Published on 12, July, 2020
I have this preconceived idea that all Autistic people are really good at maths. I am terrible at mental arithmetic or any kind of working out in my head! Yet I can put together a mean spreadsheet, with formulas, forecasts, percentages whatever you like. But ask me what something times something is? Haven't a clue?
So I just wanted to see if that is odd for an Autistic person?
There is more to maths than simply arithmetic. If you can manipulate formulae, or work out odds and statistics, if you can do allgebra, or trigonometry, or expand binomals, or do differential and integral calculus, you could be good at Maths without being good at working out sums in your head.
I can work out many sums in my head, but it is more of a party trick these days. Most young 'uns (those below about 60) automatically reach for the callcullator and as often as not get it wrong. I very rarely reacch for a calculator, add up my shopping bill as I am doing the shopping and get it right. But all autistic people do not have to do this!
Absolutely. 'Simply arithmetic' is my limit, though, which is why I voted 'No'. I can't do any of that other stuff. I've tried to get my head around it, but it simply won't sink in. I remember on my IQ test having some questions which would have been easier to answer with more than my rudimentary knowledge of maths - which made me question the supposed neutrality of the test. The kind of questions where you have to figure out distances apart of two trains traveling at different speeds, or the distance between two points when they're separated by zig-zagging lines of varying length. They always leave me stumped because I have no knowledge of that kind of maths - angles, relativity, etc.
I rarely reach for a calculator, too. I can add up shopping as I go along. As you say, plenty of non-autistic people can do this. There's nothing very special about it. I rarely need to check my bank statement. I have the same amount going in each month and the same direct debits coming out. I then know roughly what's left and deduct from that as I spend on other things, so the running total is in my head. Partly, this comes from having a low income and having to budget. But also I have a pathological fear of debt. If I went as much as fiver overdrawn, I'd be in a major panic.