Did anyone else have a weird experience with math? I could always do it in my head, really fast, get the answer, it’s correct… But then I couldn’t show my work or prove it, meaning it was useless. I’m curious if this is an ADHD thing? If so, does anyone know why?
This was why I fell off with math in high school and never got my mojo back. My mental math skills were above average but once discipline and showing work and “proofs” (especially proofs) came into play I was out
Part of the problem is a lot of math is taught as pure theory. Unless you’re one of the few people who finds math theory interesting on its own, it’s soul-crushingly boring to someone with ADHD and feels like you’re being taught how to waterboard yourself. It didn’t help that my math classes were invariably taught in the oldest building on campus which probably had a single functioning AC unit. Physical and mental torture.
I managed to struggle through it, but only because I found physics interesting and it forced me to learn the underlying math well enough that I could progress to the next level.
Are you… me?