Math Can Be Truly Painful, Brain Study Shows

Readers that enjoy this article should mosey on over to Chelsey's latest blog aptly named Scared of Math.

I have the same reaction here as I did to Chelsey's blog -- that the same test could be run for other anxieties, such as verbal and social.

I know from personal experience, before I taught full time (for a few years), that the anticipation of speaking in front of a group always gave me a headache. But after a few months of teaching, nearly all of the dread, and the headaches, went away.

The key point being that education researchers focus on math anxiety and ignore verbal and social anxieties, and probably other anxieties as well.

I'm glad that math anxiety has been addressed (which mainly helps girls), but the numbers of boys finishing high school and going to college has fallen dramatically over the past decade and I wonder if their learning process difficulties are being ignored.

that the anticipation of speaking in front of a group always gave me a headache.

For me having rolled off the farm, it really came down do a matter of lack of confidence.

I think the problem is a conceptual one. Teachers assign homework 'problems'. If we instead taught students to see them as math 'puzzles' then in your mind it completely changes the concept.

Drew K

Only for the stupid or mis-educated.

Correction: The so-called math stupid is criminally mis-educated.

I have not met ANYBODY basic math stupid, none.

I have met plenty of math teachers, wrong 5 ways from Sunday.

Even low IQ people are ok at the basics at their level.

People learning math right against the teaching in the present dumb down system.

That is the gentlest I can come up with.

No, real math is fun. The teaching is crap and poison.

No, am definitely NOT talking down to anybody at all.

I am willing to teach, no, willing to help you to teach yourself to basic math competency, if you are willing. No prerequsitie.

Whoever you are, you are basically smart, writing this note I am replying to. You have the tools, if the will is there.

See you later, and I would like to be proud of your accomplishment, that is yours.

best regards

History and geographic questions were a bigger pain to me...Seems very relative..

I agree with you. Math was always so fluid to me since it follows a set number of rules. Geography and History always seemed like massive games of memorization (sprinkled with a little bit of luck, and some wild guesses). I suppose it all breaks down to how a person is most comfortable learning?

No, word problems for me.

"If two trains left the station 15 minutes apart and one was traveling 45 MPH, and the other was trav....."

Curious, Phenix. Over a long time - I, for one - had absolutely no inkling, that your English Comprehension was lacking, none. So, by necessity, I need to assume, that the failure was on the other side, not in your brain. Experience of my (and your) life. Too many people labeled in a primitive fashion, uncaringly. Life, and people are more complex, for individual to be treated in a simplicistic fashion.

I want to give you an example really off the Bell curve, to illustrate, that assumptions are simply ass-sumptions, as the common understanding implies. I study biochemistry for good personal and family reasons, and benefit from it. A research MD happened to be the medical supervisor of some lockup mental facilities. Those, who allowed him to administer B12 shots to the inmates, saw 85% leaving within 3-4 months as functioning adults back to home. The shots cost a few $ per month. Question: were these people genuine nutcases, or simply deficient in this or that, personally, uniquely? I would say so, firmly. I like cheap solutions, as most turn out to be, once understanding is there

P.S.: It might be, that this thread is originated with Chelsea. In that case, during our acquintance I was a happy participant in agreements. In that case, associating math with pain is a maior misstep. As it associates two unrelated quantities. Coincidence is no correlation. If, that is the case, my offer in a previous note stands doubly, as I would be delighted to share my easy and ready use of math. Please consider it like music literacy, before knowing it.