Re: Programming skills required by mathematicians?

On Jun 29, 7:25 pm, Jason Glumidge <Jason.Glumi...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
=2E...

>
> This seems a little harsh. Games are all coded in C++ (albeit mostly
> with a script wrapper layered on top), and I'd warrant they have the
> majority of the top coders as their developers as well as the most
> math going on, so there must be something going for c++ somewhere.
See

http://www.franz.com/success/customer_apps/animation_graphics/naughtydog.lh=
tml

though  the lisp/object oriented stuff is not all there is.

If the original poster was looking past college to become a video game
programmer, he probably should reconsider majoring in math. Or even
going to college.  At least at my university, people don't get college
credit for learning a programming language. Or maybe they would get 1
unit, for their first language only.  (15 units =3D one semester full
load).  So taking courses in C, C++, Java, ..., just to learn a
language is not college work.

The discussion of what programming language to learn, even given the
context provided by the OP, is bound to be unproductive.

But for the unaware, consider this information from the (US) bureau of
labor statistics...

Mathematicians held about 3,000 jobs in 2006. Many people with
mathematical backgrounds also worked in other occupations. For
example, there were about 54,000 jobs as postsecondary mathematical
science teachers in 2006.


Median annual earnings of mathematicians were $86,930 in May 2006. The
middle 50 percent earned between $62,970 and $106,250. The lowest 10
percent had earnings of less than $43,500, while the highest 10
percent earned more than $132,190.30

Job competition will remain keen because employment in this occupation
is relatively small and few new jobs are expected. Master=92s degree and
Ph.D. holders with a strong background in mathematics and a related
discipline, such as engineering or computer science, and who apply
mathematical theory to real-world problems will have the best job
prospects in related occupations.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos043.htm

Just to pick another occupation, consider

Dental hygienists held about 167,000 jobs in 2006. Because multiple
job holding is common in this field, the number of jobs exceeds the
number of hygienists. Almost all jobs for dental hygienists were in
offices of dentists. A very small number worked for employment
services, offices of physicians, or other industries.

Median hourly earnings of dental hygienists were $30.19 in May 2006.
The middle 50 percent earned between $24.63 and $35.67 an hour. The
lowest 10 percent earned less than $19.45, and the highest 10 percent
earned more than $41.60 an hour.

[I think that $35.67 / hour is about $74,000 a year].

Job prospects are expected to remain excellent. Older dentists, who
have been less likely to employ dental hygienists, are leaving the
occupation and will be replaced by recent graduates, who are more
likely to employ one or more hygienists.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos097.htm

=2E...........
So if you want to be a mathematician, beware.  Learning math is good
for lots of things and can be lots of fun, but "being a mathematician"
may be unrealistic.

Also, to contribute to the general muddle, feel free to see why C is
not my favorite language,
www.cs.berkeley.edu/~fateman/papers/software.pdf

Richard Fateman, Prof. Emeritus, UC Berkeley