Re:Ask HN: CS students/graduates, Did you struggle with Math?
by hluska on Wednesday March 14, 2018 @03:07PM
(#16587406)
A very good friend from high school went to one of the top Universities in the world. He was flat out brilliant, so none of us were surprised when he was accepted. But, we were very surprised when he got back after his first year and he seemed defeated. He had always been so much smarter than everyone else and suddenly, he was exposed to a world where he struggled with things other students seemed to find intuitive. By the end of his fourth year though, he had realized a couple of things:
1.) Many of the people who he thought had an intuitive grasp of concepts that were way over his head had been just as confused and lost as he felt. They were either better actors, or he felt too much shame to recognize they were struggling.
2.) Over the course of his program, every one of his colleagues struggled with something others found intuitive and found something intuitive that others struggled with.
The point of all this is that you are almost certainly not alone in how you feel. I think you'll be okay!
If math in particular causes you trouble, it might be a sign that your study skills aren't quite up to where they should be. But, with some work, you can get over this hurdle!
1.) Many of the people who he thought had an intuitive grasp of concepts that were way over his head had been just as confused and lost as he felt. They were either better actors, or he felt too much shame to recognize they were struggling.
2.) Over the course of his program, every one of his colleagues struggled with something others found intuitive and found something intuitive that others struggled with.
The point of all this is that you are almost certainly not alone in how you feel. I think you'll be okay!
If math in particular causes you trouble, it might be a sign that your study skills aren't quite up to where they should be. But, with some work, you can get over this hurdle!