“There are many reasons for why individual differences in math emerge,” he said.
“The environment is very complex,” and variables include the amount of home support, the kind of teaching, and how well prepared the child is when starting school, as well as simple differences in our genes.
On top of that, math “is an unforgiving learning task in that it is so cumulative. If you miss out a particular step, it’s very difficult to continue climbing the ladder. And if the system moves ahead without you, you’re going to lag behind. Then you are going to get frustrated and then you might develop an adverse reaction to math.”