DD tested early as extreme math, though had no interest in it. Now at 11, she is loving Thinkwell pre-calc (still doesn't LOVE math though) She is more grade level in science, in her interests, and her understanding. We will see if physics helps, but basically, she makes up stuff to explain things and doesn't care what the actual truth is. Like that people have one stomach for solids and a separate one for liquids. Yes, she has been told, but she just forgets.
So, I'd have to say this anecdote does not support, and I'll comment that it probably depends on the particular area of science.
YES.
I think that this is a fairly insightful anecdote-- and it matches my experience and my DH's too.
Both of us were considered "underperforming" math students (maybe "indifferent" would have been more accurate) until high school, and in my case, beyond it.
I
hate math for its own sake.
On the other hand, I love math for problem-solving and exploration in science. I
loved DiffEq, and it was an epiphany... similarly, I
loved statistics-- again, epiphany and beauty and shining light, singing angels...
Well. You get the idea. I only thought I hated math. I
love math. I just hate arithmetic and drill-- who knew?? I thought I was 'bad' at math as a result, though. I mention this because it's a reasonably common thing among people who are born to be scientists. It can lead to a series of self-fulfilling prophecies, however, which is what happened in my case. I have no idea why I struggled with calculus, in retrospect, other than my own mental barriers about being bad at math.
I hated arithmetic. Hated it. I think that much of my problem with math was self-fulfilling prophecy generated in no small part form those stupid timed fact-tests in 2nd through 4th grade. I was NOT a memorizer, never have been, so I was
actually working the problems. Needless to say, one cannot actually DO that and finish 60-80 problems in 3 minutes. (I don't think it was actually the
hundreds of problems that I recall. Visually, though, I'm pretty sure that it was a 6 or 7 by 10 grid.)
I digress.
DD has definitely followed a similar pattern of asynchrony to me (and DH, to a lesser extent); indifference to basic operations and accuracy in same, better interest in procedural learning and applications, and
devoted interest in science topics, and organic, natural exploration using fairly sophisticated thinking and experimental design. She started intuitively understanding the need for
negative controls when she was around 4 or 5, and for
positive ones when she was only about 7.
She's far more mathy than I am. If anything, though, she's a combination of her dad and me in terms of her academic leanings and abilities.
