Who has aspergers/autism here, who are good/bad at maths?
SoftKitty
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Joined: 10 Oct 2012
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 581
Location: Prague, Czech republic
OMG!! ! Yes, someone please help with this problem. I understand easily, very complicated concepts my class mates and even my professors don't (I'm not diagnosed with anything, but am 99% sure I at least have some sort of executive function deficit). I can derive. I can integrate. Understanding the concepts of physics is easy! Gravity, relativity, quantum physics, all very easy to visualize and understand. I can do math puzzles, riddles, and logic puzzles. Put me up against others in a "math race" I win. Easy. Ask me what time it will be 10 hours from now? I don't know. I need some paper and pencil and maybe a calculator to figure it out. Change of a $10.00? ?????. These simple math applications have escaped me throughout my life.
Now in grad school, I feel really dumb when I have to calculate concentrations for my laboratory experiments. Very simple calculations, but they are application of math that I have a problem with. So frustrating. I felt, very dumb, frustrated, and inadequate. Now that I'm realizing it may just be how I process information, I'm thinking of work arounds, like building calculation tables in excel (or another spreadsheet software) to do the calculations for me. I love building calculation tables. Those are fun. Very precise, logical, they make sense.
Any other ideas on how to compensate for the lack of ability to do what others seem to do very effortlessly would be appreciated.
Aspergers. Poor at math, because of dyscalculia (number-blindness) and right/left+up/down confusion.
I understand the logic of it, but I have difficulty reading and remembering numbers. I have to rely on the memory of how their names sound. Slow method. Doesn´t get me far.
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Femaline
Special Interest: Beethoven
1.) What concepts of maths do you struggle with?
Ironically the basic math - division and multiplication in my head. I still count on fingers. Algebra mainly.
2.) What usually makes you get the wrong answer i.e. silly mistakes?
Yea, silly mistakes usually.
3.) Do you understand maths but have problems applying?
I understand maths and don't have issues applying - I just had bad teachers and poor schooling and therefore a poor grounding in maths which is needed to master it at a high level.
4.) Do you need the logic explained to understand?
I like learning math on my own - I hate when people try and show me how to do something math-related. To understand the math I do research into how its done or have someone demonstrate, but the former is more effective.
5.) Can you understand how all logic apply in questions?
I'm pretty good at logic I think - sometimes too good. On occasion there's going to be a question like "Bob has more apples than Sam. Sam is 32 years old. Find Bob's age." but those are generally towards the back of the paper and coincidentally not worth much.
6.) What usually throws you off?
Basic math errors.
Calculating algebraic equations outside of f(x) = format
7.) Your problems with maths in general?
Messing up an easy calculation (divided or multiplied by the wrong thing or made negative/positive). Much helped by calculators (and doing geometry rather than algebra).
tl;dr good at geo, stat and calc. crap at algebra due to crap teachers.
Asperger's, and was good at math to a degree. In college I did very well at math under the end of calculus (I think it was 3 dimensional calculus), and then I just couldn't get it anymore. Fortunately I didn't have to do any more! I am pretty at doing certain calculations in my head (arithmetic), but that's it. I've been very successful academically otherwise (I've got a professional degree), but was only (self) diagnosed recently.
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Nothing witty here...
randomeu
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Joined: 30 May 2016
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Posts: 628
Location: In the wonderful world of i dont know
im excellent at maths, although ive not gone into it for a degree or any qualification choice. i got almost max marks on both papers during my GCSE's without revising (i guess americans call it studying), but the thing is that i am HORRIBLE at division, during my course after my gcse's (a level 3 Extended diploma in IT) we did a sort of recap to bring english and maths skills back (Since we were all out of practice) haha the teacher asked after i said i couldn't do division "okay so what did you get in your maths gcse and how are you doing in the retake class?" and i said "oh no i passed it first time, almost max marks" and he said "really?....how?......okay....well its like this" and i still have no idea how to divide haha. just never sinks in.
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AQ score: 45
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 174 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 30 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)
Officially diagnosed 30th june 2017
Funny you should say that, because as I use maths in my day-to-day life these days I notice it's my division ability that's suffered the most over time.
I tried quite hard at maths and was quite capable. I was OK. I could handle the maths of undergraduate theoretical physics for a while - but not for long. I can generally grasp logical concepts of mathematics well but am just very slow with numbers. I have a now clinically proven working memory weakness for numbers, so my arithmetic is just awful.
randomeu
Veteran
Joined: 30 May 2016
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Posts: 628
Location: In the wonderful world of i dont know
I tried quite hard at maths and was quite capable. I was OK. I could handle the maths of undergraduate theoretical physics for a while - but not for long. I can generally grasp logical concepts of mathematics well but am just very slow with numbers. I have a now clinically proven working memory weakness for numbers, so my arithmetic is just awful.
whats funny is, i can do most things (except division of course) yet i can't make change with money.....weird.
_________________
AQ score: 45
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 174 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 30 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)
Officially diagnosed 30th june 2017
I'm neither good nor bad at maths. So I will just answer both sets of questions.
1.) What concepts of maths do you struggle with?
The concept I struggle with the most is the fact that the answer must always be perfect. I also struggle with math, like advanced calculus, that borrows properties from other maths. I remember when I was trying to learn the Taylor Series over a year ago, but to do so, I had to learn advanced polynomials. I am more rational than most individuals I know though and can argue very well. Math is the most concentrated form of logic available though, sometimes I wonder if I had better teachers and learning it in school, i would have done better. I excelled at algebra, but I remember being 15, I was under the impression i sucked at math for some reason, so I stopped trying at it. It is probably my biggest regret when I was in high school.
2.) What usually makes you get the wrong answer i.e. silly mistakes?
I think I can speed through each lesson, when I try to learn it on my own. I don't know why I do this for math in particular since other subjects come so easy to me.
3.) Do you understand maths but have problems applying?
I am good at statistical/quantitative reasoning and analysis. Hell, I pretty much study it at uni. Pretty much the only area at math I am confident in.
4.) Do you need the logic explained to understand?
No, I get mathematical reasoning, I am just not good at some of it.
5.) Can you understand how all logic apply in questions?
Very vaguely. So no, not all of it.
6.) What usually throws you off?
"Those weird symbolz : ( "
7.) Your problems with maths in general?
I had poor mathematical learning, growing up. I actually remember one day, in high school, I went to get help with my homework from a teacher and he straight up said "Yeah sorry, I don't get paid enough for that" LOL
WHY I'M GOOD AT MATH QUESTIONS:
Could you explain to why and how you understand it?
I understand it because it interests me to some degree. Especially statistical/numerical analysis. Visual analysis with graphs/plots are things I do in my major. I am really good at it and have done presentations at my school for some classes. I like how the data can almost tell a story and how it can reflect trouble.
And if its any help, why do you think some people on the spectrum don't understand it?
They probably don't understand it because the foundation of math is following theorem rigor via numbers. A lot of aspies who are extremely good at math seem to learn it, not from a quantitative aspect, but from a visual stance. I know one aspie who was good at times table, but they didn't do much reasoning, and could simply remember the format of the multiplication line and answer within their heads.
I actually have used similar tactics when in math based classes. I had to take a couple accounting and a finance class this past school year. I remember I would abuse my visual memory to take pics of the algebraic equations and those statements and keep them stored within my own mind prior.
Also with every lesson and discipline represented in math, each area represents its own reasoning. So you will see people good at some of it and others other parts of it.
2.) What usually makes you get the wrong answer i.e. silly mistakes?
3.) Do you understand maths but have problems applying?
4.) Do you need the logic explained to understand?
5.) Can you understand how all logic apply in questions?
6.) What usually throws you off?
7.) Your problems with maths in general?
1. Almost any math that goes beyond what i can do on my fingers. This includes counting, counting past ten is hard.
2. Just trying to do the math will get me a wrong answer, even if i show all my work and try really hard, the answer may be wrong
3. I have difficulty understanding and applying. Unless its explained through pictures or objects.
4. I need visual aids, without them, math is just gibberish.
5. Again, i can understand any math as long as a i have a visual aid, if i can see it, it makes sense.
6. Language and, well i dont know how to explain it, i just dont get it. I also forget what i did in a problem easily.
7. Oh yeah. But unlike most autistics, simple algebra is ok for me.
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Obsessing over Sonic the Hedgehog since 2009
Diagnosed with Aspergers' syndrome in 2012.
Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 severity without intellectual disability and without language impairment in 2015.
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I've done OK at math when I apply myself (which, regrettably, wasn't all that often in school). In high school, I was surprised to see I actually got decent scores on my SAT in that area - especially since I had not done particularly well in school and had done nothing at all to prepare for the exam. I had repeated Algebra 1, and never went further than Geometry. As I recall, many of the questions were really just logic questions, not "how do you solve this in a detailed way" sorts of questions.
Where my weak executive function shows up is my near inability to do complex problems in my head. My working memory is poor, so any problem that requires maintaining a mental bookmark to solve overloads my brain. I do somewhat better if I can work it out on paper, and maybe have a little extra time.
Interestingly, as an autistic male, I've always had a strength in writing and, to a lesser degree, speaking. I'm full of words, and writing comes naturally to me.
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