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History of showing Dyscalculia and history of quitting math

NAS73676

I have severe feature of Dyscalculia and some tendencies of Dyslexia.

I failed math most of the school years, but I kept relearning the same early mathematics, but still don't get it. At some point I quit doing math for some time, and felt like, it's pointless, but then I started learning math again, but with some trial and errors, but I passed at the end.

I feel bad for quitting math, because it can seem like I refuse to learn math and making up excuses, but failing early math for most school years is not normal at all, and I am way behind compared to most of my peers.

I started to try to learn math again from scratch, although I am not sure if I will be able to do complex math in the future, but I can try to do complex math in the future.

  • I did poorly in math growing up, almost failing math a majority of the time. I didn't know until I was an adult that I had dyscalculia, and the tendency to switch numbers around when I read them, and it was very frustrating not being able to see what I did wrong in order to correct it. When I was a kid, I didn't even know I was switching numbers around when I was reading them, I just knew I was doing something wrong, but my eyes and brain couldn't see it, and it was so frustrating knowing there's something wrong but being blind to it. 

    I also had math phobia, and also trauma from someone who used to use money as a form of power over me, saying things like because I earned no money, that I'm not important, that I don't matter to anyone, that I'm useless and worthless, and that I'm beneath them. Well, I couldn't earn money yet because I was too young to be working at the time, but they were not the most encouraging person to be around. 

    I had to face numbers on a daily basis, and that magnified the terror I had with numbers. However, I got fed up with it one day, and decided to rework my perceptions of numbers, just so I can actually have freedom in my life, and not have a panic attack every day. 

    I realized that there are some logical problems I could figure out, but I had issues with basic arithmetic. I thought, well, if the math methods in my school system didn't work for me, I wonder if there's other methods of math from other countries that would work better, and I learned the abacus and vedic math. Then I just started learning math from the very beginning, and building up my knowledge from there. Nowadays I can do mental math, something that I never thought I would be able to do in my lifetime. 

    I've still been learning math on and off over time. I hope to learn complex math one day too. I hope you keep trying to learn math, just so you have that knowledge and confidence within you. If you give your brain enough time with anything, it'll eventually learn it. 

  • in reply to NAS73676

    I'm terrible at maths too, I couldn't pass a GCSE at level C even with specialist teaching, none of it makes sense and  the numbers swim about before my eyes and won't stay still.

    Whats an algorithym? I don't understand alegebra at all, how can one start with it when one dosen't know what it really is?

  • My best advice to you as someone who is very bad at mental arithmetic but has a PhD in mathematics is ignore arithmetic; it’s nothing to do with real Maths. you have a Calculator in your pocket in the form of a smart phone at all times you do not need to know your times tables.

    It is good to understand the algorithms used for mental arithmetic, Long division long multiplication, carrying et cetera. but if you need a table or a calculator to help with single digit additions subtractions and multiplications then just use a calculator while you’re learning that kind of arithmetic. And if you’re not specifically studying arithmetic algorithms don’t even bother trying to do calculations in your head you have a Calculator for that.

    most textbooks are structured in this way, arithmetic than basic algebra. I suggest you skip over the arithmetic section and just start working from basic algebra onwards.

    i’ve got to be honest with you A lot of mathematicians now feel the ability to computer program is probably more important than the ability to do mental arithmetic. Because any time you need to do a calculation in research maths it’s generally the kind of calculation that can only be done on a computer not by hand.