Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Writer Brain or Math Brain?

When I was growing up (which seems like the Dark Ages compared to today's technology) my favorite subjects were also the same ones I received the best grades in: Reading, Spelling, Penmanship, Literature, English Grammar. And although subjects like History and Geography were also "reading" subjects, I didn't like them at all. The textbooks were boring and the tests were nothing more than memorizing a bunch of facts that I've never needed in my life (except maybe knowing what happened in 1492 and 1776).

Those are the same feelings I have about the math subjects I was forced to (attempted to) learn. After adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, I've never needed to know what an Algebraic Algorithms isAlthough, I did enjoy geometry.All those angles and things. THAT I understood, but start talking about x, y and z and my eyes glaze over and my mind shuts down. 

I posted a new math cartoon on the right column. I thought it was especially appropriate since it includes both math and books! I sent it to my math-philosophy son, Mark. Yes, he thought it was funny, especially since he knows his mother (that would be me!) is very much "math challenged." In his return e-mail, he sent the one below:




Oh my gosh! That was so me in grade school with those idiotic word problems. Aaarrrgggg! That's probably when I began having migraine headaches, and they've lasted all my life!


 *Welcome to my newest follower, Bish. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! Thank you! *




How about you? Do you have the writer brain or the math brain....or is it possible to have both??




"Math: The only place where a person can buy 80 watermelons without anyone thinking they're a weirdo." -- Unknown

18 comments:

  1. Math has always been my weakest subject. But I guess I have an excuse. I'm mildly dyslexic and I have this tendency to flip numbers. So, even if I know the method for solving a problem (say long division)anywhere along the line I could transpose two numbers and get the wrong answer. Very frustrating all through school. To this day I don't know my times tables as numbers simply do not stay in my head.

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  2. I always had a problem with story problems too! When my daughters were teens sometimes their reasons/arguments for wanting to do something I didn't want them to do, sounded like story problems to me. Just a lot of Blah, blah, blah!

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  3. I am so NOT a fan of math. Give me a good book any day.

    Pat
    Critter Alley

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  4. Hi Becky! I love this, I have always HATED math. Except geometry, I liked that and my experience was the same as yours.

    By the way, I saw the title of your memoir on the side of the page and got such a big smile from it, what a great title! I hope your writing is going well, I can't wait to read the book. :)

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  5. Oh Ditto, Ditto here Becky...same for me!

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  6. Just carry the one and always round up! That's the extent of my math advice! :)

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  7. Funny stuffs, BECKY!
    So many times I have commented on my blog(s) about how utterly math-challenged I am that one could probably make a good argument for that being the primary topic of my blog(s).

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  8. Oh, this is so like me Becky! Like you I liked all the subjects that you did. Penmanship - gosh, you don't hear that word very much these days, do you?! I used to love Composition (think they call it essays these days!). But, I am so dyslexic when it comes to figures. I am hopeless at it, and I really appreciated your two little cartoons! When they used to say, if it takes two men to dig a hole ten foot wide, how many men would it take to dig, etc etc. My mind just used to go a total blank, and who the heck cares anyway!!! We are as one my friend. LOL!!

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  9. Math is not my strong suit.
    Happy Weekend!

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  10. That cartoon is hilarious!

    I used to have both. Believe it or not, I was in AP math classes for three out of four years. Trigonometry was the death of me. Last math class I took.

    I have gladly surrendered to my writer brain. :)

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  11. At the risk of alienating readers and writers...I have an affinity for math. It's like a puzzle. I even spent a few years teaching it to freshmen, and assisting at-risk kids with their algebra.

    History and geography, though...not my cups of tea. The first is boring, and the other virtually impossible for me to commit to memory. I am terrible with directions, and couldn't find my way out of a wet paper bag.

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  12. Each day, I realize we have more and more in common. Math and I are bitter enemies.

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  13. Algebra was my downfall, and geometry was much easier for me.

    I have a math-loving daughter, she gets all that stuff. Do you think she was switched at birth? :)

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  14. I'm actually better at maths than at writing. And somehow, I'm a writer. Hmm, that being said, I have a lot of maths in my books. Grammar makes no sense to me but I'm awesome at plotting out great stories--is that because of maths?

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  15. Hey everyone, thanks for all your comments! I love learning about the similarities and differences between us all.

    I've always professed that the Math Gene in my family only goes to the males and/or skips a generation! My dad was a math, computer engineer when computers were the size of a room. Before that he taught kinetics in college. My brother "got" math, and both my sons "get" math and computers. Youngest son, Mark, knows all kinds of math I've never even heard of....

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  16. Math, blech~! Letters? Scramble them up and I will give you a word.

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  17. Hi Linda! Thanks...and I know you certainly would make a story from any word!

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