The key problem with math is that the learning keeps going and at some point, every single person fails to either have the ability or time to learn more math. Everyone becomes "bad at math" relative to other people. This same thing doesn't happen with reading because once you are a pretty good reader you feel like you have mastered it.
3 examples:
1) Kid who never completes pre-calc. "can't do math"
2) Adult who gets through calc, but doesn't go any further "can't do math"... like an engineer
3) Math PhD. who gets stuck on something they can't solve.
Person 1 and 2 are both stating they can't do math, and both people are relatively right. Relatively being the key word.
If we rephrased the way math is taught, it would never be labeled as math at all. This would box people in to saying things like "I don't do calculus" which would be correct in many cases, whereas it would be alarming if someone said "I can't add".
Really, whether people say "I don't do math" or "my bad" doesn't really matter and being stressed over it is probably just as ridiculous as saying those things.
This can't be overemphasized. My favorite (apocryphal) Einstein anecdote is the one where a society matron approaches him at a party and exclaims, "I don't know how you can deal with all that math. I have so much trouble with math." Einstein replies, "Lady, you can't imagine how much trouble I have with it."
s/math/computers, and that line comes in very handy in my own social life.
I think you have hit this point on the head. It is very hard to compare mathematics education between countries. Eastern Bloc countries seem to go a lot further with the secondary level mathematics education, my point of caparison is to Scotland cavet emptor.
I am constantly embarrassed by my level of mathematics, I like to play with 3D graphics on the weekend.
I have a Masters in applied math, but I still put myself in the Bad At Math camp compared to many of my class mates, especially those who went on to pure math PhD's. And even among that group, I know a couple who would also classify themselves as Bad At Math because they couldn't pull off the more hard core PhD research topics and had to drop down to easier problems.
3 examples: 1) Kid who never completes pre-calc. "can't do math" 2) Adult who gets through calc, but doesn't go any further "can't do math"... like an engineer 3) Math PhD. who gets stuck on something they can't solve.
Person 1 and 2 are both stating they can't do math, and both people are relatively right. Relatively being the key word.
If we rephrased the way math is taught, it would never be labeled as math at all. This would box people in to saying things like "I don't do calculus" which would be correct in many cases, whereas it would be alarming if someone said "I can't add".
Really, whether people say "I don't do math" or "my bad" doesn't really matter and being stressed over it is probably just as ridiculous as saying those things.