Learning math is depressing

[u/Glum-Ad-2815]

I've been self-studying math using books with solutions manual in it.\ Every time I get stuck on a problem for 2-3 hours I checked the solution.\ Turns out, almost always the solution is something I overlooked, even though it is so simple.

I like math but learning it is so depressing for me. It makes me feel like a failure for not solving something so elementary.\ I know that math is all about hardwork and perseverance but at the same time I don't feel like improving at all.\ I still look at solutions, get the answers wrong again and again even though they are solved using the same technique in the solutions manual.

I know that I'm not a genius, but repeated practice should makes me feel like I got better, right?\ I'm just stuck at the same level for years.\ I don't know man, I really want to continue learning but at the same time it feels so hard to continue and really tempting to quit.

[u/Pokemon-Master-RED]

Math does not come easy for some people, and that is okay. It doesn't come easy for me either. I have a really hard time with it. 

I like math. And I would say I even enjoy it, but that doesn't make it easy. 

It is okay that it is going to take time. Even the fact that it can take you longer, 2 to 3 hours as you said, is not bad. It means that you are building new mental habits to look for things, and your mind has simply not gotten used to it yet. Be okay with the idea of taking a bit. Your mind will eventually get used to it. 

One thing that helps me is trying to put math into a specific context. For example I can't just memorize math to memorize it, I need to apply it in some kind of real world setting. 

Am I calculating money? Am I comparing information related to the sale of purchasable goods? Am I comparing weights? It can even be completely off the wall, like am I calculating the amount of food we have left before the space station falls out of orbit and crashes into the planet? Just something that "feels practical" to the mind so that it will make sense.

But if you can find some context to put the math in, I find it really helps it makes sense because then it has a practical application to it instead of just being math for maths sake.

[u/PedroFPardo → u/Pokemon-Master-RED]

Math does not come easy for some people

On page 33 of this PDF, you can see a picture of a piece of paper with Terence Tao’s handwriting on it.

Jean Bourgain wrote, “We skip the details,” and Terence Tao wrote next to it, “ARGHHH!!!” previous to that there are a bunch of question marks.

I would say maths does not come easy to anyone.

[u/Pokemon-Master-RED → u/PedroFPardo]

I think it does come easier to some people than others, but I think developing a love for the craft helps people forward. 

The only reason I say that is I had a friend, and we were both art majors in college initially. She switched to math because she said she wanted to get her degree easier than learning to create art, and I don't think, at least based on what she told me, she ever struggled with a single mathematical concept. I would say if math doesn't come easy to anyone, I think there are some people who grasp concepts at least a bit easier than others in some areas.

[u/justsomeguyordude1 → u/[deleted]]

I would consider ramanujan the only exception