Anyone here GREAT at science but TERRIBLE at math?

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I found math and physics to be easier than chem and bio in high school but after one and a half years of university experience (3 terms), I completely hate physics and I don't like some of the linear algebra.

I too grasp science (biology) very well, but find difficulty in grasping math (algebra).

Even more confusingly to those who function with the presumption that those graced in science must inherently grasp mathematics, English/Language Arts is a subject I've always done well and excelled in. Creative arts, although not a major subject of academic school, is also within my list of abilities.

I'm like that. I think it's because (1) science is more conceptual than math and (2) it's more interesting where math is straight logic.

MEE!
I'm great with biology especially.
But I suck at maths

Like a lot of those answering, I am terrific at biology and art and reading, and average or below in math. In fact, I learned how to read before I entered kindergarten and was scoring at a college level in reading on the yearly Catholic school exams, by 3rd grade.

I think there is a huge bias in the usual portrait of autistics, as tech-obsessed math whizzes. A lot of women on the spectrum are more interested in art and nature, but because it used to be acceptable for women to rely on men all their lives and not enter the workforce, nobody cared or noticed if a woman displayed autistic traits.

Im good at science but I suck at upper level math: Calc and beyond. I am pretty good at algebra and below. Im good at chem and bio. Hate physics.

Great at science, but maths has brought me near tears many times and I have had meltdowns due to maths.

Yup! Definately Yes, I was hoping there was someone else out there like me who is awesome at science, but maths lets you down. Maths I have this psychological block with and I get headachey and annoyed with it.

Contrary to the claims of most in this thread, I do not believe that it is possible to be good at science and bad at math. It simply is not possible to understand science beyond the shallowest popularizations without a thorough understanding of several branches of mathematics. At best, without math you can know some concepts, but you aren't really understanding those concepts at a very deep level since you have just been told the end conclusions without knowing the reasoning that went into them.

wow I can so relate to these :-p I grew up loving physics until they started mathematizing it at the undergraduate sophomore level I was able to tough it out until differential equations until I started abandoning hope and changing my major senior year :-p what really pissed me off though is I knew more physics than my professors yet I could barely do the math, and everyone continuously insisting that "physics /is/ math" :-p I'm not in physics anymore, but I still got all the equations & constants memorized :-p

contrary to your claim in this thread lol, physics (the foundation of science) is conceptual knowledge, mathematics is merely the application of physics and other sciences, without guidelines from the physical world, mathematics becomes abstract & meaningless, one can understand science perfectly without mathematical knowledge, one needs mathematical knowledge to apply their scientific knowledge (e.g. to make a prediction)

No, not at all. Mathematics is not the application of physics, quite the opposite in fact. And mathematics needs no guidelines from the physical world. I regularly use mathematics that has no immediately apparent physical analogue. Abstract algebra, topology, and analysis (the big three subjects for a basic foundation in mathematics) are highly abstract and often involve objects that cannot even exist in our physical universe.


You cannot understand epidemiology at all without a lot of mathematics, and you cannot understand projectile motion or general relativity or enzyme kinetics or predator-prey interactions or really anything

I rock at science, except for the formula part of chem. My teachers never let me forget it either. I guess I gave up chemistry. I'm really good at about every other science though. I'm even good at chemistry if I can get around the whole algebra thing. Love you I love lucy metaphor!

I thought science was just a way of motivating mathematics in a real-world setting.

Yes, I was bad at "math"and good at science. I pursued math for the love of science and as most of my difficulties were with arithmetic, I actually did well enough in upper mathematics to get a degree in it.

Algebra can be tedious but it has something called the order of operations. It's ok to write them down if you need to.

It goes

0. Parenthsis: Perform operations in these using the same order of operations first)
1. Multiply (this includes powers and square roots)
2. Divide
3. Add
4. Subtract.

And signs are always attached to the number on the right.

Example with no x: Simplify 4/2 + 5*(-1+3) +2^2 - sqrt(4)

0. Parenthesis: We have (-1+3). This is the same as (3-1), which is (4)

We have: 4/2 +5*(4) +2^2 - sqrt(4)

1.Multiply: 5*(4) is 20, 2^2 is 2*2 which is 4.and -sqrt(4) is -2

We have 4/2 + 20 + 4 - 2

2. Divide 4/2 is 2

We have 2 + 20 + 4 - 2

3. Add 2+20 + 4 is 26

We have 26 -2

4. Substract 26-2 is 24

So 4/2 + 5*(-1+3) +2^2 - sqrt(4) = 24


Also, in algebra you do to one side of an equations what you do to the other because changing one side of the equation is like changing a scale.

If you have a scale with 2 ten gram coins on one side and 4 five gram coins on the other, you have 20 grams of coins on both side.

If you add a 2 gram coin to one side, to keep the scale balanced you must do it to the other side.

I'm exactly the same way. I found that studying the humanities like psychology, sociology etc worked really well for me. There was a whole lot less math but I could use my analytical skills. I'm not in the spectrum I'm just quirky in my own way. I do have three kids who are in the spectrum, which is why I come here to try to understand stuff so I can help and connect to them better. There are soooo many things to study in college you might find the right nitch for you there.