Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

They probably skipped classes to build their new app’s prototype. I wouldn’t even say it’s worse, most coder won’t need linear algebra.


Having a breadth of knowledge is one of those things you never realize the value of, if you don't have it. That's something I realized over the course of my career.

For instance, I have a broad math background, nothing too deep, but enough to have an intuition on how complex things worked. One of the defining projects of my career to date was an embedded signal processing project given to me because "it seems like you know math" -- and I figured it out on the job by intuiting my way through. I figured out Fourier analysis and windows and FIR filters by intuition, and was able to use the pieces I had available as API to do something truly impactful.

Most people won't need most things from school, but if you're the one who knows that one thing that's needed that one time, it can be disproportionately rewarding.


If you ever want to really do math at some point in your life, I think you need linear algebra or something equivalent. Better to build the intuitions earlier in your life.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: