How do I fix my habit of making simple mistakes? This has been

learn the material properly

>>9032469
Probably the most sound advice

>>9032469
>>9032494
something can be learned properly the first time it's taught.

what you both mean is "learn the material well", which is the answer to the OP's question

>>9032461
>Did any of you brainlets have to overcome this problem?

Yeah. And the only way to fix it is by checking afterwards. You must be able to finish any test quickly enough that you will have enough time to re-read everything at least twice and do the necessary corrections.

That is the core part. After that, you can start optimizing. One problem I saw with the method I just described is that when I originally skipped many steps when writing a solution, when I re-read it my mind kind of disconnects from the thing. As things don't really follow from each other, they just jump and change all over the place. Basically, when you skip steps in order to be "quicker" that just means that when you re-read, you have to check the missing steps also mentally, and nothing guarantees you that when doing mental math, you won't make the same mistake again (trust me, this has happened to me). So the first optimization is to stop skipping steps. Do every step of a computation so that when you go back to read it, your brain can rest and you can just focus on looking at what you wrote and see if anything looks wrong, and this is much easier.

The second optimization I have found (and the last one for now) is that if you treat problem solving like writing an essay, it becomes much easier to check afterwards. This stems from the same problem before: When you just have a bunch of disconnected symbol magic, your brain kinda turns off and you don't really pay attention to what you are reading. If I instead do a little bit of redaction then that eases the load of information on my brain. The way I do it is that before doing "something" I write down what I will do, and why I am doing it.

cont.

>>9032500
>>9032461
Cont:

For example, in a test I took yesterday (my final for linear algebra) I was given a linear transformation and asked to compute its kernel, range, nullity, rank, etc. I naturally started by finding its matrix and then taking the determinant to see if it was non-zero.

Instead of just doing the computation I started by saying "I compute the matrix of the transformation to find the generators of the range". And then when I moved on to the determinant I say "Now I compute the determinant to see if the range is the entire codomain".

Those comments are ultimately meaningless but when I went back to read my solution to check it, those comments helped me. You see, when you go back to read things you usually have to re-discover your entire reasoning and that is also pressure put on your brain. You can ease that pressure by simply writing down your reasoning too so then you just have to read it.

I also believe that this may award you extra points from professors who appreciate solutions that are easy to follow, but that is just conjecture.

>>9032500
>>9032507
Damn thank you that's really good advice, this is exactly what I do and dont do

>>9032507
Also your examiner will appreciate the comments and will probably be more lenient in case there's a small error.

>>9032461
Some people's minds just aren't shaped to be so fine-sifting or so “sharp”. I've had to accept that I'll never be a numbers guy for that reason – simply because there are so so so many out there that don't need my gimmicks and double-checks to get something right the first time.

Do some deep, months-long thinking and soul searching to ask yourself what you ARE shaped for and come to terms with it. And include your family, they've been watching you trial and error your whole life and probably have a useful perspective.

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15KB, 532x320px

>>9032461
>have a bad case of ADD, but I can focus on math and science related topics no problem so Im not sure if that's it...

Are you saying you have selective ADD? hmmm.....

>>9033298
>so so so many out there that don't need my gimmicks and double-checks to get something right the first time.

Double checking doesn't mean that you get things wrong. It just means you take things seriously. I am the guy giving the advice in >>9032500 and most of the time I double check I find there is no error. But for the peace of mind and to ensure I get an A and not a B, it is worth it.