

Abstract Algebra for Programmers: The String Monoid - gmoes
http://www.elegantcoding.com/2011/05/monoid-for-masses.html

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dhaivatpandya
Nice! You'd probably like my series of posts (named similarly):
[http://poincare101.blogspot.com/2012/01/hi-hopefully-you-
rea...](http://poincare101.blogspot.com/2012/01/hi-hopefully-you-read-last-
post-and-if.html)

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suchire
Are there really programmers that get pangs of fear at the bought of middle
school algebra?

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nandemo
I guess the middle school part is a bit of hyperbole.

That said, I have noticed a lot of programmers do dislike math they don't know
(it's impossible to dislike math outright, since in a way or the other a lot
of programming involves some kind of math) or otherwise downplay the
importance of math and theoretical computer science for programming.

For instance, look at the job interview threads on the HN front page right
now: apparently a lot of programmers _really_ dislike the idea of asking/being
asked to implement Pascal's Triangle in a job interview (given the
definition!) or otherwise claim it has nothing to do with "real world"
programming.

