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Language skills more important than math to learn programming, research shows

massivesci.com

13 points by chrstphrhrt 6 years ago · 2 comments

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WheelsAtLarge 6 years ago

Many years ago I read a study that said English majors were more likely to succeed as programmers than any other major.

I don't think people really appreciate how hard it is to write well and to understand all the rules in a language. I suspect that if you can master that in English, you can use it in any language.

rowanG077 6 years ago

The study didn't test for mathematical ability. It tested for numeracy which is completely different.

The study even shows that most of the variance(34%) is explained by fluid reasoning and working-memory. I'd wager that fluid reasoning is strongly correlated with mathematical ability.

In my opinion this paper disproves it's stated hypothesis but doesn't realize it.

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