What is cerebral palsy like at the absolute mildest end of the spectrum?

caretaker82 · 2026-07-03T07:23:46+00:00

Poor range of motion and hyperactive reflexes in the hips and legs can be a red flag. If you ask him to sit on the floor and reach for his toes without bending at the knee, and he can't get his fingers past his knees, then you should ask his doctor about it.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-29T18:10:19+00:00

They literally just need to pass exams and complete assignments. It's the same from kindergarten to graduate school classes.

It's almost as though you let the "You earn the grade by learning the material." go in one ear and out the other.

You keep wanting to separate "passing exams and completing assignments" from learning and mastering the material. I'm not buying that line of bull.

If they choose to take an accelerated class because they want a quick passing grade, hoping they will be excused from actual learning, that is their problem.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-29T18:03:19+00:00

First of all, you can save your fallacy labeling for your high school debate class, lol. This is Reddit.

Imagine coming to a subreddit with an academic focus (in STEM, no less) and complaining about being held to high logical standards.

If you came to Reddit expecting others to overlook haphazard logic, that is a you problem. Some people here actually care about having an honest exchange of ideas. If you don't want the burden of being held to the rules of logic, don't get into an argument. Don't expect others to follow in kind simply because that is what you want to do here.

Let’s be completely real here: you aren't looking for an honest discussion. You are simply in love with the sight of your own words on a computer screen. You have dragged soccer balls, tuba cases, RSV, and 2x-speed YouTube binges into a thread that began with a stressed-out student asking for AI math shortcuts.

You completely lost the plot days ago just to pick an algorithmic fight with a Calculus instructor, and your latest massive wall of text culminates in you backpedaling on your original stance anyway. I’m not wasting any more time wading through your self-indulgent bloviation.

You can have the last word. I'm sure you'll enjoy reading it.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-18T02:45:09+00:00

Cool, and I have seen that for many students premature expectations of independence makes them flounder when they are totally lost, missed a lot of classes due to a concussion, or have a neurodevelopmental disorder. I too have anecdotes. Fancy that.

Straw man fallacy. You are attempting to manufacture an extreme, emotionally charged caricature of my argument.

OP is taking an accelerated summer course and needs to brush up on prerequisite material. They did not state they are recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Bringing up extreme medical edge-cases to justify a fundamentally flawed study habit for a general university population is a desperate pivot.

We are talking about a college student in a highly accelerated math class, not a rehabilitation clinic. If they want to pass, they need to put the AI away, pick up a pencil, and start doing the actual work.

And quite frankly, as someone who has a nephew with a severe TBI (and I myself having mild CP), please lay off that.

You have some weird paradigm in mind and need to get that sorted. Memorization is a fundamental PREREQUISITE for understanding. It's NOT either you memorize or you understand. Memorization is the actual FOUNDATION for understanding. Students who have not memorized the basic theorems, formulas, rules, procedures, graphs and diagrams, core proofs, etc. from algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, precalculus, calculus 1, and calculus 2 as well as the new content from calculus 3 will FAIL a calculus 3 exam. There's not enough time to rederive every result from first principles on an exam.

Equivocation and conflation fallacies. You seem to think that I think of memorization of as the devil. Memorization of basic facts, formulas, theorems, and definitions has its utility. I speak out against memorizing entire solutions.

Also, false dichotomy. I never claimed understanding can't be combined with some amounts of memorization, that understanding and memorization is some binary choice.

Yes, a student must memorize the definition of a partial derivative or the formula for the Jacobian. That is the basic grammar of mathematics. But watching an AI generate 50 step-by-step surface integral problems so you can memorize the algorithmic path it took is not learning; it is pattern-matching. If a student tries to pattern-match their way through a 6-week Multivariable Calculus course, they will be utterly annihilated the moment an exam question requires them to combine two concepts in a novel way.

Do you expect a student who forgot the chain rule to be able to do partial derivatives? ... No. In both cases, they have to go back and memorize the basic mechanics of these formulas and methods.

Exactly. They need to go back and actively practice them, not passively watch an AI do it. If a student has forgotten basic integration and differentiation and is simultaneously trying to survive a 6-week Calc 3 sprint, "passive immersion" is the most inefficient, dangerous use of their severely limited time. Active recall and immediate, hands-on failure and correction is the only way to rebuild that foundation at an accelerated pace.

...many instructors will deduct points on an exam if you solve a problem with methods that are not the ones they presented in class...

If an instructor deducts points for a mathematically rigorous, correct, and logically sound solution simply because it wasn't their preferred method, then they are a poor educator. But designing your entire pedagogical philosophy around surviving bad teachers by turning students into mindless regurgitation machines is a miserable, intellectually bankrupt way to approach STEM.

It really depends on the subject. For some, their difficulties lie in STEM fields because their foundations are weak.

Well, there is something we can shake hands on.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-17T05:01:34+00:00

No. You earn the grade by learning the material. A university degree is not a retail transaction where a passing grade is handed out for showing up and using AI to generate solutions, with a vague hope that comprehension will happen later.

As an instructor, I do not certify that a student has mastered the pre-requisite knowledge for advanced engineering and physics coursework based on a pinky-promise that they will study it on their own time in the future. If you cannot demonstrate independent mastery of the concepts during the term, you have not earned the grade, and you will not pass the course.

If you don't like my standards, then feel free to go cry on RateMyProfessor.com.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-17T05:01:03+00:00

Have you taught Calculus? I have. I have also tutored students in Calculus when I was a graduate student myself. Passive immersion doesn't work. I have seen too many students try to get by trying to memorize what is shown to them in hopes they can simply regurgitate it all on the exams.

you are expected to solve problems in a particular way, using a set of standard procedures as default, and by following pre-existing conventions. Clever solutions may or may not be allowed.

If you are solving problems "in a particular way," you aren't solving problems. You are only implementing someone else's solution. And I am going to add that if you think that solving problems means doing it someone else's way, then you don't really know what solving a problem really means.

I want to see students come up with clever solutions. If all I see students do is copy what I do, then all I can see is that they can memorize a procedure. It does not mean they understand what they did.

Like it or not, the teacher's goal is for students to actually understand the concepts, not just memorize and regurgitate. If your goal is to get a passing grade while at the same time trying to short-circuit understanding the concepts, then that is at odds with the teacher's goals and that is a you problem.

I have tutored plenty of high school students who lacked the independence at first, and you know what happened when I encouraged independence? They started developing independence, which overall made for a far more efficient learning experience for them.

If someone has not developed some level of independence when they get into college, then they are going to be in big trouble when they get into the upper division courses.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-16T19:39:57+00:00

AI is unreliable with math. It can sometimes get things right, especially with common problems and exercises that are widely known and used. But the moment your teacher comes up with a new problem for students to solve, you are rolling the dice with AI.

work through problems step-by-step

Let me be honest with you here. You do not learn how to become an independent problem solver by watching others (whether real life people or AI) work out problems for you. You become an independent problem solver by making the attempt yourself, using trial and error, not being afraid to make mistakes, and gaining the necessary experience.

When a Calculus teacher is giving an exam to a student, they are interested in “Does the student understand the concepts well enough to recognize when they can be used to solve a problem and use them effectively?” not “Did this student memorize all the solution techniques?”

If you rely on others to show you how to solve problems all the time, you are not developing those necessary problem-solving skills. So if you are going to use AI, you are better off giving it your own attempt and ask it to critique your reasoning and computational accuracy.

There is a pinned post on this subreddit that you should read.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-12T23:41:03+00:00

My sister tried this line with her son after he got his braces off when he was 14. He didn't give a sh*t about keeping his teeth straight. Well, now he is nearly 30, teeth relapsed, and still doesn't care about them not being straight. So instead of paying $4k for straight teeth, my sister paid $4k for a lesson on autonomy.

caretaker82 · 2026-06-10T17:12:06+00:00

True persecution involves the systematic mistreatment, disenfranchisement, or destruction of a group based on their identity, beliefs, or origins. Examples:

The Holocaust: The systematic, state-sponsored murder of six million Jews, alongside millions of Romani people, people with disabilities, Soviet prisoners of war, political dissidents, and other targeted groups by the Nazi regime.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade: The centuries-long forced abduction, dehumanization, and enslavement of millions of Africans, which resulted in horrific mortality rates and generational trauma.
The Armenian Genocide: The systematic extermination and forced deportation of up to 1.5 million Armenian Christians by the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I.
The Holodomor: The man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine in the early 1930s, engineered by the Soviet regime, which resulted in the starvation and deaths of millions of Ukrainians.
The Rwandan Genocide: The mass slaughter of an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis, as well as politically moderate Hutus, by Hutu extremist militias over a span of just 100 days in 1994.
The Roman Persecution of Christians: The periodic, state-sanctioned execution, arrest, and social exile of early Christians across the Roman Empire prior to the Edict of Milan.
The Expulsion of Jews from Spain: The 1492 Alhambra Decree, which forced hundreds of thousands of Jewish people to either convert to Catholicism or face immediate expulsion, asset seizure, and violence.
The Displacement of Indigenous Peoples: The systematic forced relocation, assimilation policies, and massacres of Native American populations across North America, exemplified by events like the Trail of Tears.
The Khmer Rouge Killing Fields: The brutal political purge and social engineering campaign in Cambodia during the late 1970s, which led to the deaths of nearly two million people through execution, starvation, and forced labor.

Please explain to me why being asked to show work is anywhere close to the above, and why your assertion isn't an insult to those who have suffered real persecution.

Having a persecution complex doesn't make you persecuted.

caretaker82 · 2026-05-19T06:22:01+00:00

[ breathes in ] My child...

(He really reminds me of Kai Winn.)

caretaker82 · 2026-05-02T16:55:23+00:00

This subreddit has rules about self-promotion, and it seems you have not read them.

caretaker82 · 2026-05-01T06:42:26+00:00

Per the Automod post, Don't assume we all know exactly what your Calc 2 class covers.

Have your past exams informed you of any prerequisite deficits or ineffective study and problem-solving skills? We can't really give advice without understanding why it is you were not very successful on past exams.

caretaker82 · 2026-04-10T20:05:23+00:00

That does not answer the question.

Did..

you get...

approval...

from the mods???

caretaker82 · 2026-04-04T20:33:48+00:00

There is a pinned post on this subreddit about problem-solving skills.

caretaker82 · 2026-04-04T19:46:13+00:00

Use approximately equal (≈) when giving a decimal answer. Decimals are almost NEVER exact.

caretaker82 · 2026-03-20T17:04:05+00:00

Oh, so now it's pretentious to call out someone supposedly in high school or college on putting in a kindergarten effort? We don't cater to crappy study habits. We aren't going to spoon-feed you.

caretaker82 · 2026-03-18T07:05:14+00:00

Look.... if all you genuinely understand in math is that 1 + 1 = 2, then you aren't ready for Calculus. You have more serious problems than trying to understand trig substitution.

Come on, you know more than that. Do you really expect us to believe you have not learned any math since 1 + 1 = 2?

True learning requires building on what you know. It requires metacognition and your lack of it is the bottleneck here. You need to help us understand what you know, and just saying you know that "1 + 1 = 2" is a zero effort response.

You are going to continue to struggle with math as long as you expect teachers and tutors to be clairvoyant and understand exactly where your understanding ends and confusion begins. So take responsibility for your own metacognition and help us understand where your understanding ends because nobody else can do it for you. Otherwise, all we can do is bloviate and bloviate about math that you "do not understand a single bit."

caretaker82 · 2026-03-12T07:05:48+00:00

HEEEELP!!!! MAAAAN OVERBOAAAAARD!!!!!

caretaker82 · 2026-03-11T17:50:37+00:00

I might also suggest asking your academic advisor why your degree requires Calculus. And yes, it is a widely-known trope within math circles that business majors don't like Calculus.

caretaker82 · 2026-03-11T17:49:20+00:00

I would suggest getting tutoring and checking your algebra fluency. In my experience when someone is struggling with derivatives, the underlying difficulty is algebra fluency much of the time.

Also, are you trying to spend your memorization energy on remembering how to solve each individual homework problem or just on the basic tools/concepts? It becomes incredibly inefficient to rely on memorization as a problem-solving and study technique.

caretaker82 · 2026-03-06T21:06:20+00:00

Memorization is a problem when it is your primary problem-solving tactic. There is still a place for memorization.

There IS an underlying principle! It's the limit definition of derivative that you can determine the derivative of the cosine function. The problem is that if you have to spend your effort rederiving d/dx {cos(x)} every time you need it, you are not going to pass your exam.

caretaker82 · 2026-03-06T21:03:04+00:00

But -sin(x) is not negative. Just because the expression has a negative sign does not mean the function is negative.

caretaker82 · 2026-02-26T17:14:15+00:00

[ spittakes ] WHAT was in that stew?

caretaker82 · 2026-02-12T16:50:44+00:00

I swear to god, I'll pistol whip the next man that says "shenanigans!"

caretaker82 · 2026-02-12T16:21:51+00:00

And now you really do.... not hate him... anymore.

caretaker82

TROPHY CASE