What both Kelly and David say is true here:
David: programming needs math, not arithmetic. 
Kelly: computers are good at arithmetic on their own. 

To which I'll add: the related skill that I see as necessary here is quantitative reasoning - not the crunching of numbers but the correct assembly of the formulae, articulating the systematization of the problem.

What I'm less certain of is what sort of training tend to lead to that sort of conceptual skill. 

Ken



On Feb 27, 2013, at 8:44 AM, "David Faler" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I think math is essential, but what they teach in schools these days isn't
> math.  It's arithmetic.  Some intro philosophy courses teach math.  I'll
> stop before I start ranting.
> 
> On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 12:04 AM, Kelly Lucas <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 2:57 AM, Thomas Krichel <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>>  Wilhelmina Randtke writes
>>> 
>>>> Pretty much the whole entire entry level programming class for the
>>> average
>>>> class covers using code to do things that you can do much more easily
>>>> without code.
>>> 
>>>  Probably it was the wrong course. I think coding should start with
>>>  building web pages. A calculator can't do that.
>>> 
>>>  Cheers,
>>> 
>>>  Thomas Krichel                    http://openlib.org/home/krichel
>>>                                      http://authorprofile.org/pkr1
>>>                                               skype: thomaskrichel
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Kelly R. Lucas
>> Senior Developer
>> Isovera, Inc.
>> [log in to unmask]
>> http://www.isovera.com
>> http://drupal.org/user/271780
>> twitter: @bp1101
>>