Is it possible to be good at...

Question

Is it possible to be good at programming when you’re terrible at math?
I’m talking basic elementary level math.

I’ve always struggled with math and I’m afraid I’m majoring in the wrong major, since I’m quite terrible at math and coding may require a basic understanding of math.

Do you think it’s necessary to know math in order to understand or?

Answer 1

As others have said, it really depends on what type of programming you want to do. I learned HTML and CSS to create static websites to display results of statistical analyses. They require virtually no math. The R language for statistical computing which I use as a scientist for data analysis requires quite an in depth understanding of advanced math concepts. After a certain level of complexity, very few programmers could actually do the underlying calculations a particular algorithm performs (like solving large systems of partial differential equations or finding the inverses or determinants of huge matrices). What is important at a somewhat advanced level is understanding the concepts and their interpretation. So, for basic web stuff, the math is minimal. For scientific computing the math understanding is critical.

Answer 2

good news:
1.)addition, division.. can be done by your prog.

2.)coding can improve your math skills

3.) in school you dont learn math but counting

4.) after 10 programs you will know the answer.
learn basics of a program and try some of the assignments on SL. Takes you about two weeks.
so if soccer is over you will have the answer.

Answer 3

It depends on which kind of programs you want to write. For example, in bussines programs you only need addition and multiplication, in graphics programming vector and matrix math is needed and in cryptography field theory comes in handy.
Don't let that scare you.Usually, you only need to understand the effect of something, not the underlying math or how to do it(multiplying by 0.33 gives me 33% of something; vector cross product gives me another vector).
Understanding program flow and data types is arguably more important.

Answer 4

you may need a good maths fundamentals if you really want to go deep in programming