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Originally Posted by SimonTam
And I wasn't arguing with you about arithmetic but the learning disability. However as I explained: Dyscalculia is a LIFE-LONG learning disability and the difficulties vary from person to person. Which means that some may have NO PROBLEM LEARNING ARITHMETIC but have problems learning more advanced forms of math.
You said that the ability to learn higher forms of math is laziness which is not only wrong, but stereotyping. Dyslexia, for example, was only beginning to be diagnosed in persons with prior head injuries in the late 19th century and early 20th. Congenital or developmental dyslexia was only considered with the work of Dr. Samual Orton with mentally retarded patients in the 1930s and 1940s. To this day, the medical community does not know exactly what causes dyslexia, but are fairly confident that they have determined the exact area of the brain affected by dyslexia.
The point is that some people may not be able to grasp higher forms of math such as Calculus or Computational Linear Algebra. For some people, it won't matter how hard they apply themselves, they may never understand even PreCalculus.
I am all for pushing a person to their limits to learn as much as possible. It's good for them, it's good for society. However, saying they are lazy simply because they cannot grasp advanced Math concepts is narrow-minded and prejudiced.
Of course, on the other side of the coin, someone who has difficulty with math concepts may see the dyscalculia definition and claim they have the disability. However, they may not truly have it, but simply giving themselves an out. That is laziness. But it doesn't mean that all people who have difficulty learning advanced math concepts are lazy. That is where I disagreed with you. Your generalization that all people who can't learn advanced math are just lazy.
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Like I said before, when reading the papers that person listed, they defined the "disorder" as a childs disorder of learning arithmetic. If I had a choice, I would rather believe those research papers that have most likly been published in a nonsense journal then to believe an internet definition. But thats only if I am forced to believe the theory
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Thats fine and if thats what you believe, great. This "theory" is purely subjective, with no mathematical evidence. I like to stick to objective and factual theories. It is true that humans are 99.9999999999999% identical to one another from a molecular stand point. What that means is that when you're born, you are basically born with equality. I like to think about that as you choose your own destiny from that point on.
However, I can agree with you that some people may find math hard because they have a phobia about it or that they just do not put the effort needed into learning it.
I am the kind of person that believes if someone wants something hard enough, they can and will achieve it. It is just a matter of motivation and effort you put into it.