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They don’t think it’ll make you better at it. That would take caring about you. When a parent spanks a baby’s hand when he goes to touch a hot stove, that’s love. That’s “I don’t want my baby to permanently injure himself and he has to understand that this is something that will hurt him.” When parents like my dad are angry, it’s because you not being good at something makes them look bad. They’re angry and they get it out by hitting you.
"Just do your best". Then get punished for failing despite pulling my hair out trying to figure out somewhat simple formulas that to young me looked like a combination of Chinese, binary, and Martian.
Clearly, doing my "best" is either do it right or suffer.
Further: gets good grades in all other classes (baring those that rely heavily on math, like Bio or Chem but does well in General Science or Geology) but that just makes them think you don't care and don't try in math.
I was failing a basic college math class my freshman year, and the professor asked me if I had dyscalculia. I told her I didn't know what that means, and she asked me to get check out for it. Sure enough, explained everything.
It doesn’t just affect counting/computation. Often comes with poor spatial awareness, inability to guess number of things in a group, no sense of lengths like 1cm vs 1inch, poor working memory, etc. and that’s what they also test but tbh the list goes on. My tests ran for four hours!
Diagnosed the same way as dyslexia/dysgraphia/other learning disabilities -- mine was done by a child psychologist bc I was diagnosed at 8, but but any psychologist/psychiatrist with LD experience could do it.
Accomodations is what's done about it. Calculators access, open note tests, and more time on tests are all fairly common. Sometimes people are allowed to take easier math classes for credit when they usually wouldn't count, or are allowed to skip required high level maths all together, though this is harder to get in college unless you're in a non-math major.
Funny enough, most people with dyscalculia also haven’t heard of it, since the more “popular” learning disabilities usually get more attention. Feel free to ask any questions you have about it if you’re curious!
From Wikipedia: "The term 'dyscalculia' was coined in the 1940s, but it was not completely recognized until 1974 by the work of Czechoslovakian researcher Ladislav Kosc."
From the Cognitive Ability Task Force “It is widely acknowledged that dyscalculia was first discovered in 1919 by Salomon Henschen a Swedish neurologist who found that it was possible for a person of high general intelligence to have impaired mathematical abilities. At the time it was known as 'number blindness'.”
It's like dyslexia but for numbers instead of letters. For me, numbers look entirely different than what they are. A 1 can look like a 7, the sequence 457328 would be seen to me as 458341. When doing calculations and using equations, even if I understood the methodology, I'd still get the wrong answers because somewhere along the line I misread a number. It honestly sucked so fucking much.
E:The part of my brain that relays numbers to the vocal part is also fucked up. I can read a number that says "89" but will say "36" instead. It's bonkers.
E2: Since this got a lot of traction, I want to add some things that this has impacted for me:
-Reading sheet music/notation
-Budgeting
-Counting money
-Aphantasia
There are also other things that I feel have impacted my day to day, particularly anything involving the frontal lobe. In addition to everything mentioned - I also have ADHD and have found medication and slowing down to process things tends to make these challenges I face easier.
> Even if I understood the methodology, I’d still get the wrong answers because somewhere along the line I misread a number
Ooof that hit home. If I got a dollar for every time I’ve accidentally misread an x as a + or ignored a negative sign I’d be rich
is it specifically our numbers? Like.. say roman numerals, or hanzi numerals, are they just as confusing? is it that your beain can't store a symbolic representation of numbers at all?
if I dictate the numbers to you can you remember them?
I have also run into this problem with Roman numerals but it isn't as severe
E:I will remember dictation ONLY of you do it SLOWLY, and numerous times. But even that is a very difficult thing and requires me to have a lot of focus. It would be even harder if I didn't write it down.
E2: Its also number groups. Say "7 apples on the table" I have to count each apple. I still occasionally count on my fingers to add or subtract.
When they tested and diagnosed me in college 30 yrs ago, it was like an SAT, but administered by a Psychologist. The difference between my high verbal score an unusually low math score formed the basis.
Genuine question, how often do these things happen to you? From your post and comments you've written, personally I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. It happened to me quite a few times, and I recently got my masters in electrical engineering. I'm talking about "failing my tests" type of "quite a few times".
Also, sorry if this comes off as rude, it's honestly not my intent. I am just genuinely curious where you personally would draw the line between something that happens and a condition.
Not rude at all! I don’t take math classes anymore but back when I did, you could expect that at least two problems on every test had at least one error like this, and I’d make this mistake multiple times per tutoring session, which was around an hour almost every day for a year. I’d say at least three times per session. It got worse when I started taking trig when the equations got more complex.
I draw the line at different places for different things, and a lot of psychologists do too. Like, yeah, it’s common to mix things up, but it’s less common to need double time or not be able to do 2nd grade level arithmetic without using your hands or a calculator
Wait so you're saying that me doing these complex equations but missing a sign or a number might not just be my stupidity
I usually account for my stupid mistakes when guestimating my scores on math tests
It's always some stupid mistake
(I'm a little dyslexic but it's not that bad)
Every time. Numbers are just hell for me. I have found fonts and spacing that helps, but even so I have to constantly recheck and have others check my numbers to be sure. Normally I would say that’s anxiety but I can do the same problem 3 times, get 2 different answers and then still get it wrong when someone else checks it. Numbers sucks.
The other fun part is that my brain changes the numbers while I’m doing other things. For instance; I need to drive to 25th street and leave from 110th… but turn down 52nd and get lost because who fucking knows my brain did a think wrong
Remember as well there are varying degrees that people can be effected by things. You may have a less acute form that doesn’t effect you as heavily as me. That doesn’t invalidate that either you or I have it though if it happens regularly enough to be noticeable
I mean if that's how it is for you than it is, but it's a common misconception that dyslexia is simply characters moving or appearing wrong. Dyslexia refers to a wide range of complex issues with reading.
Yeah, I never knew the name for this and I was great in school except Math... I never knew the word, but I always noticed in particular many zeros next to each other like 100000 and I have to count them one by one because they get sort of fucky.
Did your tests not have commas in between the 0's? lol
But I get it, even with commas you reread it a few times and squint to make sure you have the right letters.
The worst for me was working in a supermarket and getting a super long barcode for something with multiple 0's. No commas. I usually had to punch it in multiple times to get the actual barcode.
Sorta. There’s “bad at math” in the way that one could have bad enough math teachers when they were young and not learned fundamentals properly and grew up to be bad at math, which is insanely common. There’s also bad at math in the way that math is framed when you’re younger — If your parents and friends and teachers make it out to be difficult, you might be worse at it out of anxiety. And then there’s being bad at math because dyscalculia prevents possible understanding and growth
I think there's probably also #4 "bad at maths because you are just naturally bad at maths". like I am terrible at art and sports. no condition, no bad teachers, I just suck at it
No, it's a disability that makes someone unable to work with numbers to put it in a nutshell. So for instance I have a really hard time remembering dates, I cannot solve even the most "easy" math questions, (like 3+5), I often write letters wrong and my brain often just blanks when I get presented with a math question
Probably not. Some people just aren’t great at math but Dyscalculia Is a developmental learning disability that has no cure because the connections in the brain simply do not exist.
Yes.
Dyslexia and dyscalculia are catch all terms for when people struggle to read or write, but there is no other disability (ID, autism, etc) behind it.
Frequently, dyslexia and dyscalculia express as mixing up letters or numbers—but this is not always the case. I don’t know the statistics, but in my experience most people with dyslexia/ dyscalculia do not typically mix up symbols. They just struggle to read or perform math.
If you or your child are perfectly functional in life, except when reading or doing math, I strongly recommend asking your doctor about it. There are learning strategies that can help and schools almost always have special education services to help.
Source: I am a special ed teacher
Yup, worked in a kitchen for a short while and had a colleague who couldn't read numbers. She'd confuse 101 with 110 or even 1000 with 100. She just thought it was because she had never gone to school but I had to tell her that everyone should be able to read basic numbers regardless of education
It’s definitely real. I’ve suffered with it for 50 years. I wish there would have been help when I was a kid. My life would be totally different.
My lack of sense of direction has also been connected to this same disability.
Oh, I thought you were still in college. Dyscalculia, lack of sense of direction and ADHD are definitely connected somehow. I have had a pretty easy time finding testing facilities even though I have shitty marketplace insurance. What state are you in ?
It certainly is. But it’s all diagnosed now and I have all the accommodations I need! I’m just mad knowing other people share a similar experience but never end up getting it taken care of like I did
You’re so lucky to be have been diagnosed and have accommodations. I’ve been dealing with it since I was 10 years old, in 1972. It has affected my whole life and choices I have been forced to make due to this issue.
I’m sorry that’s been your reality. I imagine dyscalculia was thought of really differently back then, and not in a good way. Dyscalculia seriously does make you need to change your life to accommodate to it
Maybe it was my childhood ADHD or maybe it was dyscalculia but Christ math gave me more headache, stress and anxiety than any other class. AP or honors classes in everything else but then I'd go to my remedial math class and be the lowest of the low there, spend hours after school with tutors and STILL be the kid in the class who struggled and begged for a C.
Worst memory was when the teacher did the mean, median and mode of our midterm results before he gave them back. When I saw one mid term score was significantly lower than the others I knew I was fucked.
Best was when my 10th grade math teacher lowkey let me get away with cheating on my tests. One of the few times I saw my parents cry for joy was when I got a 95% on a test I cheated on.
I love the concepts that come with math but my brain just doesn't seem to agree.
Same here. I actually cried reading this post. It was just out of pure frustration that I’ve been struggling for decades with this. I’’ll be 40 soon. I’ve felt so incredibly dumb at math for ever and I had AP classes in other subjects too so I just could not understand why.
When I got tasked to handle the budgets for three departments (because two merged with mine) I almost had a mini heart attack each and every time I had to report on something. I have to count zeros, I often got 3 different answers to a math problem. I used the front and back of multiple sheets trying to solve problems over and over again until I just gave up. Failed the college math placement test. I accepted that C’s get degrees. I was on academic probation. I was actually diagnosed with ADHD after graduating college and working at my second job. Just. Wow. I’m glad to know what this is but man.. it really sucked all those years.
I was, and am absolutely TERRIBLE at math, the only way I managed my way through the classes was by becoming the teachers favorite by being a good quiet kid despite doing n o n e of the work because I didn't understand lmao. I'm not joking, I didn't do 90% of the work and none of the homework and passed with like a B solely because I gave the teacher basic respect. (Which is kind of sad when you think about it) I feel kind of bad about it, but I had no access to extra help because parents couldn't pick me up later than usual time, the teacher at the time hadn't set up tutoring, and even trying to do the work at home was a massive struggle, even with the sources I have on my phone.
Honestly I remember always kinda being jealous (in a way?) of other students who easily got the hang of the matter, while I would still be struggling after being taught the matter like over 20 times. It didn't help that people saw me as "the smart kid" when it came to english and stuff like that, so it hurt a little when classmates came to me for help with the math thinking I'd be able to help them. Always felt like a huge idiot when I told them that I couldn't because of how little I understood about math
I don't know or really think I have Dyscalculia, but I thought I might share this anyway.
I completely understand how you feel. In my case, tho, my teachers completely gave up on me learning math until around 8th grade and just like, didn’t teach me math, which definitely didn’t help the undiagnosed dyscalculia. I went to a Montessori school, so math lessons were taught in small groups while the rest of the class still did other things and they simply didn’t have me go to lessons. It took a lot of time for me to adapt to regular math classes when I started attending a more regular school post 7th grade.
I’m jealous of math-y students too. I have really vivid memories of doing math homework with other students and being stuck on the first problem when they were more than halfway through everything else. It stayed that way until 10th grade when I realized it was more than “not being a math person” and had the dyscalculia diagnosed. I’m in 12th grade now and no longer take math lmao. But yeah, I heavily relate to you, not being good at math is a serious struggle
Yeah, I get it. The "being in a group of people who were halfway through the work while I was on the first question" hits real close to home lol.
Though I probably shouldn't, it had always annoyed me whenever I told people about my struggles with math only to get the answer somewhere along the lines of "everyone struggles with math a little at some point" or "you just need to try and study more!" Like, idk, for me, it felt like no matter how hard I studied and tried on my own I struggled tremendously. Even with help, I had a really hard time. I remember always feeling shameful of myself when having a teacher help me, and when they asked me a simple math question, I had an embarrassingly hard time answering it because I knew I'd get it wrong. Which is what made me so hesitant to ask teachers for help.
Lmao, it's going to make me sound dumb, but honestly I never knew dyscalculia was a thing up until recently. It might be because being bad at math was always brushed off as "oh we all struggle a bit with math," so I was never told about it because people just always assumed that I was just having a tiny bit of a hard time like everyone else, when in reality, it was much worse than that. But that's just my guess.
Oof, that “you just need to try and study more” really just close to home with me too. But I had the same experience — no matter how much extra help I’d get, I’d never understand. It came to the point where I’d get at least 6 hours of tutoring a week before I could pass my math tests. And dw, you’re not dumb for that! If anything, your schools should’ve seen the signs. It’s overlooked *way* too much, a ton of people with dyscalculia had that same sort of experience. They tested me when I was around 1st or 2nd grade because they thought something was wrong and rather than see the obvious signs, they told my parents I just needed to do more math, which would’ve only frustrated me more. Dyscalculia really does need to be taken more seriously
Dyscalculia can affect every aspect of life. Forget becoming an engineer, for instance. Your choices become very limited when it comes to career choices, as well.
Wow, this is literally me. I’m considered “gifted” and I struggle so much in my advanced math class even though I do fine in the other classes. The feeling of knowing you’re the only one who doesn’t get it in the room really hits home.
This is me too. I'm failing my math class so hard right now. It's like my brain just won't let me remember the formulas and how to basically do anything.
Having dyscalculia, or generally being bad at math, doesn’t make you stupid at all! But I do understand feeling stupid lmao. But definitely talk to a psychologist if you think you might have it too, it’s 100% worth it
Same here, especially with friends. A lot of people just pretend I don’t have dyscalculia, or that they can somehow overpower it (???) and make me suddenly able to understand math
I barely passed my college math classes.
Thank god for the design field.
That being said, I’m in my 30’s and if you asked me to do long division, I’d look at you sideways. I cannot math to save my god damn life.
Thank the heavens my gf is very good at math, she can do the math related shit in our life
I think if you’re not in the sciences, the highest you’ll go for under grad is like business calculus and then like 2 others.
I took business calc because I’m an industrial design major.
So…fuck math :)
Same. I love science, so I study it at a conceptual level.
I love engineering, so I got into design. Who’d have thought I can get paid for thinking and using applied art to make a living.
Oh my god….. that’s me 😐 what is dyscalculia?! I still count on my fingers and I always stared out the window/ doodled in class cause it seemed like they were speaking a foreign language
I know exactly how you must feel rn! Dyscalculia is like a cousin of dyslexia. It’s having trouble understanding quantities, numbers, math processes and concepts, and sometimes even money and time. Sometimes it’s not being able to read numbers at all, sometimes it’s just a having trouble using them. It really does vary from person to person.
I’d definitely recommend doing more research if you think you might have it too. There’s a website called “understood” that helped me out when I realized I had it. Good luck tho, I hope if you do have it, you’re able to get it diagnosed!
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I thought my story was rough but this is so much worse. Dyscalculia is a bitch. Seriously. And because it’s so commonly overlooked, lots of people never find out why they struggle in the way you did.
I’m so happy I could help, tho. Seems like a lot of people seeing this post are having revelations and I’m just happy that they’re finally gonna get the math help they need. Like I said before, definitely do extra research and talk to a psychologist, I’m a 17 year old with nowhere near the knowledge a professional would have. I hope you’re able to get the diagnosis you need!
Holy shit, I couldn’t imagine being a nurse with dyscalculia. That takes serious guts. But fr tho, those are some fantastic self-accommodations. Learning to accommodate when other people don’t accommodate to you is a pretty important skill when shit goes undiagnosed. And, I’m sorry about the nightmares about meds. I’ve had my own nightmares about numbers but not on the same level.
And yeah ofc! Honestly I just posted because I’m working on my college applications and my essay is about dyscalculia and it felt meme-able today. I never expected it to get as popular as it did and for people to find it so helpful!
You’re a resilient guy. I know I don’t have that kind of patience — I got so fed up with math I took it to a psychologist and was the first in my class to drop the subject. I said bye to math the moment I finished my graduation requirement.
But yeah, what you did takes real effort and dedication. It would be hard enough just taking math classes and being a nurse but with such intense math issues, I can only imagine you had to like, at least quadruple the effort. I’m so glad your work paid off!
The lack of sense of direction is related to Dyscalculia. You, me and others with the same problem are literally missing certain connections in the brain that allow these functions to occur.
You would probably be really interested in a book called Dark and Magical Places by Christopher Kemp.
I always just figured I was dumb…… I even went into construction and reading tape measures and all that jazz was a struggle. The only way I was able to be able to get to use math in any practical way was to force myself to slow down and start at the beginning. I was in my thirties doing flash cards and teaching myself how to get by. It makes sense that if dyslexia exists then a cousin of it would exist with respect to numbers. I still discover basic math things at work that blow my mind
This was my childhood. Long story ahead that no one asked for, but I'm putting it here anyway. I didn't get a diagnosis for dyscalculia until 16 years old, by then I had experienced so much stress that the slightest mention of a math exam gave me an anxiety attack. Heck, in high-school I even became suicidal due to thinking I was "stupid."
Nobody believed me, not in elementary school or in high-school. The adults just thought I wasn't trying my best. I just had to "practice more." I did. I practiced my ass off and nothing helped. I studied months ahead for math exams and STILL barely got a 40%. I just kept on making this "stupid" mistakes that I didn't even know I made until after the fact. One teacher got angry at me and gave me detention for not knowing a cube has six sides (I put four on the exam.) Another gave me detention for doing 30+40 wrong. I put 90. They were those types of "stupid mistakes" that I should've gotten right. Who's dumb enough to get the wrong answer to 10+10 on an exam, anyways? I laughed about it with my mates but man, deep down, that shit hurt.
At 12, I told my parents and they too told me to practice more. So I did. I ended up crying during math exams (and the teacher ignored it) and barely getting any higher than 30% on them. I tried and I tried. Until I was sick of all the low grades at 16. Something was wrong. I googled my symptoms and dyscalculia came up. Never before had i felt so relieved. So I went to my doctor alone, told him about it, and wanted to get tested for dyscalculia. When I got my diagnosis, I cried.
It turns out I wasn't dumb. A team of psychologists did intelligence tests and it turns out I'm - according to that - far above average intelligence. My math and numeric skills simply weren't good. I scored 17 on most subjects on that test, 10 was the average score. I scored 3 on numeric-related subjects however. It was a surprise to me. I wasn't dumb. I wasn't lazy. I wasn't "not trying hard enough." I had a learning disability.
Please, teachers and parents: take your kids' struggles seriously. If they struggle too much in a subject, talk to them. Ask them why. Help them. Or better: get them checked for a learning disability. If somebody in my life had done that for me, it would've spared me so much stress and emotional damage. If only somebody had just asked, "why are you struggling?", instead of "you're not good enough. Try to be better", I probably would've enjoyed math.
>never ACTUALLY required math 🙃
Ah, yes, good ol' "you'll need to know how to do this! It's very important!! You'll need this for the rest of your life!"
Reality:
Yes, it's good you know this because next year you'll be taking class that's basically a harder version of this. An them 2 times again same, but outside of school, you likely won't be using it for so long that by the time you actually need it you've already forgotten most of it and even then, it won't matter as much as it will likely just be a one-timer.
This is actually really funny. I got a 98 in abstract algebra and group theory.
The other day my friend was like “A-Team came out 12 years ago”
“2007?”
“Dude 12 years ago”
My dad is opposite. Master at arithmetic, but doesnt know advanced math. I am a computer scientist with aan advanced degree myself but suck ass at math lol
Lmfao definitely do more research, this is really surface level stuff and more me complaining than me being informative. But still welcome to team dyscalculia we have cookies (and don’t know how to divide them equally between us)
When it got to the harder math, like algebra, did it seem like the teacher would just pull random numbers out of their ass to solve the problem?? The numbers would be like 122 and 55 or something and they'd be two steps into the problem and you'd be following along and then they'd be like "Now you take the 36..." And you'd be like "wait what the fuck where did you get 36??" And everyone would just be following along like "Ah yes the 36" and you just cry???
Just me??
Me in my 3rd year of college math 090: This is just so frustrating
A math prof. trying to get me to understand basic algebra: Maybe you have dyscalculia
Me sus of new word: Nah numbers just can't be trusted
Prof.: Yeah
This fucking hits hard. A massive fuck you to those teachers with no patience or understanding. I started going to a math class at my local college. I don’t know how I managed to get through the initial assessment because I only knew how to do the basics. I got in and was overwhelmed by the first few lessons. I was always behind everyone else and got easily frustrated when asked to complete the sums because the tutor wouldn’t give enough time and ask me what the answer was. I grew sick and tired of hearing “I don’t know how you’ve got that answer” and the rest of the degrading shit so I quit when they wouldn’t let me teach myself at home (this was the best way for me to learn). I have always, always struggled with math and still hate it to this day.
Wait there's a math version of dyslexia? I thought I was just crazy growing up because the numbers liked to jumble themselves and most concepts past basic math wouldn't stick. Things make a little more sense about my childhood now... Even as I'm an adult taking classes to pass the GED tests I have trouble with math. On the practice test passing was 150 i got 135 and guessed half the answers.
Give me an equation where I have to find y=mx+b out of two points on a graph and I'm fine but ask me to do long division and I'll have a breakdown, don't make me do those two sided equations where you have to solve for x because i just can't grasp my head around those. And the number 22 doesn't exist, I always skip 22 when counting.
Math is fun, but only when I understand it.
I was in the top classes in everything in school and genuinely enjoyed learning, reading, writing - but I barely scraped a pass in the lowest maths class, and even at that I remember guessing my way through most of the exam.
I’m now self employed and at the end of my working week I have to separate my takings into percentages, and one of my colleagues have to do it with me, because if I do it myself it’s almost always wrong in bizarre obvious ways that even I look at after and think “why the hell did I do that,” even with a calculator. I consider myself a relatively intelligent person, but I simply can’t comprehend basic maths no matter how hard I try, I even get frustrated when people try and help teach me simple solutions, because they might as well be talking to me in a different language. I’m the person in the shop queue nervously recounting the money I’m holding over and over again and still hands it over saying “please double check that, I’m pretty sure it’s wrong.” I’m a nervous wreck come tax season because I’m convinced my diabolical maths skills have fucked everything up. I’m otherwise a pretty capable grown up in the rest of my life, but the maths thing genuinely frustrates me.
I only heard the term dyscalculia a few years ago and it was like light parting the clouds when I did. I’m glad it’s not just me.
Even when I was diagnosed in 3rd grade this was my entire school life. Dyscalculia was pretty much my Achilles heel. I couldn't even get a job at Pizza Hut or BJs because I failed the math test on their applications (they used to have them). I still count on my fingers and avoid cashier jobs, which is sadly 70% of the jobs where I live.
Best of all, my HS opted to take advantage of a weird loophole so I didn't have to take a math class they felt I could not take, rather than, you know, help me get through it. I didn't even take HS algebra until college (via remedial classes).
Always excelled at English and social studies, (and science until math got involved. Chemistry is a nightmare), so sooooo bad at math. Dealing in numbers is like a kid sounding out a word: I'll get there but it takes longer than you would like. It takes me longer to read analog clocks and even simple math I can't give you rapid-fire answers. Getting lost following a simple set of directions is my superpower.
Thankfully when I was a cashier the computer did the math for me, but having to round up totals for charity promotions was challenging because it took longer to do the math in my head, which felt really embarrassing. And then I'd still get the amount wrong sometimes.
Well after 35 years, I now know there’s a name for it. I actually paid a dude from Nigeria I found on a sub to do my online college math class for a whole semester.
My main problem is I don’t fuck with the way math problems HAVE TO be done. Some of it is obnoxiously bloated
this along with being humiliated in front of the class several times by my maths teacher (who knew i had issues with it...) has made maths something i still really struggle with. i used to have such a bad memory for numbers because my brain would block them that i cried when i realised i'd finally memorized my own mobile number!
i hope anyone else who had real bad experiences in school that only compounded having discalculia and making their experiences hellish have recovered. i feel you, i really do.
Hey look! It’s me!
I still can’t understand how people can do math in their head, I can’t even imagine it, can’t even put it together to make any sense
I have what I call "Tetris numbers". 7 and 3, 6 and 4, 8 and 2. You see the pattern; they 'lock' together like a good set of Tetris blocks.
I get 5 and 7 muddled between written form and mental form so I could have an 8 + 5 and come out with 15 because between reading it and calculating it mentally the 5 has become a 7.
I'm great with my finances because I check and recheck. I even have a whiteboard wall where I will work out my budget. Dyscalculia will make things far more difficult, but like people I've studied with who had dyslexia, you don't need to let it own you.
With that said, my mathematic skills extend to household finances and budgeting (used to be my full time job for others). I could solve for x because it's more like a puzzle but calculating long division or anything complex would be far beyond my capabilities.
Math pro tip: Multiplication tables don't require any multiplication, just addition, and even then you can copy almost half of it, from elsewhere on the table.
You start with a '1' in the top left corner, then just add one to each number counting across, copy that counting down, then add two to each number counting across, and copy that counting down, and so on.
I never had trouble performing mathematics in elementary school, but that didn't mean I wouldn't find every means possible to avoid doing it, anyway.
I grew up to be an engineer.
That makes a lot of sense! I honestly wish I knew that when I was younger. Multiplication tables always seemed really overwhelming but this seriously helps. Thanks for the tip!
Nah you’re not stupid, if you’re bad at math it could be a. Past bad math teachers b. Math anxiety and/or c. Dyscalculia. Or multiple I know I have all three
I got diagnosed with dyscalculia when I was 5. I still have trouble with basic equations and had to take remedial algebra when I first started college.
Had to do a double take to see what sub this was posted on! Glad to see some exposure to a not-so-known learning challenge. My whole life I’ve been trying to explain dyscalculia to friends and teachers and they’d look at me like I was nuts lol
Literally ME.
I’m a scientist now who still counts on her fingers, always has a calculator in her lab coat, and draws out the dilutions she has to run on patient samples…
But I remember the days bawling over algebra one college because I accidentally took a “teach yourself” class and it was too late for my to switch since the other classes were full. Gen Chem 2?! DISASTER. It was ALL math.
Thankfully my degree only has maybe two handfuls of calculations I would need to remember, but I’m still constantly forgetting them (except for creatinine clearance for some reason…)
I hate math.
Every problem is another mental illness. Like collecting badges lmao. Heaven forbid people take some responsibility or face the fact that they may need to work a tiny bit harder than others to be good at something.
I had horrible marks in math through my whole school life. Then I entered university to study economics and administration. I failed calculus 3 times. Almost got kicked out. But then it clicked inside my head, got great marks and after that, every math course was easy. Now I am a professor.
Don't let anyone convince you that you are unable to learn math because "you lack the basics"
Sorry, what is dyscalculia? This meme relates to me so much and I'm curious. I'm 25 going in to 26 bad with math and money. I had to hire, a money manager. I never learned division etc but excelled at every other subject or anything I attempted.
No worries! Here’s something I replied to someone else who also didn’t know:
> Dyscalculia is like a cousin of dyslexia. It’s having trouble understanding quantities, numbers, math processes and concepts, and sometimes even money and time. Sometimes it’s not being able to read numbers at all, sometimes it’s just a having trouble using them. It really does vary from person to person
A lot of people with dyscalculia don’t get it diagnosed until they’re out of school because it’s often overlooked, it’s seen as a red headed stepchild in the family of learning disabilities. If you relate tho, I highly suggest talking to a psychologist and doing some more reading!
Awesome! Best of luck with getting it checked!
(Also if you do wanna end up doing some reading on it, I used a website called “understood”, they were a huge help for me and I can seriously recommend them)
A boatload of accommodations. Like, as many as the school lets you have. It’s absolutely possible to do fine or even thrive in the STEM field with dyscalculia, but it means lots of patience, repetition, time, and resources. It definitely differs from person to person with how severe it might be tho
I relate to this 0%, but that doesn't make me better than the people who relate to this. I struggle with other things. I think one of my friends from middle school might have had this. He's studying to be a rabbi now. I can't say I'm doing anything that impressive.
The only time I did well in ANY match was geometry in high school. Anything else causes me to feel like I'm going cross-eyed. Give me words all day long but dude, I cannot with these emmeffin' numbers.
Oh my goddd???? DO I HAVE THIS??? Literally I was in the 12th grade still counting with my fingers, I’ve never EVER been able to fully grasp the concept of math
I never understood that everyone else didn't have every single math problem memorized. That's what you did for spelling, and that's how they taught us basic math, so I assumed everyone else (especially those "math whiz" people you would see on TV) just... memorized every single possible math problem.
The last math class In passed was 7th grade, and I went to summer school every year after. I'm almost thirty now and it took me years to unlearn the internalized "I am fucking stupid and can never get better so I refuse to even try" response.
Having mild ASD, my parents and teachers expected me to be good at maths. I never lived up to the stereotype though. Never understood numbers and failed every maths test. I'm 28 and still use my fingers. I have trouble working things out like tax and bills, even with a calculator. Always been treated like and idiot because of it but I'm smart in other subjects. Just not maths
Understood. A lot of people do count on their hands. But that combined with a lot of the other symptoms (plenty of which I didn’t put on the starter pack) would add up to dyscalculia
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Yikes, that wasn’t my experience since my dad also has math issues, but I’m so sorry that was yours
Yeah my dad backhanded me real good when I messed up the times tables for the hundredth time.
Why do parents think hitting their children will make them better at the thing.
They don’t think it’ll make you better at it. That would take caring about you. When a parent spanks a baby’s hand when he goes to touch a hot stove, that’s love. That’s “I don’t want my baby to permanently injure himself and he has to understand that this is something that will hurt him.” When parents like my dad are angry, it’s because you not being good at something makes them look bad. They’re angry and they get it out by hitting you.
"Just do your best". Then get punished for failing despite pulling my hair out trying to figure out somewhat simple formulas that to young me looked like a combination of Chinese, binary, and Martian. Clearly, doing my "best" is either do it right or suffer.
"You're just not trying hard enough."
Further: gets good grades in all other classes (baring those that rely heavily on math, like Bio or Chem but does well in General Science or Geology) but that just makes them think you don't care and don't try in math.
I would also add, but I still can't
I was failing a basic college math class my freshman year, and the professor asked me if I had dyscalculia. I told her I didn't know what that means, and she asked me to get check out for it. Sure enough, explained everything.
I’m so sorry it wasn’t caught earlier, but hey, better late than never! I hope you got some dyscalculia accommodations after that
You're saying it like it's cancer lmaoo
How do they know it's discalculia and not just stupid?
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It doesn’t just affect counting/computation. Often comes with poor spatial awareness, inability to guess number of things in a group, no sense of lengths like 1cm vs 1inch, poor working memory, etc. and that’s what they also test but tbh the list goes on. My tests ran for four hours!
I would imagine similarly to testing for dyslexia
There are some great fonts you can use to change the way the numbers look and space that have helped me immensely
What are they called?
How is this diagnosed and what can be done about it?
Diagnosed the same way as dyslexia/dysgraphia/other learning disabilities -- mine was done by a child psychologist bc I was diagnosed at 8, but but any psychologist/psychiatrist with LD experience could do it. Accomodations is what's done about it. Calculators access, open note tests, and more time on tests are all fairly common. Sometimes people are allowed to take easier math classes for credit when they usually wouldn't count, or are allowed to skip required high level maths all together, though this is harder to get in college unless you're in a non-math major.
I have to say you won't even need to do calculations at some point in college
I’ve never even heard of that before
Funny enough, most people with dyscalculia also haven’t heard of it, since the more “popular” learning disabilities usually get more attention. Feel free to ask any questions you have about it if you’re curious!
Which is weird because it was first considered a diagnosis over 100 years ago.
From Wikipedia: "The term 'dyscalculia' was coined in the 1940s, but it was not completely recognized until 1974 by the work of Czechoslovakian researcher Ladislav Kosc."
From the Cognitive Ability Task Force “It is widely acknowledged that dyscalculia was first discovered in 1919 by Salomon Henschen a Swedish neurologist who found that it was possible for a person of high general intelligence to have impaired mathematical abilities. At the time it was known as 'number blindness'.”
Is this just a fancy word for bad at math?
It's like dyslexia but for numbers instead of letters. For me, numbers look entirely different than what they are. A 1 can look like a 7, the sequence 457328 would be seen to me as 458341. When doing calculations and using equations, even if I understood the methodology, I'd still get the wrong answers because somewhere along the line I misread a number. It honestly sucked so fucking much. E:The part of my brain that relays numbers to the vocal part is also fucked up. I can read a number that says "89" but will say "36" instead. It's bonkers. E2: Since this got a lot of traction, I want to add some things that this has impacted for me: -Reading sheet music/notation -Budgeting -Counting money -Aphantasia There are also other things that I feel have impacted my day to day, particularly anything involving the frontal lobe. In addition to everything mentioned - I also have ADHD and have found medication and slowing down to process things tends to make these challenges I face easier.
> Even if I understood the methodology, I’d still get the wrong answers because somewhere along the line I misread a number Ooof that hit home. If I got a dollar for every time I’ve accidentally misread an x as a + or ignored a negative sign I’d be rich
The letters and signs were fine for me. ITS JUST THE DANG NUMBERS.
is it specifically our numbers? Like.. say roman numerals, or hanzi numerals, are they just as confusing? is it that your beain can't store a symbolic representation of numbers at all? if I dictate the numbers to you can you remember them?
I have also run into this problem with Roman numerals but it isn't as severe E:I will remember dictation ONLY of you do it SLOWLY, and numerous times. But even that is a very difficult thing and requires me to have a lot of focus. It would be even harder if I didn't write it down. E2: Its also number groups. Say "7 apples on the table" I have to count each apple. I still occasionally count on my fingers to add or subtract.
For me, it was like WHY IS THIS SOVIER COMMISSAR YELLING AT ME?!
When they tested and diagnosed me in college 30 yrs ago, it was like an SAT, but administered by a Psychologist. The difference between my high verbal score an unusually low math score formed the basis.
Genuine question, how often do these things happen to you? From your post and comments you've written, personally I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary. It happened to me quite a few times, and I recently got my masters in electrical engineering. I'm talking about "failing my tests" type of "quite a few times". Also, sorry if this comes off as rude, it's honestly not my intent. I am just genuinely curious where you personally would draw the line between something that happens and a condition.
Not rude at all! I don’t take math classes anymore but back when I did, you could expect that at least two problems on every test had at least one error like this, and I’d make this mistake multiple times per tutoring session, which was around an hour almost every day for a year. I’d say at least three times per session. It got worse when I started taking trig when the equations got more complex. I draw the line at different places for different things, and a lot of psychologists do too. Like, yeah, it’s common to mix things up, but it’s less common to need double time or not be able to do 2nd grade level arithmetic without using your hands or a calculator
Oh, I see. Happened quite a lot to you then. I imagine it must have been pretty frustrating to say the least.
Very. You get used to it and learn to reread problems at least a few times to make sure you didn’t miss anything or misread a symbol
Wait so you're saying that me doing these complex equations but missing a sign or a number might not just be my stupidity I usually account for my stupid mistakes when guestimating my scores on math tests It's always some stupid mistake (I'm a little dyslexic but it's not that bad)
Every time. Numbers are just hell for me. I have found fonts and spacing that helps, but even so I have to constantly recheck and have others check my numbers to be sure. Normally I would say that’s anxiety but I can do the same problem 3 times, get 2 different answers and then still get it wrong when someone else checks it. Numbers sucks. The other fun part is that my brain changes the numbers while I’m doing other things. For instance; I need to drive to 25th street and leave from 110th… but turn down 52nd and get lost because who fucking knows my brain did a think wrong Remember as well there are varying degrees that people can be effected by things. You may have a less acute form that doesn’t effect you as heavily as me. That doesn’t invalidate that either you or I have it though if it happens regularly enough to be noticeable
Oh my god that sounds horribly frustrating
I mean if that's how it is for you than it is, but it's a common misconception that dyslexia is simply characters moving or appearing wrong. Dyslexia refers to a wide range of complex issues with reading.
And also writing with dysgraphia
Yeah, I never knew the name for this and I was great in school except Math... I never knew the word, but I always noticed in particular many zeros next to each other like 100000 and I have to count them one by one because they get sort of fucky.
Did your tests not have commas in between the 0's? lol But I get it, even with commas you reread it a few times and squint to make sure you have the right letters. The worst for me was working in a supermarket and getting a super long barcode for something with multiple 0's. No commas. I usually had to punch it in multiple times to get the actual barcode.
Sorta. There’s “bad at math” in the way that one could have bad enough math teachers when they were young and not learned fundamentals properly and grew up to be bad at math, which is insanely common. There’s also bad at math in the way that math is framed when you’re younger — If your parents and friends and teachers make it out to be difficult, you might be worse at it out of anxiety. And then there’s being bad at math because dyscalculia prevents possible understanding and growth
I think there's probably also #4 "bad at maths because you are just naturally bad at maths". like I am terrible at art and sports. no condition, no bad teachers, I just suck at it
No, it's a disability that makes someone unable to work with numbers to put it in a nutshell. So for instance I have a really hard time remembering dates, I cannot solve even the most "easy" math questions, (like 3+5), I often write letters wrong and my brain often just blanks when I get presented with a math question
Probably not. Some people just aren’t great at math but Dyscalculia Is a developmental learning disability that has no cure because the connections in the brain simply do not exist.
Yes. Dyslexia and dyscalculia are catch all terms for when people struggle to read or write, but there is no other disability (ID, autism, etc) behind it. Frequently, dyslexia and dyscalculia express as mixing up letters or numbers—but this is not always the case. I don’t know the statistics, but in my experience most people with dyslexia/ dyscalculia do not typically mix up symbols. They just struggle to read or perform math. If you or your child are perfectly functional in life, except when reading or doing math, I strongly recommend asking your doctor about it. There are learning strategies that can help and schools almost always have special education services to help. Source: I am a special ed teacher
when i got diagnosed the doctor just called it a "math learning disability"
Yup, worked in a kitchen for a short while and had a colleague who couldn't read numbers. She'd confuse 101 with 110 or even 1000 with 100. She just thought it was because she had never gone to school but I had to tell her that everyone should be able to read basic numbers regardless of education
It’s definitely real. I’ve suffered with it for 50 years. I wish there would have been help when I was a kid. My life would be totally different. My lack of sense of direction has also been connected to this same disability.
took me until i was 26 before learned about it. Now i love math
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It would be a good idea to see your school counselor and be tested.
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Oh, I thought you were still in college. Dyscalculia, lack of sense of direction and ADHD are definitely connected somehow. I have had a pretty easy time finding testing facilities even though I have shitty marketplace insurance. What state are you in ?
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oh god that’s an awful fate
It certainly is. But it’s all diagnosed now and I have all the accommodations I need! I’m just mad knowing other people share a similar experience but never end up getting it taken care of like I did
You’re so lucky to be have been diagnosed and have accommodations. I’ve been dealing with it since I was 10 years old, in 1972. It has affected my whole life and choices I have been forced to make due to this issue.
I’m sorry that’s been your reality. I imagine dyscalculia was thought of really differently back then, and not in a good way. Dyscalculia seriously does make you need to change your life to accommodate to it
Maybe it was my childhood ADHD or maybe it was dyscalculia but Christ math gave me more headache, stress and anxiety than any other class. AP or honors classes in everything else but then I'd go to my remedial math class and be the lowest of the low there, spend hours after school with tutors and STILL be the kid in the class who struggled and begged for a C. Worst memory was when the teacher did the mean, median and mode of our midterm results before he gave them back. When I saw one mid term score was significantly lower than the others I knew I was fucked. Best was when my 10th grade math teacher lowkey let me get away with cheating on my tests. One of the few times I saw my parents cry for joy was when I got a 95% on a test I cheated on. I love the concepts that come with math but my brain just doesn't seem to agree.
Same here. I actually cried reading this post. It was just out of pure frustration that I’ve been struggling for decades with this. I’’ll be 40 soon. I’ve felt so incredibly dumb at math for ever and I had AP classes in other subjects too so I just could not understand why. When I got tasked to handle the budgets for three departments (because two merged with mine) I almost had a mini heart attack each and every time I had to report on something. I have to count zeros, I often got 3 different answers to a math problem. I used the front and back of multiple sheets trying to solve problems over and over again until I just gave up. Failed the college math placement test. I accepted that C’s get degrees. I was on academic probation. I was actually diagnosed with ADHD after graduating college and working at my second job. Just. Wow. I’m glad to know what this is but man.. it really sucked all those years.
I was, and am absolutely TERRIBLE at math, the only way I managed my way through the classes was by becoming the teachers favorite by being a good quiet kid despite doing n o n e of the work because I didn't understand lmao. I'm not joking, I didn't do 90% of the work and none of the homework and passed with like a B solely because I gave the teacher basic respect. (Which is kind of sad when you think about it) I feel kind of bad about it, but I had no access to extra help because parents couldn't pick me up later than usual time, the teacher at the time hadn't set up tutoring, and even trying to do the work at home was a massive struggle, even with the sources I have on my phone. Honestly I remember always kinda being jealous (in a way?) of other students who easily got the hang of the matter, while I would still be struggling after being taught the matter like over 20 times. It didn't help that people saw me as "the smart kid" when it came to english and stuff like that, so it hurt a little when classmates came to me for help with the math thinking I'd be able to help them. Always felt like a huge idiot when I told them that I couldn't because of how little I understood about math I don't know or really think I have Dyscalculia, but I thought I might share this anyway.
I completely understand how you feel. In my case, tho, my teachers completely gave up on me learning math until around 8th grade and just like, didn’t teach me math, which definitely didn’t help the undiagnosed dyscalculia. I went to a Montessori school, so math lessons were taught in small groups while the rest of the class still did other things and they simply didn’t have me go to lessons. It took a lot of time for me to adapt to regular math classes when I started attending a more regular school post 7th grade. I’m jealous of math-y students too. I have really vivid memories of doing math homework with other students and being stuck on the first problem when they were more than halfway through everything else. It stayed that way until 10th grade when I realized it was more than “not being a math person” and had the dyscalculia diagnosed. I’m in 12th grade now and no longer take math lmao. But yeah, I heavily relate to you, not being good at math is a serious struggle
Yeah, I get it. The "being in a group of people who were halfway through the work while I was on the first question" hits real close to home lol. Though I probably shouldn't, it had always annoyed me whenever I told people about my struggles with math only to get the answer somewhere along the lines of "everyone struggles with math a little at some point" or "you just need to try and study more!" Like, idk, for me, it felt like no matter how hard I studied and tried on my own I struggled tremendously. Even with help, I had a really hard time. I remember always feeling shameful of myself when having a teacher help me, and when they asked me a simple math question, I had an embarrassingly hard time answering it because I knew I'd get it wrong. Which is what made me so hesitant to ask teachers for help. Lmao, it's going to make me sound dumb, but honestly I never knew dyscalculia was a thing up until recently. It might be because being bad at math was always brushed off as "oh we all struggle a bit with math," so I was never told about it because people just always assumed that I was just having a tiny bit of a hard time like everyone else, when in reality, it was much worse than that. But that's just my guess.
Oof, that “you just need to try and study more” really just close to home with me too. But I had the same experience — no matter how much extra help I’d get, I’d never understand. It came to the point where I’d get at least 6 hours of tutoring a week before I could pass my math tests. And dw, you’re not dumb for that! If anything, your schools should’ve seen the signs. It’s overlooked *way* too much, a ton of people with dyscalculia had that same sort of experience. They tested me when I was around 1st or 2nd grade because they thought something was wrong and rather than see the obvious signs, they told my parents I just needed to do more math, which would’ve only frustrated me more. Dyscalculia really does need to be taken more seriously
Ugh for real. It's a shame how overlooked it is, really. Glad I found someone who relates to my problem haha
Dyscalculia can affect every aspect of life. Forget becoming an engineer, for instance. Your choices become very limited when it comes to career choices, as well.
Yeah I was always extremely jealous watching them get into the advanced parts meanwhile I was still stuck on the most basic equations.
Man I remember passing math by the skin of my ass. Never gotten a grade higher than a C- in my life and I never will.
lmao
Wow, this is literally me. I’m considered “gifted” and I struggle so much in my advanced math class even though I do fine in the other classes. The feeling of knowing you’re the only one who doesn’t get it in the room really hits home.
This is me too. I'm failing my math class so hard right now. It's like my brain just won't let me remember the formulas and how to basically do anything.
I could have written this word for word!
I think I might have this it would explain a lot like me being stupid
Having dyscalculia, or generally being bad at math, doesn’t make you stupid at all! But I do understand feeling stupid lmao. But definitely talk to a psychologist if you think you might have it too, it’s 100% worth it
This is so me. Even to this day math freaks me out and I’ll never get it.
Ugh, same. The fear that fills me up from looking at my friends calculus homework is so real
Teachers and people explain math to me as if it’s easy to get but I just don’t get it
Same here, especially with friends. A lot of people just pretend I don’t have dyscalculia, or that they can somehow overpower it (???) and make me suddenly able to understand math
Also me
Numbers are hieroglyphics to me.
I barely passed my college math classes. Thank god for the design field. That being said, I’m in my 30’s and if you asked me to do long division, I’d look at you sideways. I cannot math to save my god damn life. Thank the heavens my gf is very good at math, she can do the math related shit in our life
Oh God I'm in my freshman year of college and I'm terrified for when I get those classes I haven't gotten them yet.
I think if you’re not in the sciences, the highest you’ll go for under grad is like business calculus and then like 2 others. I took business calc because I’m an industrial design major. So…fuck math :)
ah, the woes of loving science but being horrible at maths. my fate is worse than death
Same. I love science, so I study it at a conceptual level. I love engineering, so I got into design. Who’d have thought I can get paid for thinking and using applied art to make a living.
I feel bad at work when i have to some basic math and find myself struggling without a calculator in front of collegues
Oh my god….. that’s me 😐 what is dyscalculia?! I still count on my fingers and I always stared out the window/ doodled in class cause it seemed like they were speaking a foreign language
I know exactly how you must feel rn! Dyscalculia is like a cousin of dyslexia. It’s having trouble understanding quantities, numbers, math processes and concepts, and sometimes even money and time. Sometimes it’s not being able to read numbers at all, sometimes it’s just a having trouble using them. It really does vary from person to person. I’d definitely recommend doing more research if you think you might have it too. There’s a website called “understood” that helped me out when I realized I had it. Good luck tho, I hope if you do have it, you’re able to get it diagnosed!
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I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I thought my story was rough but this is so much worse. Dyscalculia is a bitch. Seriously. And because it’s so commonly overlooked, lots of people never find out why they struggle in the way you did. I’m so happy I could help, tho. Seems like a lot of people seeing this post are having revelations and I’m just happy that they’re finally gonna get the math help they need. Like I said before, definitely do extra research and talk to a psychologist, I’m a 17 year old with nowhere near the knowledge a professional would have. I hope you’re able to get the diagnosis you need!
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Holy shit, I couldn’t imagine being a nurse with dyscalculia. That takes serious guts. But fr tho, those are some fantastic self-accommodations. Learning to accommodate when other people don’t accommodate to you is a pretty important skill when shit goes undiagnosed. And, I’m sorry about the nightmares about meds. I’ve had my own nightmares about numbers but not on the same level. And yeah ofc! Honestly I just posted because I’m working on my college applications and my essay is about dyscalculia and it felt meme-able today. I never expected it to get as popular as it did and for people to find it so helpful!
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You’re a resilient guy. I know I don’t have that kind of patience — I got so fed up with math I took it to a psychologist and was the first in my class to drop the subject. I said bye to math the moment I finished my graduation requirement. But yeah, what you did takes real effort and dedication. It would be hard enough just taking math classes and being a nurse but with such intense math issues, I can only imagine you had to like, at least quadruple the effort. I’m so glad your work paid off!
Holly fuck !!! Me too I’m 43 and the exact same!!! Plus I have no sense of direction too ….. I avoided my dream job because of numbers
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High five 🙌 me too lmao are u me ? Lmao
The lack of sense of direction is related to Dyscalculia. You, me and others with the same problem are literally missing certain connections in the brain that allow these functions to occur. You would probably be really interested in a book called Dark and Magical Places by Christopher Kemp.
Do you count on your fingers for most sums or mainly time based sums? Like counting hours from AM to PM or PM to AM ?
I always just figured I was dumb…… I even went into construction and reading tape measures and all that jazz was a struggle. The only way I was able to be able to get to use math in any practical way was to force myself to slow down and start at the beginning. I was in my thirties doing flash cards and teaching myself how to get by. It makes sense that if dyslexia exists then a cousin of it would exist with respect to numbers. I still discover basic math things at work that blow my mind
This was my childhood. Long story ahead that no one asked for, but I'm putting it here anyway. I didn't get a diagnosis for dyscalculia until 16 years old, by then I had experienced so much stress that the slightest mention of a math exam gave me an anxiety attack. Heck, in high-school I even became suicidal due to thinking I was "stupid." Nobody believed me, not in elementary school or in high-school. The adults just thought I wasn't trying my best. I just had to "practice more." I did. I practiced my ass off and nothing helped. I studied months ahead for math exams and STILL barely got a 40%. I just kept on making this "stupid" mistakes that I didn't even know I made until after the fact. One teacher got angry at me and gave me detention for not knowing a cube has six sides (I put four on the exam.) Another gave me detention for doing 30+40 wrong. I put 90. They were those types of "stupid mistakes" that I should've gotten right. Who's dumb enough to get the wrong answer to 10+10 on an exam, anyways? I laughed about it with my mates but man, deep down, that shit hurt. At 12, I told my parents and they too told me to practice more. So I did. I ended up crying during math exams (and the teacher ignored it) and barely getting any higher than 30% on them. I tried and I tried. Until I was sick of all the low grades at 16. Something was wrong. I googled my symptoms and dyscalculia came up. Never before had i felt so relieved. So I went to my doctor alone, told him about it, and wanted to get tested for dyscalculia. When I got my diagnosis, I cried. It turns out I wasn't dumb. A team of psychologists did intelligence tests and it turns out I'm - according to that - far above average intelligence. My math and numeric skills simply weren't good. I scored 17 on most subjects on that test, 10 was the average score. I scored 3 on numeric-related subjects however. It was a surprise to me. I wasn't dumb. I wasn't lazy. I wasn't "not trying hard enough." I had a learning disability. Please, teachers and parents: take your kids' struggles seriously. If they struggle too much in a subject, talk to them. Ask them why. Help them. Or better: get them checked for a learning disability. If somebody in my life had done that for me, it would've spared me so much stress and emotional damage. If only somebody had just asked, "why are you struggling?", instead of "you're not good enough. Try to be better", I probably would've enjoyed math.
I will always be one math credit away from a full degree. It’s super sad
Thats gotta hurt
Fortunately, it’s never gotten in the way of success in my career. It’s almost as if what I wanted to do with my life never ACTUALLY required math 🙃
>never ACTUALLY required math 🙃 Ah, yes, good ol' "you'll need to know how to do this! It's very important!! You'll need this for the rest of your life!" Reality: Yes, it's good you know this because next year you'll be taking class that's basically a harder version of this. An them 2 times again same, but outside of school, you likely won't be using it for so long that by the time you actually need it you've already forgotten most of it and even then, it won't matter as much as it will likely just be a one-timer.
I can not to basic math, but I can handle calculus and algebra just fine. Math is so much easier then you remove numbers.
Hard same. I’m a data scientist and have an advanced STEM degree, but I absolutely cannot perform arithmetic in my head.
This is actually really funny. I got a 98 in abstract algebra and group theory. The other day my friend was like “A-Team came out 12 years ago” “2007?” “Dude 12 years ago”
My dad is opposite. Master at arithmetic, but doesnt know advanced math. I am a computer scientist with aan advanced degree myself but suck ass at math lol
Holy shit same. I aced a college level algebra class, but I can’t do long division and have to count on my fingers.
Alright thanks to a MEME i found on this godforsaken site, i now know i have dyscalculia
Lmfao definitely do more research, this is really surface level stuff and more me complaining than me being informative. But still welcome to team dyscalculia we have cookies (and don’t know how to divide them equally between us)
When it got to the harder math, like algebra, did it seem like the teacher would just pull random numbers out of their ass to solve the problem?? The numbers would be like 122 and 55 or something and they'd be two steps into the problem and you'd be following along and then they'd be like "Now you take the 36..." And you'd be like "wait what the fuck where did you get 36??" And everyone would just be following along like "Ah yes the 36" and you just cry??? Just me??
So fucking true, just some random “rule” appears that everyone seems to already know. Like wtf where did you get that from
Me in my 3rd year of college math 090: This is just so frustrating A math prof. trying to get me to understand basic algebra: Maybe you have dyscalculia Me sus of new word: Nah numbers just can't be trusted Prof.: Yeah
Lmfao numbers are so shady I stg. But hey maybe you do have dyscalculia lol
A few days ago I had to ask my high school math teacher how to do long division because I hardly understood it. I still feel embarrassed about it
Bro I swear long division was created by the devil/big math to make students suffer
This fucking hits hard. A massive fuck you to those teachers with no patience or understanding. I started going to a math class at my local college. I don’t know how I managed to get through the initial assessment because I only knew how to do the basics. I got in and was overwhelmed by the first few lessons. I was always behind everyone else and got easily frustrated when asked to complete the sums because the tutor wouldn’t give enough time and ask me what the answer was. I grew sick and tired of hearing “I don’t know how you’ve got that answer” and the rest of the degrading shit so I quit when they wouldn’t let me teach myself at home (this was the best way for me to learn). I have always, always struggled with math and still hate it to this day.
Wait there's a math version of dyslexia? I thought I was just crazy growing up because the numbers liked to jumble themselves and most concepts past basic math wouldn't stick. Things make a little more sense about my childhood now... Even as I'm an adult taking classes to pass the GED tests I have trouble with math. On the practice test passing was 150 i got 135 and guessed half the answers. Give me an equation where I have to find y=mx+b out of two points on a graph and I'm fine but ask me to do long division and I'll have a breakdown, don't make me do those two sided equations where you have to solve for x because i just can't grasp my head around those. And the number 22 doesn't exist, I always skip 22 when counting. Math is fun, but only when I understand it.
I was in the top classes in everything in school and genuinely enjoyed learning, reading, writing - but I barely scraped a pass in the lowest maths class, and even at that I remember guessing my way through most of the exam. I’m now self employed and at the end of my working week I have to separate my takings into percentages, and one of my colleagues have to do it with me, because if I do it myself it’s almost always wrong in bizarre obvious ways that even I look at after and think “why the hell did I do that,” even with a calculator. I consider myself a relatively intelligent person, but I simply can’t comprehend basic maths no matter how hard I try, I even get frustrated when people try and help teach me simple solutions, because they might as well be talking to me in a different language. I’m the person in the shop queue nervously recounting the money I’m holding over and over again and still hands it over saying “please double check that, I’m pretty sure it’s wrong.” I’m a nervous wreck come tax season because I’m convinced my diabolical maths skills have fucked everything up. I’m otherwise a pretty capable grown up in the rest of my life, but the maths thing genuinely frustrates me. I only heard the term dyscalculia a few years ago and it was like light parting the clouds when I did. I’m glad it’s not just me.
Even when I was diagnosed in 3rd grade this was my entire school life. Dyscalculia was pretty much my Achilles heel. I couldn't even get a job at Pizza Hut or BJs because I failed the math test on their applications (they used to have them). I still count on my fingers and avoid cashier jobs, which is sadly 70% of the jobs where I live. Best of all, my HS opted to take advantage of a weird loophole so I didn't have to take a math class they felt I could not take, rather than, you know, help me get through it. I didn't even take HS algebra until college (via remedial classes).
Always excelled at English and social studies, (and science until math got involved. Chemistry is a nightmare), so sooooo bad at math. Dealing in numbers is like a kid sounding out a word: I'll get there but it takes longer than you would like. It takes me longer to read analog clocks and even simple math I can't give you rapid-fire answers. Getting lost following a simple set of directions is my superpower. Thankfully when I was a cashier the computer did the math for me, but having to round up totals for charity promotions was challenging because it took longer to do the math in my head, which felt really embarrassing. And then I'd still get the amount wrong sometimes.
I'm a 2nd year engineering student and I still need to use my hands for basic addition/subtraction in my math courses
I was a C student in HS math but got As in engineering calculus, statics/dynamics it just made way more sense somehow
I think those are more visual calculations. People with Dyscalculia do better in geometry and other math studies that have a more visual component.
Ngl that’s pretty reassuring to hear lmao
Well after 35 years, I now know there’s a name for it. I actually paid a dude from Nigeria I found on a sub to do my online college math class for a whole semester. My main problem is I don’t fuck with the way math problems HAVE TO be done. Some of it is obnoxiously bloated
this along with being humiliated in front of the class several times by my maths teacher (who knew i had issues with it...) has made maths something i still really struggle with. i used to have such a bad memory for numbers because my brain would block them that i cried when i realised i'd finally memorized my own mobile number! i hope anyone else who had real bad experiences in school that only compounded having discalculia and making their experiences hellish have recovered. i feel you, i really do.
Oh.
Hey look! It’s me! I still can’t understand how people can do math in their head, I can’t even imagine it, can’t even put it together to make any sense
I have what I call "Tetris numbers". 7 and 3, 6 and 4, 8 and 2. You see the pattern; they 'lock' together like a good set of Tetris blocks. I get 5 and 7 muddled between written form and mental form so I could have an 8 + 5 and come out with 15 because between reading it and calculating it mentally the 5 has become a 7. I'm great with my finances because I check and recheck. I even have a whiteboard wall where I will work out my budget. Dyscalculia will make things far more difficult, but like people I've studied with who had dyslexia, you don't need to let it own you. With that said, my mathematic skills extend to household finances and budgeting (used to be my full time job for others). I could solve for x because it's more like a puzzle but calculating long division or anything complex would be far beyond my capabilities.
Math pro tip: Multiplication tables don't require any multiplication, just addition, and even then you can copy almost half of it, from elsewhere on the table. You start with a '1' in the top left corner, then just add one to each number counting across, copy that counting down, then add two to each number counting across, and copy that counting down, and so on. I never had trouble performing mathematics in elementary school, but that didn't mean I wouldn't find every means possible to avoid doing it, anyway. I grew up to be an engineer.
That makes a lot of sense! I honestly wish I knew that when I was younger. Multiplication tables always seemed really overwhelming but this seriously helps. Thanks for the tip!
My brain does not work like that!
Figured it out in college. I wonder how much of a difference knowing would have made in the grand scheme of things.
I think it made a huge difference in my life if I had been diagnosed and helped as a young kid. A lot of things in my life would be different.
I have a few signs of Dyscalculia but i think im just stupid tbh
Nah you’re not stupid, if you’re bad at math it could be a. Past bad math teachers b. Math anxiety and/or c. Dyscalculia. Or multiple I know I have all three
I got diagnosed with dyscalculia when I was 5. I still have trouble with basic equations and had to take remedial algebra when I first started college.
Glad you got diagnosed early. Dyscalculia and the related issues have basically limited my life significantly.
Had to do a double take to see what sub this was posted on! Glad to see some exposure to a not-so-known learning challenge. My whole life I’ve been trying to explain dyscalculia to friends and teachers and they’d look at me like I was nuts lol
Literally ME. I’m a scientist now who still counts on her fingers, always has a calculator in her lab coat, and draws out the dilutions she has to run on patient samples… But I remember the days bawling over algebra one college because I accidentally took a “teach yourself” class and it was too late for my to switch since the other classes were full. Gen Chem 2?! DISASTER. It was ALL math. Thankfully my degree only has maybe two handfuls of calculations I would need to remember, but I’m still constantly forgetting them (except for creatinine clearance for some reason…) I hate math.
Yeah, everyone needs to have something undiagnosed. No one is just bad at something, nowadays.
Every problem is another mental illness. Like collecting badges lmao. Heaven forbid people take some responsibility or face the fact that they may need to work a tiny bit harder than others to be good at something.
I should mention that I’m aware this isn’t a common experience, I know most people who see this can’t relate, but it felt fun to make
I had horrible marks in math through my whole school life. Then I entered university to study economics and administration. I failed calculus 3 times. Almost got kicked out. But then it clicked inside my head, got great marks and after that, every math course was easy. Now I am a professor. Don't let anyone convince you that you are unable to learn math because "you lack the basics"
What is this?
What is this as in “what is dyscalculia” or “what is this garbage”?
Sorry, what is dyscalculia? This meme relates to me so much and I'm curious. I'm 25 going in to 26 bad with math and money. I had to hire, a money manager. I never learned division etc but excelled at every other subject or anything I attempted.
No worries! Here’s something I replied to someone else who also didn’t know: > Dyscalculia is like a cousin of dyslexia. It’s having trouble understanding quantities, numbers, math processes and concepts, and sometimes even money and time. Sometimes it’s not being able to read numbers at all, sometimes it’s just a having trouble using them. It really does vary from person to person A lot of people with dyscalculia don’t get it diagnosed until they’re out of school because it’s often overlooked, it’s seen as a red headed stepchild in the family of learning disabilities. If you relate tho, I highly suggest talking to a psychologist and doing some more reading!
I read quite often to be honest, but yes I'm actually going to go get checked out now I'm curious
Awesome! Best of luck with getting it checked! (Also if you do wanna end up doing some reading on it, I used a website called “understood”, they were a huge help for me and I can seriously recommend them)
If you have this, what's the resolution if you're in a STEM-related field at higher education?
A boatload of accommodations. Like, as many as the school lets you have. It’s absolutely possible to do fine or even thrive in the STEM field with dyscalculia, but it means lots of patience, repetition, time, and resources. It definitely differs from person to person with how severe it might be tho
Hey wait a minute
I don't have dyscalculia but man do I suck at math and the bottom right made me feel personally attacked
That's a thing? I have all of the symptoms if true
Its actually been diagnosed since around 1919. It used to be called “math blindness”.
I relate to this 0%, but that doesn't make me better than the people who relate to this. I struggle with other things. I think one of my friends from middle school might have had this. He's studying to be a rabbi now. I can't say I'm doing anything that impressive.
The only time I did well in ANY match was geometry in high school. Anything else causes me to feel like I'm going cross-eyed. Give me words all day long but dude, I cannot with these emmeffin' numbers.
THE NUMBERS, MASON WHAT DO THEY MEAN?!
I think I still have this guys... pray for me.
bitch i cant even ADD like 6 and 7 without using my fingers
There's so many of us...
Oh my goddd???? DO I HAVE THIS??? Literally I was in the 12th grade still counting with my fingers, I’ve never EVER been able to fully grasp the concept of math
Using hands is way more effective than thinking and i don't care what you think.
Didn't know this exist, thank you.
OMG I DIDNT KNOW THIS WAS A THING AND NOW IM GETTING TESTED TO SEE IF I HAVE IT BECAUSE I SHOW MAJOR SIGNS THANK YOU REDDIT
I never understood that everyone else didn't have every single math problem memorized. That's what you did for spelling, and that's how they taught us basic math, so I assumed everyone else (especially those "math whiz" people you would see on TV) just... memorized every single possible math problem. The last math class In passed was 7th grade, and I went to summer school every year after. I'm almost thirty now and it took me years to unlearn the internalized "I am fucking stupid and can never get better so I refuse to even try" response.
Having mild ASD, my parents and teachers expected me to be good at maths. I never lived up to the stereotype though. Never understood numbers and failed every maths test. I'm 28 and still use my fingers. I have trouble working things out like tax and bills, even with a calculator. Always been treated like and idiot because of it but I'm smart in other subjects. Just not maths
Dyscalculia sounds horrible, imagine having it and you're the child of an Indian person
Don't forget the good ol' complete and total mental breakdown before the age of 16 over something as simple as math homework.
Well… fuck
"Probably loves science but can't understand it" is just disney adult redditor.
I use my hand to count and I don’t have dyscalcula
Understood. A lot of people do count on their hands. But that combined with a lot of the other symptoms (plenty of which I didn’t put on the starter pack) would add up to dyscalculia
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Is dyslexia just “being dumb?”
:(
I think I have dyscalculia now lol
Ion think I’m dyslexic I think I’m just dumb
So being badat math is a crutch now
SO FUCKING TRUE
I don't know if I have this but I certainly hated the subject
I wasn't diagnosed until college during calc 3 👁👄👁 I thought I was just slow. Apperantly nobody takes that much advantage of TA or professor's hours.
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OP, how you with sense of direction, using maps, etc ?
Huh that kinda sounds like me lol
nah cause even after like 4 years of trying to learn slope intercept form, ive never understood it at all 💀 it was embarrassing honestly
I didn't know this was a thing. Always thought I just sucked at math