involved, as well as other life changes required, made that impossible.
I would like to know how it worked out for you. Are you glad you did a degree program? Do you feel you met people and made connections that were valuable, that couldn't be made by an autodidact?