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Math is hard work. I was bad at math. I went to college a couple years after I graduated high school where I made little effort to challenge myself. But afte
by nemo44x 10y ago
Math is hard work. I was bad at math. I went to college a couple years after I graduated high school where I made little effort to challenge myself. But after figuring things out, at 20 I decided I wanted to do computer science as I enjoyed some of the programming skills I picked up (C++ of all things!).
I was very unprepared for the math part of it and it was hard. I tested into a remedial math level and when I looked at the CS requirement I knew that wouldn't be a good way to start. So I bought a used math book and spent a few weeks studying hard so I could get into a decent math placement so I could be where I needed for CS. This was just the start.
I had a long road with a lot of frustration but I made it. I made it because I never worked so hard at something up to that point in my life. There were times I thought it was hopeless but I just continued to do rote math problems, over and over again. And slowly the concepts started to sink in more and more. But there was always the frustration of missing the little details and forgetting a concept or not having enough experience honing a certain skill. But if I kept at it, over and over again, I would learn it and it suddenly became easy.
I was "bad at math". It would have been so easy to quit and try something else. But I knew I wanted to not only pass my tests but really understand the calculus and differentials, etc I had to do. And it was the best thing I ever did for myself.
Not only does working so hard at something prove you can work hard and achieve something but it shapes the way you see the world.
Math is hard. Some of us just have to work harder. People should realize that failing is normal and if you keep at it you will eventually get it. For some people it takes longer than others. I could never create math. But with enough time I believe I could eventually truly learn anything because of this experience.
- yazaddaruvala 10y agoCongratulations! I'm always disappointed when people say "some people just can't learn X". It isn't that they cannot learn X, they just cannot learn it in the same time frame, and they shouldn't be expected to!
- nemo44x 10y agoI mean that's really the problem. For some reason we think things will just make sense once we are taught the lesson and we try an exercise. But that's so often not the case. Accept you'll never be the genius who creates new things - maybe you will but put that aside. Focus on trying hard and committing yourself. It doesn't matter if it's math or cooking food, the more you try it and think of it and accept failure the better you'll be. Accept your limits as a creator but never accept that you can't understand a concept if you spend the time you personally need at it.
- macns 10y agoIt isn't that they cannot learn X, they just cannot learn it in the same time frame This is exactly the argument I use when seeing people criticizing or laugh at others over their profession or education. I also think that the time frame one needs to "learn X" greatly depends on what they already know, i.e everyone is born a genius; training is what makes the difference. [...] and they shouldn't be expected to!. Hats off for this too. Probably the biggest flaw in most of the world's educational systems.
- nav123 10y agoHow did you do it?