ADD and Math | ADHD Information
I'm pretty good in the basic maths like algebra and geometry, but awful at trig and calculus. I don't see the point of these I guess, they seem irrelevant and in fact I don't remember ever using them in "real life"I'd be another one of the "good at math" folks. But I have two math teachers for parents so it wasn't so much of a choice!
When I took the entrance tests for college I tested out of math and wouldn't have had to take it if I'd stuck with the college thing.
I remember there being certain concepts that I just sort of intuitively got in high school. I had absolutely no idea how they worked, but I'd get the right answers. Very weird!
I HATED math in high school / college. I'm the type of student who is able to just sit in class and absorb enough to pass the test with a C or B. If the subject interested me or if the course was computer related, I could easily ace with minimal effort.Math required a lot of homework and I hated any type of studying unless it was interesting. In college I purposfully chose Buisness/MIS instead of Computer Science as my major because the lack of a math requirement :)
Speaking of school, I grew up in the midwest and I remember when I took the ACT test, filling in C, C, C, C, C, in a certain section (can't remember if it was math or not) because I couldn't stand sitting in that room for a second longer.
[QUOTE=Mark Goode]I see nothing wrong with using a calculator on tests, assuming that the basics of division, multiplication etc
have already been covered and are understood. Calculators simply save time, and leave more time for the important stuff.[/quote]
No, you're right, Mark, it is great that they can use calculators on tests, particularly for the reasons you stated...it was actually more that I'm just jealous that I couldn't in school.
GypsyWomyn38428.4898958333I have a very good logical ability, but when it comes to math and/or anything to do with formulas, I am quite hopeless.
I always think I would have made a brilliant physicist, astronomer, seismologist, or geologist, if it wasn't for all the damn math.
Sometimes I can amaze myself and work out math in my head - like calculating the 15% tip at a restaurant - but I have to have my eyes closed and I sort of whisper the numbers out loud as I'm working them out. But it's tough - you can practically smell the smoke. LOL. And if someone talks to me while I'm doing it, I'm screwed.
I am not good at calculating in my head either... but I have a flair for Mathematics, especially geometry and algebra Same thing Mark said.
I cant even calculate a tip when I go out to eat.
In addition to add, I also have a very high math aptitude - skipping a year when i was in school and scoring in the top 5 percent on the math section of the SAT - without doing much math homework at all or even attending class regularly. I didn't pursue my mathematics ability in my career as much as i wish i had.
However, i have noticed that some on this board have mentioned technical careers and several of the famous dead add people also had math ability.
I wonder if there is a connection between math ability and add ...
[QUOTE=yellowdog]I wonder if there is a connection between math ability and add ...[/QUOTE]
If there is, I definitely don't have ADD.
Mark -
[QUOTE=Mark Goode][QUOTE=yellowdog]I wonder if there is a connection between math ability and add ...[/QUOTE]
If there is, I definitely don't have ADD.
Mark -
[/QUOTE]
Oh, it was just a thought - but, apparently unrelated.
I have a very sharp logical sence, and are rather good at mathematics. I believe it have something to do with the type of ADD i have... I'm not that hyper, or angry... normally.
When I was attempting my computer science degree they threw some maths at me which were (to me at least) pretty heavy. I found some stuff easy, predicate logic, semantic tableaux and the like. Proving stuff like infinity is greater than itself and that unicorns are purple was fun. I can also impress people with phrases like 'non-deterministic finite automata', which makes me sound vaguely mathematical..
But the truth is that as the complexity of the maths increased my ability to follow the reasoning became increasingly difficult - I simply couldn't hold the required amount of information in my head to follow through the problem, and trying to learn from books was simply impossible. It was problems with maths that made me realise that I could not complete my degree.
I can't work out restaurant tips either 
Mark -
hmmmm tipping in a restaurant .... that's what the pocket calculator is for.
Unless, of course you're cheap and tip 10% or generous and double that at 20%. 
Which brings something to mind. If I'm not mistaken, today students (not speaking of college) are allowed to use a calculator on tests. That seems so unfair, since when I was in school, when they didn't even have pocket computers, we had to do all our math on paper or in our head.
And the math isn't any harder now than it was then. GypsyWomyn38427.6107175926[QUOTE=GypsyWomyn]
Which brings something to mind. If I'm not mistaken, today students (not speaking of college) are allowed to use a calculator on tests. That seems so unfair, since when I was in school, when they didn't even have pocket computers, we had to do all our math on paper or in our head. And the math isn't any harder now than it was then. [/QUOTE]
I see nothing wrong with using a calculator on tests, assuming that the basics of division, multiplication etc have already been covered and are understood. Calculators simply save time, and leave more time for the important stuff.
When I was attempting my degree, I was pleased to find that amongst all the junior rocket scientists I shared classes with, none of them had a clue about logarithms. I was using log tables when I was 12!
Mark -
I think a lot of intelligent people get diagnosed w/ ADD. The need for a mental challenge/stimulation increases, and everyone can get bored...some people faster than others. But I have also read that many ADDers have learning disabilities.
I have always been good at math, but I also have the very logical and analytical mindset... My current job is in IT/telecom, so it's technical.
If I understood the math work I was doing, I would breeze though it really fast...no problem. But some of the harder word problems, very time/concentration itensive equations, etc...I had a really hard time with because I couldn't stay focused on them.
I used to get points taken off for not showing all my work (I didn't need to for myself, and it took up more time to write it out!) and for jumping ahead in the book (like I would be using equations we hadn't gotten to yet, but I'd have read thru the book because I was bored-or I'd do all the work on my syllabus the day I got it).
I scored in the 98th percentile on my math aptitude tests (when I was diagnosed w/ ADHD) but yet I wasn't going to my classes at the time (even though I was doing very well in Advanced Math)I certainly attribute my odd relationship to logic and mathematics to my odd style of learning. But yes, there are also times where if my ADHD has recently been triggered then I am useless and stumble over the easiest problems.
Like Taag Man I have a passion for geometry and algebra. If I could get a handle on time management and concentration I would love to go into architectural engineering.
Thats my two cents :)
I majored in school natural science with big emphisis on math and did
fairly but I cant remember a thing now...3 years later and I have theory I
only lurn and remember things I use. And when I say nothing..... I mean
nothing like nothing stuck _zero.
Well I don't need it really but really sad not to be able to help someone
who comes looking for help that you should be able to help and have felt
dumb because of it.