Re: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess

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Re^2: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by apotheon (Deacon) on Oct 13, 2004 at 18:06 UTC
That's not quite a fair assessment. I don't like calculus, but I do like Perl. Of course, Perl itself is almost entirely unlike calculus. Whereas Perl is heavy on the algebraic logic (which is to say: it's very similar to the discipline of formal symbolic logic), calculus approaches statistics in its philosophy of application. Actually, to be more accurate and precise, statistics approaches calculus. I'll stick with Perl, thanks. - apotheon CopyWrite Chad Perrin	[reply]
Re^3: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by water (Deacon) on Oct 14, 2004 at 02:44 UTC
'not like calculus'? i am shocked, shocked i say. next thing someone is going to say they don't like statistics, or claim they don't enjoy trig, or relish graph theory, or delight in stochastic processes, or revel in real analysis. heresy, i say. apostasy. impiety. blasphemy. scurrility, let us all shout. 'not like calculus' -- how can such a statement even be uttered? i lack words to convey my disbelief. (perhaps i misunderstood your post, apotheon, when you wrote you didn't "like" calculus, perhaps that is because "like" is too mild a word, and you prefer something stronger and more appropriate, like "revere" or "love". if so i apologize sincerely and thoroughly for misunderstanding and taking your post of context.) math is power water <g>	[reply]
Re^4: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by dyer85 (Acolyte) on Oct 14, 2004 at 05:00 UTC
Lol! Quite the eloquent writer for a mathematician (not to insinuate that mathematicians can't be writers ;) ), water. I like to think of Perl as being quite different from math. Although a foundation in mathematics such as trig or calc (more algebra than anything, I would think) can help you write better equations and keep your mind sharper, programming (in general) is based upon logic. Math, itself, is logic, but can supersede basic logic and become a language all its own. I, honestly don't mind math, just as long as a problem doesn't end up causing blood to shoot out of my nose! I can't say my favorite weekend activity involves working a quadratic equation and imaginary numbers, but it does help you keep your mind sharp and on-track. Is it just me, or does anyone else think that code is more beautiful than the result?!! Sorry for the philosophical rant. Thank you all for taking an interest in my little post, here. Regards, `$curtis="Bye!";` My Site in Progress	[reply] [d/l]
Re^5: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by apotheon (Deacon) on Oct 14, 2004 at 15:08 UTC
Re^5: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by SpanishInquisition (Pilgrim) on Oct 14, 2004 at 19:13 UTC
Re^6: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by apotheon (Deacon) on Oct 16, 2004 at 08:33 UTC
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Re^4: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by apotheon (Deacon) on Oct 14, 2004 at 15:05 UTC
Alas, no, you understood me correctly. I am not terribly enamored with geometric maths of any sort (geometry, trigonometry, calculus . . .) but I do tend to enjoy a little algebraic math every now and then. It is probably in part my affinity for the algebraic that draws me to programming, though I think my mild affection for algebraic math probably comes from my respect for and interest in formal logic (i.e. algegraic logic). So: No, I'm not really interested in calculating volumes of irregular shapes and ballistic trajectories, or in any other application of mathematics to what amounts to hideously complex systems of estimation. I hope you'll forgive this disappointment. Perhaps you'll feel better about it if I tell you that I don't in any way discount the value of such activities, but simply prefer to leave them in the hands of those more temperamentally suited to them. - apotheon CopyWrite Chad Perrin	[reply]
Re^5: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by dyer85 (Acolyte) on Oct 19, 2004 at 09:53 UTC
Re^6: Not Everyone Likes Perl, I Guess by apotheon (Deacon) on Oct 19, 2004 at 10:13 UTC
[OT] math deselection at school by fraktalisman (Hermit) on Oct 18, 2004 at 17:15 UTC
Calculus? sounds like math ... When I was in school, at first math was boring. Later, it became difficult but interesting. Our local west German school system allowed for selection and deselection of certain classes (Note: deselection possibilities have since then been restricted, even before the Pisa report about below-average German pupils was published). So when I examined my timetable, my marks throughout the years (declining math marks), and the selection rules, I discovered that if I keep physics and biology classes, I can deselect math, thus raising my mark average and reducing homework. Of course I did it. Luckily, later at the university I took classes in statistics and the like, topics that I should have learned in school years ago, but somehow hadn't. Nowadays I sometimes wish I had learned even more math, maybe it would make me a better programmer.	[reply]
Re: [OT] math deselection at school by zentara (Cardinal) on Oct 19, 2004 at 11:08 UTC
My story?I always had a knack for algebra, but when I first encountered Calculus, I couldn't stand it and ended up "passing by memorizing". Very unsatisfying. But I ended up on a "winter camping trip" in the mountains one year, and there was nothing to do except read, and all I had was a Calculus book and some old newspapers. I would spend a whole day just reading and mulling over a single chapter, and something "clicked", and I finally got the idea of limits, differentiation, and integration, then spatial integrals of solids, and ultimately integrals in multidimensional space. After that, it was fun, and clear. I think people just have to be given time to let the concepts "sink in". They are rushed in schools nowadays. Now I think learning what numbering systems are, and set theory, are probably more important for most programmers, unless you are in engineering-programming...then calculus is a must. I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. flash japh	[reply]