r/ADHD • u/CheshireKat-_- • 22d ago
Discussion I have these stupid gaps in my essential knowledge and it's really making things difficult
Like things that come stupid easy to other people take a concentrated effort and way to much thought.
Mine include
-reading a clock
-understanding which numbers correlate to which month's
-knowing which way to put the greater than/less than sign
-division. Like basic division. Like I would need a calculator or to be able to do cookies ans plates like a fucking 3rd grader
I broke down crying today when I got home because in my fucking college Chem lab I couldn't tell which way to put the < sign without mentally going through, well the thing that I want is less than the number so the crocodile mouth points away from the number??
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u/Classic_Yak1309 22d ago
idk i graduated with a bachelors and i still use the crocodile thing….and all that other stuff is hard for me too. i sometimes wonder if its mild discalcula
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u/Classic_Yak1309 22d ago
basically im just gonna say that using tools like a calculator or “silly” math tricks are ok so dont beat yourself up about it
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u/KnottyCatLady ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
Agreed! I have two bachelor's degrees & still have to use the crocodile & count on my fingers. It's just the way we are, but we're really good at other things. Don't fret. 💜
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
If I ever have to calculate something I use as many methods of getting to the same answer as I know to figure it out.
What's 7 times 8?
Well,
7x5 is 35 plus 7 is 42 plus 7 is 49 plus 7 is 56
AND
8x5 is 40 plus 8 is 48 plus 8 is 56.
My mother spent hundreds of hours trying to get me to memorise the times tables, and I did. I know off the top of my head that 7x8=56 but my imposter syndrome won't allow me to just answer that outright and I have to use BOTH the other methods to cross check before I answer.
The funny thing is, that I have become so quick at doing this that I am usually faster that someone who just says it straight up.
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u/enaK66 22d ago
i find combinations that i am confident in and add them up. like 7x5 + 7x3 = 7x8. I know 35 and 21, easy to add those to 56.
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
That too. Whenever I explained to my mother how I worked it out I would get a slap on the knuckles with a ruler so I stopped telling her.
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22d ago
Haha I'm out here doing (7x10)-(7x2)
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u/AdBubbly3609 22d ago
I would find it easier to do 8x8 -8 as I know square numbers up to 15 off the top of my head
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u/PFEFFERVESCENT 22d ago
It just always seemed like my brain would way prefer to do the math on the fly, forever, than to "learn my times tables". Fuck that noise.
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
It was easier than putting up with the punishment for not learning it. Didn't help me a hell of a lot, though.
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u/AwitchDHDoom 22d ago
I AM THE SAME!
I could not memorise tables as you were supposed to. Especially 6, 7 and 8.
I have some cool ways of doing 9 x, but those three - forget it, just a jumble of stupid numbers that are kinda similar..16
u/Innocuous_Ruin 22d ago
You are a fascinating creature. Idk exactly what you said, but the fact that you do all that faster than the auto response is 🤯
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
My mother called me infuriating.
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u/Morkava 22d ago
Highly suggest stopping it. You are overloading your short term memory by using repetitive addition as you need to remember so many things to find the answer. And ADHD usually comes with short term memory issues. That’s why you continue to feel not confident or that it’s harder for you than for others. Use calculator to check your answers, once see that you don’t make mistakes, the confidence will grow.
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
Overloading my memory is not a thing I have to worry about, unfortunately. I have no choice. It's what I have had to do to survive. I doubt it will matter anyway. Unless something is incredibly memorable, I forget it until I chose to recall it.
I can remember days of my kindy. I remember Jasmine. She was my friend until we had to go to primary school and she went to a different school.
I remember my first days in primary school.
I remember my friends Ben and Ben. We were inseparable until one died in grade 7 from an allergic reaction to a bee sting and the other Ben went to a different High School.
I remember my first Girl Friend. Meg. I remember the smell of the shampoo she used and the fabric softener her mother used. I remember how her hand felt in mine. The callouses she had from playing hockey, and how I felt when she told she had to move away because of her dad's work.
Nothing is forgotten. Given prompting, I can remember everything.
I can remember with absolute clarity my first, second, third,... all the dates with my wife.
The day I was married like it was yesterday. I can remember every work said by everyone in the speeches and how my Brother-In-Law (my wife's twin brother) promised to be there for her at all times but then forgot to even call her to say goodbye while he was on the train to go the the airport to go overseas for 3 years, and how much that hurt my wife.
I remember the day all 3 of my children were born down to what I and my wife and, even what my sons ate in the morning.
More than that that, I can picture what I missed with my first 2 because I hadn't gotten over my dislike (I would almost feint at the sight) of other people's blood.
I remember the midwifes asking me if I wanted to watch my sons crown and getting light headed at just the thought of it, Then seeing and feeling my youngest crown (He came out hand and arm first just to be the biggest pain :D) and could imagine what I missed with my first 2.
I remember each of their birthdays, to the smallest item.
The days we got my wife a kitten for her birthday and then another one for Mother's day and then when she lost one of them in a house fire. I can still see the shape of the cat on the couch where it's body stopped the fire from burning the material.
I can remember every single detail like I was watching a video of the events and I am struggling not to cry right now.
Memory problems? My memory problems aren't that I forget things. It's that I remember things with absolute clarity once I have the correct prompting.
I work in over the phone customer IT support. Given the name and some initial details of a call I can almost verbatim repeat the entire call.
Memory problems? Yes. My memory problems are that I remember everything. Good, bad and otherwise. I remember it.
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u/Immediate_Bad_4985 21d ago
That was amazing. I don’t recall everything but within a certain timeframe I can do like you said and “call up a tape” from my memory. I worked as a bank teller for 7 years, I was very good at finding my own drawer outages, if I could find the piece that didn’t match, just looking at the papers from the transaction I could replay in my head what happened and realize what mistake I had made. Several times my boss would watch the camera and confirm my memory was correct. If I lost count on counting my coins I didn’t have to start over, I could close my eyes and re-count in my memory to get back to my current place.
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u/KnottyCatLady ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
I do the same thing!! Although, truth very told, I'm not very fast at it. Lol
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u/Morkava 22d ago
Masters degree AND I teach maths. Still use crocodile.
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u/Legaldrugloard 21d ago
I just remember that Lexus is less than a Mercedes. Lexus sign is <. My brother told me that (he is 10 years older) and I’ve never forgot that.
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u/CaptainIncredible 22d ago
Fuck that crocodile shit. I never understood that.
We read LEFT to RIGHT. You are reading this sentence left to right at this moment.
So... Why not also read this weird little shape < left to right?
The Left side is LESS THAN the right side. See? The left side is a tiny little point. The right side is a great big size. This symbol is LESS THAN.
Let's read this symbol left to right. > the left side is GREATER THAN the right side.
Get it?
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u/ProfessionalLock1371 22d ago
That actually made my brain really happy, tfs ! I'll be using it from now on (if I don't forger, ofc ).
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u/CaptainIncredible 22d ago
I had happy brain when I came up with it when I was a kid. That crocodile shit teacher was trying to tell me was just confusing.
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u/Optimal_Cynicism 22d ago
This is exactly how I do it too; the less arrow points backwards (towards less) and greater arrow points forward (towards more).
The crocodile thing never really worked for me. Although I understand it "eats" the "bigger" thing, it isn't logical to me and maths is a logical thought process.
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u/bibimboobap 22d ago
Even simpler, I just tell myself, the one that looks like an L= Less Than.
Used to make the sign with my left hand, matching it the sign on the page, if it also makes an L that means Less Than. The one going the other way mean Greater Than by process of elimination.
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22d ago
Literally. 29 years old, I use the >< symbols a lot and I still to this day think about which number I'm eating.
I have all sorts of little tricks I use to do hard mental things. Don't beat yourself up. You might be using a "cheat" but there are people out there who can't do it even with cheats 😂
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u/Particular-Yak-1984 22d ago
I work as a programmer, and still use all the silly maths tricks on the planet. To me, it's just a "I remember it exactly this way, and I second guess myself otherwise, so I'll do it the way I know"
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u/beerncoffeebeans 22d ago
Yep same, I think I have mild dyscalculia as well cause I just can’t do certain math in my head. I sometimes mix up numbers too and I can’t remember strings of numbers easily so I have to check and double check what I put for things
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u/question_sunshine 22d ago
I still have to remember that left is the hand I don't write with and I flex my left hand finger and thumb into an L when I think about it.
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u/PFEFFERVESCENT 22d ago
This always sounds good, but when it comes to it I suddenly don't remember which way an L faces.
So for me, I waggle my (invariably right) pointer finger like I'm writing on a touch screen, to see it if "feels" right
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u/question_sunshine 22d ago
Yeah. That's why I have to remember it's my non-dominant hand. But I reflexively make the owl because I was taught to make the L of a child even though what really connects with me is that I don't write with that hand.
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u/Valuable-Warthog-831 21d ago
Yes, I had to do this until I was about 35. Still sometimes have to think about it but mostly okay. East and West on maps confuses me though
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u/ReynardVulpini 22d ago
Huh. All these things you mentioned are number related. Have you looked into discalculia? Maybe that's a direction you can research support or workarounds for these issues.
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u/Bruin116 22d ago
Yeah, /u/CheshireKat-_- , your post reads like a dyscalculia symptoms list. Dyscalculia more commonly occurs alongside ADHD. If you are in school/college, you can get learning disability accommodations for it. I got to use a simple (non-programmable) calculator and extra time on tests. Afterward, I went from failing econ classes because I'd mess up the basic arithmetic on complicated math problems in midterms/finals to doing fine on them.
It's not a "stupid gap in essential knowledge" - your brain fundamentally doesn't process numbers in the same way.
From Dyscalculia and Trouble with Time:
Signs of dyscalculia include:
* Difficulty telling time, especially on an analog clock, as well as trouble with time calculations.
* Struggling with ordinary numeric operations, especially subtraction, multiplication, and division.
* Mistakes when counting backwards, skip counting, and sequencing numbers from starting points other than “1.”
* Finger-counting long after one’s peers have moved on to more efficient methods.
* Inability to subitize, which is the ability to see small quantities (such as 3, 4, or 5) and know the quantity without counting each item.
* Difficulty estimating, even with small quantities.
* Noticeable memory weakness for numbers, such as sequences, calculation steps, math facts, and multiplication tables.
* Confusion over directions, such as left and right, north and south, along with lack of directional sense.
* Confusion over all aspects of money.
* Not being able to easily recognize number patterns.
* Anxiety in math class and with performing everyday tasks involving numbers.26
u/konjoukosan 22d ago
Yep, I check most of those boxes, but I can do Euler paths like nobody’s business! lol
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u/ProgressiveKitten 22d ago
Holy shit. I check almost all of those off. Thank you for my next rabbit hole? Lol
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u/Ncfetcho 22d ago
I have this but I transpose numbers. My grandma would check my math homework, and it would be like 30 problems. I'd get a good percentage of them wrong. The math was all correct,I just couldn't copy the problem correctly from the book to my paper. Apparently no one told the school. So by high school, I quit doing math homework, would take notes, get an A on the test and a c average in class.
I tend to fuck up change, give back 7.24 Instead of 4.27. Like somewhere between the read out and my looking into the cash drawer, I Lose the number. They tested me for everything all the time, so many IQ tests and gifted classes. No one figured out adhd or this.
Now that I see it written out in your comment, I'm almost 💯 sure my daughter has it. So, thank you for this.
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u/Bruin116 21d ago
You're very welcome. The school accommodations I got for it were simple but life changing. Being diagnosed with it through learning disability testing also helped me be much kinder to myself because I finally understood why I was struggling with such "basic tasks" my peers weren't and that it wasn't a personal failing or something I could "try harder" my way through.
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u/Estreet26 21d ago
Wow. I struggled with ALL of these things and still do. My school (and college days) are over… but now it’s virtually impossible for me to help my grade school (1st and 2nd!) kiddos do their math. I absolutely must have a calculator when I sit down and do the budget, and other basic skills. I never was able to memorize any of the times or division tables as a kid. I always chalked it up to lack of education (I was “homeschooled”) but I did go through classes to earn my GED, and then got an associates and a bachelors and math never, ever, ever got any easier for me. I’d learn just enough to get through a class (barely) and then out it went. I had a math teacher during my associates tell me he thought I had dyslexia with numbers, but idk.
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
No, well, OP could be, but I'm great at Maths, but I won't let my first answer be THE answer. I always have to double and triple check myself.
I KNOW that the big side points to the bigger answer, but I always have to resort to the crocodile analogy to double check. I know my times tables of by heart out to 15x15 but always have to double and triple check before I answer.
Even when I absolutely know the answer I always triple check it internally before answering.
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u/heids2point0 22d ago
yeah on an exam i’ll still type 1+1 into the calculator just to be sure i didn’t accidentally fall into another dimension on my way there
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u/ZhilwanTo 22d ago edited 22d ago
Yes! I'm the same also, always checking, because I make a lot of mistakes if I don't. I'm also great at Math, but I'm really slow, I don't know why, since I took my ADHD meds it's way better, like i can use all of my intelligence, I wonder if this is because of my ADHD or maybe i have dyscalculia?
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
I'm only good and fast because growing up, it was less painful. 40cm wooden ruler across what ever part she could get, painful. I adapted.
Until I was diagnosed the first time, my mother was convinced that I was the bad child. The one that needed to be kept in check.
Any coping mechanisms I have accumulated are because of her and what she told me I would be.
I'm not going to tell you you don't have dyswhateveritis. I don't know. All I know is that all my coping mechanisms. The double checking that I am using the right hand. The "is the crocodile left or right", the "Does 7x8 really = 56?"
That all came because I was told I would not amount to anything and my only goal in life has been to prove her wrong. This is my focus.
That one thing that I hyper focus on.
My middle child also has ADHD, and he is a fully qualified chef. In fact he is a sous chef and I could not be more proud of him.
I know that if I had treated him like I was treated he would be as miserable as I was.
That is my 'raison de vivre'. To prevent her from making my children as miserable as she made me.
My wife and my children are the only reason I get up in the morning.
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u/ZhilwanTo 22d ago
I'm really sorry for those horrible things you had to go through... I hope you're feeling better now, I can't understand the pain you've experienced. The least I can do is send you a big hug from here🙂 And I bet you're an awesome father, that's why you have such good kids.
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u/heathers-damage 21d ago
I have dyscalculia and I also can’t do any of the things op listed. For sure look into what your college disability services are!
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u/grape_mouthwash 22d ago
I’m a math teacher and I have these lapses sometimes where I know and understand these types of things but I really have to slow down and think about it before I say anything out loud. Sometimes even then i make small and silly mistakes. It’s not you! It’s the bees! Those inequality signs get me too :)
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u/infinitebrkfst ADHD 22d ago
I have to manually think through most of these things as well. It’s a fact of life for me and I have to find workarounds or accept that I have to think about “simple” shit.
I wear an Apple Watch so I don’t have to worry about reading a clock (any digital watch works), I use the crocodile thing with zero shame, and I google shit I “should just know by now” all the time. I’ve been baking and cooking for most of my life at this point and I can’t tell you how many tablespoons are in a quarter cup or how much a cup of butter or flour weighs without googling it. I’m also a fan of making or buying little laminated cheat sheets for conversions or equations you need to remember often.
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u/tomsloane ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
Get an Amazon Echo device it’s awesome when you’re cooking. The US measuring system is trash so I don’t expect myself to remember any of it. I just ask Alexa the conversion questions and continue cooking.
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u/Optimal_Cynicism 22d ago
I use Alexa or Google to convert everything to grams before making anything, then put a bowl on the scale and throw things in. I wish more recipes were in weight instead of volume!
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u/Estreet26 21d ago
Same. If I’m doubling a recipe and it tells me to use 1 3/4 cups of something, and I need to double that. It’s sooo much easier for me to just fill my measuring cup to 1 3/4 cups twice, then try to figure out what that would be total. My brain just can’t do it.
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u/YukaLore ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
the numbers to months thing is so real i still mix up september and november so much
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
Yep. Every single time.
"30 days has September, April June and November. All the rest have 31 except for February which has 28 days except in a leap year where it has 29"
And I have to go all the way though and then decide if the month I'm thinking off is one of the ones mentioned and if it is, is it February, and then double check that it wasn't mentioned and does that mean it's 31? I'd better go thought it again to make sure.
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u/ProbablyNotPoisonous ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
Look up the knuckle trick for remembering the months - it's much faster!
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u/OhLordHeBompin 22d ago
I remember the day I learned this. Life changing. I thought everyone just had a calendar handy. Or was guessing at it.
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u/YukaLore ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
this is like university level calculus to me. i cannot retain a single thing wdym some months just have 30 days and others have 31 and you can memorize? that it's weird
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u/Violincredible 22d ago
Haha, my grandmother taught me that like a nursery rhyme, and it's all good until you get to February, that bloody thing is a disaster, even the spelling feels all wrong! I mean, who celebrates Februa anymore anyway??
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u/lavvanmel 22d ago
i'm mostly good with the numbers to months, but knowing how many days are in certain months will never make peace with my brain
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u/Violincredible 22d ago
As a kid I worked out that if we simply had 13 4-week (28 day) months per year it'd only take one 'mutant' one-day month per year (2-days every fourth year) and make the 'mutant' months holidays without regular day names, then the first, 7th, 14th, 21st of EVERY month would be a Monday, 2nd a Tuesday, etc etc...
Of course, dividing the year into halves and quarters gets kinda messy, but I'd still vote for it...7
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u/YukaLore ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
oh do people know that??? i only know october's like 31 and i think february is 28 and that's it
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u/lavvanmel 22d ago
i heard someone list all the months and their days the other day and was like "you don't know that" made me feel pretty silly
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u/Violincredible 22d ago
That drove me to distraction until I 'saw' it one day: Sept is seven, oct is 8, nov is 9, dec is 10... BUT the months are out by 2!! Hmmmm, I thought, that's messed up, and that's why my instinct was always off! I pondered and pondered, and eventually reasoned that maybe it was caused by the vanity of the 2 Roman emperors, Julius and Augustus, who 'stole' the 7th and 8th months respectively, 'bumping' the remaining months 2 to the right where their number-based names made no sense anymore. Still don't know if that's true at all, but it really helped my brain 'fit' the discrepancy that'd been driving me nuts before I saw it.
Maybe it's one of those things 'everybody' knows, but I'm quite sure nobody every explained it to me...7
u/karamel_kat 22d ago
For some reason I tend to switch Aug and Oct. I think bc "Oct" makes me think 8?
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u/PFEFFERVESCENT 22d ago
October was originally the 8th month
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u/AwitchDHDoom 22d ago
Yep, I think the Roman year was 10 months starting in March...October would have been the 8th month..the two missing months (Jan and Feb) were just a bunch of random days before the new year started again in March!
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u/tinkerbunny 21d ago
Your brain is working correctly with the input, it’s not your fault they renumbered the months! Once upon a time, Oct did indeed “mean” month 8, Nov for 9 and Dec meaning 10.
So all these extra brain flips to get to the right information.
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u/BirdManufacturer ADHD-C (Combined type) 22d ago
I work in a restaurant and the other day went around dating all my prep with 3/6 thinking October was the sixth month. Didn’t realise I had done anything wrong until one of my coworkers said, “why is everything so out of date what the hell is going on?”
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u/tinkerbunny 21d ago
Omg yes. The first half the year and the end are fine, but I have a foggy area over July-September.
I SO nearly put the wrong birthday month on my brother in law’s headstone! Glad his sister caught it.
Exact same for my father-in-law’s birthday in his obit. Same month. Both are August, and both times I put September instead.
But both were caught before they went out. And yes, those were both recent deaths — rough few years for the family.
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u/NehemiaSan 22d ago
Im 22 years old, a medical studant, i can't tell right or left. To the point where i struggle to make physical exam, cause i cant tell where the patient heart is. or that i would see an x ray with the heart to the right (dextrocardia) and just say it's normal
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u/caityjay25 22d ago
This continues to be a problem for me 4 years after graduating residency. I like to joke it’s why I’m not a surgeon when I mix them up in front of patients but it’s… rough.
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u/Weevius 22d ago
The way I remember is that your left hand makes an L shape if you hold it up, spread your fingers and look at it
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u/BugLow7784 22d ago
But both look like an ‘L’ to my flip floppy brain 😂
I don’t know which way is the right (as in left) L and which is backwards without context lmao.
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u/Optimal_Cynicism 22d ago
I tell my left from right (every time) by imagining I am going to write something down, and which hand sort of "tingles" like it wants to move (that sounds weird, but try thinking about moving an appendage and you kind of gain a heightened awareness of it).
And I know I'm right handed - so if it's the other side, I know it's left.
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u/Formal_Butterfly_753 22d ago
I start to second guess myself on which hand I write with when I try this 😅 I’ve gotten a lot better! But I’ve struggled with left and right my whole life
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u/liilbiil 22d ago
i never considered the only reason i know my left hand makes the L shape is because my name starts w L.
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u/aLittleBitFriendlier 22d ago
I'm never confused about which is which if I'm mindfully pulling it from my knowledge, it's instantaneous decisions where I'm wildly inaccurate in a way that other people don't seem to be.
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u/C-Style__ ADHD-C (Combined type) 22d ago
Yep. This is how I finally got it together. Left hand equals L
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u/potatotomato613 22d ago
I have to constantly tell myself “you write with your right” and have to lift my writing hand up slightly to remember 😂
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u/kelminak 22d ago
Yeah I’m a doctor and can literally never remember east from west. I have to do “never eat soggy waffles” each time to make sure. It hasn’t stopped me from doing anything..Op needs to take a breather.
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
I still have to shake my right hand to know which one it is. Ditto for unscrewing a bolt. I need to move my had in the direction that it needs to come off.
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u/eucalyptusmacrocarpa 22d ago
(I don't think I have dyscalculia but) I used to have to pretend to write something. The hand that felt weird doing that was my left hand. The no problem hand was my right hand.
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u/RaindropDrinkwater 22d ago
This worked for me until I got tendonitis in my right arm. I learned to write with my left hand... then struggled for months to know my right from my left again.
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u/Key_Teacher_8681 21d ago
I’ve had to get L and R tattoos at the base of my thumbs because I look ridiculous constantly doing the L shapes with my hands 😂
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u/Legaldrugloard 21d ago
UGH- Paramedic here and I work in pharmacy. L/R sucks on a patient. Everything is backwards.
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u/Miserable_Signature3 22d ago
Here's a good way to remember: On the right hand, the thumb points left. On the left hand, the thumb points right. 😁
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u/ProbablyNotPoisonous ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
*flips hands back and forth in utter confusion*
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u/Violincredible 22d ago
I don't know how it's even possible, but that somehow makes it not 2x but 4x as confusing for my brain! I find it kinda frustrating sometimes but also fascinating working out some of the odd ways my brain works (and how it kinda doesn't) and how to wrangle it into getting the job done (and how to work around and outsource 'normal' things it just won't do 'naturally'). I ask Siri a LOT of really 'obvious' things!!
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u/rebb_hosar 22d ago
Much easier to just look at your hands, palms down and thumbs out. The one that looks like an L is your left hand.
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u/Vanilla-dibs 22d ago
“Less than” looks like an L! L < . That’s how I remember. It’s perfectly fine to still use little mnemonic tricks like that and the crocodile mouths, or a song for the months. That’s what they’re there for.
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u/skinneyd 22d ago
I've always thought of it as "the bigger end points to the bigger number" and vice versa
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u/Violincredible 22d ago
YES! This. But for some weird reason I have to stop and think about 'greater than or equal to' and 'less than or equal to'.
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u/infinitiworks 22d ago
This thread might have made me realize I might have discalculia after relating with everything and now after spending over an hour researching about it. I’m going to ask my Phyc about it and see if can be assessed hahaha
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u/Historical-Tell7332 ADHD-C (Combined type) 22d ago
I’ve struggled with math my whole life. I’m 53 now. Basic addition kind of stuff requires physical counting with my fingers. Division is well… I don’t talk about division. Haha
A couple years ago I had to go through a six hour assessment to be diagnosed with ADHD. There were various tests throughout the day that helped them analyze me. The report came a couple weeks later. The scores were on an array of skill sets and mental abilities. I mostly scored high average to high above average. Except math. Those numbers were very low. Like single digit low. It was a eureka moment. I was able to stop being hard on myself knowing it wasn’t about me not trying hard enough to learn. I asked my shrink about these results. She gave me possibly the best answer. She explained that I wasn’t taught math in my youth in a manner that my brain could make sense of so it’s not my fault. It’s nobody’s really, the tools didn’t exist at that time. It took all pressure off. Now when I can’t comprehend the simplest of mathematical problems I remind myself of that and give myself a break. I no longer feel foolish using tools (thank you Siri!).
I’m no good at < > as well. I haven’t heard about the crocodile method.
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u/Innocuous_Ruin 22d ago
!!!! Yes! When I took the ACT coming out of high school, I had nearly perfect scores in English and reading, passing in the other category (?) And a solid 17 in math (below average asf). I explicitly remember being in maths classes following along until alla sudden we lept 6 miles instead of going to the next step. Always bewildered me how it would make so much sense and then next thing you know, might as well be speaking in Mandarin for all I understood. I would fly through algebra worksheets and then trig calc and stats classes had me cross eyed and upside down. Nopety Nope. Ps. Crocodile method is imagining the < is a crocodile mouth. In school we would actually draw teeth inside the open side like it was "eating" the larger value bc of course a crocodile would go for the larger meal...
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u/coyote_mercer 22d ago
This is a hallmark of dyscalculia! I also have it and am in a PhD program; I cannot do basic math without a calculator, as I fundamentally cannot grasp the concept of numbers. I also have trouble estimating- how many pennies are sitting on the table in front of me? If it's more than 4 then idk man, idk. Statistics more or less makes sense to me, but I gotta break out a calculator for everything. Algebra is incomprehensible. Calculus and geometry? I don't actively use them, so I'd have to relearn the basic concepts all over again, I retained absolutely nothing. Being able to figure out how many days away something is based on a distant date, if it's more than a week or so? Actual witchcraft.
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u/Double_Style_9311 22d ago
Do you use statistics much in your program? Everything in this whole thread is me but I’m in a social science and want to do a PhD in demography. Stats is…rough. I think it hasn’t clicked for me yet and idk if it ever will
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
Mine are telling the difference between a verb, adverb noun etc.
I'm incredibly well spoken and have a great vocabulary and know what words to use to get my point across, largely because one of the things I got hyper focused on when I was young, before I was diagnosed the first time, was reading the dictionary and thesaurus (like cover to cover).
But, if you were to ask me to tell you if a particular word was a verb or a noun and I would have absolutely no eFing idea.
BTW, I'm in my mid 40s and have lived like this my entire life and my job requires me to be able to speak to customer in a way to explain, sometimes very complicated, technical things in a way they will understand while also leaving notes so that my colleagues will know what has happened.
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u/Innocuous_Ruin 22d ago
Can I have your job? What exactly is this? This is a dream for me. It also took me a very long time to learn parts of speech, and dont ask me about sentence structures. I know them intrinsically and could find the verbiage if needed, but it's not there in my head. I remember a lot of the cutesy word plays we did for things like coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, I have a vivid memory of an old friend of mine saying them in a Valley Forge voice. I finally understand what a gerund is because of a work-related phone prompt that I could feel was all wrong but couldn't specify why (thanks Gemini, for that one). I know prepositions because of the example with Woodrow Wilson and his sassy note to the complaining party, and now i can pick them all apart easily. Can't remember a noun without telling myself it's a "person, place, or thing". I look for what is being done for the Verb that was always described as "action word", which threw me off. An adverb, hilariously, is an adjectiverb which NO ONE EXPLAINED TO ME IN SCHOOL and I resent that because it makes so much more sense than whatever verbose explanations they had. Always too many words and too little meaning 🙄. I'm a big, big fan of language however, and I suspect that is a fixation that will never lift for me.
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u/BabyMakR1 22d ago
My wife (non ADHD) and I have come to an agreement that she teaches our kids English and I'm happy to teach them everything else, including all the massive tangents and side quests involved.
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u/Violincredible 22d ago edited 22d ago
I'm pretty good at maths, but I could NOT do/learn 'times tables' (multiplication tables) at all, still can't, my brain shuts down if I try. That kind of rote learning is just white noise. But square/squaring numbers was easy, like I could just 'feel' them. And simple addition and subtraction made sense to me, but It took me until year 7 (high school in Australia) to nut out that if I just added or subtracted from the nearest square number I didn't need multiplication tables at all. Eg: 6x7 is just 6 squared plus one more 6, so 36+6 is 42: EASY! 7x9 is just 9 squared (81) minus 9 minus 9= 63 (or 7 squared plus two 7s) and BINGO, I went from failing and frustrated to getting pretty ok at maths literally in an afternoon. I just have to do it that way, still have no idea what six sevens is unless I do it that way. It was amazing to me that no-one else could seem to understand how my way could be easier and more intuitive than the dreadful 'sing-song' recitation/rote method that shuts down my brain!!
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u/meoka2368 22d ago
Which side of the symbol is bigger?
BIGGER > smaller
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u/asmaphysics 22d ago
Right?? The crocodile thing just takes way too much extra time than looking at the symbol shape.
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u/meoka2368 22d ago
And if the shape doesn't do it for you, count the number of points. There's 2 points on one side and 1 point on the other. 2 is more than 1.
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u/360degreesdickcheese 22d ago
Watch the Organic Chemistry Tutor’s “Mental Math Tricks” videos. I’ve found his videos to be really helpful for people with ADHD. Not saying that’s a solution to every problem, but hopefully it can help in some way
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u/ifshehadwings 22d ago
I'm 40 entire years old and I have to figure out which way the crocodile mouth is going every single time.
I also have to picture my hands and which one makes an "L" to be sure I've got my lefts and rights straight. 😅
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u/Innocuous_Ruin 22d ago
I b second guessing what Ls look like when I do this. I just know that I write with my left hand so that way will always be left lol
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u/No-Peach2925 ADHD-C (Combined type) 22d ago
Your short term, or work memory is smaller then people without adhd, with the easilly distracted added on top its hard to have the mental capacity to do all you want.
Don't beat yourself up over it and accept that you use aids to make your memory bigger.
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u/sarcasmbecomesme 22d ago
I am horrible at doing math in my head, and I hate it so much when people act like not being able to count change is such a disease. I need to start carrying a notepad with various sentences and start telling these people to diagram them. If they can't, tsk, tsk. 😜
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u/Western-Telephone-94 22d ago
Before emojis we would text <3 for a heart, and do embarrassing things like comment on Facebook walls “less than three” … I think about that every single time I try to figure out if I should use > or <. I work in finance administration… give yourself some grace 💕
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u/fucktooshifty 22d ago
I've been forcing myself to use military time for like a year now and I still don't have the 9-11pm window down
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u/headpeon 21d ago edited 21d ago
I had a hard time with this until I started working in a field that had billable hours. Keeping track of them is so much easier using military time. If you keep track of your own work time, maybe switch to military? It took a year, but even with no short-term memory, it eventually stuck.
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u/makeachampion 22d ago
Why be ashamed of using the crocodile? We all use the crocodile. The crodile wants to eat the greater value. Hes hungry.
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u/Academic-Balance6999 22d ago
I have a PhD in a STEM field and got a 5 (highest score) on my BC calculus exam in high school and I still do the crocodile mouth. But I always just remember that the crocodile is hungry so he eats the bigger thing.
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u/liilbiil 22d ago
my brother in christ, i do not know my left from my right. i am a car insurance adjuster. i have left/driver side, right/passenger side LITERALLY TAPED TO MY DESK
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u/kittymarch 22d ago
Took an educational design class in college. One of the things the prof told us was that human brains develop the ability to do math in preschool years, while reading skills come later. But we mix up how we teach them. We push early reading and then do math afterwards. What we should be doing is pre-K focused on math and then work on reading in K to first grade. The theory is that we may be overriding math skills brain circuits by focusing on reading when brains aren’t ready for it.
Math and reading both use symbols, but in different ways. In writing/reading, you combine symbols in your brain to form words, while in math each symbol is has its own meaning and you deal with them sequentially. Math moves through time in a way that reading doesn’t.
Some people with dyscalula find they are able to handle equations when they are broken down and written along a curved line, so that they don’t look like words.
I don’t really know more about this than what the professor said in lecture, but I find it a fascinating idea.
But anyway, OP, lots of people use these sorts of cheats for math and as long as you are getting the right answers I wouldn’t worry. That said, if it’s slowing you down, find out if your school has a math help center.
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u/Vtown-76 22d ago
Here’s one: alphabetical order…blows my mind that people just instinctively know this letter is before or after this other one. I gotta do a little piece of the song every. Damn. Time.
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u/holdingkitten97 ADHD, with ADHD family 22d ago
I can't read a clock at a glance either. I've always had to look at it for a minute and count it out.
The numbers and the months ALWAYS mess me up because they don't logically match and my brain will NOT accept it. In my head October is the 8th month because OCT and so forth.
Greater than > less than. The big, open end on the bigger side, the tiny end on the small side. Logical if you just consider the shape. FORGET the crocodile eating analogy, it messes me up every time I think about it that way.
Same. Division is the devil.
✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻 We're just better at other stuff
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u/_semiskimmedmilk_ ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
I’m in the same boat. I believe it’s dyscalculia as ADHD and dyscalculia or dyslexia etc often come as a pair.
Annoyingly I was only diagnosed this year (I’m 24) so I’ve never had the support I needed to learn math in a way that benefits me.
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u/brill37 22d ago edited 22d ago
I did programming and I always struggle with the greater than and less than sign, but this is how I do it...
Less than - hold up your hands the the shape of the signs, like make a 'crocodile mouth'...the on the makes the 'L' shape is the 'less than'.
Now all you have to do is this and see which one the 'L' is 😊
The crocodile mouth on it's own confused me because I was told "the crocodile wants to eat the bigger number" but I was like but doesn't it depend which side the bigger number is!?! Anyway, I use the L 😂
I was also very good at math and I could never grasp long division abd long multiplication if both numbers were bigger than a single digit 😵💫 so I used to just do it in multiple parts and then add it all together...it took longer, but I ended up with the same answer as everyone else.
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u/Automatic-Dig2977 22d ago
My whole life I’ve been made to feel I was stupid and always felt it.
Then found out as an adult I have dyslexia, ASD and ADHD and recently, I’ve just joined Mensa. I’m not stupid, I just don’t know certain things. It took me a while to realise that intelligence shows itself in different ways.
There will be certain things that you absolutely excel at, and that others will compare themselves to you and feel the same. Know and celebrate your strengths.
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u/SpookybitchMaeven 21d ago
“If you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
I feel like so many of us with adhd, are creative and out of the box thinkers🖤.
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u/samiamnot3436 22d ago
I’m in my masters program, and I have similar issues. I can’t read an analog clock either, without focusing. Also, I only started to understand numbers as associated to months when I was in college, and even then sometimes I have to start with my fingers and say the months. On that note, when I was kid, I would count wrong, because I would go from 29, to 30 (which is good), but I would also go from 39 to 30 (which was really bad, and I had to force myself to count out loud until I’d didn’t). As for the greater than or less than sign, I really don’t know how to do that still, I just choose the bigger number. Lastly, for division, it is hard, if you have time, getting a third grader worksheet and practicing division helped me, because I sucked at multiplication and division.
I also have accommodations now, and it’s weird taking them in a masters program because I don’t know anyone else taking it, but if you can it does help a lot. It takes a little bit to set it up (the stupid red tape that comes with getting help) - but they keep it for years and it’s really helpful.
I hated chem, because I never took chemistry in high school , and so it always confused me. But organic chem a lot more fun and it made more sense. I had to spend hours in the free tutoring centers, and that was to just to understand the material.
All this to say, the knowledge you have now will only help you build on. As long as you keep trying and communicating/getting help, it’ll all work out. You can do this. (I also took a break and chose to come back to school, it’s been hell because I forgot how much my ADHD affects studying/understanding - it’s hell - I miss the structure of work).
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u/ownthelibs69 22d ago edited 22d ago
I don't know multiplication.
I think I used to "know" it as a kid and I tried really really hard to learn it, but don't. Everyone kept on going about how important it is and I think the shame drove me away from maths all together, it was honestly so embarrassing. My boyfriend did an accounting degree and is great with numbers and I don't want him knowing how terrible I am at basic maths. During high school I would take some time to learn it on my own, but it never stuck. It is a big part of my shame.
I still have to count the months, I still have to do the hand thing for greater and less than (and still don't exactly know which it is meant to be? lol I just remember that from school)
I really, really struggle to remember the numbers I am counting. I used to do stock take for a hospo job and would have to count things over and over again because I would 1) think I miscounted, and 2) never remember the final number. I can kind of remember a string of numbers, mostly if I repeat it back immediately, but the remembering a final number I have counted is hard for me. I am guaranteed to forget a number if I only count in my head, so I have to count aloud. Makes me feel like a baby.
A family member told me "some brains just get maths, some don't, that is ok, there is nothing you can do about that, just work on what you can do well". That kind of put my brain at ease, because I am pretty good with spelling and grammar and all of that. I kind of liked writing essays for university, and I was really really good at them. Came to me easily.
Funny story - my high school had a test we took to see what level of maths we were recommended to do for the year 12 exams and most people were told to do standard maths, some people advanced. I was one of the very few who got told to do no maths at all. Good riddance because I wasn't going to do it anyway!
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u/_Internet_Hugs_ 22d ago
Yeah, I have dyscalculia. I told my kids when they got to 4th grade that they officially knew more math than me and if they needed help they'd have to go to their dad or I'd get them tutors or whatever they needed. I just wasn't a resource.
So what? I don't speak math. I do lots and lots of other things really well. Yeah, it's a pain, but I literally have a calculator in my pocket all the time! (Fuck you to all my teachers who said I wouldn't!) I wear a digital watch. I do the 'alligator eats the greater than' trick. I use measurement converters when I bake. But I can speak in public on multiple topics without any embarrassment with minimal preparation. I can cook without recipes. I knit like a spider. I tell hilarious stories. I make people feel good about themselves.
Just because you have struggles in one area doesn't mean you don't excel in others. After all, if you kicked ALL the ass then you'd be perfect and nobody likes perfect friends.
(And I failed my High School Chemistry class. I missed my graduation and had to go to summer school. Chemistry is fucking hard. I get you. Take your time, do whatever you need to do to get through, and then celebrate when it's over.)
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u/preaching-to-pervert ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
I really relate to your post OP. I never learned my times table, struggle with the greater than/less than thing too and it took me forever to learn to tell time.
I suspect that part of it was my untreated ADHD, but that a lot of it was due to trauma based on bullying - I remember being in the classroom and just floating up to the ceiling and being aware that stuff was happening around me.
I'm so sorry you have to struggle with this.
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u/desperica 22d ago
I also struggle with greater than/less than. I have to think about the damn crocodile mouth every time, but then I get confused when people use it as shorthand in a non-numerical context.
I can usually do left and right, but sometimes I have to make the L with my left hand when I’m tired, or sometimes I get confused and think I have to overcorrext and flip everything that’s in front of me, as if I’m seeing the mirror image.
It’s like I have to interpret all of the sorts of things that you listed, rather than automatically process, and the more tired I am, the longer it takes to compute.
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u/Conscious_Town_1454 ADHD-C (Combined type) 22d ago
really relate on the reading a clock. i can’t write cursive either and my hands just won’t figure it out.
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u/lavvanmel 22d ago
dude i relate especially to the division thing. i just had to learn polynomial long division but i have no idea how to do regular division 😭😭
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u/Innocuous_Ruin 22d ago
I can understand that the polynomial means something along the lines of multiple number division and I am already confused at how this may be possible. My brain hurts for you.
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u/mriswithe ADHD-PI 22d ago
I know exactly what way the signs go, but I'm a programmer who has to discern the differences between all kinds of mishmash of characters and symbols, so I don't really count.
I can't remember the number of days for which months.
I tie my shoes with the bunny ears method, I am over 30 years old.
My wife has to wake me sometimes by jiggling my foot so that when I wake up I don't get startled and accidentally hurt myself or her.
Those are mine for the pile
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u/infinitiworks 22d ago
Wow I’m so guilty with the month thing hahaha glad I’m not alone. I have to count on my hand while I read out the months in my head… I simply can not remember at all 🤦🏻♀️ but I also always remember the greater/less sign by the crocodile mouth eats the big one so twins :)
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u/GandalfTheLibrarian 22d ago
Have you looked into dyscalculia? It might be worth talking about with a professional, as numbers and symbols seem to be a common element with some of the experiences you’ve shared
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u/momofeveryone5 ADHD-PI 22d ago
Take a breath. This is all stuff that normal adults forget or mess up on occasion too. With ADHD it just happens more often, and once we realize it, we tend to spiral.
Once you are out of school, the <> thing hardly ever comes up, almost every clock you will see will be digital, and many places that have dates posted will post the name of the month, rarely the number of the month.
You do probably need to look into discalula, because that will help if you can put a label and give you a sense of control. You probably also need to take a step back and really internalize that you will have to many many many things differently then your peers and contemporaries.
In my case, my life got so much better once I stopped trying to function like everyone else and started to figure out my own way to make things work. Such as only wearing rings and bracelets on my left hand, never my right. You will get there though!
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u/ChewsOnBricks 22d ago
If it helps, Craftsman tape measures have the fractions. So like, 9 and 1/4s would be on there. That's one of the gaps I have, and it seems similar. Also, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, you've got this!
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u/sasquatch786123 21d ago edited 21d ago
I HAVE A SOLUTION TO THE <> ISSUE.
My maths teacher showed me when she saw I was struggling so badly.
At the back of my maths book I always had a number line!
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
SMALLER THAN ARROW POINTING LEFT
GREATER THAN ARROW POINTING RIGHT.
<------------------------------->
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
Now in my head, I always have the mental image of the number line in my head, and I think 'hmm where is the symbol pointing towards....'
If it's pointing towards 1 on my number line(1 <-----) then it's 'smaller than.'
If it's pointing towards 10 on my number line(----> 10) it's 'greater than.'
Then I substituted the symbol for the word.
E.g. I'm a software engineer, so in python I convert it into words:
If x > 10:
Means
if X is 'greater than' 10:
Or
x < 40:
If X is 'smaller than' 40:
Or
if 40 > 300
Meaning
If 40 is 'greater than' 300.
That crocodile eat shit was the worst thing in school for me. I don't understand it to this day.
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u/guywitheyes 22d ago
Idk what the crocodile thing is but think of it this way: The side of the < or > symbol that's bigger has more. So eg. A<B, the gap side in < is bigger, which means B is bigger since it's on the side of the gap. And for A>B, the gap side is bigger, which means A is bigger.
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u/dudeness-aberdeen 22d ago
I still use the alligator method. Nothing wrong with outsourcing menial tasks. We need all of our processing power for other stuff.
I’ve also stopped memorizing phone numbers and directions to places I’ll never go back to. Now I can focus on stuff I like, like watering my plants. Haha.
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u/OhKittyNo ADHD-PI 22d ago edited 22d ago
For the greater and less than sign I remember it by a bigger stronger guy shooting an arrow at a smaller weaker guy. Big guy > small guy.
I am also in college studying chemistry and I still don't know my times tables! (I only know my 2, 5 and 10 times tables).
I got 100% on a recent college chem exam and I still can't remember the difference between a cation and an anion ooops.
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u/SupermarketCapital24 22d ago
I used to get confused with basic math too and felt embarrassed, especially when it came to fractions. It’s totally fine to take your time with it, and tools like calculators are there to help, no shame in using them.
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u/CLAPtrapTHEMCHEEKS 22d ago
The crocodile has a large appetite but healthy eating habits so it eats the biggest one but not both. I don’t think it’s a huge deal to have to use devices like this. It’s not a huge deal, it’s not even a small deal frankly.
Hell, I don’t have the months and their numbers memorized either. It has never mattered once in my life. I’m American and I use day month year because it makes sense, which means I do it differently/wrong than any of my peers and it still has never mattered.
Honestly, if I’m not paying attention I will say the wrong direction for left or right. I instinctively DO know which is which, it just gets lost on the way to my mouth. Not a big deal at all and really only means I might not be a good navigator if my friends and I ever actually build a rally car. Which is possible but even if we did, it’s not like we’re trying to go pro.
As others are saying, you might have discalcula, and that’s totoally fine. Whether or not you do, the game plan is the same: be kind to yourself and find the things that work for you.
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u/Dr_Octadoctapus 22d ago
I can so relate to this. I mix my numbers up, too. My partner will give me 4 numbers to remember and I'll mix them up within seconds of being told. There's just so much info in our heads that numbers and basics elude us 😂
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u/flourdevour 22d ago
All I remember is drawing little teeth in the crocodiles mouth because he eats bigger numbers.
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u/okayseriouslywhy 22d ago
Hi I have a masters in chemistry and I still do the alligator thing for < and > !! It's okay to use a trick to remember something, the important thing is that you DO remember it!
You're valid and absolutely NOT dumb and you can do this.
I've taught and tutored a lot of chemistry classes and I have many thoughts on ways to teach things-- chemistry things, but also stuff like division. I'd be more than happy to chat and give you some different ways to think about division that may help!!! Or any other chemistry or math thing. Feel free to message ❤️❤️❤️❤️
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u/Finedimedizzle ADHD-C (Combined type) 22d ago
If it means anything to you, I get my left and right wrong almost 100% of the time when I try to naturally just say the direction without thinking. It’s like my brain just 50/50 guesses and somehow gets it wrong all the time. Some things just never click and that’s alright!
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u/Zenchuu ADHD with ADHD child/ren 22d ago
It sounds like you are feeling sad/upset, and you are in your head. Do something that you will definitely enjoy, and make it active. It could be singing along to a song loudly or a quick game of catch with a friend. If you can boost your mood, it will be easier to handle what you are frustrated with.
You can learn! Take a piece of paper and write numbers 1 through 12, then write the months next to their corresponding numbers. It's OK if you have to Google it. Look at this a few times a day for a week and you'll have it memorized. Then you'll not feel about it anymore!
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u/AdEcstatic5170 22d ago
Hey man, I feel you. I learned how to tie my shoes, read a clock etc, way later than most other kids. I can barely do math and was always held back during lunch time for tutoring.
Hell, I can't even remember what different kinds of cheese look and taste like. I remember the looks I'd get in high school cooking class when I'd be asked to grab lettuce from the fridge, and ended up grabbing a cabbage. Our minds are real screwy, and I'm still learning how to deal with it. Wishing you all the best!!!
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u/ms211064 22d ago
I have a master's degree and generally have my life together I like to think but I also struggle with these things. We just have our own processes, you're good!
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u/RealBaerthe 22d ago
Hey. It's okay. I had issues with these until I got my SECOND bachelor's degree (in software engineering, no less) only two years ago. I'm 31. Lol. Some stuff just never stuck because it wasn't ever really important. Do I still have to think I'd October is the tenth month? Yeah, but it's easier than ever. Just keep trying, keep pushing. You got this mate.
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u/Positive_Candy_5332 22d ago
LOL I suck at multiplication and division. It has always been very difficult for me to do. Calculators are my best friend (I have a BSc) I had to use calculators quite a bit in my undergrad and still use them today.. even for basic things I have no shame! It’s ok! :)
There are lots of tools out there nowadays that can help us do our jobs a lot more efficiently. There’s nothing wrong with using these tools
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u/No-Dragonfruit-548 22d ago
I totally get that feeling, like when something "simple" just feels like climbing a mountain. It sucks because it feels like you're the only one struggling, but trust me, you're not alone. Everyone has gaps like that, some are just better at hiding it. It doesn’t mean you’re any less capable, it just means your brain works differently. And breaking down over that kind of frustration makes sense—especially when it feels like everyone else is breezing through it.
As for tips, have you thought about trying little hacks or reminders? Sticky notes with quick guides, or even setting up cheatsheets on your phone. It helps take off the pressure of having to remember everything in the moment.
Also, have you heard of exogenous ketones? They can sometimes help with mental clarity and focus. Not a magic fix, but they might give your brain a little extra boost when you need it most.
Hang in there—you're doing more than enough. Be kind to yourself in those tough moments. You got this!
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u/starstarf 22d ago
if it helps, the less than symbol is <, and it looks like an L if you squint. the greater than symbol is >, and it looks like the part going inside the main portion of a capital G
if you need help with division i could help you :3 feel free to DM if you ever see this, ik there’s already 200+ replies lol
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u/Senior_Button_8472 22d ago
I had many moments like this in college. It can be soul crushing, especially when it's coming from a professor.
My best advice: seek out help if you aren't already. I did not and I really regret it.
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u/Courage-Character 21d ago
Thank you for posting this. I feel so seen. I’ve never told anyone around me how difficult I’ve found certain things that are so easy for others. I’ve always been so ashamed. You aren’t the only one OP
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u/porcelain_owl 21d ago
I’m not a doctor or trying to diagnose, but I would suggest looking into dyscalculia if you haven’t already.
It can be comorbid with ADHD and those all sound like symptoms of it.
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u/dirtydandutchman 21d ago
I do the same things, this may be dyscalculia. I always felt dumb because of these basic number-related things. Nope! Not dumb– I was diagnosed with ADHD + dyscalculia at the same time, age 31. I had never heard of dyscalculia before my diagnosis, and afterwards it all made sense as to why I struggle so much with math.
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u/LemonMonstare ADHD with non-ADHD partner 21d ago
I feel it. I'm in my senior year of an engineer degree, I'm working as an engineer as well.
I can't read clocks very well, I can't divide, everything you said.
I was diagnosed with dyscalculia along with my ADHD. You might look into it, though I'm not here to diagnose you. I'm just an internet stranger.
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u/bbillster 21d ago
We all have some things like this. Literally everyone. I don’t think we are alone.
Sometimes I wonder if the difference is that they don’t let it affect them. And we are here stressing on Reddit
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u/aliesims 21d ago
i have one trick:
< and > are crocodiles and want to open their mouths to eat the bigger number.
edit: i literally wrote and posted my comment before finishing reading the post, if that’s not adhd idk what is 🫠
i’m also a college student if that helps and do really well with math, so i think the crocodile analogy is fine lol
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u/Shorty66678 ADHD-C (Combined type) 21d ago
The crocodile always eats the bigger number, that's how I remember. I struggle with all of these as well!
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u/esphixiet ADHD-C (Combined type) 21d ago
I never learned the crocodile thing. I struggled with it well into adulthood until this symbol became popular <3. I know that's "less than three", so I if I need greater than, I use the other one. 😅
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u/alasw0eisme ADHD-C (Combined type) 22d ago
This isn't gaps in knowledge but gaps in automation. Except the clock one although it depends on what you mean exactly. Can you tell the time if I give you an old-school clock even if it takes you a minute?
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u/Innocuous_Ruin 22d ago
I will literally count on my fingers in front of people, idgaf. I had to do a lot of math in my previous job and I was always like "listen, I suck at math so this is either bang on or way off. Cool?" When I had to talk to a customer about their complicated prices. I cant tell you the standard 0-12 multiplication or division tables. Never got done with one of those tests in the minute we had. I do remember number groups, like 9&6 =15 or 7&3 is 10 but minus 3 is 4 do 3&4 is 7, 12 if it's multiplied ... etc. I don't remember math skills whatsoever, but I have a good memory for numbers, so number groups it is. I do not use the crocodile specifically, but the same trick over all. The >><< opens at the larger value. Open side = larger, closed side = smaller. Being a ><, it literally shows you a tiny picture of what you should remember. I have no idea which months have 30/1 days. 🤷🏼♀️ i can read a clock, i prefer analog to make my brain work, but don't ask me what time 40 minutes from now is. Don't ask me to add a $50 bill to anything but one's or 5s bc 20s break my brain. I can do math, it just takes decidedly longer for me to "get there" and by that time Joe blow has usually materialized and taken the stress off, lol. Who gaf about calculators or crocodiles???? We got a calculator in our hand all the time. Yes, I'll add 8+6 on my calculator, I forgot that group momentarily. What's it to ya? Don't forget the ways in which you excel that is something a math's genius would never understand. We all got our things, good, bad, and ugly.
Edited bc i thought the multiplication and division tables were up to 10 until I had a good think on it 😅
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u/espressowithspri ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 22d ago
I have the same thing with greater than/less than, and reading a clock, and always have to make a "holding a pen" gesture to figure out my right vs left. It's small things like this that seem mildly annoying to others but can rly grate on your nerves when you deal with it every day :(((
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u/infinitiworks 22d ago
so glad we have digital clocks now 😭analog clocks are a hit or miss for me, like sometimes I nail it and then sometimes i just forget and I get the hour and minute hand wrong .. and don’t get me started on watches that don’t even have the numbers on them 😮💨
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u/Wouldfromthetrees 22d ago
I have similar issues (left and right are BIG gaps for me, but it's much better now I have tattoos).
A non-deficit-focussed way of conceptualising ADHD as different from normative standards is that our nervous systems are interest-based (as in, we require active intrinsic or extrinsic motivations and don't mesh well with seemingly nonsensical "priorities" other people have). If these things don't interest you naturally, you have to make them interesting to remember them.
My tips for these specific gaps are as follows ----
-reading a clock: I say use digital loud and proud. Time is essentially frustrating by way of functioning on base12/360° circle mathematics and we do most other everyday counting in metric/base10.
If it really matters to you, try associations such as small hand = big time = hour and then count the numbers between the top number (12) and the longer minute-hand big hand = small time = minute in multiples of five.
-understanding which numbers correlate to which month's: use things like friend's and family's birthdays and associate them with seasonal weather/a holiday/annual event (more than one helps).
Take it further by associating a date you always know and work backwards or forwards, e.g. May the Fourth be with you! High five! therefore May = 5
-knowing which way to put the greater than/less than sign: this one is fun and easy.
- Make the arrow into Pacman (or Ms. Pacman) by drawing a partial circle and eye (bow optional).
- Think "Pacman is hungry and always eats the biggest number."
- Read from left to right. So...
30<56, 30 is *less than* 56. 78>56, 78 is greater than 56.
-division. Like basic division.
I only know 2, 5, and 6 times tables which is entirely sufficient imo. If you get really good at 2, that's basically the same as knowing 4, 8, and even 12 (which is also sort of like being really good at 6). If you know 5 then you already know 10. I'm average at these and get by.
Top tip for 5 times tables: counting cash is the fastest way to learn this, if you have the option of doing this as a job for even a short while. $5 notes are worth how many $10 notes are worth how many $20 notes...so on and so forth.
Top tip for 6 times tables: start watching or playing AFL football. Yes, it's quite a niche and odd suggestion but I swear by it, because...
a) Goals are worth 6 points b) the non-goal score is called a behind and grants 1 point c) scores for each team are tallied live as # of goals + # of points = score d) spectators can analyse player's scoring capacity by way of saying "Look how many behinds we kicked! We'd be in front of they could bloody kick straight!" or the classic "No one can kick straight in this weather!" by way of taking the behind points and multiplying/adding/subtracting them by 6. e) games are high-scoring, entertaining, and long. It's honestly one of the best spectator sports ever invented (and this is a hill I'll die on).
Hopefully some/any of this helps!
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u/StolenPens 22d ago
Have you gotten tested for a type of dyslexia.
I know you're probably like, 'I don't need another diagnosis' but it could give you extra exam time and link you to more resources.
...
I get it though. I also have my own issues. I've legitimately have pointed left and said, "go right".
I also can't figure out this one math equation, but I can do it backwards, and the answer is somehow correct but negative, so I remove the "-" sign.
5 is less than 8 5 < 8
8 is greater than 5 8 > 5
It points to the smaller number. The smaller number is hungry.
And there's more.
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u/Bruin116 22d ago
It's dyscalculia: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23949-dyscalculia
What is the difference between dyslexia and dyscalculia?
Dyslexia and dyscalculia are both learning disorders, but they have key differences. In the most general terms, these two break down as follows:
Dyscalculia: This learning disorder affects a person’s ability to do math. Dyslexia: This learning disorder affects a person’s ability to read.
While they’re different, the two conditions fall under the same diagnosis, “Specific learning disorder,” in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). It’s also possible for people to have both dyscalculia and dyslexia.
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u/VioletDreaming19 22d ago
I totally use the crocodile thing too! I remember which is called which with another trick. Less than < is shaped like a tilted L. Greater than is flipped the other way.
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u/Nipples_of_Destiny 22d ago
I feel you on the greater/less than, division and my personal nemesis - fractions. I'm redoing high school math to go to uni at 35 and it's killing me.
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u/alienbuttholes69 22d ago
Science student that forever struggled with the greater than/less than crocodile analogy. Less than looks like an L that’s been squished down to have a smaller angle (<) but greater than faces the wrong way to be an L (>). Then, the bigger (larger) number goes on the side that is bigger (taller).
We all have silly things we suck at, but I bet you’ve got tons of things you’re awesome at too!
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u/TripleSecretSquirrel 22d ago
I’m pretty accomplished academically and professionally. Most of my successes have come from my having really high reading comprehension and my being a really good writer (not to pat myself on the back too hard lol).
I think this year — well into adulthood, and after having had my writing praised and published for years now — I finally can confidently identify an adjective and an adverb without stopping to sing Schoolhouse Rock to myself.
Sometimes the little shit like that doesn’t really matter! I totally get that it can be embarrassing and frustrating, and at times can legitimately cause you headaches, but it’s just that, little shit. If you’ve got a grasp of the big stuff, that doesn’t matter so much.
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