Saturday, February 07, 2009

Math is truly elegant

Since 3 yrs, I have always been trying to keep in touch with some of the basic Math concepts. my interest in math grew after I started realizing itz proximity to computer science.
1. RDBMS uses relational Algebra which is based on set theory
2. AI / Machine Learning uses a whole lot of Probability and Linear Algebra
3. Computer Architectures uses Boolean Algebra
4. The Confidentiality goal of Security relies heavily on unsolvable Math problems.

Although Math forms the basics of several concepts and subjects in computer science, it is sometimes less exploited in the everyday life of a programmer.
One of the most important ideas that I am learning is to find a pattern of a math concept in every problem / natural event. For eg, most daisies have 34, 55 or 89 petals. Those numbers are fibonacci numbers. The more you see such patterns in normal regular events that happen around you, the more you appreciate math.
I was listening to discrete math lectures on ADU and the lecture on Combinations and Permutations was just too good. The explanation on how Combinations help find co-efficients in a polynomial eqn and thus leading to the name binomial coefficients is wonderful. Understanding how this concept of binomial co-efficients ties counting and algebra together was sweetly elegant. Adding to this was the relationship between pascals triangle and Binomial co-efficients. I guess once you unravel and look deep into these relationships, its just pure joy.

4 comments:

Aravinth said...

Yo Budd... hope you become a NASA adviser after all like you had mentioned once in AKCE alumni site long back.... so long....

Aravinth said...

check out http://aravinthrk.blogspot.com ... might not be big on Math... just some overawed reaction to nature....

Joebi said...

NASA adviser a ? no way da.. I dunno who gave that info to AKCE alumni site da.. believe me, i didnt bribe anyone to do that :)

Kanth said...

Joe,

I'm not sure if you've read Douglas Hofstadter's books (One of my fav is GEB). If you've not, you MUST.

You'll start appreciating the beautiful patterns not just in math but also others aspects of life.