5 ms·
not untrue, but only part of the story. certainly your math skill level neither makes you "smart" or "dumb" (which really aren't opposites, either). prerequis
by fargle 2y ago
not untrue, but only part of the story.
certainly your math skill level neither makes you "smart" or "dumb" (which really aren't opposites, either).
prerequisites are (ahem) required. not having them does imply having a bad time.
what's missing is that different people's brains work differently and people have different talents.
if you learn differently, that can factor into that lack of prerequisite knowledge - perhaps the way it was taught didn't work for you.
but some people's brains just don't like math. other's are gifted at it. you can have all the prerequisite knowledge needed, be the best most diligent student, be wildly intelligent in general, and still not just "get" math.
so this article was about someone who actually did have a decent proclivity to math, but was robbed of it because of some missing foundation. and then said "ah ha!" there's the problem! but that doesn't mean that's the case for everyone else - far from it.
it smacks of the "affirming the consequent" fallacy:
("dumb" => !math) !=> (!math => "dumb")
(!prereq => !math) !=> (prereq => math)
- j2kun 2y ago> some people's brains just don't like math Sounds like perverse socialization to me. What actually justifies this claim? Do some people's brains "just not like reading?" Do some people's brains "just not like music?" There's nothing special about math here.
- fargle 2y ago> Do some people's brains "just not like reading? yes, certainly. pretty common - outside of a disability, we can all learn to read, but it's hard and not enjoyable for many. > Do some people's brains "just not like music? yes. (when i say "like" btw. i meant roughly "natural ability", not "enjoy") of course most people love to listen to music, but many people do not have much of a musical ability - and you can't work, learn, or practice your way into it beyond a certain point, either. > There's nothing special about math here yes. some people are terrible at dealing with socialization and others are brilliant. we are NOT all wired the same way. we all have different abilities. what justifies that claim is several billion examples.