Re: Is it dyscalcula?
- From: "Aegimius" <Libanios5@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 7 Jul 2006 18:07:08 -0700
Hatto von Aquitanien wrote:
Aegimius wrote:
Greetings all,
This seems like the right place to find out the latest news on
dyscalcula, problems learning mathematics, as well as to getting
personal feedback from people who may have problems similar to mine.
...
Sometimes, it seems
as if my mathematical ability "comes and goes". I don't think it's a
learning disability though.
What you seem to be describing is the essence of a specific learning
disability. It's important to distinguish between specific learning
disabilities and lack of intelligence. There's also some value in the
concept of learning differences. That is, different people may catch onto
things in different orders, or learn better through different means.
I understand all the basics, even the most
complicated mathematics is wholly dependant on the basics(I don't know
if this is true or not, but I sometimes hear of mathematicians who have
problems with basic math, yet are near geniuses when it comes to
certain branches of advanced math - is this true?).
I did go to tutoring on and off, but it didn't help much in improving
my grades. Tests my tutors had me take suggested I had an excellent
grasp of mathematical concepts, but I did poorly in the
calculations/problem solving. I was a biology major in college but
couldn't pass the required trigonometry course. That combined with
financial considerations forced me to leave college without a degree.
Never give up!
However, I still managed to excel in biology and chemistry. About the
only branch of mathematics I was ever good at was logic. Now, at age
26, I am yet again trying to see if there are new ways to improve my
mathematical ability enough to understand and perhaps pass trig - a
unique approach that takes advantage of my unique abilities. Perhaps my
26 year old brain is capable of handling things my 20 or 24 year old
brain was incapable of. I have been doing this on and off for years,
and while I may be better at algebra as a result, I'm not any better at
trig or precal.
What kind of problems do you have? For me, I have a specific kind of
learning disability which makes transcribing things very difficult. It is
therefore difficult for me to take notes. It's also a chicken and egg
thing. Since I had trouble taking notes, and the effort distracted my
attention from the focus of the lectures, I often didn't take notes. I
therefore didn't practice taking notes...
That same disability impacts my ability to perform the mechanical steps of
solving problems. But I don't have much problem in 'seeing' the solution
to difficult problems. For example, I can program computers to execute the
steps which I have trouble executing by hand. My problem is very close to
dyslexia and to some extent is the same thing. Some (much?) of it is
likely a result of my learning environment in my grade school years.
You may want to investigate ADHD. That can often underlie the kind of
problem you have been describing.
--
Nil conscire sibi
The problem I have is in some ways similar to dyslexia, since I will
often misread numbers, and/or write down the wrong numbers when copying
a problem into a notebook(although I can read well). Note-taking was
never a huge problem, although I admit I was slow at it. When it comes
to problem-solving, I also have problems similar to the one you
describe. I get confused over how to solve a problem using the correct
steps in the correct order. Quite often I don't remember what that next
step should be in solving a problem.
In school I was often labeled "easily distracted", but it's not a
medical condition in my case. Grade after grade, I was back and forth
between the slow and advanced classes. I can focus much better now than
when I was in my teens, and a combination of meditation, avoiding the
wrong foods, fish oil, and vigorous exercise has pretty much corrected
my attentional deficits. The real problem all along was probably my
hearing, which seems to be much more sensitive than most peoples.
Earplugs easily correct that minor problem.
When I first went to college, I studied computer programming and
excelled in it. There was never any shortage of people at school, among
them students and administrators who always told me a person needs to
be good at math to study computer programming or computer science. Yet,
it was never a struggle for me. I started to find it very boring
though, and switched to biology. Ultimately, the traumatic experiences
I had with my father trying to teach me math when I was very young just
left a very bad taste in my mouth when it came to all things
mathematical(but like I said, I excelled at logic).
Einstein isn't typically considered to have been a mathematician, but he is
certainly considered to have accomplished through the non-trivial
application of non-trivial mathematics. Nonetheless, he is reported to
have had problems with simple arithmetic. I know of one instance in (IIRC)
The Meaning of Relativity where, in the first edition, he made an error in
a relatively easy derivation (when formulated in terms of graph theory).
In a later edition he added a footnote showing a different erroneous
calculation intended to remedy the first. He subsequently attempted to
amend that error, and, IIRC, got it wrong again.
Now that's both very funny and perplexing. I don't know what to believe
about Einstein anymore. The myth that he failed mathematics is still
widely believed(too many "motivational speakers" incorporate it into
their act even today). Granted, he had trouble with arithmetic, but how
did he advance in school? He had an uncanny ability to visualize and
understand geometry in an intuitive way, or so I've read. Many science,
math and engineering students tell me they had trouble with algebra and
trig, yet found calculus easy by comparison. Some claim advanced
calculus is "easier" than basic calculus, or maybe they were only
joking. I've never studied calculus or physics formally. Thanks for
your input. It seems you've more than compensated for whatever
"disabilities" you may have.
.
- References:
- Is it dyscalcula?
- From: Aegimius
- Re: Is it dyscalcula?
- From: Hatto von Aquitanien
- Is it dyscalcula?
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