Competency at what? Concretely, what specific thing is this person trying to do and finding that they are unable to do because they lack the math background?
Lots of things: Their job is in something they aren’t really suited for given the educational background they have. Failing to understand computer science textbooks because things that the authors see as relatively basic just aren’t there; striking out during the quantier parts of interviews at even relatively routine things (like basic mental arithmetic or trigonometry problems or “understanding what a logarithm is”); not having a real understanding of or capability to understand information theory. Just sort of a systemic failure to have been taught anything of any substance.
They also just seem to want to learn math, for no particular reason at all. They say it feels like they’re colorblind in a world where color is intensely useful for understanding and survival; they feel longing whenever their mathematician friends talk about the things that they’re interested in, but there’s just a general and fairly comprehensive gap between them.
Competency at what? Concretely, what specific thing is this person trying to do and finding that they are unable to do because they lack the math background?
Lots of things: Their job is in something they aren’t really suited for given the educational background they have. Failing to understand computer science textbooks because things that the authors see as relatively basic just aren’t there; striking out during the quantier parts of interviews at even relatively routine things (like basic mental arithmetic or trigonometry problems or “understanding what a logarithm is”); not having a real understanding of or capability to understand information theory. Just sort of a systemic failure to have been taught anything of any substance.
They also just seem to want to learn math, for no particular reason at all. They say it feels like they’re colorblind in a world where color is intensely useful for understanding and survival; they feel longing whenever their mathematician friends talk about the things that they’re interested in, but there’s just a general and fairly comprehensive gap between them.