One little disagreement: you couldn't do it without math...

At this point I am being deliberately general and by 'math' mean "...the study of patterns of structure, change, and space" as it is defined somewhere on the Net. In this definition math, as logical thinking, is the basis for the 'intelligent' life. You cannot make an informed decision in life without reviewing gathered data, searching for patterns, comparing them, and choosing between them based on some criteria. And that is math! So, it is needed not just for programming

I realize my opinion might be somewhat biased, but too often I see people who did NOT take math in school trying to become programmers because they want to be well paid. Their behaviour makes me want to say 'those who cannot work with their heads shalt work with their hands'...

P.S. If I couldn't get a CS degreed person, I would choose Physics as a substitute - they know math and they can apply it...

"Math", in your somewhat expansive definition, is the "study of patterns". I certainly don't have to study them in order to apply them. You don't have to understand the structure of plant DNA in order to create hybrids. Heck, the most comprehensive plant modification is teosinte to maize (corn) and it was completed within a generation around 5000 years ago. I think that's before Gregor Mendel cross-bred peas.

The point is that some of the best programmers I've ever met had little to no formal training in Math or similar topics. Plus, your definition of Math is better as a definition of Philosophy. :-)

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The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good.

Now, here's the question - if you could get a CS degree'd person, that would be preferable. However, if you couldn't, what's the degree you'd take as a substitute? Art? Philosophy? French Literature?

I dunno about that. I've come across a lot of mathematicians who really suck at programming. That step from the abstract to the concrete can be a doosy.

I've also come across a lot of good programmers with a philosophy & psychology background - but that may be a biased finding on my part since I spent a chunk of my early years around AI folk.

Personally I'd pick any engineering or physics degree before maths :-)