If you need someone to read numbers off items while you're taking inventory, don't call me - that's when it really sunk in that I can't reliably do that. If I have to do something like type in a number that's more than 4 digits long, I'll look at it very carefully, double-check that it matches, and still sometimes screw it up.
Interestingly, I have no trouble with abstract math - algebra, calculus, Boolean logic - just numbers. I'm a software engineer; basic arithmetic is something I let the computer handle :)
I've got the inability to visualize that Wikipedia mentions too, but never having had it, I don't miss it. I do recall reading something about chess players visualizing the chessboard several moves ahead and going "so *that's* why that game is impossible". And a fellow software engineer was surprised to hear that I don't visualize things, but he couldn't explain how visualizing applied to software any more than I could explain how I do it without it :)
Wow, that IS interesting! And it sort of makes sense that you can do algebra and the sort, because it includes letters. Is it because you see numbers differently than other people?
And to be honest, chess is impossible even for those who can visualize. At least it is for me. I've tried thinking several moves ahead, and my brain is just like NOPE!
I think with algebra it's because there's either one letter per variable, or at most two, and those follow rules - you'll see a dx (d for delta, indicating the change in x) but never an xd (nonsense), so there's no room for confusion.
If it had multiple random letters - say "pxqt", to smash the keyboard a bit - I think the same problem would hit; multi-digit numbers have to be read slowly left-to-right and there's nothing to indicate that you've made a mistake if you read 1324 as 1432. Numbers with patterns are easier to remember - 1234 is in order, 1122 repeats, etc - because those aren't just random collections of digits.
I have dyscalculia. In my case, I have trouble with groups of numbers and with mathematical symbols. Ones, sevens and nines are confusing. So are threes, fives and eights. Twos and eights can get mixed up, as can fours and nines. As for symbols--I can mix up a plus sign with a multiplication sign, a multiplication sign with a division sign, or a division sign with a plus or a minus. It's not that I can't do arithmatic. I can. But I can never tell if the problem that I'm seeing in front of me is the one that I'm supposed to be doing. It's frustrating and it's horrifically stressful. And the most stressed I am, the more likely I am to confuse the numbers and symbols that I've mentione...and the more likely to transpose numbers
( ... )
This is probably presumptious of me, but have you tried writing out the numbers in words, as in, one-two-three before calling?
(That's what I'm going to do if I ever have to order foreign theatre tickets by phone, because the very idea of having to spell my name and address in another language is painful. Haven't had to this far, but the Broadway online ticketing system's so meh. - Not a native English speaker.)
Oh man, sorry that it's so bad for you. At least you're aware of what's going on and you try to compensate for it. I'm finding it interesting that different people have varying degrees of it, though you all handle it pretty well.
You know, CAPTCHAs are really annoying even for me, but I can't even imagine the kind of stress you go through. Some of them give you the option to listen to them, but even then, they're pretty unreliable. And when you have trouble seeing the numbers anyway, even listening to it might not help.
Friend of mine has it. They can't budget at all, so don't have a credit or debit card - instead they withdraw the same amount of cash every week from an account that doesn't let you go overdrawn, and stop spending when it's run out. Frequently they buy things like presents for people and then run out of money for food or emergencies - so friends keep trying to suggest not buying so many presents that they don't really want anyway, because we end up paying for them by dealing with emergencies. They have bills dealt with by direct debits that someone else set up. Finding their way around places like stations with lots of numbered platforms takes them a while, but extra time and if necessary booking assistance works.
That can be pretty dangerous, because anyone can exploit them, and they won't even realize it. At least they've got good friends to help them out.
I did read that they tend to have trouble with directions and such, and now it makes sense. It's because most streets or platforms at a station are numbered. It's incredible how many things we take for granted that are just a burden for other people.
Mr Kumquat is severely dyslexic rather than dyscalculic, but one big argument we had when we moved in together was over who should call for a takeaway. I'm deaf. It finally became clear that his problem was he couldn't look up a number in the Yellow Pages in under half an hour, let alone dial it correctly. At which point I found and dialled a number and he did the talking and we lived happily ever after. He has zero sense of direction or time either, and is unnerved by the fact I always know the time to within 5 minutes and can be woken when he is driving home and immediately say "take the next exit". Dyscalculic friend has similar issues - and yes, someone could easily take advantage of them, but thankfully if their income and outgoings stay stable, things should be OK until they buy a new shiny toy...
My ex-boyfriend had it, and I think his was pretty bad, but we never really spoke about it. The only thing we talked about was where cash was involved, because he was complaining that he can never have any job other than manual labour - when I suggested working in a bar or something, he said that he couldn't, because if somebody paid him in cash he wouldn't know what change to give them.
I pointed out that tills nowadays calculate it for you and tell you exactly how much to give, but he said that wasn't the point - if the till told him to give the customer £4.72 in change, he didn't know what coins to pick up in order to make that total. If I was faced with that, obviously I'd pick up 4 x £1 (or 2 x £2 if available), a 50p, a 20p and a 2p but to him it was impossible. That's when I realised that he always, always paid for absolutely everything on debit card instead of using cash, so that he never had to think about the numbers.
Wow, so it's not just seeing the numbers, it's also the counting of things. I can understand how money can be confusing, especially in a customer service situation, where you're pressed for time and have to finish transactions quickly. Even people who don't have trouble with numbers often end up giving the wrong change by accident because they're rushing, but I can't imagine how tough it must be for someone who just can't figure it out altogether.
Comments 55
Interestingly, I have no trouble with abstract math - algebra, calculus, Boolean logic - just numbers. I'm a software engineer; basic arithmetic is something I let the computer handle :)
I've got the inability to visualize that Wikipedia mentions too, but never having had it, I don't miss it. I do recall reading something about chess players visualizing the chessboard several moves ahead and going "so *that's* why that game is impossible". And a fellow software engineer was surprised to hear that I don't visualize things, but he couldn't explain how visualizing applied to software any more than I could explain how I do it without it :)
Reply
And to be honest, chess is impossible even for those who can visualize. At least it is for me. I've tried thinking several moves ahead, and my brain is just like NOPE!
Thank you for sharing though! :)
Reply
If it had multiple random letters - say "pxqt", to smash the keyboard a bit - I think the same problem would hit; multi-digit numbers have to be read slowly left-to-right and there's nothing to indicate that you've made a mistake if you read 1324 as 1432. Numbers with patterns are easier to remember - 1234 is in order, 1122 repeats, etc - because those aren't just random collections of digits.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Thank you for sharing, and I love your icon! :D
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
It is! Oh Captain, my Captain!
Reply
Reply
(That's what I'm going to do if I ever have to order foreign theatre tickets by phone, because the very idea of having to spell my name and address in another language is painful. Haven't had to this far, but the Broadway online ticketing system's so meh. - Not a native English speaker.)
Reply
Reply
You know, CAPTCHAs are really annoying even for me, but I can't even imagine the kind of stress you go through. Some of them give you the option to listen to them, but even then, they're pretty unreliable. And when you have trouble seeing the numbers anyway, even listening to it might not help.
Thank you so much though for sharing. :)
Reply
Finding their way around places like stations with lots of numbered platforms takes them a while, but extra time and if necessary booking assistance works.
Reply
I did read that they tend to have trouble with directions and such, and now it makes sense. It's because most streets or platforms at a station are numbered. It's incredible how many things we take for granted that are just a burden for other people.
Thanks for sharing!
Reply
Reply
I pointed out that tills nowadays calculate it for you and tell you exactly how much to give, but he said that wasn't the point - if the till told him to give the customer £4.72 in change, he didn't know what coins to pick up in order to make that total. If I was faced with that, obviously I'd pick up 4 x £1 (or 2 x £2 if available), a 50p, a 20p and a 2p but to him it was impossible. That's when I realised that he always, always paid for absolutely everything on debit card instead of using cash, so that he never had to think about the numbers.
Reply
This is really insightful. Thanks for sharing!
Reply
Leave a comment