I tried to explain ADHD math to someone and they didn't understand at all

Edit: it appears that this is not exclusive to ADHD.

Posting this meme stemmed from my own efforts to explain my thought process when doing math and how it is similar to other people with ADHD doing math, while being different from every neurotypical person I'd talked to on the same subject.

While I didn't make the meme itself, instead finding it in my saves and wanting to share, I did accidentally spread misinformation that I had only backed up with personal anecdotal evidence.

I'll leave this up just so people can see the explanation below but this appears to not be ADHD related and just due to different people doing math in their heads differently...

drew_belloc ,
@drew_belloc@programming.dev avatar

No, since 6+6=12, then because 7 is one more than 6, 6+7=13

argentcorvid ,
@argentcorvid@midwest.social avatar

uhhhh that's not how everyone does it?

The_Che_Banana ,
@The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org avatar

Nah, I'm down with the 9s.
9+6 is 15 so it must be 13

BirdyBoogleBop , (edited )

Nah that's 8+8=16 so 16 -2 is 14. 14 -1 is 13, so 13. or as my maths teacher said. Wat? 1 point, negative 0.5 for incorrect formula 0.5 total. Even though it always worked!

Edit: Hell other ways to work it out. 7+7=13 logically vs my calculator so 5+5+5 = 15. 15 is incorrect why? because +5 is +2 more than necessary so 7+7 must equal 5+5+3 which = 13 or as my mental maths exam told me Fuck you! You Fail! Can't do maths in 10 seconds then you are either retarded or have another mental issue, to the stupid class you go! (It wasn't stupid class if those students got the support they needed they would have excelled!) (You had to pretend to be "normal" to make "academic progress"))

3+3 =6. 6 < 7 so 3+3+3+3 = 12 but 6<7 so 12+0.5+0.5 =13

Sludgeyy ,

7+6

You need 3 to get to 10. 3 left over. 10+3=13.

I'd split up the 6 into (3,3) in my head

Same thing as 7+3+3

Pandantic ,
@Pandantic@midwest.social avatar

Common core math calls that “friendly numbers”.

TheFriar ,

It is. Some people find more common numbers easier to add, then just figure out the difference. People in this community love to call totally normal stuff “adhd logic.”

Max_P ,
@Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me avatar

That's the smart way to do math. I mean not with such small numbers but you'd do the same thing adding up large numbers, you break down the numbers and rearrange them in a way that's easier to compute.

Algebra probably feels intuitive to you.

They're also trying to teach that in math classes (it gets called "new" math) but the boomers are freaking out because "why can't they just do normal additions like we used to, this is so complicated". And the answer to that is, 99% of the time you'll be doing algebra because we literally all carry a calculator in our pockets and sometimes on our wrists at all times and we never need to just do a long division. And that kind of thinking really makes it easy to break down formulas because your brain thinks in terms of moving stuff around in an equation.

Gigasser ,

I think the reason "new math" gets flack, is because it's a new way of teaching math, and alot of teachers aren't as good at teaching in that way yet. Still, kids should be taught that it can be a way one does calculations. Another thing I think should be incorporated into early childhood education is the use of an abacus, the Japanese do this and it supposedly helps greatly with mental math.

ColeSloth ,

I was in school way before the new math thing. I figured out doing it all in my head like this on my own because i hated writing out and solving math problems. Especially long division, and was able to coast through all my math classes. It felt pretty natural, which is how I think they decided to start doing "new math".

9 X 47= ?

No problem.

10 X 47 is 470. Need 47 less than that.

70 minus 40 is 30.

30 minus 7 is 23.

9 X 47 = 423.

MelodiousFunk ,
@MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net avatar

They're also trying to teach that in math classes (it gets called "new" math) but the boomers are freaking out because "why can't they just do normal additions like we used to, this is so complicated".

So, as a childless Xennial, I have to ask... is today's "new math" the same "new math" that people complained about in the 60s?

https://youtu.be/W6OaYPVueW4

If so, that's an awfully long time for something to be shunned as "new."

we never need to just do a long division.

Truth. I recently got a neuropsych evaluation and part of it was an unexpected (to me) IQ test. And staring me in the face, for the first time in ~30 years, was a few pages of arithmetic problems. Took me a minute to recall how to do decimal multiplication but it did come back to me. Long division? Nope. Had no freaking clue. Given that it was timed I just left blank anything I couldn't work out in my head. Maybe if I had time for trial and error I could have eventually figured it out. But one thing is for sure... the odds of me ever needing that skill again are fairly low.

GalaxyBrain ,
@GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net avatar

This. I went from 50s and 60s to high 90s in my last 2 years of high school math because we were getting taught wave functions and real science math finally and all you need to know there is how to figure out which formula to use and which numbers to plug in. I'm terrible at basic arithmetic but crush algebra and later got good at food math by necessity. Also just finding ways to not count as much helped. Like when doing catering we would store plates in basically giant poker chip sets on wheels. People used to stack em in randomly until I finally figured out the closest multiple of 10 you could get to in a stack before going over the top. It was 70 plates and each dolly or whatever had 4 slots for stacks, so if all was in place each was 280 which made getting the plates ready for events way quicker cause people didn't have to manually count them, just use your 7 times table and then count the remainder to add or subtract. Once I figured out that you don't necessarily NEED the math you learn in school but if you remember to use it, it can really fucking speed things up. Also all math should be represented as algebra from the start, instead of 2+2= and leaving a blank space phase it as 2+2=x and solve for x. I think more complex algebra wouldn't scare kids as much if they knew they were kinda doing it all along.

Black_Mald_Futures ,

the smart way to do math

the smart way to do math is called "use a calculator, sweatyy"

ColeSloth ,

....Sweetie, you need to learn to spell more than to learn math.

Black_Mald_Futures ,

lmfao gottem

Swedneck ,
@Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

isn't the problem specifically that some people just can't really do intuitive math for small numbers? like all through school everyone else just breezed through memorizing the multiplication tables and i just sat there manually adding numbers together and felt so fucking stupid and worthless in math class

boredsquirrel ,

This has nothing to do with ADHD... mixing up stuff is just confusing people

glimse ,

I try not to be all "that's not ADHD that's just normal" here but yeah this one has nothing to do with ADHD.

boredsquirrel ,

A Therapist told me that there is a lot of nonsense on the web, especially in the AuDHD space, and yeah it tends to go in a "you are a scorpio, you do X" way

midnight_puker ,
@midnight_puker@sh.itjust.works avatar

I'm a scorpio and I do X all the time

nieceandtows ,

This guy fucks X

Graphy ,

One of the worst parts of the latest ADHD wave

Pandantic ,
@Pandantic@midwest.social avatar

And I try not to be all “I’m not ADHD and I do this” on this com, but it’s true.

silent_water ,
@silent_water@hexbear.net avatar

wait, no, this is how everyone does math. right? ...right?

Thordros ,
@Thordros@hexbear.net avatar

I think so, but I'm so deep on the autism spectrum that I'm probably SCUBA-certified, so...

sans-shrug

souperk ,
@souperk@reddthat.com avatar

6=3+3, 7+3=10, 10+3=13

PS I had to edit this post because of typos.

ArcticAmphibian ,
@ArcticAmphibian@lemmus.org avatar

7+6=?
7+3+3=?
10+3=?
13=13
(Not ADHD)

Gullible ,

Prostrate yourselves, defective prole masses. I’ve memorized my +/- tables all the way up to 8.

Rhynoplaz ,

Ha! You made me think the exact same phrase twice!

stepan ,
@stepan@lemmy.cafe avatar

I don't think I have ADHD but I do it exactly this way.

Linnce ,

I definitely don't have ADHD and I do it exactly this way

bjoern_tantau ,
@bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de avatar

I always tell my children that Maths is finding the best way to cheat at a problem. Don't solve the hard problem. Solve the easy one that's kind of like the hard problem and then find the difference.

And judging by the school material that's how they're supposed to do it. But either the teachers aren't explaining it that way or the kids aren't listening.

ladyunicornejg ,
@ladyunicornejg@toot.io avatar

@Maven Yet another "wait, normal people don't do this" moment for me...

Mountain_Mike_420 ,

In my head: 7 + 6 = 7 + 7 = 14 - 1 = 13

MacGuffin94 ,

This is how it is supposed to be taught. Common core has this exact quality of numbers explicitly shield or in primary school curriculum. Numbers are not static objects but the composite of infinite functions that can be used to determine the value in whatever base number system you want. Next time someone says school didn't teach math remind them that the US is something like 30th in the world at math and when the department of education tried to do something about it parents said it was too hard to understand and we just kept falling backwards.

Source : I have a BA and masters in math with a focus on education

Murdoc ,

I agree that this is how it should be taught. I wasn't taught it until high school. And even then it was by a university student who came to our physics class to talk to us about the kinds of things we could expect in university. :p

I'm in Canada btw.

balderdash9 ,
@balderdash9@lemmy.zip avatar

These ADHD memes hitting a little too hard

Martineski ,

This specific meme is bs and has nothing to do with ADHD.

balderdash9 ,
@balderdash9@lemmy.zip avatar

Well I guess that explains it lol

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