[onemoreact]

Mathematical literacy is more than just writing down complex equations.

for (a = 0; a < n; a++) { for (b = 0; b < n; b++) { do_something(a,b); }}

How many times is do_something called? If you can say n^2 in under 15 seconds you are now better at math than the average American.

[watty]

That isn't considered "tough math" though. Surely basic math is needed but most developers won't actually use high level math (except to get the degree).

[Helianthus]

There's an argument to be made that learning tough math is necessary to make basic math effortless.

[rdouble]

That wouldn't be a very good argument. Basic math gets better by doing a lot of basic math. Your trigonometry will not improve by learning topology. I had more than one math prof who could not seem to balance a checkbook.