Asperger's and the math stereotype

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I never have liked going to funerals, but that may be largely because about the only ones I go to are for family. To the best of my knowledge, I've been to only one funeral and two memorial services for people who weren't related to me. I did kind of go to other people's funerals as a kid, but I just sat around outside in a suit and tie until they were over.

I've never been good at math, I can do the basic stuff but not much else. I did okay in it up until high school but once they started introducing letters I sucked. I'd learn it and forget it almost instantly, I'm way worse now at math than when I was in school. Voc Rehab told me that I have a 'math disorder' whatever that means, I never thought I was much worse than anyone else but I guess its hard to compare yourself in public school in the inner city when so many other kids have learning disabilities.

We use to have a contest in 5th grade where we'd have get a sheet of 100 simple multiplication problems and you'd have like a certain amount of time and whoever completed the most one. Some kids finished the sheet but I barely could a third down most of the time. I'd zoom thru and then stare on like 8 x 7 for like a minute not being able to figure it out.

I'm awful at the calculation, but I'm great at the logic.
I understand the concept of equations, and I understand how to use them, but I cannot work the equations myself.

So... I guess that leaves me as being pretty good at programming and stuff.

When I was in junior high, the math teacher would have us do multiplication races. There would be two people at the board and she'd give us a multiplication to do, usually 3 digits times 3 digits or 3 digits times 4 digits. The first to get it correct stayed at the board while the other sat down and someone else took his/her place.

I did really well at these.

Mathematics was my worst subject in school, while I had ahead-of-the-curve skills in writing, art and music. I was so academically bright at most subjects except Maths that my teachers actually thought the exam results on the maths test for intake at my secondary school must be completely off for some reason, and they placed me in the top stream for Maths anyway -- until they realized I really did have a "dunce" score in that area, while near-gifted in all the others. Very odd but there you go.

I used to be very good at math when I was a kid, and I can still do basic math pretty easily. I do most of it in my head. Had to force myself to show my work because teachers thought I was cheating I'm a bit rusty when it comes to trig and algebra but that's from not using it for so many years. I got the highest mark in a few of my math classes in high school.

I have a complicated relationship with math I kind of like it kind of hate is


I have discalculia and I struggle a lot with math and often can figure it out. I need it broken down and explained because otherwise it just seems like some random concept someone pulled out of their brain that has no logic in reality.


As a kid I was a wiz at adding and subtracting I LOVED it!! !, it was con creat and I could do it with objects.


But when I get the rules and concepts I often enjoy math some but it takes a lot to get me there

I love Mathematics and always have - especially Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry and Primes but I don't profess to be good at it. I do what I do and I love it!

"mathematics is the only true universal language"

I was always a bit of a mathlete through grade school and business school.

Maths is something I have struggled with my entire life, however I am starting to grasp and understand it more now. It will never be something I'll find much enjoyment in but at least I don't despise it any more. I think that many people forget that those with Asperger's are individuals too, so maybe Maths is a strength within more Aspies than sports is, it shouldn't be assumed that all of us enjoy Maths and Sciences (because I don't!). English is a real strength of mine.

Well, in my case is partly true. I am very good at algebra, astronomy and geology.
... But I suck at geometry, physics and chemistry.
I am mediocre at biology.

My father was really good at math. More than I am. He still has papers full of numbers and counts in his room

I suck at math real hard. I've been diagnosed with dyscalculia. So yeah, having Asperger's doesn't automatically make someone a math wizard.

Speaking as an academic mathematician-in-training (PhD student), I've noticed that many mathematicians have Aspergers or would score very high on the AQ . I'm not the only mathematician/physicist with this observation.

But before I get further into this topic I should probably clarify some things.

One, being good at grade school math doesn't mean you're good at "real" math. By that I mean academic math. I was never good at mental arithmetic and lots of my mathematician friends secretly sighed in relief that they didn't have to deal with as many numbers anymore. We argue abstractly. We write proofs. We say A therefore B implies C ... QED. Very rarely does our work involve rote calculation (and if it does, most mathematicians will write programs to do it for them). So actually being good/bad at pre college math or being a crazy good/bad equation solver is not a good indicator of how good or bad of a mathematician you will be. I almost gave up on math because I was REALLY bad at pre college math. Only when I got to the mid high level of college math did I truly start to shine. The only reason I'm even in math is because my college REQUIRED taking math to graduate. So I'm actually saying, just because you were bad after (pre college) math doesn't mean you're actually bad at (academic) math!

Secondly, I'm not saying Aspergers implies skill in math. But rather the opposite. My experience is, if say x% of the general populace have Aspergers, then among mathematicians and hard scientists there is a more-than-x% representation. One might say there are more Aspies among mathematicians than would be expected. And of course none of this would be meaningful if there weren't a study showing that math/hard science students DO score a lot higher on the AQ test than other people. Our average AQ is lower than diagnosed Aspies but higher than the general populace. Which could mean Aspies actually are overrepresented among us. Which is why the stereotype exists. People see: mathematician is an Aspie! And that association is born. Then at some point they erroneously but understandably fall into: Aspie is a mathematician! And given how both groups (mathematicians and Aspies) are so poorly understood by mainstream society it doesn't surprise me the prevailing opinion about both isn't more nuanced, and, well, true.

But now I will put forth a more controversial hypothesis. I think being an Aspie CAN help with being a research mathematician. Math is... Hard. Let's just say. Lots of mathematicians I know are okay not having a life if they're working on a research problem they like. And the problem with math research is lots of times you don't know if you will get ANY results from it. It's not like other science research where you say: well we'll try this and see what happens. You get something either way. Maybe not the exact result you want but you can WRITE something. But if your math research question is: I want to find an equation that does xyz. Well sorry, it might not exist. Or if it does you might not have the skills or knowledge to find it. You're not interacting with anything concrete. There are usually no experiments to run. Just stacks of books. Your pencil. Your chalk board. And staring at abstract symbols hoping to make some sense of them. Do it too long and you can feel a bit bonkers, even; it's literally being out of touch with physical, concrete reality. Fermat's last theorem was finally proven (after centuries! And lots of people dedicating MANY YEARS of their lives to it) with techniques that couldn't have existed in some of these people's lifetimes. To think they spent so many years obsessively working on and chasing something they could not have obtained (but they still tried. Because there's NO WAY to know whether or not it could have been obtained!) And they spent countless days, alone, in front of a board or their writing material, slaving away not speaking to anyone for most of their waking hours. That takes GREAT tolerance for solitude and having an almost obsessive interest in math. I have personally spent many days doing nothing but staring at a board. And I would argue that most Aspies tolerate this much better than NTs. Math can isolating and having a special interest in it is a GREAT motivator. If you're a person who need copious people time, and have diverse interests, you should be prepared to put them down when push comes to shove. When it comes down to it, math can be about how much you are willing to give up in its name.

For the study, see "Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, Malesand Females, Scientists and Mathematicians"