I do end up using my excellent language skills more than my awful math skills, but I don’t know how I got by without the latter for so many years.

Wondering “what are the steps to this math problem” has been replaced with translating the problem into an equation and solving. I still can’t remember how to calculate percentages into and from various forms, but I can have an equation together in seconds that doesn’t care about pre-fab formulas.

It’s also interesting what sort of sites I stumble on to by searching for “bad at math.”

But of course, you don’t only have one or the other. It’s possible to be both verbally and quantitatively skilled. And really, what good is it if you can say a lot of pretty words strung together in a row but are not, as you say, a “logical thinker”? The most effective communication is both rhetorically appealing and analytically rigorous. I’m going to skip the stupid list math teachers give of answers to, “When are we ever going to need to use this?!” You know what is on that list.

Our posts here on this topic were never arguing, “Forget about literature, study only calculus and topology.” We’ve been arguing that society should appreciate both, and that all kinds of intellectual pursuits should be encouraged. Far too often, students in STEM fields are told they need to study the humanities in order to be “well-rounded,” while humanities students can easily wiggle out of any moderately quantitative course requirements they might sometimes face.

But that’s really the point that was made in the post above, so if you actually read it, I’m not telling you anything new. Was there something in the post that didn’t make sense to you, something you’d like us to explain further?

I came here looking for possible reasons to modify my stance, however, so if I’m missing something…

So I started thinking “Am I stupid or something?” I’ll be starting college on January. But I’ve like forgotten everything I’ve studied before. And I’m feeling really HOPELESS right now. I don’t really know if I’m really stupid or I just didn’t put much effort in maths. And the thing is I’m really not interested in maths.

I have no problem with writing though. I’d rather write thousands of words of essay rather than doing math problems.

I announce I’m a writer, and I get a sizeable subset of folks who puff up, proclaim their inability to focus on a book for more than thirty seconds,boast that English was their worst subject, and their writing sucks in all ways. As if this is a badge of honor.

It’s not just mathematical ignorance that’s celebrated in this country. It’s all ignorance.

Until adulthood, that is, and I’ve spent years trying to catch up as well as I can. Many important questions just aren’t approachable without math. So I think it’s important to identify kids with perceptual handicaps and make sure they don’t fall through the cracks. Because weakness in math does make me stupid in areas where I should be smart.