WHY is MATH SO HARD?!

[Suki Wingy]

I hear ya too! Algebra was a major cause of stress in my life. 2 years in summer school later, I've passed.

[K9karen]

I feel your pain. I'm still lousy at any subject that involves logic. What's that say about me??? Still have a slight case of numerical dyslexia, spent 3 years in summer school for Algebras and geomety and still count on my fingers and hate the 9x table. John however uses the other side of his brain and is a math whiz. Gawd I hate him. On the bright side, give me a crossword puzzle, books, books, books. Love writing (ya think?) A private tutor helped me. He went so s-l-o-w but I finally aced it. Went from a 42 average to a 70 in less than a year and the teacher was so impressed, he gave me a B and I graduated. Those were the days. Thankfully I had a great supportr system. My parents never got mad, just helpful.

[Lady's Human]

I struggled with Algebra II and Trig. I got through the classes mainly through the assistance of my next door neighbor, who was a mathematician. My problems weren't with the formulae, they were with dealing with the abstract. Chemistry and Physics I did very well with, as you had concrete results as opposed to a mishmash of X's and Y's.

I have to disagree with the statement about females being worse at math than males, as the best person in dealing with pure math is our older sister. There are also female mathematicians scattered through history,most notably Ada Lovelace and Madame Curie (You can't separate the physics from the math) I personally think it has more to do with nurture and societal expectations than ability.