Why You Don‘t Need to Excel at Math to Learn Programming

One of the most enduring myths about computer programming is that you need to be great at math to do it. Many people assume that coding is all about complex algorithm analysis, abstract mathematical concepts, and performing high-level calculations all day. They picture the stereotypical programmer as a genius who aces calculus tests for fun and can solve differential equations in their sleep.

The reality is, for most programming tasks, you don‘t need much more than basic arithmetic, logic and reasoning skills. Of course, there are certain areas of programming that do rely heavily on advanced math – such as 3D graphics engines, cryptography, or machine learning algorithms. But the majority of software development jobs don‘t require anything more than being able to think logically and methodically.

Programming is about logic and problem-solving, not equations

At its core, programming is about solving problems and giving computers instructions on how to carry out certain tasks. It‘s about breaking big challenges down into smaller steps, figuring out the logic and flow of how something should work, and coding that logic in a language the computer can understand.

The skills required to do this kind of work are more about structured thinking than doing high-level math. According to a 2016 survey by Stack Overflow, only about 25% of developers said they use math beyond basic arithmetic in their jobs. The most commonly used math concepts were geometry and trigonometry – used by 13.4% and 11.8% of respondents respectively. Less than 7% said they used calculus or statistics.[^1]

As Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, famously said, "I never really had to do any math in the kernel, and that is not because I avoided it."[^2] Meaning, even when working on something as complex as an operating system kernel, advanced math was not a big part of the job.

Most programming tasks require minimal math

Let‘s look at a few concrete examples of common things programmers need to do on a daily basis, and how much math they actually require.

Displaying data on a webpage

To display a list of names on a webpage, you might write code that looks something like this:

<ul>
  <li>Alice</li>
  <li>Bob</li>
  <li>Charlie</li>
</ul>

No math required at all. It‘s just markup specifying that you want an unordered list with three list items.

Calculating an average

Let‘s say you have a list of numbers and you want to find the average value. In Python, it would look like:

numbers = [5, 2, 9, 1, 7]
average = sum(numbers) / len(numbers)
print(average) # Output: 4.8

The math here is just adding up the numbers (summing them), and dividing by how many numbers there are (the length of the list). Basic arithmetic.

Deciding which UI to show based on user permissions

A very common programming task is controlling the user interface based on what the logged-in user is allowed to see and do. The logic would look something like:

if user is an admin
  show admin dashboard
otherwise if user is a regular member
  show regular dashboard 
otherwise
  show login page

The "math" here is really just boolean logic and equality checks. Is the user an admin? Is the user a regular member? It‘s about reasoning through different conditions.

Of course, there are also plenty of programming problems that do get into more complex math. For example:

• Calculating the trajectory of a bouncing ball in a game physics engine requires algebra and physics formulas
• Analyzing the runtime complexity of an algorithm may use concepts from discrete mathematics like Big O Notation
• Building a neural network for deep learning requires matrix math and calculus

But again, the vast majority of programming work is more about logic than math. A 2018 analysis of job postings by Burning Glass found that out of over 1.7 million programming job postings, only 12% mentioned any kind of math skills.[^3]

The myth of the math genius coder

So why does the myth persist that you need to be amazing at math to be a programmer? I believe it stems from a few factors:

1. The more theoretical, academic side of computer science is very math-heavy. Topics like computational complexity theory, cryptography, and machine learning lean heavily on concepts from advanced mathematics. But it‘s possible to have a successful career in software development without going deep into these areas.

2. In the early days of computing, programmers were often mathematicians and scientists. Pioneer programmers like Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing had strong math backgrounds. In the early-to-mid 20th century, most programmers came from math, science and engineering fields.[^4] But as software development has evolved and expanded, the range of people and skills in the field has diversified tremendously.

3. Selection bias and stereotypes about what makes someone a "real programmer". The image many people have of a programmer is the genius "hacker" who loves staying up all night solving math puzzles. But this is a stereotype that, while rooted in some truth, ignores the much wider range of people and skills that make up the software development world.

4. Sensationalized portrayals of programming in movies and media. Films like The Social Network or shows like Mr. Robot often show programming as screens full of rapidly scrolling algorithms or hackers instantly cracking complex codes. This fuels the perception that programming is intensely cerebral math-driven work. The reality is usually much more mundane – meetings, documentation, debugging, testing.

Learning to code can improve general problem-solving skills

Interestingly, while being great at math is not a prerequisite for coding, learning to code can actually improve your general problem-solving and logical thinking skills, which can then transfer back to doing math.

Programming forces you to break big problems down into smaller steps, reason through edge cases and contingencies, and systematically test solutions. It gets you in the habit of analyzing why something isn‘t working, and iteratively improving it. As Stack Overflow co-founder Jeff Atwood writes:

"I‘m not sure if learning to program makes you better at math, but I‘m almost certain that learning math makes you better at programming. Learning math is like a shortcut to learning programming."[^5]

Atwood argues that math teaches many of the core skills of good program design – abstract reasoning, problem decomposition, logic and proofs, even some syntactical similarities like functions and variables. Math and programming also share core problem solving techniques like divide-and-conquer and recursive solutions.

So while you can become a great programmer without necessarily having amazing math skills, by learning programming concepts, you may find your ability to break down math problems improves too. Many coders report feeling more confident tackling math challenges after learning programming, as they‘re able to apply the same systematic, deductive reasoning to math that they use when coding.

You can learn math alongside programming

This isn‘t to say that you‘ll never use any math as a programmer. There are entire domains of programming that are extremely math-driven. If you want to specialize in 3D graphics, data science, cryptography, scientific computing or computer vision, for example, you‘ll need a very solid grasp of math concepts in linear algebra, calculus, probability, statistics, etc.

But you don‘t need to know all that math before you even start coding. It‘s very possible to begin learning programming with just basic arithmetic and logical reasoning skills. In fact, many introductory coding tutorials and code schools don‘t assume any math knowledge beyond pre-algebra.

As you progress and specialize in your programming career, you can learn the relevant math as you go, in the context of the specific programming challenges you‘re facing. Many advanced math concepts will make more sense and feel more motivated when you have a concrete application in mind.

Additionally, you don‘t have to learn the math all on your own. There are a growing number of resources designed specifically to teach math for programmers, data scientists, and other technical roles. For example:

• Data Science Math Skills Course (Duke University / Coursera)
• Mathematics for Computer Science (MIT OpenCourseWare)
• Coding Math (YouTube series with programming-based math lessons)

Diversity of backgrounds in programming

Finally, it‘s important to recognize that programmers come from a wide diversity of educational backgrounds, not just math and computer science. A 2020 Stack Overflow survey of over 30,000 developers found that over half (51.9%) did not have a computer science degree.[^6] The most common majors were:

• Computer science, computer engineering, or software engineering (49.3%)
• Other engineering disciplines (civil, electrical, mechanical, etc) (14.4%)
• Natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) (8.3%)
• Humanities (English, history, philosophy, etc) (5.5%)
• Business (accounting, finance, marketing, etc) (4.9%)

What this shows is that people successfully transition into programming from a wide variety of fields, including many not known for heavy math skills. Coding bootcamps and self-taught routes into software development are also increasingly common.

Don‘t let math myths stop you

In the end, how much math you need to be a programmer is…it depends. It depends on what kind of programming you want to do, how specialized you want to get, and what specific challenges you happen to face. But one thing is certain – you absolutely do not need to be a math olympiad winner to get started and have a successful career in software development.

Programming requires a versatile mix of skills – problem-solving, logical reasoning, communication, creativity, and of course, actual fluency in specific languages and frameworks. Being great at math can certainly help, especially in particular domains. But it‘s far from the only or even most important ingredient.

So if you‘ve been curious to try programming but held back because you thought you had to be a math genius – reconsider! Start with a beginner tutorial, practice with some real-world projects, and see how it feels. Over time, you can develop both your coding skills and your math abilities in parallel.

The most important qualities for a programmer are curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to continually learn and adapt. Bring those to the table, and you‘ll be able to pick up any math you need along the way.

[^1]: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2016, https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2016
[^2]: Linus Torvalds interview, Aalto Talk, Nov 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MShbP3OpASA
[^3]: Burning Glass, "The Quant Crunch", 2018, https://www.burning-glass.com/research-project/quant-crunch-data-science-job-market/
[^4]: Computer History Museum, "Computer History Timeline", https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/
[^5]: Jeff Atwood, "How Much Math Do We Really Need?", 2007, https://blog.codinghorror.com/how-much-math-do-we-really-need/
[^6]: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2020, https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020