to think that I am thick

[user546425732]

I've got to do a maths exam next week. I've been doing practice paper after practice paper for weeks but I'm still not getting anywhere near the pass rate. I'm thick aren't I? My maths teacher at school always said I was thick, he was right.

Freaklikemeee - is there really any need to knock kitty? She didn't say being on a TV quiz show made her clever.

1. She said she was demonstrating her cleverness on a quiz show. I said that wasn't possible as answering trivia questions does not demonstrate such a quality.
2. Telling someone they are or aren't clever isn't knocking or praising them. It's just a fact.

Some people are intelligent, and some have other skills—such as being able to memorize answers for quizzes.

I'm not good at maths. But I'm not thick.

A teacher would not call anyone thick!

Freak - you were being nasty :)

Sometimes when a teacher calls us something it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and we get locked into that mindset. The opposite also happens. I constantly see kids break free when l remind them again and again as a teacher how well they can do something.
Can you decide that you will show Mr Brown you are not thick and decide to leave that label behind.
And Freak ..you picked a good user name for yourself!!

A teacher would not call anyone thick!

Not now, no. But when I was at school it was acceptable.

Depends on the quiz show Freak. I agree that shows like Mastermind and Fifteen to One are simple tests of recall. But Only Connect and the more fiendishly convoluted questions on University Challenge definitely test the full range of intelligence, along with general knowledge. And even Pointless demands some pretty advanced game theory.

Outside Context Possibly a small number of the questions on University Challenge test certain facets of intelligence, but most of it is just instant recall (admittedly of obscure facts that the average person wouldn't know) and by no means does it test the full range of intelligence! There's an interesting article about it here.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7907861.stm

There’s a majority (not an overwhelming majority) of straight general knowledge questions on UC, though they’re trying to change the mix as much as possible because more creative questions are more fun for the viewer. But in order to do well you need to be able to do both types. Trimble was a brilliant example because of the way she managed to exploit her knowledge of the classics to answer science questions at speed.

I'm going to check out Pointless later. Never seen it!

What’s the course?

Pointless is a lot of fun. It’s a combination of general knowledge and identifying the extent to which that general knowledge is shared by the general population. The questions are mostly very easy, but the way you choose which questions to answer, in order to block your opponents and second guess the Great British Public offers lots of scope for more advanced play. You can see the hosts playing the advanced level in parallel with the contestants (mostly) playing the more easy version.

I liked Pointless. Wish there was less of the chit-chat about the contestants' 'interesting' lives though and more of the questions!

Please Google Maths Anxiety! Your working memory is shut down by your anxious brain and makes it very difficult to remember info or reason things out.
Also look up Growth Mindset stuff by Carol Dweck (Videos on youtube)
Jo Boaler's work in particular combines Maths and mindset. Books youtube or website.
It is possible to learn Maths ! You can do this and this information and belief system can help you get there.

Funny you should mention GT @OutsideContextProblem, as I made the assumption that Kitty was talking about UC & OC and nearly wet myself a little as she was the only female I could think of who has been on both shows and is a bit of a hero of mine. Although of course I'm sure she is not the only one, and Kitty could of course be a chap! (If he's Filip DZ, I can't even begin to spell his name right, I would wet myself more than just a little!!)

A teacher would not call anyone thick!

Lol, I’m going to stick my neck out here and say you weren’t at school in the 70s/ early 80s. In those days, if calling you thick was the worst the teacher did, you could count yourself lucky.

Oh there’s been more. I remember the extremely likeable Rachael Neiman, who’s very memorable because she’s blind and has pink hair, so I’m sure there’s others who just happen to be less eye catching than her or GT.

What is the test? If it's functional skills, you'll be fine. I'm shite at maths. I've never heard of dyscalculia before but I do know math and me do not get on. Never have done. My math teacher also told me I was thick.

I distinctly remember being in primary school and being taken out of math class with a small group of other students where we were told "You're not clever enough to do numbers, so we're going to do fun things like shapes instead"

I passed functional maths. Well, I assume I did. I got on the course and no-one told me I'd failed. The questions start off really easy, things like 'Johnny goes to the shop with a £5 note and spends £4.80, how much change does Johnny get?'. They're all multiple choice too.

The trick is to try not to cry after the first ten questions and they start getting harder and harder and harder. If you can answer the first few, you'll pass.

Most courses allow you on if you fail but you have to take functional math alongside your course.

What sort of questions are you struggling on?
Is it the adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying or is it more complex if X=3 what is the value of Y?

Are you allowed the use of a calculator? Do you know how to use a calculator properly?(I struggle with this!)

All of the above can be fixed once you figure out the area in which you are struggling. You can focus on that. Just doing past papers won't help if you don't know where you are going wrong or why.

If it's functional skills you will be fine though. They start easy and get harder, but on most courses if you fail you can continue as long as you take a maths course as well.

You might be. Doesn't mean you can't pass the test though.

What are you struggling with? Be specific and you might get help!