Vanderbrew » learning http://vanderbrew.com/blog The shared bits Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:04:36 +0000 en hourly 1 Project Euler and Math http://vanderbrew.com/blog/2010/02/23/project-euler-and-math/ http://vanderbrew.com/blog/2010/02/23/project-euler-and-math/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:10:21 +0000 matt http://vanderbrew.com/blog/?p=284 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.

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