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Hi all devRanters (if that is a thing),

I'm currently in grade 10, and I'm looking forward to a career in computer programming. I find that sometimes Maths is very intimidating, as such, I want to ask all of the devs here: is Maths really that crucial to the job? Or is it merely a requirement to go to university and get a CS degree?

Thanks in advance!

Comments
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    It’s needed if you get into anything containing numbers/currency (which is most areas of programming)

    Knowing basic math (add, subtract, multiplication, division, Pi, and similar) will cover most areas to begin with.

    But if you go further, the math required may increase the more complex the systems are.
  • 3
    WELL to make it short, the kind of math you need is logic. It's not much about calculations, more about following logic paths and coming up with algorithms (depending on your field later)

    So I would say just pursue it! Start now with learning about it and you'll see if you come across any problems.
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    @jkelol111
    Welcome to DevRant.

    I heard its different between, university's but let me tell you,

    Here in Germany, to get your Abitur(somewhat like a higher high-school degree), you have to write a 5-hour maths-exam which contains all the shit you learned in 12 years of school.
    And I'd consider that one kinda tame compared to the math-exams of my university.
  • 2
    It's what other people already said: yes and no.
    If you want to get into graphics, for example, linear algebra with its matrices, vectored, mappings and transformations will be essencial. You can get much done without it. Or if you want to work in the games industry, a knowledge of calculus will also be extremely important, specially in the game engine department (physics somulations, material interactions and so on) .
    Other areas might not need that much: Web development has (at least for me) required only basic mathematics (you usual high school subjects should cover you bases).

    One thing that other people also mentioned: logic is by far the most important thing. I can safely say that the first two weeks of my Maths 1 course in college had the biggest impact on my coding skills.

    My advice then: learn the mathematics, and go as far as you can. Maths teaches you to think logically, and that is invaluable. Also, calculus and linear algebra will have you covered for a lot of fields. Worst case, you'll end up never using it. On the other hand, you might find out that graphics are you passion and then will be using it every day :)
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    You will also need some maths in Number theory, Graph Theory, Group Theory etc. Also, maths is very much essential for Advanced Algorithms, Computation Theory, Automata and so on.

    So basically, if you are interested in any of the above, you WILL need maths. Otherwise, just plain old reasoning and logic is enough.
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    I think mathematics is good to learn for training logical thinking. And that is very important in all programming... But the pure advanced mathematica is like many earlier replyed usefull in some specific areas like simulations, game development, algorithms and computation theory
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    Personally i never use advanced mathematica at my work, but the logical thinking and problem solving from learning mathematica is used a lot.
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