Just like a sacred cow

I don't know if everyone's had an experience like this, but back when we were first learning long division in school, I just did not get it. It seemed like everyone else understood it but me. I decided to just write down numbers to make it seem like I knew how to do it. When the teacher asked if anyone had any questions, I looked around the room, and no one was raising their hands. Even if I didn't mind looking like a fool in front of everyone, I didn't even know where to start, what to ask. So the teacher continued with the lesson, and I became even more mired in confusion.

Eventually, I picked up the basics by watching other people do it. That's no real way to learn anything, though. I can see people write down numbers, and I can even listen to them as they try to explain the process, but I'll never be able to see what goes on in their heads. No matter how good an observer you think you are, you can't get the whole story just from watching people any more than you can know what I'm talking about through these words.

And yet, maybe that's just me. Could it be that I'm really the only person dense enough to not realize the critical point? What is it that everyone else is seeing that I am consistently missing? Is it too late to raise my hand?