"Perhaps the most fundamental reason is that math has up until recently been a quasi-formal, paper-and-pencil exercise, making it, hard even impossible, to connect code to such mathematics."
Sentence structure might be changed to "Perhaps the most fundamental reason is that math has up until recently been a quasi-formal, paper-and-pencil exercise making it hard, even impossible, to connect code to such mathematics." for clarity.
"Perhaps the most fundamental reason is that math has up until recently been a quasi-formal, paper-and-pencil exercise, making it, hard even impossible, to connect code to such mathematics."
Sentence structure might be changed to "Perhaps the most fundamental reason is that math has up until recently been a quasi-formal, paper-and-pencil exercise making it hard, even impossible, to connect code to such mathematics." for clarity.