# Why is there math in everything?! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 29, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416 "2014-12-29T05:41:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/61 "2014-12-30T05:33:58Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I didn’t ask what state you live in; I asked what country. You’d know that was a joke if you were familiar with Texas 😉 ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/62 "2014-12-30T05:40:05Z")
I was going to suggest something like selling on Etsy, or some other home based business. Can she learn some computer skills like programming or web design? And I can’t remember the last time I did anything in my head more complicated than basic multiplication, that is what a calculator is for. When a store clerk needs some math done like buying fabric or tubing or whatever they always grab a calculator, every time I’ve been there. So I don’t see why your niece would need to do mental math. I think with her issues self employed would be the way to go, and since she isn’t under any deadline she can start slow or acquire skills now ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/63 "2014-12-30T06:35:22Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > From the other thread, she’s Genderqueer to the point that she acts and dresses predominately masculine. I doubt she’d be interested in doing manicures, but I guess if she needs to a job is a job. > > Most of the “crafty” things with apprenticeships I can think of are considered fairly girly: sewing, jewelry making. The more manly ones would probably be hell on her joints (e.g. Smithing). I don’t know if tailoring, which is fairly gender neutral, would work. It seems like it might. I guess there’s clock fixing… Math is needed for things like tailoring and sewing. (Measuring and cutting material, figuring out sizing, etc) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/64 "2014-12-30T06:41:00Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Math is needed for things like tailoring and sewing. (Measuring and cutting material, figuring out sizing, etc) Every single cloth store I have ever seen the clerks carry a calculator, even for simple stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/65 "2014-12-30T08:05:38Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I think with her issues self employed would be the way to go, and since she isn’t under any deadline she can start slow or acquire skills now Oh, geez - ever been self-employed? The paperwork! IF she is going to be self-employed and has that much trouble at math she’ll either need someone to do her taxes for her or a trustworthy accountant (or, better yet, a trustworthy accountant AND a trusted relative/friend to double-check things). Failure to keep proper records will eventually lead to problems with the IRS. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/66 "2014-12-30T08:15:44Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Believe it or not, running a cash register with one’s fine motor skills also involves heavy use of the elbow and shoulder, and standing and shifting on the hip, knee, and ankle. Stocking, in retail, involves heavy use of the wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle. Standing around helping people involves all of the joints mentioned previously to a lesser extent. > > I’m going to assume that you have no idea what retail workers actually do. > [@Frank](#): > > I didn’t ask what state you live in; I asked what country. Ah, you are being geometrically an angle greater than 90 degrees. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/67 "2014-12-30T10:46:17Z")
> [@ArztWolf](#): > > Would you happen to know how she got into that field? That sounds like something she could do. Here is what I got back from the IM I sent her > [@](#): > > First, certification. Check out AHIMA and AAPC, the 2 main organizations. AHIMA is more expensive, but it’s more in demand for hospitals and probably easier to find a job. Must companies want 3 years experience I just sent a follow up asking about the 3 year experience thing. When I get that answer I’ll post it. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/68 "2014-12-30T12:37:37Z")
What about postsecondary stuff specificly for kids with severe but still can function at a somewhat high level LDs? I’ve got a lot of resources etc…but I shall return tomorrow and post them…the trouble with having a kid with a severe LD in college or in the mainstream, is again…it’s very hard for them to hack it there. They need postsecondary educational programming specficly for them…Especially if there’s social issues as well…hoo boy, the horror stories I can tell… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/69 "2014-12-30T17:25:40Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I didn’t ask what state you live in; I asked what country. Is it common for the citizens of the country of Ohio to not know what country the state of Texas is in? Or are you just retarded or being an asshole? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/70 "2014-12-30T18:35:00Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Could she do some kind of writing or editing? Along these lines, from the picture I’m getting proofreading may be a good job for her. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/71 "2014-12-30T19:23:46Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Seriously, you couldn’t figure out USA from the answer Texas? Or is there another Texas located in Lichtenstein? > WTF? > > Getting back to the OP. Can she read and copy numbers (not do math just copy numbers)? > I know a lady that does medical coding from her home. She reads medical charts and assigns the correct billing numbers based on the notes. > Work from home > Get to sit, no lifting etc > Make your own hours as long as you get the work done > Numbers but no math. Recording numbers is often a significant weakness in dyscalculia (which is one of OP’s nieces diagnoses). Transposition is common symptom (writing 21 as 12). Each case different, etc. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/72 "2014-12-31T12:59:53Z")
Here is a postsecondary program for Asperger’s style kids:.[http://www.perkinsprograms.org/wwsIntro.htm](http://www.perkinsprograms.org/wwsIntro.htm) A program for more high functioning LD kids: [Vocational Independence Program (VIP) | New York Tech](http://www.nyit.edu/vip/) A residental community college program for more “grey area” kids: [Taft College | TIL Open House](http://www.taftcollege.edu/tcwp/til/?page_id=996) An Independent Life Skills College for kids who are more “grey area” [https://minnesotalifecollege.org/index.php/welcome](https://minnesotalifecollege.org/index.php/welcome) The College Internship Program: [http://cipworldwide.org/index.html](http://cipworldwide.org/index.html) and finally the Threshold program [http://www.lesley.edu/threshold/index.html](http://www.lesley.edu/threshold/index.html) IMHO, kids who are “grey area”(ie significent learning issues/very scattered abilties) with their learning REALLY need specialized programs so they don’t fall through the cracks… These are NOT programs for mentally disabled euphanized as “severe” LD kids…these are programs for kids who are academicly smart, but still have a “grey area” of functioning ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/73 "2014-12-31T14:13:38Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Is it common for the citizens of the country of Ohio to not know what country the state of Texas is in? Or are you just retarded or being an asshole? Don’t worry **Smurfy** , **Frank’s** not after your turf. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/74 "2014-12-31T17:01:48Z")
How did she get an EMT license (post 32 in the dating thread)? That seems over the top mathy. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/75 "2014-12-31T20:07:36Z")
… what dating thread? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/76 "2014-12-31T20:31:56Z")
OP previously asked how a gender-nonconforming (possibly transgendered), non-driving, learning disabled, physically frail and easily injured, hard to understand, extremely tall, woman who has no friends and lives with parents, can find the love of a man who is comparably gender-nonconforming/possibly transgendered in rural Alabama/West Virginia/whatever isolated and backwards shithole they seem to live in. > **[My niece and dating.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744436)** > > My niece is 24yrs old and is having a heck of a time in the dating world. Part of the problem is her disabilities and the other part is how she looks. She has been diagnosed (by professionals, not online quizzes) with Non Verbal Learning Disability,... ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/77 "2015-01-01T00:35:06Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > OP previously asked how a gender-nonconforming (possibly transgendered), non-driving, learning disabled, physically frail and easily injured, hard to understand, extremely tall, woman who has no friends and lives with parents, can find the love of a man who is comparably gender-nonconforming/possibly transgendered in rural Alabama/West Virginia/whatever isolated and backwards shithole they seem to live in. > > [My niece and dating. - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744436) Truly a story old as time. ---
**Author:** ![ArztWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@ArztWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArztWolf)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/78 "2015-01-01T04:06:45Z")
She got the EMT license through a local fire station. It was, I think, a five month course and she had some problems with it The problems where with taking BPs and some other issues (forgetting steps to things, etc), but she past and got a license. Can’t do shit with it, but she still got it and has the knowledge. AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet, I show her those links, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/79 "2015-01-01T05:04:06Z")
Is she a good writer? Writing was never exactly the path to the millions, but if she’s good she might be able to find work at an advertising agency or something along those lines. Apart from math, is she a particularly good student academically? If she’s especially talented in the humanities, that could open up options. If not . . . it’s pretty difficult. Things mentioned above like jewelry making could work, but I doubt she could make enough money to live alone (not saying it’s impossible, but you have to have a serious passion and drive to make it in the arts since it’s so competitive; this is the flaw in the writing idea above, too). Is her trouble with following conversations particularly noticeable? It’s not a great comparison, but I have a fairly strong stutter that causes me to have long pauses before saying some words; it’s not too big a deal, though, because I can manage to just sound like I speak at a slow, steady pace. Could she just talk at a slow rate to allow herself time to catch up, or is it too severe to work in any kind of customer service job? Beyond that, I don’t know - it really is a remarkably difficult situation. Judging by the dating thread, she desperately needs to move somewhere urban, which means she needs financial independence. That’s another thing - if her math skills are so bad, she might not be able to pay the rent or manage her personal finances. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Truly a story old as time. And that was a new keyboard, too . . . ---
**Author:** ![ArztWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@ArztWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArztWolf)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416/80 "2015-01-01T06:44:21Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > Is she a good writer? Writing was never exactly the path to the millions, but if she’s good she might be able to find work at an advertising agency or something along those lines. > > Apart from math, is she a particularly good student academically? If she’s especially talented in the humanities, that could open up options. > > If not . . . it’s pretty difficult. Things mentioned above like jewelry making could work, but I doubt she could make enough money to live alone (not saying it’s impossible, but you have to have a serious passion and drive to make it in the arts since it’s so competitive; this is the flaw in the writing idea above, too). > > Is her trouble with following conversations particularly noticeable? It’s not a great comparison, but I have a fairly strong stutter that causes me to have long pauses before saying some words; it’s not too big a deal, though, because I can manage to just sound like I speak at a slow, steady pace. Could she just talk at a slow rate to allow herself time to catch up, or is it too severe to work in any kind of customer service job? > > Beyond that, I don’t know - it really is a remarkably difficult situation. Judging by the dating thread, she desperately needs to move somewhere urban, which means she needs financial independence. That’s another thing - if her math skills are so bad, she might not be able to pay the rent or manage her personal finances. > > And that was a new keyboard, too . . . Her writing is really good, but its mostly Girl Genius slash. Her speech thing is kind of hard to explain. Some days her mind goes faster then her tongue, while other days its the reverse. Talking with people also ads problems to her speech (she will stutter or talk too much). Also just coming up with something to say can be a challenge for her. She has told me it is like she has a thought in her head, but it won’t come out. Her parents on planning on getting a fiduciary for her. That’s about as much as I know on that front. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-there-math-in-everything/708416.md?page=5)