ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses several examples that illustrate the need for mathematical insight and maturity. Computing faculty largely agree upon the importance of discrete mathematics within the undergraduate curriculum. Beyond specific topics, however, computing practitioners require mathematical insight and intuition. In some respects, computers make arithmetic computations easy. Of course, in the translation to binary, the computer has no way to know the accuracy of the input, and the input typically is treated as exact. A common activity within computing involves measuring, estimating, or analyzing quantities. A programming assignment asked students to code several sorting algorithms and then time the code on several data sets. Most timings are consistent with the run time expected of the algorithm. Computing programs typically require students to take a course on discrete structures or discrete mathematics, and such courses often provide reasonable coverage of numerous topics in mathematics that are useful within computing.
