"Hawke" writes:

What I'm saying is that the people with ability at math aren't "struggling"
with it.

Look, I've spent enough time around people who are better at math than
me, and enough time around people who find 2+2 to be a challenge, to
know better.

They're naturally good at it. They like it. It's fun for them and
they learn it quickly. There is a big difference between those guys, who
tend to go on to technical careers, and those who fight their way through
the courses.

If they didn't find it fun, they wouldn't be math majors (they sure
aren't math majors because it's where the jobs are!). But yes, they
spend a *lot* of time and struggle on it.

I had to fight my way through algebra and geometry so I know
what it's like to have to work through classes where you don't really
comprehend what's going on. Did I pass? Yeah, but barely and I didn't like
it because I sucked. I always envied the guys who were getting the "A"
grades but I knew I never could. On the other hand, once we left math and
went to all the other classes, guess who did better? The guys who were so
good in math were not so great in the other things like language. Which
shows, I think, that it's all about what your talent is and not so much
about how hard you work. But as we all know harder work usually pays off,
but not always.

Yes, yes, yes. And I found ancient history a lot harder than the
history majors in class with me. And I found formal language theory a
lot harder than the future CS theoreticians who were in class with
me. And in both case, working at it did indeed pay off.