I suppose, practice makes perfect as the old saying goes.
I was never good in math in school, from 1st grade through college
Handymen, plumbers, electricians, HVAC installers, framers, fabricators, window/door installers, roofers, etc etc etc etc etc , all have to use math almost on a daily basis…
Ever use a tape measure??
Heck, math is used in the higher level mechanics often, build a transmission and need to know what thickness shim to use, math, all kinds of math in engines building… Brakes, need to know if you need new rotors or if you still have room left to machine them, runout of a rotor and or hub, math… And the list goes on and on and on…
Numbers themselves don’t really confuse me, I know all kinds of specs and formulas, I have forgotten many that I haven’t used in many years, but road numbers like 31E vs 31W get me…
I can measure and cut.
I can tell if something is in or out of spec:
Caster: +4.0° ±0.75° Actual: 4.3°
I’m just incapable of performing any functions beyond add, subtract, multiply.
I always state teen numbers (13, 14, 15, 16, etc.) as ‘one-three’, ‘one-four’, ‘one-five’ to avoid confusing with thirty, forty, fifty, particularly in noisy environments.
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That is true, but when I moved into my new home, in 1996, one of the carpenters or one of the sheetrock installers had done some “calculations” on a garage wall and on one of the joists in the basement. Both calculations were wrong. Luckily, someone who was better at math apparently did things correctly.
I never said they were all good at it… 
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Try telling the parts guy while in a noisy shop that you need x part for a 1994 Ford, or a 1990 Ford, insert 1970, 1980, 2000 etc etc… lol
Yes, I do the same thing sometimes…
They leave it up to the carpenters and sheetrock installers for load calculations where you live? Here in NH (and most states that I know of) load calculations need to be approved by an engineer BEFORE construction begins.
They weren’t load calculations. It appears that they were attempting to calculate/measure the size of a space for sheetrock.
Don’t need an engineer to hang sheetrock/plywood on a wall that is 8’ tall and 15’ long, you need a tape measure on the last piece… lol
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But a better architect would have made the wall 16 feet long
Depending on the zoning law restrictions for maximum sq ft per land mass of the building… 
Well then just shorten the wall at the other end
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When designing the wall do you use inside or outside dimensions to maximize material use?
Outside wall is 16’, inside wall would be 15’
Inside wall 16’, outside wall is 17’
Either way is going to require cutting
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Outside wall could be one hundred or more feet, interior room, 16 feet.
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