PW article

[SwordGuy]

The main reason most people who have trouble with math have that trouble is that they were unwilling to DO THE WORK necessary to learn it.

Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and percentages are not that hard.  They just require doing the work to learn them well.

Most people stumble at the next level of math above this simply because they have trouble doing the basics.

The same principle applies to many other important life skills.

[hernandz]

And I don't think my 18 year old self was an idiot (gimps target), nor do I think of myself as an idiot now.

and modest, too.

[arebelspy]

And I don't think my 18 year old self was an idiot (gimps target), nor do I think of myself as an idiot now.

and modest, too.

Didn't realize "I'm not an idiot" was a high level of bragging.  :)

[attica]

I'm 26 and when I was getting ready to graduate, I had to sit down with my useless guidance counselor for a heart to heart. She asked where I was going to college and when I replied that I didn't think I was cut out for college, she just stared at me.

DOES NOT COMPUTE

"Well, you should at least go to [local community college]."

That was the end of our conversation. Thanks for a fat lot of nothing, btw.

As far the adults surrounding these kids are concerned college is the only possible option, not starting a business, not an apprenticeship in a trade, not a fast track training program. I wasn't even made aware of these options until much later. I think at the end of the day we need to be responsible for the decisions we've made. But at the same time teenagers are surrounded by a giant wall of "YOU MUST GO TO COLLEGE OR YOU WILL BE A FAILURE AND NO ONE WILL LOVE YOU!" That needs to be a consideration.

[Albert]

My molecular & cell biology degree requires everything up to Calc II, which is admittedly not much math for math people but most of my friends are appalled at the "difficulty" of what I have to learn.  I have an old friend who wanted to do nursing and was struggling with the first semester of General Chemistry (a class that I loved!), which does involve more math than simple addition.  I don't know if she ever passed the class and continued on the path to nursing, but if she did, I know it was a struggle for her.

You are pursuing a science degree so it's only normal to acquire a solid background in math even if 95% of people with your degree never use it. Nursing is a valuable profession, but honestly it shouldn't be a university level program.

The difference between your pilot situation and getting a humanities degree is that getting the humanities degree does not restrict you to a specific career.  It's a hard skills vs. soft skills thing.  Not everyone who majors in English is going to be an author -- see the poster above who works in tech with an English degree.  Not everyone who majors in psychology is going to be a psychologist; I could think of a lot of corporate-y positions where knowledge of psychology would be helpful (HR, marketing?).  Majoring in french literature doesn't restrict you to an academic career  researching/teaching french literature.  Look at all the people who major in history or philosophy and go on to law school.

Well written. Indeed there are many solidly paid jobs accessible with generic humanity degrees coupled with good people skills and solid ability to write and speak.

[Sibley]

The main reason most people who have trouble with math have that trouble is that they were unwilling to DO THE WORK necessary to learn it.

Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and percentages are not that hard.  They just require doing the work to learn them well.

Most people stumble at the next level of math above this simply because they have trouble doing the basics.

The same principle applies to many other important life skills.

There are some exceptions to this. There's a learning disability similar to dyslexia, but it's with numbers, not letters. My mom has this. When she was a kid, they didn't even know about it, so no help available. End result is she can't do math reliably.