And yet it is flame-bait to suggest that programmers benefit from mathematical thinking. I've not met a more passionate and divided crowd on the issue. Most traditional engineers wouldn't disagree that they use and benefit from mathematical thinking. Programmers though?

I don't think there's a single answer as to why many dislike it so much. Some folks view it as a way to gate-keep programming. Others view it as useless ("I've been a successful programmer all my life and I've never used math").

On the other side of the coin there are many who view our craft as a branch of applied mathematics -- informatics if you will.