Do we need ANY mathematics in computer science curricula?

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Do we need ANY mathematics in computer science curricula?

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ACM SIGCSE Bulletin archive
Volume 37 , Issue 2 (June 2005) table of contents

COLUMN: Invited editorial table of contents

Pages: 6 - 9

Year of Publication: 2005

ISSN:0097-8418

Author

Anthony Ralston

SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York

Publisher

ACM New York, NY, USA

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Downloads (6 Weeks): 3, Downloads (12 Months): 71, Citation Count: 6

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ABSTRACT

Do we need math in CS? Silly question, isn't it? Just look at all the computer science curricula ever proposed, most recently CC2001, the ACM-IEEE/CS effort [1]. Mathematics plays a significant role in all of them. So why even pose the question? Well, bear with me.

REFERENCES

Note: OCR errors may be found in this Reference List extracted from the full text article. ACM has opted to expose the complete List rather than only correct and linked references.

	1	See <www.computer.org/education/cc2001>
	2	David Gries, Where is programming methodology these days?, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.34 n.4, December 2002 [doi>10.1145/820127.820129]
	3	David Gries, The Science of Programming, Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., Secaucus, NJ, 1987
	4	Mark Guzdial , Elliot Soloway, Computer science is more important than calculus: the challenge of living up to our potential, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.35 n.2, June 2003 [doi>10.1145/782941.782943]
	5	Benjamin, A. C. Review of Discrete Mathematics: Elementary and Beyond by L. Lovasz, J. Pelikan and K. Vesztergombi. American Mathematical Monthly 111, (2004), 635--638.
	6	Ralston, A. Computer Science, Mathematics and the Undergraduate Curricula in Both, American Mathematical Monthly 88, (1981), 472--485.
	7	Anthony Ralston, The first course in computer science needs a mathematics corequisite, Communications of the ACM, v.27 n.10, p.1002-1005, Oct 1984 [doi>10.1145/358274.358280]
	8	Stephen B. Maurer , Anthony Ralston, Discrete algorithmic mathematics, Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 1991
	9	Stephen B. Maurer , Anthony Ralston, Discrete Algorithmic Mathematics, AK Peters Ltd, 2004
	10	See, for example, www.cs.hope.edu/lacs.
	11	William F. Atchison , Samuel D. Conte , John W. Hamblen , Thomas E. Hull , Thomas A. Keenan , William B. Kehl , Edward J. McCluskey , Silvio O. Navarro , Werner C. Rheinboldt , Earl J. Schweppe , William Viavant , David M. Young, Jr., Curriculum 68: Recommendations for academic programs in computer science: a report of the ACM curriculum committee on computer science, Communications of the ACM, v.11 n.3, p.151-197, March 1968 [doi>10.1145/362929.362976]
	12	Anthony Ralston , Mary Shaw, Curriculum '78—is computer science really that unmathematical?, Communications of the ACM, v.23 n.2, p.67-70, Feb. 1980 [doi>10.1145/358818.358820]

CITED BY 6

	Mark D. LeBlanc , Rochelle Leibowitz, Discrete partnership: a case for a full year of discrete math, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.38 n.1, March 2006
	Yang Wang, It is time for a computer application degree, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.38 n.2, June 2006
	Michal Armoni, On the role of proofs in a course on design and analysis of algorithms, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.38 n.4, December 2006
	B. T. Pioro, Introductory computer programming: gender, major, discrete mathematics, and calculus, Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, v.21 n.5, p.123-129, May 2006
	Kirby McMaster , Nicole Anderson , Brian Rague, Discrete math with programming: better together, ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, v.39 n.1, March 2007
	Kirby McMaster , Brian Rague , Steven Hadfield, Two mathematical gestalts for computer theory, Proceedings of the 40th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education, March 04-07, 2009, Chattanooga, TN, USA