i thought i was losing my mind, or going senile (mind you, i'm only 33), or had some sort of organic brain syndrome, or something. i've always had problems with basic math, but i'm great with word problems, logic problems, and proofs.... i just constantly get numbers reversed and i'm absolutely horrible at arithmetic.
i know i'm not stupid by any stretch... i was always in the gifted classes, supposedly i have a very high iq (but i don't really know how accurate those tests are), and started college early, but lately i've been feeling like i'm totally losing it. my new temp job requires a lot of data entry and have to constantly recheck my work.... breaking down long strings of numbers into groups of three and four at a time, and saying them aloud. thankfully, it's just for a few weeks.
oh, one other question.... does the inability to keep track while counting things have anything to do with this condition? that is one of my worst problems.
Location: Texas USA Posts: 6101 Joined: 2008-05-25
6/26/10
Hi jellokatt,
I'm so glad to meet you here. I'll start with your last question. Not everyone here will have 'all' symptoms. I do loose count sometimes,... not usually with just plain 'counting', but more with when I'm counting 'by' some number in order to do multiplication or division, since I don't know my multiplication tables. This happens when I'm in a 'loud' environment with music with 'words' or maybe with a person who interrupts me with a question or rushing me.
I'm also (like yourself) good at logic and proofs. I passed my High School Algebra One tests by 'guessing' the answer, then doing 'proofs' until one came out the same as my answer. I got an A in Logic last year in college. And on 'word problems' in math,... me too! I'm good at word problems. Whenever it's something that I can draw a picture of and figure it out with Logic, I can actually 'beat' the math people, as they seem to think that word problems make things more 'difficult'. I'm good at arithmetic,... just very slow,... as just like you, I can only handle two or three digits at a time, since I can't remember numbers 'in my head'. I had a job for 10 years that required data entry of phone numbers (10 digits) and Transfer Control Numbers (10 digits). I was accurate, as I'm very conscientious, but I could never excel at my 'handling time', because there was just no way for me to 'rush', and asking people to repeat (when they'd said the numbers too fast for me to begin with) further slowed my handling time. So, I feel for you, but I know you'll get through that job with any kind of 'understanding' at all from your employers.
Do you happen to also be good at foreign languages? Welcome to the forum. - jus'
thanks for the feedback! it's nice to meet you as well.
i supposedly have an aptitude for language, but i haven't really taken any past high school. my accent is atrocious, but i can kind of figure out what people are saying in a lot of different languages(especially romance languages), most of the time. i barely remember any of it though (french, that is).
i'm really not all that drawn to language or art though. i tend to like biology a lot, and i'm really interested in physics, though i never really studied it since i didn't have the math background... i'm terrible at memorizing formulas. i just sort of have to "understand" my way to an answer. in geometry, my proofs were always many lines longer than they needed to be since i would always forget some rule or something, and just figure it out... that sort of thing.
and i totally feel you on the asking people to repeat what they've said. a lot of times, people who don't know me very well give me a "are you stupid?" look, but people who have been around me for a bit just think i'm sort of flighty or something.
as far as the counting thing is concerned, for me, it's just basic counting. for example, anytime we're playing risk, and counting out the pieces to set up, or taking armies away during a battle, i inevitably let one of my friends just take away the armies for me.... it's either i trust them not to cheat, or it takes forever.
oh, and the "guessing" the answer thing.... i think i know what you mean. ive been given fairly complex brain teasers involving math, and just sort of had the answer pop into my head, but have no idea how i got there.... it was almost a subconscious/instinctual sort of thing. i mean, i do have to sit there and try to visualize the problem, but then the answer just appears without any sort of regular calculations on a conscious level... is that the sort of thing you're talking about?
(i should point out though, that when i actually TRY to do the calculations, i almost always get it wrong)
Edited by jellokatt on June 26 2010 03:41 PM
Location: Texas USA Posts: 6101 Joined: 2008-05-25
6/26/10
Well, when I'm guessing something like 'proportions' of something, I'm the way that you say you are. For example, if I have two 'beiges', one on the wall, and the other in a paint bucket, if I need to adjust the color of the one in the bucket to match the wal (the wall being 'bluer')l, I can do that intuitively,... a few drops of yellow and voila! they match.
But actually, in that Algebra One class in High School, what happened was that we were only working with 'whole numbers'. Since there were no fractions or decimals, I would just 'pick a number' that I'd think might be the answer. Then I'd work the 'proofs' to see if I'd picked the right number for the answer. The 'proof' wasn't so long or complicated, as it was just Algebra One in High School, but sometimes I'd have to do it five times (guessing higher or else lower for my next answer) before I'd say, "Oh look! I guess the right answer!" and write it down, and go on to the next problem. Those tests only had about 8 problems on them, so between the tests and doing all my homework, I passed.
You haven't told us if you finished college or are still in classes, your gender, or location,... but I'll guess that you haven't finished your bachelors, 'male', and are in the US? I like physics, too, and it's just a shame that there isn't a 'practical applications' physics course for dyscalculics, as we do often have a 'feel' for this subject. So, how close did I come to your 'personal info'? Or, would you rather that I delete my 'guesses' and just continue normal posting? - jus'
well, i only have my associates in business (i partied a bit too much in real school, so i eventually just went to a community college and just got a "marketable" degree). i'm still taking some online courses in database administration, but i'm working full time. i'm 33, female, and in the u.s.... so somewhat accurate i suppose :-)
Location: Texas USA Posts: 6101 Joined: 2008-05-25
6/30/10
That's outstanding that you've been able to get an associates in business, and yes, that should allow you to actually make some money.
When I said that I would 'guess' the answer, sometimes even five times, and work the 'proof' until I found the right answer, perhaps I should have explained that I did this because I could not 'work' the algebra problem. My arithmetic is accurate, but I'd only learned to work the 'proof' not the 'algebra problem', hence my unique, and very inefficient method of passing a test. - jus'
