I have always been horrible at math, but somehow a great programmer. I have found that writing a computer program that demonstrates a certain mathematical concept enables me to better understand the concept. I'm a psych major and I brought this up once in the research lab I've been working in. My prof said he recalls that someone did research and/or created a system in which a student writes a computer program that is pertinent to a certain mathematical concept and upon completion is given the regular math problem (as it would appear in a math class). This enables the student to better understand the math problem, solve, and learn math. Has anyone heard of this or anything similar? A learning system such as this would be a blessing to my education. Thanks.
posted by fightoplankton on Apr 13, 2009 - 15 answers

I've got a polygon of n points. How can I simplify out noisy edges? [more inside]
posted by soma lkzx on Mar 31, 2009 - 12 answers

It's late, I'm tired, and I have a probability and coding question that's fairly simple. [more inside]
posted by chrisamiller on Aug 13, 2008 - 10 answers

I'm looking for some help with a math equation / algorithm I'm trying to create. I'm a programmer by trade and not very good at math so I'd like some help with this or perhaps a site where I could pay someone to come up with the equation I'm looking for. I considered rentacoder or elance however I'd be concerned if the companies there had the proper math knowledge. A lot of claims get made on those sites that turn out to be false. [more inside]
posted by JohnGL on Jul 3, 2008 - 6 answers

How do I generate a bingo game with a predetermined number of winners? I'll have control over the cards printed and over the list of numbers to be called out. (Specifically, 15 winners out of 15,000 cards.)
posted by Tlogmer on Mar 24, 2008 - 10 answers

Help me create a function from a graph, details inside. [more inside]
posted by hammerthyme on Nov 22, 2007 - 6 answers

What are the best online and offline learning materials for Matlab? [more inside]
posted by fake on May 23, 2007 - 9 answers

I've charged with adding a feature to a shift scheduler / coverage requestor that displays shift information for a given week. I've been able to display them so as to satisfy the constraints I've been given, but it's got me wondering wondering if there's a more rigorous/mathematical approach to the general problem of organizing the display of any such calendar information. [more inside]
posted by Frankieist on Apr 12, 2007 - 3 answers

Is there a standard ball picking algorithm? I have 10 balls that I want put in four boxes (A-D). Every box can hold zero to all balls. [more inside]
posted by davar on Feb 9, 2007 - 10 answers

How can I work out if a point x,y,z is contained by a cone ? [more inside]
posted by matholio on Jan 14, 2007 - 15 answers

What are the most helpful basic math skills for the self taught recreational programmer? [more inside]
posted by puppy kuddles on Jul 2, 2006 - 32 answers

I'm good at math but bad at programming. What could this mean? [more inside]
posted by lunchbox on Jun 16, 2006 - 39 answers

Programming/geometry: in a Flash program (you don't need to know Flash to answer this), I'm trying to place rectangular images at random positions on the screen. There are already images on the screen. I need to make sure that the new, randomly-placed images don't obscure the images already there. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Sep 29, 2005 - 25 answers

Help me teach people how to program: I need simple examples of functions, classes, etc. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Jul 18, 2005 - 14 answers

Does anyone here do any programming for financial modeling? (more inside) [more inside]
posted by trharlan on Dec 19, 2003 - 5 answers