How helpful is learning Python to mathematicians?

Question

How helpful is learning Python to mathematicians, may it be pure or applied mathematicians?

I'm interested to pursue a career in mathematics. If I learn Python will it be helpful?

Answer 1

I'd just like to clarify the comment I made underneath user3716267's answer, and it seems appropriate to post it as its own separate answer.

Whether you decide to learn something like python is entirely dependent on what kind of mathematics you expect to do research in. For instance, I myself do research in homological algebra and algebraic topology, and I never ever use my own programming skills as part of my research. And unless programming tools or the understanding of those areas of mathematics change drastically, I don't expect that to change. In short, pure mathematics has very little reliance (except in very specific circumstances, such as the Four Colour Theorem) on the use of programming when it comes to research.

However, there are other PhD students in my department that entirely rely on python and related languages as part of their research. Those are the people studying applied mathematics. They are studying data analysis or certain areas of physics. If you expect to study applied mathematics then I highly recommend you learn python (or something similar, like R), in particular learn numerical methods and machine learning.

Answer 2

Python can be used for many purposes: numerical testing of hypotheses, probabilistic programming, problems such as on Project Euler, et cetera. Some theorems are most readily proved computationally by exhaustion of cases; see the Four Color Theorem, for example.

Answer 3

I'd say it's absolutely essential for a mathematician in the modern era to know how to program. The choice of language is mostly non-critical (Python's a fair choice).