Exactly. I could always get an answer but I never could understand the way the teacher told us that we had to get the answer. As long as the answer was all that mattered I did fine.
Yeah, I think recognizing that "math works in mysterious ways", especially in different minds, might help. For example, to this day, I cannot subtract if I have to "borrow" more than once, but I can add those things in my head, set them aside and come up with the answer. I basically can only get the answer by using the method prescribed for "checking your work". Strangely enough, though, geometry made perfect sense to me.