A lot of the guys I knew that were good at maths were labelled nerds, so to admit to being good at maths is to risk being labelled a nerd by association. On th

A lot of the guys I knew that were good at maths were labelled nerds, so to admit to being good at maths is to risk being labelled a nerd by association. On the other hand, to say that you suck at maths implicity says things about you that avoid this association eg. "I dispensed with my maths education to hang out with the cool kids". I think most people know this intuitively. The pride of a self-confessed maths half-wit is anchored in implied social standing rather than genuine pride in a lack of ability. I doubt anybody is saying "I can't add or subtract, how awesome am I?"