Things you just CAN'T do.

[NoNameMcgee]

Do you ever come across something you are incapable of doing or understanding, nomatter how hard you try, and it frustrates you?

Furthermore, do you find that other people who can do these things have a habit of reassurring you that you can too and it's just laziness or some other personal problem that you can work on? Even when you are certain you've tried your best and you know you're never going to achieve in this particular area?

This happens to me a lot in an educational environment, because i'm not very 'academically' intelligent for the most part, and I find that the subjects/courses I can do well in are few and far between.

The worst one for me is Maths, i'm terrible at Maths, I mean I struggle with even basic multiplication, division is impossible for me; and just about anything but the simplist mathematics frustrate me to no end without a calculator at hand. But because I don't have any known 'disabilities' in that area, people put it down to laziness or me being unwilling to try hard, when it is literally something I can't do. Something i've been trying to do since primary school, but can't do. But people don't seem to understand this concept.

The saying "if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything" is complete bull.

 

[Ultrajoe]

It seems to be a common theme among Joe's to suffer when it comes to numeracy, if you and I are any indication. If it helps, school maths and real world maths are a wrold away, but so are most things outside the bizzaro world of school. Screw them, we're Joe.

I also have big trouble remembering lyrics to song I like. Song I don't like get stuck in my head like anything.

 

[SharPhoe]

I think Math(s) is a recurring theme in this thread already, since I've been horrible at it ever since Geometry.

 

[Rigs83]

I can't for the life of me get a woman to sleep with me. Does that count?

Do you ever come across something you are incapable of doing or understanding, nomatter how hard you try, and it frustrates you?

Furthermore, do you find that other people who can do these things have a habit of reassurring you that you can too and it's just laziness or some other personal problem that you can work on? Even when you are certain you've tried your best and you know you're never going to achieve in this particular area?

This happens to me a lot in an educational environment, because i'm not very 'academically' intelligent for the most part, and I find that the subjects/courses I can do well in are few and far between.

The worst one for me is Maths, i'm terrible at Maths, I mean I struggle with even basic multiplication, division is impossible for me; and just about anything but the simplist mathematics frustrate me to no end without a calculator at hand. But because I don't have any known 'disabilities' in that area, people put it down to laziness or me being unwilling to try hard, when it is literally something I can't do. Something i've been trying to do since primary school, but can't do. But people don't seem to understand this concept.

The saying "if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything" is complete bull.

If someone tells you to put your mind to it, try smashing their mind against it. Eventually they will learn that you can't do it and stop asking you to try, or they will die.

 

[Neonbob]

Math and caring about a task for a long amount of time.
Apathy sets in after a while.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Your Mom.

I am absoulutely horrible at rationing time for myself. It's like, I try to organize my schedule, but it ends up just being me getting out the door and to school/work at the last minute.

 

[randommaster]

Higher level math seems to stump a lot of people. For me, it's about 50/50 whether I'll understand a new concept or not. This gets annoying because I never know when I'll just run into a wall in a math class.

Also, high-level, real-world math tends to require that you can identify what rules and equations are needed rather than the actual calculations.

Also, pop culture is something that I just don't get, which results in a lot of one sided conversations.

 

[Berethond]

I don't get Atheism.
Ceasing to exist after death does not compute in my brain for some strange reason.

 

[Zacharine]

With enough practice, anything can be understood or done, with the only exception possibly being those with some kind of mental gift (such as remembering numbers as shapes and then learning a sequence of 10 000 numbers within 5 minutes and can 24h later recite them with 99% accuracy) or physical abilities such as double-joints etc.

But basically, everything can be learned, it's just a matter of effort. How much effort depends quite a lot of the individual, but anyone can learn university level maths for example. Someone might do it a year, for someone else it might take 15 years, but the ability to learn and comprehend is there.

For me personally, higher university level maths and physical chemistry take me a long to to comprehend, as do certain languages.

And I never learned to draw well. If I want to make even a half-way decent picture, I have to use some kind of 3D computer software.

 

[fulano]

Do you ever come across something you are incapable of doing or understanding, nomatter how hard you try, and it frustrates you?

Furthermore, do you find that other people who can do these things have a habit of reassurring you that you can too and it's just laziness or some other personal problem that you can work on? Even when you are certain you've tried your best and you know you're never going to achieve in this particular area?

This happens to me a lot in an educational environment, because i'm not very 'academically' intelligent for the most part, and I find that the subjects/courses I can do well in are few and far between.

The worst one for me is Maths, i'm terrible at Maths, I mean I struggle with even basic multiplication, division is impossible for me; and just about anything but the simplist mathematics frustrate me to no end without a calculator at hand. But because I don't have any known 'disabilities' in that area, people put it down to laziness or me being unwilling to try hard, when it is literally something I can't do. Something i've been trying to do since primary school, but can't do. But people don't seem to understand this concept.

The saying "if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything" is complete bull.

Dude, maths have nothing to do solely with multiplicating, or counting anymore than it has with me eating my own head. I used to have the same problem, but I kinda found a way around it. The tricky thing is to find a correct way to think about the concepts, and wrapping your head around them. It certainly didn't come easy to me. As for your case, maybe you just have other things of more interest to you. It happens.

But yeah, it can seem like you just can't do it, and I understand, but that just isn't the case.


As for me, something that people tell me is easy to do, or that I have to do is believing in God. Being from a predominantly catholic country I can say I've tried it, and just couldn't.

I grew up not having anything to do with religion, and when I wanted to try it it didn't suit well with my nine year old world view, and so I just stopped telling myself that I was probably more into mega man 4, or perhaps it was a maturity thing. It wasn't.

 

[devildog1170]

Well Math, and being normal. I swear I must be some borderline-physcotic with the way I think (ex: Always thinking of how to defend myself if the person next to me attacks.) Okay, maybe not physcotic but a little paranoid

 

[eelel]

math is one for me i hate it we don't get a long and i hate it

 

[sms_117b]

Quantum Mechanics and some Calculus, maths was fine and dandy, but no, Calculus came along and decided to differentiate and integrate everything under the sun (and stars as some collapse into black holes, but that's a new, terrifying level of calculus).

Less serious, sleep, I've been up since about 10am, it's now 5:40am.

Even less serious, stick to a meal plan, I love junk food far too much.

Edit: Upon reading a lot of you that can't do it (maths), the only way to get better is to work along side a solution to a question, then do a (almost) identical question (change the numbers), then ask someone that you're sure knows how to do it, if your answer to your own problem is right. If it is, you understand the basics, failing that message me and I'll see if I can help you (please no maths above A-level)

 

[Ancientgamer]

Linear Equations.

I can do quadratic equations. Trig, Geometry, but not freaking Linear Equations.

I know I could do it if I put my mind, but the Ironic thing is that's the thing I can't do. I just can't make myself focus on it long enough to matter. Now I'm in a state of understanding but I'm learning right that moment, but nothing that came before, which makes me pretty useless when it comes to problem solving.

So yeah, maths.

 

[Insanum]

I don't get Atheism.
Ceasing to exist after death does not compute in my brain for some strange reason.

Just look at it this way - you wont care you dont exist. All seems fine with me!

I cant lick my own elbow...

Or play the force unleashed.

 

[Yokai]

Calculus.
Obscure, insanely complicated, and completely irrelevant in day-to-day life.
I'm dreading college math.

 

[Skeleon]

I just can't understand why little kids need cellphones.
Mathemathics are problematic, too.
My grades had declined during my last year of school.
Luckily, I don't need it anymore (at least not the funky stuff we had done in the last two years).

It's weird that so many people on this forum have problems or a dislike of mathematics.
Considering it's the internet and all.
You'd think there'd be a lot more IT-students or whatever.

 

[sms_117b]

I don't get Atheism.
Ceasing to exist after death does not compute in my brain for some strange reason.

I think it's a Muslim country, not sure, but I was told some time ago, one Middle Eastern country won't let you in if you put Atheist on your visa, or if you are in and they find out they arrest you for lying, because they cannot comprehend a Godless chain of thought.

 

[crypt-creature]

Depends on the type of math, but some of it is a problem.
Keeping a standard job. I don't care for the pettiness that goes on between a small group of individuals who only care about their selves. And doing that same thing every day without any sort of change puts me in a depression.

 

[neuromasser]

Rationing time for myself and remembering lyrics. Also remembering what I can't do, because I obviously posted the same answer as Ultrajoe and Mookie_Magnus :/

The saying "if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything" is complete bull.

I go by different saying: "If you put your life on the line, you can do anything"