“Positive reality, it is the seeking for ideal truth.” - George Sand

Where does the idea end and the program begin?
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“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty —a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture, without appeal to any part of our weaker nature, without the gorgeous trappings of painting or music, yet sublimely pure, and capable of a stern perfection such as only the greatest art can show. The true spirit of delight, the exaltation, the sense of being more than Man, which is the touchstone of the highest excellence, is to be found in mathematics as surely as poetry.” - Bertrand Russell

The biggest complaint heard amongst a lot of computer science majors is how little most of our math education effects our programming education. While by the end of the major, most people tend to see the light, there are still a few who claim that, “Blah blah class isn’t worth it.” You know what, though, they’re missing the point.

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“Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Or put more succinctly:

“Common sense is not so common.” - Voltaire

Note: Oddly enough, as I was writing this article, I noticed that a commenter to this new site, Daniel, had a post which touched on some points I was about to make. For the sake of good authorship, I am citing his work as it surely influenced mine.
No, inheritance is not the way to achieve code reuse!
Thanks Daniel! Keep up the great posts!

What makes someone a thinker? By most accounts, the mere act of thinking should qualify someone for such a title. I am not speaking about the act of thinking, though. That’s far too common, and what I’m talking about is extremely uncommon. Ironically, I’m speaking, of course, about “common sense” thinking.

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