Scary thing is Garee, you are almost right. Writing good shaders requires a decent comprehension of mathematical principles. I have coded Renderman shaders and let me tell you - they can become really complex mathematically and code-wise. Poser (or really Firefly) gives us end-users a very good sub-set of Renderman's power with a MUCH easier interface. Trust me, Ajax's skills can come at a decent price in the graphics industry (look up "technical director" roles sometime).