Can Love Overcome Math Anxiety in Relationships?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the intersection of personal relationships and math anxiety, particularly focusing on how one participant feels about her struggles with math in the context of her relationship with a mathematically inclined partner. The conversation explores emotional responses, perceptions of intelligence, and the role of math in romantic interactions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses significant anxiety about her math skills, feeling inadequate compared to her partner, who is an engineer.
  • She shares her attempts to impress him through poetry, specifically incorporating mathematical themes, and seeks feedback on her poem.
  • Another participant questions the relevance of discussing basic math topics like long division and fractions in a romantic context.
  • A different perspective suggests that incorporating more advanced mathematical concepts, like quaternions, into her poem could enhance its appeal.
  • One participant challenges the notion that struggling with math equates to being "stupid," emphasizing that intelligence can manifest in various forms.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the importance of math in relationships and the implications of math anxiety. There is no clear consensus on whether the participant's concerns are justified or how significant math should be in romantic interactions.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the emotional aspects of math anxiety, while others focus on the technical side of math discussions. The conversation reflects varying attitudes towards math and its role in personal identity and relationships.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals navigating relationships where one partner has a strong mathematical background, as well as those experiencing math anxiety in social contexts.

morninglover1
ok i need to warn you people I am stupid..i really can't do math, i can't do long division. i just feel all cold and clammy and my brain shuts off. i don't know why.
anyway a few years ago i met this really brilliant guy. he's an engineer, aerospace or something like that. we really like each other and stuff. i think he knows math isn't my "forte" but he doesn't know how really dumb and stupid i am with it. of course, i don't show it. i haven't managed to perform fractions or long divisions for him. it makes me really nervous when he talks about it cause i don't know what to say. anyway i have a degree myself but I am on the medical field and we weren't that focused in maths anyway (thank GOD). if i wasnt so stupid i'd be a doctor though :( this is the only problem in my life that i haven't managed to solve. i have a great social life and i never had trouble forming or keeping relationships (platonic or romantic).

ok enough w/ the pity party. so i was making this poem for him (cause he said he liked my other ones and i really don't know how else to impress him w/ my mind/intellect (or lack thereof)) so here it goes..on the first stanza:

so if you really insist being my theorem, and i your corollary
please just tell everyone that I am your one and only!

(does this sound funny? )

im kinda scared cause i don't want him to start suspecting that I am really stupid.: (
i really like him a lot lottt..

thanks.

abby.

p.s. just writing here makes my hands feel cold and clammy
 
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morninglover1 said:
ok i need to warn you people I am stupid..i really can't do math, i can't do long division. i just feel all cold and clammy and my brain shuts off. i don't know why.
anyway a few years ago i met this really brilliant guy. he's an engineer, aerospace or something like that. we really like each other and stuff. i think he knows math isn't my "forte" but he doesn't know how really dumb and stupid i am with it. of course, i don't show it. i haven't managed to perform fractions or long divisions for him. it makes me really nervous when he talks about it cause i don't know what to say. anyway i have a degree myself but I am on the medical field and we weren't that focused in maths anyway (thank GOD). if i wasnt so stupid i'd be a doctor though :( this is the only problem in my life that i haven't managed to solve. i have a great social life and i never had trouble forming or keeping relationships (platonic or romantic).

ok enough w/ the pity party. so i was making this poem for him (cause he said he liked my other ones and i really don't know how else to impress him w/ my mind/intellect (or lack thereof)) so here it goes..on the first stanza:

so if you really insist being my theorem, and i your corollary
please just tell everyone that I am your one and only!

(does this sound funny? )

im kinda scared cause i don't want him to start suspecting that I am really stupid.: (
i really like him a lot lottt..

thanks.

abby.

p.s. just writing here makes my hands feel cold and clammy

I would say it needs a little tweaking still, but I'm sure he would appreciate that you are trying to write a poem about math for him. That's very sweet.
 
Not entirely sure why he would be talking about long division or fractions, anyways...
 
morninglover1 said:
i haven't managed to perform fractions or long divisions for him. it makes me really nervous when he talks about it cause i don't know what to say.

sandy.bridge said:
Not entirely sure why he would be talking about long division or fractions, anyways...

Really! Why talk about fractions and long division when one could talk about quaternions. Heck, William was so excited about quaternions that he carved them into the stones on a bridge while on a romantic moonlit walk with his wife.

Admittedly, their marriage probably wasn't the greatest. In fact, he usually described his wife to others as "not at all brilliant". But at least he was able to complete a paper on "Theory on Systems of Rays" during his honeymoon.

But, to get back on topic, if you could get the phrase, "i^2 = j^2 = k^2 = ijk = -1", into your poem somehow, I think it would be a real hit. I realize that phrase doesn't have the greatest romantic history, but that has to be an aberration, as that phrase just has to work - I just don't see how it couldn't!
 
Last edited:
Morninglover1, why do you think he will find you stupid simply because you are not excellent at math? Heck, I'd have to pop open a dictionary to understand some of the words in your poem, so does that make me stupid? Also, if you're talking about long division during your dates or conversations I think I might be worried for you unless both of you were Math teachers!
 

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