I have a rather convoluted and complex story/question. I just want this to be noted before anyone ventures to read on. I have a little background that needs to be unpacked before I get to my questions so please bear with me.
So, I’m currently 25 years old and I am just starting back to college after nearly four years of not attending. The previous version of myself was absolutely free of the concern or desire for education. From grade school on up to high school graduation and my first college attempt, I put minimal to virtually no time or effort at all into my school work and barely squeaked by just about all of it. I always had difficulty with math because it intimidated me and I always distanced myself from it. I did poorly in other subjects as well, but I didn’t really struggle with them, I just didn’t care enough to try for good grades in them.
I went to college right after high school and my decision to attend was at the very last minute. I was conditionally admitted to a very non-selective school. I was honestly surprised I was even admitted at all. I spent three years there in which I basically failed everything and never progressed beyond freshman status. I was essentially expelled from school and given the option re-apply after a semester off. After this, I decided that college wasn’t for me. I didn’t even care much anyway and I was just going to count my losses and give up.
A couple of years after this I experienced a remarkable change in my attitude towards education. I suddenly couldn’t find enough to read and desperately wanted to get back into school and even go on to attend a top school (possibly). It wasn’t until this spring that I enrolled in college again. I chose to change schools from my previous one and start off with a community college. My first semester ends next week.
So far it has gone pretty well. However, I notice that math is still a problem for me. I thought that perhaps it would be a breeze this time around since I am more mature and much more intelligent and enlightened than I was before, but this is proving not to be the case. While I guess you could say I’m doing better, I’m still struggling. Mind you, I’m taking the most remedial algebra course available at my school because of my poor past grades.
So now getting to my question. There seems to be this mentality and belief, both in the colloquial conversation, as well as within the more distinguished circles, that once you get beyond a certain age, you just can’t learn many things anymore. I get the impression that they are referring heavily to math, but to many other things too. I hear this position expressed from so many people and from so many places that I’m starting to take notice of it. When I hear this, it instills a certain discouragement and pessimism into my mind that I find it hard to recover from. I would think it absurd if not for the many distinguished people whom I have heard echo this position.
Is it true that if you don’t learn certain things when you are a child or teen, you just won’t be able to learn them? I am trying to achieve a high level of education and am concerned with pursuing my intellect to the highest extent I can. It is hard for me to square with the idea or possibility that I’m potentially incapable of ever moving beyond where I am now in terms of education, intelligence, or knowledge. The people I have heard state these things seem to state them as absolutes, as if they are true in every case and there is some hard science backing this up. People like Sam Harris and Steven Pinker have expressed support for this I believe. I’m just wondering if there is some truth to this and perhaps I should scale back my expectations for my education, or if this belief is basically baseless and untrue? Perhaps I’m just misunderstanding it.
Sorry if this question is inappropriate. I appreciate any answers! 