[aphextron]

>LESSON TWO: Learning maths is hard.

I wish this were more widely accepted, rather than the fallacy of "math people". Mastering even undergraduate level mathematics is the single hardest intellectual pursuit any human can undertake. There's no way around it. It's just an insanely hard thing to do. I've been taking remedial math courses in prep for a CS degree after 10 years in the industry, and it is absolutely maddening.

[noufalibrahim]

I think the point on how mathematics is incrementally built is the main take away.

My issue with many of the maths courses especially in early primary classes is that they lack rigour. It seems to be about solving practical problems (calculating grocery lists totals etc.) rather than really understanding what happens when you do arithmetic. There are some things that genuinely help when memorised (e.g. the times tables) when you're doing arithmetic but that's looked down upon.

I'm trying to remedy this with my own children but it's a bit of an uphill battle. This article is definitely something I can use in my attempts.

[vinchuco]

That would be fine, except that everything true is trivial.

On a more serious note on the original comment: there is also something to be said about the label of 'genius'. Take Ramanujan and his unusually strong self-directed efforts at the age of 16, for instance. Often there's more emphasis on the mystical aspect of his narrative.