Question

I read a lot of blogs and forum posts about mathematics in programming and made a conclusion for myself that basic mathematics is needed in programming. I’m not a good mathematician. But is it somehow possible to improve my logical and algorithmic thinking without going deep into science of mathematics? Are there any exercises or some books that could help me to improve these skills so that I could become an good architect?

Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

But is it somehow possible to improve my logical and algorithmical thinking without going deep into math science?

But logic and problem solving is the basis of mathematics.

I suspect the real problem is with how mathematics is taught, and what you (and your previous teachers) think mathematics is. I’d recommend A Mathematician’s Lament, for a better explanation of what mathematics is, versus what we are normally taught is mathematics.

Are there any excercises or some books that could help me to improve these skills so that I could become an good architect?

Yes, others have given you a better list of suggestions than I could, but the basic idea is yes you can learn to be better at mathematics, in particular the mathematics that most commonly pertains to Computer Science and programming.

I’m assuming you mean a software architect, because traditional architecture, like engineering, has a firm foundation in applied mathematics. Anyhow, good software architect need to be comfortable enough to do informal problem and algorithmic analysis, which does require a mathematical basis.

I would normally say if you could learn equivalent to the typical first year university mathematics requirements for a computer science degree (i.e. first year of calculus, discrete math(s) or linear algebra), it would go a long way to make you a better Computer Scientist, and better programmer or architect. It is not impossible without, but it can make you be better at your job (quicker to evaluate or solve problems correctly, efficiently and effectively).

Good luck.