I thought some Aspies were extremely good at math, econ., etc. but I read that people on the spectrum struggle with these because they think in pictures. Is that a myth? If autistics do tend to find difficulty in math and similar disciplines because of their thinking process, how do some overcome it and do well? Or do all Aspies struggle in math, etc.?
...but I read that people on the spectrum snuggle with these because they think in pictures.
Totally off-topic, but I swear that's what I read the first time around.
And with that, I'm going to bed.
And then there are those that seem to be mediocre in both. I'm a winner!
I'm terrible with math, but I'm very good with words and geometry.
I don't think that you cannot learn math visually, though that is not how it is usually taught. Simple calculation is boring, but nice theorems and proofs can be seen (at least I picture them). And there are areas of math where you do need to see: topology, for instance.
Math is a very fine thing. Some people are good with it, some aren't. Some are fantastic with certain types of math but not in others. Some just seem to "know" the answers and aren't sure how they got there. Other people need to learn a process. Sometimes the method being employed to learn it makes a big difference.
My hypothesis:
When Asperger described his "little professors", he had happened to have had a population that was good at mathematics--I would say that his sampling method probably was at fault, he ended up seeking out the "little professors" and then trying to derive a general model from that. Thus, his, and most early descriptions noted this, if not as a diagnostic trait, at least as a common one.
Now, we throw in mindlessness, which is the practice of running in mental autopilot, applying rules of thumb and templates to handle all decision making, or as much as possible. Mindlessness is the most common state of mind for most people. Mindfulness is the uncommon state of mind. When dealing with AS, this means that a fixed checklist of traits becomes the sole template, ignoring the reality of real diversity within AS. Combine mindlessness with Asperger's observation, and that's how we get the "good at math" belief.
. I could skip just about every second step but rather took exception about being marked wrong when I arrived at the correct answer by perfectly valid means.
I dont blame you. I felt the same way when my art teachers tried to break me of drawing things exactly like they should be instead of sketching them out in big ovals first. I felt that as long as the result was an accurate drawing, why try to make me do it a different way that seemed too hard and less efficient. I guess the teachers were trying to teach us a particular method rather than answers was the point. I nearly failed Algebra in 9th grade. But in college I got an A in it, because they just gave you some slides to study by yourself at your own pace. Doing it alone made a huge difference for me.
I think visual thinking can sometimes be helpful in math, sometimes not. In my case, I can...see how something would work in my head, like a shape rotation...but I can't connect it well to the formula I've been given for it. I also don't like most math very much. It's a useful tool, but it's not fun or interesting (to me) in its own right.
I actually enjoyed Math for once when I was learning how to create/program a game on a TI-82 calculator. I was actually decent with the Logic, but very slow and baffled by the Math needed (it really got in the way for me.) Eventually I decided it was just not worth the effort anymore. Because I knew anyone actually good at Math would have completed the project in about 1/10th the time I took to complete it... and I never finished it to begin with.
I am good at basic math, the fundementals, but horrible at algebra.
I am awful at math and just got buy in high-school University math (college is below it) I read here that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia, which is a form of dyslexia relating to math. I always thought in some way because I cannot do math at all and when I see it, it is jumbled in my brain and I can't do it, but can memorize movie facts etc that it had to do with dyslexia or something. I can read and write extremely well, so that's why I wasn't sure about it.
silky, the thing that turned me off maths a bit even before all the theory stuff was when we had to do all these steps to solve problems. I could skip just about every second step but rather took exception about being marked wrong when I arrived at the correct answer by perfectly valid means.
My mother was a math teacher, so she explained to me that she had to see every step to make sure those were right. I think it was like each step, including the answer was the same weight for a grade.
Now that I'm a teacher, I finally understand what they were trying to do. I tell my driving students that I am drilling them on doing things the exact proper way while we are going a slow speed so they will get good at those skills before they get to high speed when they'll really need them. I suppose the math (and art?) teachers felt like our natural way wouldn't work for a much harder challenge down the road. Their job was to teach not the answer but how to find the answer. It still bugs me though, in my own little stubborn way. :-)
I have always had an obsession with numbers-- but that never translated into being good at math. It's hard to explain but numbers are "living things" to me that are vibrant and have colors and personalities.
I also memorize strings of numbers very easily, can do a fair degree of sums in my head, but alas this wasn't of much use in school
. I barely passed my math classes, and could never grasp the concepts beyond basic operations.
I've always done math visually in my head... usually I picture little pink sideways ovals (like the ovals you fill in with a #2 pencil on tests) against a black background. So if you said to figure out 3 x 7 (I was never able to memorize multiplication tables), I picture it like this:
O O O O O O O O O
O O O O O O O O O
O O O
I visualize dots in the patterns that are on dice. It's rather slow. But I was taught those patterns as a small child. They were posted in a row above the blackboard in school.
I found a math curriculum from another country that teaches all math concepts visually first, with an illustration or diagram, even in higher levels. I've been trying to re-teach myself with this line of books. For instance I never understood why when fractions are divided by fractions you multiply the inverse. This booked illustrated it first with a picture and it instantly clicked in my mind. So maybe I am visual that way.