[gracenotes]

I think you're seeing the influence of math on programming conventions. If I think of something like (!a && !b), I can immediately start doing boolean algebra in my head. I can manipulate it like an algebraic expression and get the job done 10x faster than if I had to work through the "real" meaning.

Anyone's productivity in programming can be enhanced by taking a mathematical outlook, although I suppose the beauty of programming is that you don't have to.

To throw in a Dijkstra, "The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise." What do you do when certain semantic levels require some mathematical background - do you choose a less precise abstraction or do you just require that background? I'm not sure what the answer should be for this kind of blog post, but at least intro-to-programming materials should be as accessible as possible.