Why Math Hits People Differently

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The bigger factor controlling how difficult math feels for most students in classrooms is that they’re not all starting from the same place. The kids who seem the brightest sometimes they are, but a lot of the time.

It’s really coming from the fact that they have mastered the prerequisites. So they’re really prepared for what it is that they’re being asked to learn.

When they’re learning algebra, their arithmetic is automatic, rock solid. They know their times tables.

They can factor numbers like nobody’s business. They don’t need to finger count.

They got no baggage slowing them down from learning algebra. Same thing in calculus: They’re automatic on not just their arithmetic, but also their algebra.

They have no issues solving equations, manipulating expressions, they can do it in their sleep.

And that’s why, you know, natural talent, it is a thing, but what looks like natural talent is often largely the result of being better prepared.

Further reading: One of the Most Demoralizing Things That Can Happen To a Student .

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