People say the same thing about poetry (at least the basics, no iambic pentameter here). Saying &quot;I can&#x27;t do math&quot; is often a socially acceptable way of expressing the idea that it&#x27;s not really interesting. It&#x27;s particularly common for people under pressure to follow a STEM academic track...and that frees up the school schedule for classes in things like drama, creative writing and machine shop.