I learned something today: my math skills have severely diminished. To be fair, It’s been 10 years since I completed a math class, and at least 7 years since I’ve taken one (and dropped it, as previously mentioned). I figured I could pick up where I left off and run with it.  Hell, all it is is moving around numbers to simplify or balance an equation, how hard could it be?

So today, I was scheduled to take a math placement test at ICC. I had a calculator and some scratch paper, and had perused my old notes and taken some new ones in preparation. No serious studying, just a quick refresher.

Question #1:

“Oh, hey, I remember this! That’s the property of… SHIT!”

Okay, bad start, but I squeeze out a passable answer.

Question #7:

“The answer…. is C?”

Alright, I’m still in this. This isn’t as bad as I thought.

Question #8:

“Okay, I recognize this formula! It’s… it’s… sonuvabitch!!”

The results were ugly. I actually got bumped back a level!

Math isn’t hard. At least not until you have to deal with theories and advanced concepts. There’s not much understanding involved, really. Everything has a principle, every operation has a function, everything has a method and a formula. It’s orderly–follow the steps and everything will be alright. If only I remembered the fucking things.

So now I have at least two more classes to add to my list: the one I ought to be taking and the one I’m stuck with instead. Dammit.