Different Based Math

I don't think it's a matter of learning math in one base or another. I learned everything in base 10 like everyone else, but I'm very proficient at working with numbers in different bases. It's just mental math skills, something I am lucky to have. I remember learning these conversion tricks in my CS class in high school to solve problems like 153(base 16) * 82 (base16) where they'd tell us to convert to base 10, multiply, and convert back, while I'd simply multiply everything in base 16.

As far as being a mathematical genius, being good at basic arithmetic doesn't stop me from failing miserably at Calculus and Linear Algebra. Math isn't my thing at all.