Oddbean new post about login | logout She really tried, but she couldn't process numbers like others. When I was younger I didn't think I was great at more complex math until I got a better tutor. But this was obvious for very simple operations that she couldn't understand. As soon as you tried to convert a percentage to a fraction or similar, she was totally lost. I think there are quite a few people out there like that.
I guess it is easy for me, so this is hard to understand. I too have tried to help someone to get algebra. In this case, I don't think they wanted to learn
In the 6th grade I had a D in math. I refused to calculate anything (admittedly at my own demise (grade)). In 7th grade I got a new math teacher and got an A+ and the math award. I did the same thing in the first grade when I was forced to tell time with a clock. It was an 8 month protest that ended with going from ‘not being able to read a clock’ to telling the teacher the time in less 5 seconds. Continuing on to the 2nd grade with my friends, seemed worth it All the people who labeled me ‘slow’ didn’t realize that at the age of 6 I was giving them an intelligence test - haha 😇 Intelligence and Will are inextricably linked. Ticktok 🕕
Maybe she'll get there eventually, but she was in her late 20s at this point so tick-tock indeed.
I firmly believe the problem with math education is they move to rapidly from physicaly reality (1 stick + 1 stick = 2 sticks) to abstraction. A^2 + B^2 = C^2. If they would teach, for example, the pythagorean theorum but showing you how the squares outside the triangle add up, kids would have a much easier time learning the abstracted algrebra behind it. It's a sin they steal geometry from our children.
Yeah, it could be to do with an inability to visualise things that makes it difficult to process and understand.