I'm an artist, how come it's so hard for me to learn math or use logic?

I'm taking math class at a jr. college - the last time was over 10 yrs ago in high school - but this time it feels much harder. Granted, I'm a little older and rusty after not doing math for so long, yet why is it so difficult for some people (like myself) to understand math when I see others pick it up like drinking water?





My undergrad/career has been in the arts/design, so I'm very right-brained. Art/creative/writing comes very easy for me. But I've seen other artists pick up math pretty quickly, why can't I?





I do the homework, study, and go through drills - and I STILL blank out on tests or something. My Dad makes me feel stupid b/c he's an engineer, so he says the math I'm doing is easy (college algebra), but I feel like it's complicated stuff.





Any explanation and/or suggestions to help? Thank you!

I'm an artist, how come it's so hard for me to learn math or use logic?
Next time your engineer dad tries to make you feel stupid because you don't know math...ask him to sketch up a self portrait and see how HE does.





Some people just don't grasp left brain thinking...it doesn't mean you're not intelligent, it simply means your brain works differently.





I'd give my eyeteeth to be artistic and creative! I have a way with words and writing is my passion, so I'm creative in that way, but I can't draw a straight line...lol And by the way, I also suck at even basic math...at least you're one up on me.
Reply:Math isnt easy for everyone. Its hard and you just have to pay attention, take good notes and practice. incorporate math into an art piece or a real life situation and you might understand more. like how my old teacher taught me how to add and subtract negative and positive numbers by pictuing a submarine and how it dives and rises.
Reply:Each person has a specialized "intelligence", which makes them more able to do something more than another.


For you, it's artistic intelligence.





-Blanking out on tests, that's not because you don't know, that might be because of test fear, like what a lot of kids have, but don't talk about. Practice taking tests, and it might help make it go away.


-As for the math problems, try putting it in other words so it'll be easier for you to understand.
Reply:Our son will be 12 on Valentine's day, and he's quite an artist. He can draw anything in front of him, realistically and in depth. He's so natural at it too, amazing. In school though, math is very hard and challenging for him, well, they're doing algebra already in the 5th friggen grade to though ! But he's kind of like that too. Don't feel alone, but no, you artistic people are great, never feel like your not smart. I cannot even draw a stick person! I'd give up my math for some art talents!
Reply:Well, lots of people aren't logical thinkers. Lots of people struggle with math; I think it has to do with how one thinks about the world too. I'm a very visual person, which means that I'm fantastic at stuff like geometry and kinematics and such, but things like Calculus are a lot more abstract, so it's harder for me. And I can't overstate the importance of practice. The human brain is very much a muscle, and if you don't use all of it, parts will start to atrophy. That's why I try to make sure I do "right-brain" kinds of leisure activities.





If you find that you're having trouble in several other subjects too, having trouble staying focused, you might have a low level ADD or something, but that's not very likely. More likely is that math doesn't come naturally to you, which means that if you want to do well, you'll just have to bust your butt.
Reply:This is an example of the left and right brains. The left brain operates totally different then the right. Here is a list of ways the two sides function.





Left___________Right:


uses logic______uses feelings


sees details____ sees the 'big picture'


facts rule_______imagination rules


knowing_______ believing


reality based___ fantasy based


safe__________ risk taking


practical_______ impetuous





This is a small list but you can get a sense of the different ways they function. Our conscious mind can only focus on data from one brain at a time. We can switch from one side to the other very quickly (with our corpus collosum intact) but that's not always the most efficient way to act and eventually ultimate authority to enter consciousness is delegated to one brain or the other. In our modern world, this battle is almost always won by the left brain. It is mostly because of how we are tought.





Experiments show that most children rank highly creative (right brain) before entering school. Because our educational systems place a higher value on left brain skills such as mathematics, logic and language than it does on drawing or using our imagination, only ten percent of these same children will rank highly creative by age 7. By the time we are adults, high creativity remains in only 2 percent of the population.





Our personality can be thought of as a result of the degree to which these left and right brains interact, or, in some cases, do not interact. It is a simplification to identify "left brain" types who are very analytical and orderly. We likewise certainly know of the artistic, unpredictability and creativity of "right brain" types. But each of us draws upon specific sides of our brain for a variety of daily functions, depending on such things as our age, education and life experiences. The choices of which brain is in control of which situations is what forges our personalities and determines our character.
Reply:There's no real explanation anyone can give you. Everyone is good at certain things and bad at other things. That's just the way it works. Apparently, you're bad at math. Other people are good at math but bad at... say... readings maps. Who knows why?
Reply:You can be an artist and still not be as creative as others..... I think the more creative you are the more mathematically challenged you are. You said it yourself, you're a right-brainer.... And we right brainers SUCK at math!!!!