Book · 2014
A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science
by Barbara Oakley
A woman who flunked high school math writes the study-skills book self-taught programmers keep citing to explain why a walk outside unsticks a hard problem.
What does Reddit think of A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science?
Nineteen recognized mentions in seven years is a rounding error next to this catalogue's bigger titles, and nearly all of them sit inside r/learnprogramming. That's not nothing: the ↑77 comment lays out the actual mechanism, focused mode versus diffuse mode, and credits stepping away from the keyboard for solving what staring at it couldn't. The ↑96 comment ties the book directly to Barbara Oakley's Learning How to Learn course and says it goes more in-depth on the same material. The most pointed pitch comes from r/cscareerquestions (↑53), aimed at someone convinced they're bad at studying rather than bad at math, citing Oakley's own math failures as the credential. What's missing is friction: nothing in the displayed excerpts argues against the book, but nothing outside self-taught programmers argues for it either. r/compsci, r/datascience, and r/webdev each contribute exactly one mention across seven years.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Focused mode versus diffuse mode as the actual mechanism for getting unstuck
- · Procrastination and passion-chasing treated as the real obstacle, not raw ability
- · A companion text to the Learning How to Learn Coursera course
- · Self-taught programmers reaching for a study-skills book instead of another framework
Common praise
- + The ↑77 comment credits the book's focused-mode/diffuse-mode framework directly and ties a walk outside to solving a stuck problem.
- + The ↑96 comment calls it absolutely amazing and says it goes more in-depth than the free course covering the same ideas.
- + The ↑90 comment argues 95% of the sub would benefit from reading it instead of rehashing which coding resource beats which.
Common criticism
- − Almost the entire footprint sits in r/learnprogramming; cscareerquestions, compsci, datascience, and webdev combine for just six mentions across seven years.
- − The most-upvoted excerpt tagged to the book (↑510) never actually names the title, so its real subject is programmer-motivation folklore, not the book itself.
- − The last recognized mention on record is from February 2025; it hasn't resurfaced in the freshest threads since.
Who it's for
This is a fix for people stuck relitigating which resource is better than which, per the ↑90 comment's actual complaint. If procrastination and passion-chasing, not a shortage of resources, are the reason you're stalled, the diffuse-mode explanation in the ↑77 excerpt is the specific mechanism people cite. It's mostly cited inside r/learnprogramming, so outside that self-taught-coder audience, expect to be extrapolating from a thinner trail of evidence than the recommendation suggests.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“NEVER RELY ON PASSION Passion is driven by dopamine, a reward neurochemical. When you gain a tolerance to what you are doing, ie, you don't get the same dopamine reward for doing the same thing over and over and over, your brain tries to drive you away to seek dopamine. You must set a goal for yo…
“FYI, The book "A mind for numbers" goes more indepth in the topics duscussed in that course. Its absolutely amazing.
“Honestly 95% of the learners in this sub could stand to read "A Mind for Numbers" or watch the free video course from the same author "Learning How to Learn". It would cut down on a lot of the superfluous "X resource is better than Y resource" debates that happen on this sub because you can set you…
“If you want to learn more about how this works and why, check out the book: A Mind for Numbers by Barbara Oakley. Essentially, your brain has two modes of thinking, a focused mode and a diffuse mode. When you got up and took a walk, your brain switched from the focused analytical mode to the diffuse…
“A big inspiration for me was Deep Work by Cal Newport [1]. It describes a framework of being in a state of a focus and a concentration while doing your tasks. It also explain why deep work is important in modern world and why you should limit time spend on social media (should I do not respond to th…
“Very good post, if anyone is interested in diving deeper into the topic of ‘learning how to learn’ I highly recommend Barbara Oakley’s book A Mind for Numbers. Many of the points OP makes here are part of the book and she explains even more very…
“Read a mind for numbers by Barbara oakley, I think you're studying wrong and it's preventing progress. You can spend countless hours spinning your wheels. Not because the car is bad, but because of you're on the wrong gears. It's written by a person who basically flunked math in high school and c…
“The three "soft skills" books I listed: A Mind for Numbers, The Power of Habit and The Productivity Project, taught me one thing. The resources, broadly speaking, don't matter. What matters is effort and the ability to MAINTAIN effort.
“See also the MOOC Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects on Coursera. For those who prefer books, there is *A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Sciene* by Barbara Oakley (who created the MOOC). I…
“Hi, OP. Sounds to me like you should invest a bit in metalearning (learning how to learn) before continuing. The 10,000 hours/put in the hours idea is only useful if you know what you're doing — i.e. if you know how to learn. A metaphor: you can put all your strength into lifting a log but it's …
“Automating most of your job away is a positive skill. We're in a field that is developing quickly and that requires growing knowledge of changing technologies and ideas. You can spend down-time working on: \-Statistics \-Programming skills \-Info security \-Documentation \-Training mater…
“In the book “a mind for numbers” by Barbara Oakley, she actually represents this between the “focus” and “diffuse” modes of thinking within our brain. According to her research and I believe many cited neuroscientists and relevant researchers in the field, taking a walk or going to the gym activates…
“And that's a problem! Check out the book *A Mind for Numbers* or the MOOC that it was made from called *Learning How to Learn*. They discuss how speed can be detrimental to learning. Especially when typing notes. They insist that research proves that hand-writing notes in your own words is the bes…
“Check out the book A Mind for Numbers. Really insightful for CS majors IMHO.
“Here's a book recommendation that could help you: 'A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)' by Barbara Oakley. Don't let the title fool you, you can apply pretty much everything taught to learning programming.
Convinced? Pick up A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science
What else does r/learnprogramming read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Guides featuring A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science — frequently asked
Is A Mind for Numbers worth reading for programmers, not just students?+
Yes, per the crowd that actually cites it: r/learnprogramming, not r/compsci or academia. The ↑77 comment credits the book's focused-mode/diffuse-mode framework directly and ties it to taking a walk to unstick a hard problem. It's a specific mechanism people quote, not a vague endorsement.
Is A Mind for Numbers the same as the Learning How to Learn course?+
No, but they're built from the same material. The ↑96 comment says the book goes more in-depth on what the free Coursera course covers, and the ↑39 comment lists both side by side for readers who prefer books to video lectures. If you've already finished Learning How to Learn, treat the book as elaboration on ideas you've seen, not a repeat of them.
Does A Mind for Numbers actually help if I think I'm bad at math?+
That's the exact pitch of the ↑53 r/cscareerquestions comment, which argues you're studying wrong, not stuck with a bad brain, and cites the author's own history of flunking math in high school. It's one commenter's argument, not a fleet-wide verdict, but it's aimed precisely at that reader.
How many people on Reddit actually talk about A Mind for Numbers?+
Not many, by the standards of this list: 19 recognized mentions across seven years, almost entirely concentrated in r/learnprogramming. That's a thin trail, but the account identifiers who do bring it up tend to argue for it in detail rather than drop the title and move on.