u asked for details!! i have inattentive add** so i skip over details a lot (without meaning to, i know they are important) which affects my calculations. so say on a test i do the right method but get the wrong answer. the gaps in learning from school + covid exacerbate this, because of the lack of structure in formative years.

a lot of it is also just not knowing what i dont know, so i cant plan to cover it, and lacking an infrastructure/ system within which i can work.

i do like math when i am capable of it, but i find it difficult to be confident in my interest when my ability doesnt lign up properly. people have a lot of ease in doing mental math and i tend to freeze. not your burden to take on / respond to but i wanted to follow up since you attempted to help :)

love ur blog u are funny asf :$

**(not sure if that is the right clinical term, but its what i call it with my therapist)

thanks for following up on the previous answer!

so unfortunately for all the ADD-related business I don't think I can be of much help, as i am not well-versed in how all that works (i was diagnosed with adhd myself but usually when i understand a piece of math well i manage to remember it, and even if i forget some basic facts i can re-prove them, or look them up to get the details, so it doesnt come up too much i would say) (it does hinder my focus so oftentimes ill try to think about some math problem and just bounce off)

as for filling the gaps in your knowledge: consider using khan academy or some other such online learning tool. as you probably know, just passively watching videos doesn't teach you math, you need to practice yourself, but it will help with knowing what you don't know

having an interest in something and being good at something are not the same thing and are independent. you don't need to be good at math to be interested in it (at least i hope because else im gonna have problems), and in fact i'd say you usually need to be interested before learning something, else you will lack motivation

you can be good at some parts of math and bad at others. i'd say i'm average at mental math, and i'm terrible at measure theory for instance. this doesn't preclude me from doing other parts of math where those skills are not required. in your case, if you're interested in pursuing mathematics at a university, don't worry, mental math becomes basically irrelevant (ok sure sometimes it is useful to remember that 2 + 2 = 4. but less often than you'd expect.)

In ∞-land

(asking as someone who wants to switch careers at 30)

Well honestly it depends on what you want to do

Are you passionate about math and aim to do research? Sure, go ahead, do pure math, but beware that most people don't make it (I am already lucky to get a phd, and it is a significant possibility that I will not end up getting a position), and that going into academia has a lot of practical drawbacks (like the endless postdoc grind, where you move to a new country each 2-3 years after you finish your phd).

Do you want to become a math teacher? Hell yeah go ahead. What kinds of teaching you can do depends on where you are. Note that if you teach highschool or lower you will not use most of the math you learn during your degree. Also it seems like the material working conditions of teachers kinda suck in a lot of places, so definitely look it up before fully committing.

Are you just looking to switch careers, but don't know what to do, and you like math? If you do applied math, a lot more things open up to you. Especially if you also somewhat like computer science. If you end up in the correct subfields you can even do quite theoretical things while still working at a company. That is something to consider.

Now this doesn't answer the 1-10 scale question but I don't really think I can answer it. Sure, I had a lot of fun doing math for my degree, but that's because math is fun rather than the degree itself being fun. I think math is more enjoyable when you're calmly learning it rather than studying for exams.

Also remember that this is "advice" from some kid on the internet who's aiming to go into academia. I only have a degree in pure math, not one in getting a job. I don't do the kind of math that can be used when working at a company. I'm mostly just repeating what I've heard.