Math is a science that is so deeply intertwined with our lives. Studying math comes with benefits. It helps you shape your creative and rational thinking. At the same time, it helps you improve your problem-solving skills and think linearly.
However, not all people are good at math. Some might not like it as they find it too challenging. Others did not have the luck to have a nice math teacher. And other people are just more creative and engaged in abstract thinking, which makes solving math a daunting task. But why is it so hard for creative people, artists, to be attracted to math.
Motivation and Interests
Well, one of the first things that might make solving math hard for creative people is their motivation and interests. As mentioned above, some people think in an abstract form. They can generate ideas using other thinking patterns as rational people do. So, their motivation might be directed to the creative side of life, while math might be perceived as quite rigid.
Artists want to create music, paintings, artworks, sculptures. And while math is involved in many of these, it might be the math taught within schools that is not appealing at all. When your motivation is triggered by something else than math, it is difficult to find the inner will to want to excel at it.
Because it simply is not on the interest list of creative people. Any creative student who struggles with math homework can ask for help from professionals and experts. I got help with my math homework during high school and college and I was so satisfied with the results. Being able to have the support of an expert will help you understand how to solve some math problems. Even though many people might not like it, it is a mandatory study subject within some schools.
Bad Math Teachers
Another reason why creative people might find it so hard to solve math is that they had a really bad teacher. And if some might think that creative people cannot be good at math, they are wrong. Take for example Leonardo da Vinci who excelled at both math and painting, but also theory, science, and architecture.
However, not all people are geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci but this does not mean that they cannot be good at math. However, love for math can easily be instilled if there is someone to inspire and motivate you. As creative people usually think in a more abstract form, math concepts might be challenging to grasp.
And this is the moment when you need a good teacher to stand beside you. Some of the creative people have had the bad luck to have a bad math teacher. And when there is no one to make you love math, to create the environment you need to study it, your motivation is dwindling. Afterward, it will be problematic to get back on track.
Differently Structured Brains
Some studies have compared the brains of non-artists with the ones of the artists. And the differences were easily visible. They have found out that in the brain of artists there is more visually related neural matter than in the brain of non-artists.
This might explain why they are drawn to thinking visually. However, it might be the case that not all creative people had an innate talent for it. The environment plays a key role in the development of people and thus those who were exposed to artists’ worlds and creations consistently might find it more appealing and motivating than math. This might be another reason why so many creative people find it hard to solve math.
Final Thoughts
If you have asked yourself why is it so hard for creative people to solve math, hopefully, this article came with the answers you were looking for. Creative people might have an innate talent and attraction towards the creative part of life. As math is so rigid and linear, they might easily get bored or lose the motivation to learn more.
But the love and passion for certain subjects can be nurtured and fostered by the environment and teachers. Some simply have the bad luck to have a bad math teacher, thus making them lose all their motivation to want to understand math concepts and solve math problems.
Bio lines: Mary Spears is a content writer and blogger. She usually writes on topics related to human psychology such as creativity, productivity, and social skills. Mary loves playing basketball with her friends on Friday nights.
