I’m bad at maths. Always have been since school. I sometimes cannot work out the
simplest of sums.
The problem is my brain is incapable of holding more than a few numbers at a time. So if someone says to me
“whats 8 x 4 + 6 + 12” I start to struggle. I often give the wrong change. My brain just crashes at the sight of numbers.
But here’s the weird thing. I’m a computer programmer. I can program procedural, OOP, Web, Shell for RDMS solutions.
I can program the most complex calculations, conditional branching, logic.
I can design and build applications.
So I’m wondering if I suffer from a kind of numerical blindness or dyslexia?
Anyone else have a similar problem?
By: snafu - 3rd July 2014 at 21:17
I’m bad at maths. Always have been since school. I sometimes cannot work out the
simplest of sums.
You are not alone…
As chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne has faced many a tough question relating to figures but that did not stop him dodging a simple multiplication put to him by a seven-year-old. Sam Raddings asked Osborne what seven times eight equals but the chancellor refused to answer.
“I’ve made it a rule in life not to answer a load of maths questions,” he said. Luckily, Sam, who was part of a child panel interviewing Osborne on Sky News, stepped in to point out that the answer was 56. Osborne’s refusal came just after he had told Sam in response to a question on whether he was good at maths: “Well, I did maths A-level so I have been tested at school.”
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/03/george-osborne-refuses-boys-maths-test
Wish I could have used that excuse in exams.
By: paul178 - 3rd July 2014 at 21:03
When I was a Salesman I could work out my commission to the nearest penny but for some reason I always seemed to overestimate my expenses form !:D
By: TonyT - 3rd July 2014 at 20:53
I always break them down in my head, 8×4 becomes 16×2. It makes it simpler.
By: John Green - 3rd July 2014 at 18:56
I think that the answer you’re looking for is that you are good at comceptual mathematics or, you can solve problems that require the use of mathematical imagery but, managing the elementary building blocks of basic mathematics eludes you perhaps due to their simplicity.
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July 3, 2014 at 6:25 pm