I’ve always had the sense that there was a lot of math out there that I didn’t know. There is a great deal of graphics math and crypto math and others that I’ve never felt I had much reason to explore – but I recently realized that there’s value in looking into some of this other math.

I’ve known about Project Euler for a while now but only recently did I start trying to solve the problems. My first approach to any problem was just to try to brute force it (I’ve got a speedy modern computer that can do math well, how long can it take to solve these?) but surprisingly it doesn’t always work. I find myself having to go out and do research. Learn about techniques and algorithms for solving math problems and apply them in my own code.

It’s been a wonderfully refreshing lesson in thinking outside my own box. I’ve found that I don’t always know the best solution. There are algorithm tools out there that some incredibly smart people have deduced/devised and learning of and about them is very good for my development both professionally and personally.