What do I call this?

A

actua

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Apr 12, 2019
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So... Hello!

I've got adhd and strangely enough I get math just fine. Where my problem come in is in usually losing negatives or miscalculating polynomials. It's not that I can't understand it. I just drop part of the number or set I'm transferring. However...

I may have just figured out my problem. I'm doing calculus and I hate how visually unbalanced, how hard it is to write neatly the numerator and denominator of polynomial fractions such as: ((x^2-3x-4)-(y^3+4y+2))/((xy)^2)

But that's just it. That's my solution. Instead of writing them out on lines above and below, I put the thing in parentheses and put the divisor on the side which does something REALLY important: It allows me do work downward the way that works best.

What do I call that? I mean... I'm explicitly looking for a good way to describe that, and to explain it. I mean... I feel like I have to justify it, like I'm doing something wrong. WHAT IS THIS?!!!

Thankyou.

Ps. And to be clear, this is night and day stuff here. I went from a 20% success rate to about a 90% success rate. Yeah I still miss... BUT THAT'S BETTER!!!
 
Last edited:
actua said:
I may have just figured out my problem. I'm doing calculus and I hate how visually unbalanced, how hard it is to write neatly the numerator and denominator of polynomial fractions such as: ((x^2-3x-4)-(y^3+4y+2))/((xy)^2)
Click to expand...
Have a look here.
 
I'm not trying to solve the problem. I'm talking about how WRITING the problem differently allowed me to overcome my ADHD nigh instantaneously.
 
I'm just trying to understand what you are saying.
So you see

\(\displaystyle ((x^2-3x-4)-(y^3+4y+2))/((xy)^2)\)

as being more "understandable" or "readable" and easier to work with than

\(\displaystyle \frac{(x^2-3x-4)-(y^3+4y+2)}{(xy)^2}\).

Is that what you are saying?
That's very interesting. I'm not sure that there is a name for that. It may have nothing to do with having adhd. It may have something to do with the idea that you prefer reading left to right - some sort of "order" thing. Interesting! But if it helps you with your maths then go for it!
 
I don't think that it has a name. It is less pretty than writing it in two line (see Harry the Cat's post above). BUT if your grades went from 20% to 90% who cares about writing pretty math. Just try to write it neatly because it can be confusing but you seem to do well with this.

I hope that it did not take you too long to learn that you do better with this style of writing. What grade are you in?

You should write a paper on this and submit it some journal. Very interesting. Glad you figured it out!
 
Harry_the_cat is a smart kitty. YES! THAT! As I'm digesting the problem, yeah it does seem to be something of that sort. I may need to talk to a neurologist, or maybe there's something going on with my eyes. I'm going to look around. (Said the blind man to his deaf brother.)

Jomo, I started to have this problem towards the end of high school (12 yrs ago) when I started pre-cal which is the only class I ever dropped or even considered. I've been bashing my head against khan academy trying to prepare for CLEP for Calc 1 and this particular issue has always crippled me. I had no idea WHY, but I've been fighting this for months here and there. So there "isn't" a grade but... redoing the same module 3, 4, and 8 times, and making the same basic algebraic errors each time comes down to roughly the percentages given.

I've always been great at math until I started getting deeper into algebra 2 in HS and the equation density multiplied, and it was always simple arithmetic failure at multiple stages which got me. Best I can figure, it was the same problem then. I got this and zoomed through a dozen other modules. I'm reminded of a kid with a special disorder where he couldn't write at all. It broke his brain. Give him a keyboard and... he's not mozart... but he had been struggling for several years so give him a minute. He'll catch up.

One little trick. ONE little trick. Scares me to think how many people could be musical geniuses out there, but a twitchy finger makes it impossible to play... and they could fix it with a multivitamin. They could be world class polyglots if only they wrote out the words instead of sounding them out. One trick, and the world opens. Miss it, and a door holds shut forever. It's horrifying.

Thank you all!
 
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