why people hate math

Answer in Progress
11 Dec 202119:34
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis video explores the common struggle with math anxiety, delving into its psychological roots and offering practical strategies for overcoming it. The host shares personal experiences, engages in self-improvement through a math game, and emphasizes the importance of math in everyday life, ultimately demonstrating that anyone can master it with the right approach.

Takeaways
  • 😅 The video discusses the common struggle with math and how it can cause anxiety, even for those with a degree in the subject.
  • 🎓 The speaker admits to having a degree in math but acknowledges that their diploma doesn't necessarily make them immune to math anxiety.
  • 🤔 The video explores why some people find math inaccessible and uninteresting, often due to negative experiences in their early education.
  • 🧠 Math anxiety is described as a mental condition similar to a phobia, which can activate parts of the brain associated with pain and negative emotions.
  • 📚 The speaker references books like 'Measurement' by Paul Lockhart and 'Maths on the Back of an Envelope' by Rob Eastaway, which offer different perspectives on math.
  • 🤯 Both books emphasize the importance of not being afraid of making mistakes, as it is a necessary part of learning and understanding math.
  • 👨‍🏫 The video suggests that negative early experiences with math, such as impatient teachers or a lack of support, can contribute to the development of math anxiety.
  • 💡 The speaker shares personal experiences and strategies for overcoming math anxiety, including exposure therapy and practicing mental math techniques.
  • 📈 The video introduces three techniques for faster math: getting to ten, working from left to right, and catching running totals.
  • 🎮 The speaker created a math game to practice mental math and reduce anxiety, demonstrating the effectiveness of practice in overcoming math-related fears.
  • 🌟 The video concludes with a message of empowerment, encouraging viewers to embrace math as a useful and accessible tool in their lives.
Q & A

  • What is the main issue the video aims to address about people's relationship with math?

    -The video addresses the issue of math anxiety, which is a mental condition similar to a phobia that causes distress or frustration in anticipation of or while performing math tasks.

  • How does the video creator describe their own experience with math?

    -The creator describes having a degree in math but still struggling with mental math and experiencing math anxiety, which makes their brain freeze or shut down when faced with math problems.

  • What is the role of the sponsor, Brilliant, in the video?

    -Brilliant is an interactive learning platform that sponsored a portion of the video. It focuses on teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics using visual and hands-on techniques.

  • What are some of the techniques suggested in the video to improve mental math skills?

    -The video suggests techniques such as getting to ten, working from left to right, and catching running totals to reduce the active load in memory and minimize the impact of anxiety and intrusive thoughts.

  • How does the video creator approach the problem of math anxiety?

    -The creator approaches math anxiety by exposing themselves to numbers through a self-made math game, practicing the techniques suggested, and changing their mindset to get comfortable with making mistakes.

  • What is the significance of the math game created by the video creator?

    -The math game serves as a tool for the creator to practice mental math and confront their math anxiety. It also provides a platform for viewers to engage with math in a similar way.

  • What is the psychological effect of math anxiety on the brain as described in the video?

    -Math anxiety can activate parts of the brain associated with experiencing pain and processing negative emotions, and it can lead to intrusive thoughts that take away processing resources from solving the math problem.

  • What are some potential causes of math anxiety mentioned in the video?

    -Potential causes of math anxiety mentioned include genetics, development, parental or teacher attitudes towards math, and negative early experiences with the subject.

  • How does the video suggest math anxiety can be mitigated?

    -The video suggests that math anxiety can be mitigated through exposure therapy, such as tutoring or practice, and by learning to be comfortable with making mistakes.

  • What is the final outcome of the video creator's personal journey with math as depicted in the video?

    -The final outcome is that the creator overcomes their math anxiety, improves their mental math skills, and feels at ease when tackling math problems, no longer feeling the fear or anxiety they once had.

  • How does the video relate math skills to everyday adult life?

    -The video relates math skills to everyday adult life by mentioning the need for math in calculating tips, reading the news, managing finances, and understanding risk during a global pandemic.

Outlines
00:00
🤔 Overcoming Math Anxiety

The video script introduces the concept of math anxiety and the struggles people face with mental math. The speaker, despite having a math degree, admits to feeling overwhelmed by the subject and aims to explore why math can be so challenging for many. The script discusses the negative impact of mockery and intimidation in learning environments and the importance of making math more accessible. It also introduces a sponsored learning platform called Brilliant and a personal project—a math game—to help tackle mental math difficulties.

05:01
🧠 Math Anxiety and Its Impact on the Brain

This paragraph delves into the psychological aspects of math anxiety, comparing it to a phobia and explaining how it can activate the brain's pain and negative emotion processing regions. It outlines theories suggesting that anxiety-induced intrusive thoughts can hinder math problem-solving by consuming cognitive resources. The paragraph also touches on the potential causes of math anxiety, including genetics, development, and environmental factors, with a focus on the negative experiences people might have had early in their education.

10:03
📚 Strategies for Tackling Math Anxiety

The speaker shares personal strategies for overcoming math anxiety, inspired by exposure therapy and tutoring. They discuss three specific techniques to simplify mental math: using base 10 for easier calculations, working from left to right to minimize errors, and maintaining running totals to reduce cognitive load. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of practice and introduces a new practice mode in the speaker's math game, sponsored by Brilliant, to facilitate this process.

15:03
🎉 Triumph Over Math Anxiety

In the final paragraph, the speaker reflects on their journey from struggling with math anxiety to feeling at ease with the subject. They share their success in improving their mental math skills through the use of their math game and the techniques they learned. The speaker also interviews a math communicator who uses engaging and relatable methods to make math interesting for a broader audience. The video concludes with a message of empowerment, encouraging viewers to embrace math as a valuable tool in their lives.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Math Anxiety
Math anxiety is a psychological condition that is similar to a phobia, where individuals experience distress or frustration in anticipation of, or while performing, math tasks. In the video, it is discussed as a significant barrier to learning and engaging with math, often causing people to freeze up or shut down when faced with numerical problems. The script mentions how math anxiety can activate parts of the brain associated with pain and negative emotions, highlighting its profound impact on a person's ability to perform mathematically.
💡Mental Math
Mental math refers to the ability to perform arithmetic calculations in one's head without the use of written work or tools. The video's narrator admits to struggling with mental math, describing it as the 'worst math to be bad at' because it should theoretically be the simplest form of arithmetic. The script uses mental math as a personal challenge and a way to explore the difficulties faced by those with math anxiety.
💡Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is the internal drive to complete tasks for the sake of the task itself rather than for external rewards. The video script mentions the narrator's desire to learn web development to create a math game, which is an example of intrinsic motivation. This motivation is key to overcoming math anxiety and engaging with the subject out of personal interest and satisfaction.
💡Practice
Practice, in the context of the video, refers to the act of repeatedly performing mathematical calculations to improve proficiency and reduce anxiety. The script emphasizes the importance of practice in overcoming math anxiety, suggesting that consistent exposure to numbers and problems can help mitigate the physiological response associated with math anxiety.
💡Cognitive Load
Cognitive load is the amount of mental effort being used in working memory during the process of learning. The video discusses how techniques for faster math can reduce cognitive load, allowing less room for anxiety and intrusive thoughts. This concept is central to the strategies presented for improving mental math and reducing the impact of math anxiety.
💡Brilliant
Brilliant is an interactive learning platform mentioned in the script that focuses on teaching STEM subjects using visual and hands-on techniques. The platform is highlighted as a resource that can help individuals overcome math anxiety by providing courses that focus on application over memorization, making complex concepts more tangible and memorable.
💡Mitigation
Mitigation, in the video, refers to the process of making something less severe or intense. The script uses the term in the context of reducing the impact of being wrong in math, suggesting that getting comfortable with making mistakes is a way to mitigate the fear associated with math and improve one's ability to learn and perform mathematically.
💡Psychological Trauma
Psychological trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can have lasting effects on an individual's mental health. The video script alludes to 'a sprinkle of childhood trauma' as a contributing factor to math anxiety, suggesting that negative early experiences with math can lead to long-term aversion and fear of the subject.
💡Order of Operations
The order of operations is a rule in arithmetic that specifies the sequence in which operations should be performed to correctly solve an expression. The video script suggests using the order of operations to prioritize operations one remembers best as a technique for faster and more accurate mental math, thereby reducing the cognitive load and potential for error.
💡Running Totals
Running totals refer to the cumulative sum of a series of numbers as they are being added or calculated. In the context of the video, maintaining running totals is presented as a technique for mental math that helps to reduce the number of numbers one needs to hold in memory at any given time, simplifying the process and minimizing the opportunity for errors.
💡Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. The video script encourages empathy towards those who experience math anxiety, explaining that it is a physical response that can be deeply distressing. The goal is to foster a better understanding and support for individuals who struggle with math, moving away from judgment and towards compassion.
Highlights

The video discusses overcoming the fear and anxiety associated with math, suggesting that it's a learned response that can be unlearned.

The speaker has a degree in math but still struggles with mental math, indicating that math anxiety can affect anyone.

Math anxiety is described as a mental condition similar to a phobia, affecting the brain's pain and emotion processing regions.

Intrusive thoughts due to anxiety can interfere with the brain's ability to solve math problems.

The video suggests that math anxiety often stems from negative early experiences with the subject.

The speaker's personal story of developing math anxiety through a competitive and negative learning environment in first grade.

Exposure therapy and tutoring can significantly reduce the impacts of math anxiety, as shown by research.

Three techniques for faster math are introduced: getting to ten, working from left to right, and catching running totals.

The importance of practice in overcoming math anxiety and improving mental math skills is emphasized.

The speaker's experience with coding a math game to help with practice and desensitization to math problems.

Brilliant, an interactive learning platform, is introduced as a tool for overcoming math anxiety through visual and hands-on techniques.

The video demonstrates the transformation in the speaker's attitude towards math, from fear to confidence.

The impact of math in everyday life, such as calculating tips and managing finances, is discussed.

Kyne Santos, a math communicator and drag queen, shares insights on making math interesting and relatable to a wider audience.

The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to share the content with others to help grow the channel and support the cause.

Transcripts

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Math AnxietyMental MathLearning StrategiesEducational GamingChildhood TraumaCognitive LoadNumber TheoryEmotional ResponseMath EducationPersonal Growth