Why is it so easy to make stupid mistakes in math?

Question

Why is it so easy to make stupid mistakes in math?

Answer 1

your brain gets all worked up because you think you're doing so well

then there's the fact that for harder equations, you can be sitting there for 10 or 15 minutes writing out numbers on a sheet of paper... you're bound to make a mistake somewhere

worse thing is not knowing where your mistake is

Answer 2

cause math sucks.

Answer 3

Mathematics is a 'stupid mistake' incarnate.

..and now for the non-cynical approach.

With maths, you have to be absolutely precise, as in there is a definitive right and a wrong answer, whereas in other subjects right and wrong are often loose and subjective.

Answer 4

Usually it's because you're either working too quickly, trying to do too much in your head or writing too quickly and you can't read your own writing so when you copy something down, you copy down a mistake.

Answer 5

hmm, i trying to figure out what a smart mistake could be? all mistakes are "stupid." if you mean that it seems that mistakes are made which normally should not be made, that simply has to do with carelessness and oversight. one can be in hurry or simply not be paying attention and miss the obvious. when you are not paying attention, it's like throwing darts at dart board with your eyes closed, chances are you will not hit the target. so when one is not focused or just plain not caring, chance occurs and often random chance will not provide the correct answer for even the simplest problem

Answer 6

Believe me, everybody makes them! I've seen math professors with PhD's make horrible mistakes! :)

I don't know -- maybe we get in a hurry and overlook the obvious.

But I think the old addage is still true that we learn from our mistakes.

Have a good day!

Answer 7

Because you are not consentrated (you think of other staff while doing a problem) and don;t pay much attention!

Answer 8

Don't be so hard on yourself. Be the mistake. Be the math.  

Answer 9

Math is an unforgiving subject.  If you're making a painting of a lake and accidentally swipe your brush down the middle of it with black paint, hey- you can look at that and say, "I'll turn it into a tree on an island".  With math, it is difficult to immediately see the mistake.  If you forget to carry a one, it's all over!  :P  

Answer 10

Signs, Negative and Positive (Minus and Plus) signs.

People always forget them or don't know what to do with them.

Regards.

Answer 11

maths is stupid

Answer 12

Probably because you didn't check it twice.

Answer 13

d**n, I remember studying til 3 am to get through a senseless math procedure... getting to the exam remembering it almost by memory, cheering up at the end because "i did it fairly good"... just to find out on the next class, I failed miserably because: I misplaced a point, copied 4 instead of 7 from one step to the next, or that my brain told me 3x2=8... AAARRRGGGHHHH

Answer 14

A mistake once in a while is OK

But most mistakes are because you dont understand the math, you just know the steps that will solve the problem. So sometimes your memory lapses and you make a minor mistake. I dont truly UNDERSTAND all the (pointless and useless) math classes I take in High School.

Answer 15

Because you don't have a mathematical brain.

Answer 16

because as humans we dont pay attention to what we already know so without thinking we might figure 3x2 to be five and if you do that in an equation the whole problem is ruined  

Answer 17

THIS WILL HELP YOUR FOLLOWING YEARS DEALING WITH MATH!!!!!!!!  What you consider to be "stupid" mistakes when dealing with math only occur when you have not performed the recommended amount of practice problems.  Merely studying the night before and performing the provided problems is not enough.  You need to do the same problems over and over and you will notice that it will just come to you.  Many times, the "stupid" mistakes we have all encountered, happen when you are given a specific time to complete the exam and we are rushed to do them.  If you have practiced over and over, those mistakes will occur since you have only done the problems once or twice; that is not enough.  Get a planner and set review or study times every day and you will see how much more relaxed you will be; therefore cutting down the number of mistakes.  Best of luck.  

Answer 18

Sometimes you are concentrating on the hard parts of a math problem and get careless with the basic arithmetic.  You might be focusing on remembering some complicated formula and accidentally make a basic addition mistake.  Check your problems and you'll do fine.

Answer 19

Usually because you are rushing or not thinking about what you are doing.

Answer 20

because it is mathematics, & full of numbers

Answer 21

dont worry, i do tht all the time. for me its mostly cuz i miss a number or i start to think i already did sumtin wen i didnt then the numbers get all messed up