Why am I so bad at math?

Question

Ever since I was young, I've always struggled at math.

Bear in mind I could count before I entered kindgergarden, but even when I had to learn simple things like long division, I was always behind everyone else.

My teachers and parents thought I was being lazy, and my parents would spend hours trying to teach me, but I would still be close to failing in my math class.

I just BARELY passed math 11 and the only reason why I passed is because my teaching moved my marks up to 50% so I could graduate high school. And yet in this course I would sometimes spend 16 hours a day studying, and still couldn't get it

I should also point out that I've always been an above average student in all other courses of mine.

I really want to pursue science, but all the science courses I need require math which I have no talent in.

Why can I not get math no matter how hard I try, and please tell me if there is anything I can do to improve?

Other than studying for long periods of time, have you done anything else specifically to get better at maths? — Bernard W, Jun 06 '16 at 23:32
@BernardWojcik I've gone on Khanacademy, I've read multiple other books, I've tried going to my teacher for help, I've watched other online videos, I've asked friends, but I've never really gotten an answer — Friendly Siren, Jun 06 '16 at 23:34
@selfawareuser Whenever I need to derive a formula, I freeze and have no idea how to proceed. I don't recognize variables that I should, and I have no idea how to interpret a word problem — Friendly Siren, Jun 06 '16 at 23:36
This doesn't answer the question, but if you want to pursue science, you should do so even if you are struggling in maths. There are many fields of science which require only basic math, and others where the "physical context" makes complicated math more understandable. — Max, Jun 06 '16 at 23:38
@Max One thing I have noticed is that I don't struggle in Chemistry the same way, but I find physics to be very challenging — Friendly Siren, Jun 06 '16 at 23:39
@FriendlySiren That description ('I freeze') is so profound it reminded me of the Papuan asking Jared Diamond 'Why do you white people have so much cargo?' He wrote a whole book in response. — , Jun 06 '16 at 23:41
@FriendlySiren This is also a bit off-topic but one thing I would recommend is trying to develop some experience in coding. Many scientists/engineers I know have relatively minimal math background, but most feel comfortable with basic computer science. You might find that this reinforces critical reasoning skills and helping you out mathematically too, and it could be a helpful alternative to more "abstract" math skills. — Max, Jun 06 '16 at 23:44
@Max it's funny that you say that because I actually am a computer programmer lol — Friendly Siren, Jun 06 '16 at 23:45
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because ... troll/rant. — paul garrett, Jun 06 '16 at 23:48
It is possible you have what is known as dyscalculia. I am not a psychologist, but I do have a friend with this condition and I can only suggest that you look into this. It is essentially an inherent difficulty in learning and understanding mathematical concepts. It is nothing to be ashamed of and it does not make you in any way less intellectually capable than others (in fact, according to Wikipedia it occurs across the entire IQ range), though I think that's already pretty clear since you seem to be strong in other subjects. — MathematicsStudent1122, Jun 06 '16 at 23:49
@selfawareuser Oh I understand now! I don't completely get the reference though, I'll have to look that up lol — Friendly Siren, Jun 06 '16 at 23:49
@FriendlySiren In that case a strategy you could try is turning mathematical lessons into pseudo-code algorithms. E.g., given the lengths of two sides of a right triangle, find the third; interpret the chain rule in calculus as a recursive algortithm, etc. — Max, Jun 06 '16 at 23:51
@MathematicsStudent1122 I've seriously considered that possibility. — Friendly Siren, Jun 06 '16 at 23:51
@Max that is actually a very interesting idea! I'm actually going to give that a try. I'm doing physics as it is, so I can write the parameters as pseudo-code! — Friendly Siren, Jun 06 '16 at 23:54
Many people find math hard, I believe the reason is that math is taught in a dumbed down way in school. Unlike most other subjects, in case of math (also science subjects like physics and chemistry) the attitude taken is that you are only going to be taught the very basics, if you want to learn the real stuff, you have to learn it at university; the teachers won't bother the students who want to do an ordinary job with math and science that they don't need. — Count Iblis, Jun 06 '16 at 23:59
This is not the attitude taken in all the other other subjects. We do bother students in school with many details about history, details about the English language that most people do not need to know. You don't need to know about Shakespeare to become a bus driver, yet every bus driver will have read Shakespeare in school. — Count Iblis, Jun 06 '16 at 23:59
But now consider what would happen if we implemented a minimalist educational system for all subjects. We would not teach anything about the English language that most people don't need to know. You would then only learn about spelling basic grammar, reading books, writing essays would not be done. In music lessons you would just learn about the musical notes and where to find the right piano keys, but you would never play music because most people don't need to know this. — Count Iblis, Jun 07 '16 at 00:00
If you imagine a school were things are taught this way, then it's clear that school would be extremely boring. And this is exactly the problem with how math and science subjects are taught in school, most students find it very boring. They don't perform well which then leads to standards dropping, leading to even less subjects being taught and the subject becoming even more boring. — Count Iblis, Jun 07 '16 at 00:00
To improve things, we need to expand the math and science curriculum. What we need to do is teach about real world science, the math involved there can be explained to some degree. This makes the subject look far more interesting, students are then willing to invest the time in learning small details as they can see more clearly how that is related to the bigger picture. — Count Iblis, Jun 07 '16 at 00:00
So, just like almost everything else in life, taking it easy makes things harder not easier. If you don't work out regularly, you'll find it harder to exert yourself. If you don't practice reading and writing, it becomes harder to do this. The only way out is to actually do greater effort in practicing these skills but this requires motivation, an ambition to learn more than strictly required will help a lot. — Count Iblis, Jun 07 '16 at 00:00
@FriendlySiren do you do proofs? I hated high school mathematics and then learnt it later. I only learned by doing proofs and all of a sudden I realised that I just couldn't learn the high school way. It may not be you. — Bernard W, Jun 07 '16 at 00:00
@CountIblis What you are saying could not be more true. I definitely agree that the way that math is taught in schools is incredibly insufficient — Friendly Siren, Jun 07 '16 at 04:39
@BernardWojcik I'm sorry, but what are proofs? LEt me look it up — Friendly Siren, Jun 07 '16 at 04:40

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 06 '16 at 23:41

I don't know why you aren't getting math.

But taking what you write at face value, and noting that you seem to write fairly well, I would wonder what is getting in the way of your math understanding.

There are brain things that can mess with how you process numbers. There are other brain things that can make it difficult to do math problems at any step along the way, whether it's holding figures in your head, listening to your teacher, reading what's on the board, or even simply the pressure of performing well on an exam.

I recommend looking at (or having someone look at) where the breakdown in the process is happening, and taking steps to remedy that. But I'm certainly not qualified, or able, to answer that for you, nor is just about anyone on this site. Someone will need to observe you, talk to you, test you, etc.

Why am I so bad at math?

1 Answers1