On Science and Math

A funny thing happened when I returned to college in 2006. I forgot a lot of science and math knowledge I had previously. I was fairly good at these subjects but since re-enrolling in college, they have been my biggest struggles. In fact they've been my only struggles. Now I understand that chemistry and physics knowledge, I had in high school twenty years ago, was bound to disappear but I have used math pretty regularly in various careers, particularly real estate. I had to know financing options as a realtor and measurements as a real estate appraiser. These were jobs I've held this decade but skills which have significantly deteriorated. I was one of the smarter "new" agents at the time and knew finance inside and out. I thought the knowledge would help and was specifically told to learn all I could about financing a home. I had vast information on home loans but lacked the salesmanship a lot of people have. That coupled with the events of 9-11 ended my sales career. I got into the appraisal side of the business and I liked it a lot. It was still straight commission but I was rewarded for my hard work. The math in the appraisal business is mostly dimensions and square footage. I still remember an acre of land is 43,560 square feet. These subjects have not been kind to me though. The only classes I've received less than a "C" in are math and science classes. I tell my kids all the time that social studies/history is a lot of memorization. Perhaps that's where the struggles lies. Math and science are so vast with so many disciplines, it is near impossible to master all dimensions of them. For instance, a lot of geologists might struggle with biology, though there can be overlap in the two fields. Someone who knows algebra like the back of their hand may struggle with accounting, and therefore have their taxes prepared for them despite a deep knowledge of math. Hopefully, some of what I've forgotten will come back and I can survive this last year of school. Until next week, keep learning.