Why is it hard for some people to understand math yet so easy for others?

Question

Please respond soon. It's an assignment for school. Due on August 31, 2007.

"There are three types of math students. The ones who CAN count, and the ones that just CAN'T."

Answer 1

Albert Einstein's wife had to be sure he was dressed for work or he would head out without his pants. I don't think anyone would challenge his intellect so I chose him to illustrate my point.

IMO we are all wired differently. Some are great while most are mediocre. I fall into that mediocre status. I can remember to dress myself, feed myself, go to the bathroom in time and so forth. With very few exceptions we all have essentially the same capacity for intellect but in some it is more concentrated in one area than in another. You don't find great scientists, great musicians, great artists and great leaders all occupying the same body very often. When you do, a name like Da Vinci lives forever.

In my opinion, the greater the person’s intellect the greater their tunnel vision will be. I can use myself as an example. I am able to write reasonably well, I am literate in science, can handle most real life mathematical problems and have been accused of being a good engineer in spite of no degree. As for music or art, I can barely play a radio and have never figured out what a paint brush was for unless it was being used to paint a house.

Bottom line, I think we are just wired differently enough that once or twice in a century we have some very notable talent step forward in each of countless academic disciplines. The downside is that talents like these may suffer from an inability to dress themselves or determine when they need a shower.

I think it is safe to say any answer to your question will be 99% opinion. We just don't know enough about the human brain to have any definitive answers for questions like yours.

Your question is very interesting, almost philosophical in nature. One gold star for you.

Answer 2

I am glad you asked this question and I am looking forward to reading some of the responses since I was going to ask the same thing (not for an assignment). I guess it just depends on how people look at information and what they do with that information. Some people just get it and I want to say it has something to do with their educational background and upbringing, but I know that is not true. I am the youngest of two and I grew up with an older sister in the same environment. You would be amazed how different the two us are. I completely get school and she does not. I keep trying to figure out why but I guess it is just how our brains developed.

What is the last type of math student?

Answer 3

some students don't feel the need or desire to learn about math. so their minds just wonder. in math, you're basically listening attentively to the teacher for like maybe 30 minutes and then you will do some exercises/math problems on your own. thos students who weren't paying attention because it was just so boring listening to the teacher and they wanna show off and pass notes so they don't get what to do when they're handed a math assignment to do.
the teachers gotta make things more fun and spontaneous so the kids stay in tuned. ya know?
like playing jenga while solving math problems is fun.
or any other game.
and working in groups is a hit or a miss.
kids will chat with eachother about things other than math and keep talking about how good the movie superbad was or they'll get into an argument because they can't work well together.
or they can actuallt help eachother out and help the ones who don't get it understand it better by explaining and demonstrating what they know to help those kids get better at math and work as a team.
teachers should start awardign students for their hard work and efforts IF they cooperate. that way students will try to compete to get better at math and want learn more and pay more attention and ask more questions untill they understand it.

Answer 4

Because most people just dont care, like me. Your math is in question, three types of math students? I only see two listed, the third is me. Basic math is enough for most of the population. I can add/subtract, multiply/divide, figure out percentages and understand basic algebra. Unless Im trying to prove or discredit Fermats Last Theorem, Ill be just fine. If you expect to be a great scientist then mathematics should be a high priority.

Answer 5

Math Is So Easy

Answer 6

I honestly think it is because of the teachers, when my daughter was young a group of her class mates had a terrible time with math. After questioning the students, it was found that some of the prior teachers taught fundemental of math and this on didn't. So in other words, they didn't get the basics which start them out.

Answer 7

I believe that parents influence their kids a lot. Without my dad, I wouldn't be nearly as good as math as I am right now. It also depends on the environment that kids grow up in and how easily they can find information (aka parents or computer). Talent also makes up part of it as kids are just plain smart at math.

Answer 8

You use different parts of the brain for many things and some people just have a well developed part of the brain for solving problems in math.

Answer 9

okay, i'll give you idea. here is a word of wisdom that i can give you related to the topic of your question:

if a person who takes a thing easy where others find it difficult, it is a talent.
it simply means every person have their own interest...it depends on the skill of the person or if he/she wants to. just like what i have said before, because of interest and talent.

Answer 10

People have different learning styles, audio, kinasthetic and visual.

Usually maths is taught visually, if you are not a visual learner then you will find math harder, if you are a visual learner then you will find math easier.