“Counting bars is like climbing Everest,” he said.
TheU2drummer has revealed that he was recently diagnosed with dyscalculia.
I’m numerically challenged," he said in a new interview with U.K. outletThe Times.
U2’s Larry Mullen Jr. in 2019.Marc Grimwade/WireImage
“And I realized recently that I have dyscalculia, which is a sub-version of dyslexia.
So I can’t count [and] I can’t add.”
The condition is inborn and affects an estimated 4-7 percent of the population.
U2’s Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Clayton, Bono, and the Edge.Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Mullen said dyscalculia strongly affects his work.
“When people watch me play sometimes, they say, ‘You look pained.’
I am pained because I’m trying to count the bars,” Mullen said.
“I had to find ways of doing this and counting bars is like climbing Everest.”
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Other entertainers have discussed having dyscalculia.Robbie Williamsreflected on the conditionin an Instagram post last year.
“Phone numbers give me anxiety,” he wrote.
If theyre not spaced out I cant read them.
A month or so ago I was with some new friends.
And I offered to pay for lunch.
There was an option to leave a 15 percent tip, 20 percent tip, or 25 percent.
None of which I could work out.
I started to sweat.
Got the sum wrong.
Scribbled it out and in the end I had to ask for help."
Other celebs who have been reported to have dyscalculia includeCherandMary Tyler Moore.
Mullen recently produced and composed music forLeft Behind, a documentary about a school for children with dyslexia.
The drummer said his son has that condition, which often goes hand in hand with dyscalculia.
Bram van den Berg served as his replacement for the shows.
And we are very grateful that he did and that he’s here with us tonight.
We wish him a speedy, speedy, speedy recovery.
We love you, Larry Mullen Jr."
