TITLE: What's wrong with me?
QUESTION [5 upvotes]: Over the past few days I have been pondering about this: I enjoy technical things (like programming and stuff) and try to find the patterns and algorithms in everything. My life is number oriented. I'll spend all day working on a programmatic problem. I'll spend however much time is needed to think of an elegant/efficient solution. Yet I have am not as good with high school Algebra (I am sixteen)... I don't get it. How can I love numbers but not be very good at math? I think I slacked off in my earlier years in math classes because I found them to be boring. I feel like I am behind a wall. On the other side is math. I need to lower down this wall, but at the moment I am unable to identify it or its cause. I feel like I love math, but am no good at it or have been taught poorly. I understand that I can get no where in Computer Science if I am bad at math. I find some aspects of math to be boring... perhaps teachers don't do well at explaining it in the US (I've researched). Since I assume there are some great mathematicians here, I would like to request some advice.
Thanks.

REPLY [4 votes]: High school math classes generally reward rote memorization and a fairly straightforward application of formulas to problems. There is not a lot of why or how or what if in the curriculum.
The mathematics that you speak of is the proof-based, abstract thinking classes that one sees in certain high-school camps (such as Ross or PROMYS), or in college.
I don't think we can diagnose exactly what it is between you and high school math. That type of math is very cumulative, and missing out on something years earlier can hurt you later. It could be a dry teaching style; it could be a boring curriculum; it could be that you fell behind and never quite caught up; or perhaps you simply prefer to think abstractly in computer problems.
Here are some ideas: Practice the more fundamental things that you are weaker on. Find a good tutor or teacher, whether locally or online. See if you can find a mentor or tutor at a local college or university. Look for people who are doing what you'd like to do in 5-10 years and ask them how they learned math, or how much they used it in their studies or careers.
The amount of math you need in computer science depends on how far you are planning to go, and whether you plan to be in a theoretical or an applied field.
Finally, Lockhart's Lament (PDF) may be an interesting read for you.