OT: USAMO is number one!!!

[SVCBeercats]

In case you missed it. They're No. 1: U.S. Wins Math Olympiad For First Time In 21 Years (This is about 2015 USAMO.)
If you have a deeper interest, here is a documentary below on the 2006 USAMO team and selection process. They give a bit of insight into several participants and their families. They start with approximately 250,000 high school students. Through a rigorous testing process they are whittled down to 6 contestants and 2 alternates. No participation trophies here. In the last 20 years China has finished 13 times in first place (2nd 5 times and 3rd 2 times). In the last 4 years the USA has finished numero uno 3 times (2015-16-18). This year 2018 the USA had 5 gold and 1 silver medalists. Five gold is quite spectacular considering how hard these math problem are. Absolutely amazing was James Lin with 6 of 6 perfect scores which is like Nadia Comăneci scoring 6 perfect tens only in a much harder discipline. The 2016 USAMO team was truly amazing - all 6 USA team members earned a gold medal with two scoring 6 of 6 perfect scores.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Quite interesting indeed.

 

[eebmg]

Very interesting. Still for me, the Gender discrepancy in general on a global scale is pretty depressing (90-10%) look at the clip around the 1:29:00 mark.

 

[JordyG]

When I joined the BY I was under the impression that there would be no math involved. Nevertheless after a minute I was compelled to watch the whole documentary.. A fine and occasionally moving docu. Thanks for allowing this old math challenged loser a view of the other side.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Very interesting. Still for me, the Gender discrepancy in general on a global scale is pretty depressing (90-10%) look at the clip around the 1:29:00 mark.

I did. It shows Zeb Brady doing a math problem? See 40.03. Teenage female's attitude toward math? See 40.24. Their mother clearly does not push them in any specific direction. She lets them find their way. How many friends do you know that have daughters? Did they encourage them to pursue a more male associated curriculum? Were they successful? Many moons ago I hired a young college grad from a very traditional Lebanese family who owned a restaurant in our office building. She was not at all encouraged to go to college let alone pursue a career in information technology. Yet something sparked this kid to do so. What was it? I just assumed like me it was what she wanted to do. Her family expected her to join her older brothers in the restaurant business. Why do you believe there are few women in what are traditionally viewed as male occupation? What can ignite the spark in girls and young women to pursue these careers in greater numbers? I understand managers have to be more open minded. But even then the bureaucracy can be a problem. At an aerospace company I was given an additional section to manage which had no minorities and women. So I scheduled interviews with 8 women, six of which were black. All were about to graduate with computer science degrees or information systems degrees. I received a call from human resources, a woman mind you. She sternly accused me of reverse discrimination. Knowing this could go on and on I agreed to interview 3 men. Then I hired a woman. She called me back to tell they had their eye on me. Make sense of that.

 

[SVCBeercats]

When I joined the BY I was under the impression that there would be no math involved. Nevertheless after a minute I was compelled to watch the whole documentary.. A fine and occasionally moving docu. Thanks for allowing this old math challenged loser a view of the other side.

I just realized I had linked to an incomplete version of this USAMO video. I just replaced it with the complete version.

 

[BroadwayVa]

In case you missed it. They're No. 1: U.S. Wins Math Olympiad For First Time In 21 Years (This is about 2015 USAMO.)
If you have a deeper interest, here is a documentary below on the 2006 USAMO team and selection process. They give a bit of insight into several participants and their families. They start with approximately 250,000 high school students. Through a rigorous testing process they are whittled down to 6 contestants and 2 alternates. No participation trophies here. In the last 20 years China has finished 13 times in first place (2nd 5 times and 3rd 2 times). In the last 4 years the USA has finished numero uno 3 times (2015-16-18). This year 2018 the USA had 5 gold and 1 silver medalists. Five gold is quite spectacular considering how hard these math problem are. Absolutely amazing was James Lin with 6 of 6 perfect scores which is like Nadia Comăneci scoring 6 perfect tens only in a much harder discipline. The 2016 USAMO team was truly amazing - all 6 USA team members earned a gold medal with two scoring 6 of 6 perfect scores.

@SVCBeercats ---Thanks, Congratulations to the USA team. Amazing feat. The trophy is in the win. Significantly more important than a Hockey, football, baseball, basketball NC, but with much less or any fan fare. Thanks again.

 

[BroadwayVa]

@S
Loh says it's important to teach math as more than mere memorization and formulas. He says this is one reason, perhaps, that the subject hasn't attracted as many American students as it could.

Prof Loh said:

"Ultimately, I think that as the mathematical culture starts to reach out to more people in the United States, we could quite possibly start to see more diversity. And I think that would be a fantastic outcome," he says.



"It could be that maybe the way math is sold, in some sense, is one in which it's just a bunch of formulas to memorize. I think if we are able to communicate to the greater American public that mathematics is not just about memorizing a bunch of formulas, but in fact is as creative as the humanities and arts, quite possibly you might be able to upend the culture difference."


VCBeercats---
LOH--I love. American kids are not taught HOW to think math. Some get lost in terms. As Geno has noted in basketball--fundamentals are important. Build from a strong foundation.

 

[SVCBeercats]

@S
Loh says it's important to teach math as more than mere memorization and formulas. He says this is one reason, perhaps, that the subject hasn't attracted as many American students as it could.
Prof Loh said:"Ultimately, I think that as the mathematical culture starts to reach out to more people in the United States, we could quite possibly start to see more diversity. And I think that would be a fantastic outcome," he says.
I think if we are able to communicate to the greater American public that mathematics is not just about memorizing a bunch of formulas, but in fact is as creative as the humanities and arts, quite possibly you might be able to upend the culture difference."
LOH--I love. American kids are not taught HOW to think math. Some get lost in terms. .

"American kids are not taught HOW to think math." Once I and several other computer programmers and systems designers were discussing how we designed computer programs in our heads. As I was describing how I see types of code as different geometric forms, I suddenly realized from where my thinking originated. Mr. Meese! My geometry teacher in high school who would not allow us to workout solutions on paper. We had think through the problem and then and only then write the solution on the blackboard and explain it. I can still hear him urging me to visualize the process and the solutions. When I realized this I located his house and visited him. He was retired at the time. I thanked him for teaching me to think through geometry. Upon reflection I think his wife was happier with my visit. She seem so proud of him. He taught a lot of us to think (and quite a lot of geometry). He was teaching us to think period and not just think math. Loh says it's important to teach math as more than mere memorization and formulas. I guess Mr. Meese knew this all those years ago.

The first time I walked into Oracle Corp.'s cafeteria; it was like walking into the United Nations cafeteria. Larry Ellison cared less about who or what you were as long as you could think very well. The software development staff was recruited from all of the finest computer science programs in the world. I was in sales.

I have always struggled trying to explain to Mrs. SVC and our artistic friends why a computer program like a mathematical proof can be as artistically beautiful as any work of art such as a painting or a sculpture.

 

[cohenzone]

When I joined the BY I was under the impression that there would be no math involved. Nevertheless after a minute I was compelled to watch the whole documentary.. A fine and occasionally moving docu. Thanks for allowing this old math challenged loser a view of the other side.

What is math?

Great for the kids on the team. Too bad it doesn’t translate to our school population as a whole.

 

[SVCBeercats]

What is math?
Great for the kids on the team. Too bad it doesn’t translate to our school population as a whole.

What does this mean?

 

[cohenzone]

What does this mean?

Our kids lag in math compared to many countries. That competition is for kids who are top notch.

U.S. academic achievement lags that of many other countries

 

[Bigboote]

How many friends do you know that have daughters? Did they encourage them to pursue a more male associated curriculum? Were they successful?

I work at a large research institution that's mostly physical sciences/engineering, some biosciences. So I know a lot of folks who have encouraged their daughters to go into male-dominated fields. I can think of several who are doctors or are in med school, but am straining to think of any who are in math or hard sciences. I can think of one who's in finance, which is male-dominated.

I tried to nudge my own daughter that way, and also in sports, all to no avail. I was a firm believer in nurture over nature till she was born. She popped out of the womb with a personality that's still recognizable today. When I look at her and my numerous nephews and nieces, they've all marched to their own drummers. They've had parents who pushed them to do certain things, and parents who encouraged them to pursue whatever they wanted. But in the end, they've all wound up doing something you could have predicted when they were five or ten years old.

eembg pointed out that the kids at the event are about 90% male, and it looks like that's the case for most parts of the world. When you have 90% males pretty much regardless of culture, you have to think that it's not a cultural thing. It's likely a complex origin that we don't understand.

 

[JordyG]

What is math?

Is this an existential question?

 

[JordyG]

I work at a large research institution that's mostly physical sciences/engineering, some biosciences. So I know a lot of folks who have encouraged their daughters to go into male-dominated fields. I can think of several who are doctors or are in med school, but am straining to think of any who are in math or hard sciences. I can think of one who's in finance, which is male-dominated.

I tried to nudge my own daughter that way, and also in sports, all to no avail. I was a firm believer in nurture over nature till she was born. She popped out of the womb with a personality that's still recognizable today. When I look at her and my numerous nephews and nieces, they've all marched to their own drummers. They've had parents who pushed them to do certain things, and parents who encouraged them to pursue whatever they wanted. But in the end, they've all wound up doing something you could have predicted when they were five or ten years old.

eembg pointed out that the kids at the event are about 90% male, and it looks like that's the case for most parts of the world. When you have 90% males pretty much regardless of culture, you have to think that it's not a cultural thing. It's likely a complex origin that we don't understand.

Pretty much what Jordan Peterson says.

 

[cohenzone]

Is this an existential question?

Ask my math teachers.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Our kids lag in math compared to many countries. That competition is for kids who are top notch.
U.S. academic achievement lags that of many other countries

What is the competition for the lower notch kids? Life? No matter how one feels theoretically not all students are created equal. Other countries regarding education are not all about touchy feely. See Japan. See China. Their education is not completely in the hands of the education system. Their parents get involved. Or at least someone in the family gets involved. Sometimes a kid may need Dr. Frederick Herzberg's KITA - kick in the ass. I will admit many teachers teach like Ben Stein's Mr. Cantwell in the Wonder Years. Perhaps there isn't enough effort to reach the boys in the back of the room or the girls. A good friend who quit a successful industry career to teach math made a concerted effort to reach all of his students whether they wanted to be in his class or not. He would ask what they thought they wanted to do after high school. If there some who wanted to be carpenters, then by god he dedicated a number of classes to applying math to carpentry and how it made things easier and resulted in a higher quality result. He did this for several occupations. He hooked them for the rest of the math ride he was taking them on. He did not need any bovine scatology bureaucratic standardized tests for his kids to excel. But even he admits there are students who were not mentally equipped to excel. Anything they learned was a bonus.

 

[cohenzone]

What is the competition for the lower notch kids? Life? No matter how one feels theoretically not all students are created equal. Other countries regarding education are not all about touchy feely. See Japan. See China. Their education is not completely in the hands of the education system. Their parents get involved. Or at least someone in the family gets involved. Sometimes a kid may need Dr. Frederick Herzberg's KITA - kick in the ass. I will admit many teachers teach like Ben Stein's Mr. Cantwell in the Wonder Years. Perhaps there isn't enough effort to reach the boys in the back of the room or the girls. A good friend who quit a successful industry career to teach math made a concerted effort to reach all of his students whether they wanted to be in his class or not. He would ask what they thought they wanted to do after high school. If there some who wanted to be carpenters, then by god he dedicated a number of classes to applying math to carpentry and how it made things easier and resulted in a higher quality result. He did this for several occupations. He hooked them for the rest of the math ride he was taking them on. He did not need any bovine scatology bureaucratic standardized tests for his kids to excel. But even he admits there are students who were not mentally equipped to excel. Anything they learned was a bonus.

Not sure, but I think you missed the point. Winning that competition says nothing about the overal progress in math education in the US relative to other countries. The kids in these international competitions are excellent mathematicians compared to the average student. Obviously some kids won’t be in a learned profession. Heck, I’m a lawyer and am pretty good at 1+1. Carpenters need decent math skills to live life in the US and I don’t mean calculus.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Not sure, but I think you missed the point. Winning that competition says nothing about the overal progress in math education in the US relative to other countries. The kids in these international competitions are excellent mathematicians compared to the average student. Obviously some kids won’t be in a learned profession. Heck, I’m a lawyer and am pretty good at 1+1. Carpenters need decent math skills to live life in the US and I don’t mean calculus.

Pretty sure you missed my point.

 

[cohenzone]

Pretty sure you missed my point.

Was in line for a movie (Green Book) excellent flick. How many teachers have the patience and administrative support to teach that way. I could’ve used the guy.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I work at a large research institution that's mostly physical sciences/engineering, some biosciences. So I know a lot of folks who have encouraged their daughters to go into male-dominated fields. I can think of several who are doctors or are in med school, but am straining to think of any who are in math or hard sciences. I can think of one who's in finance, which is male-dominated.

I tried to nudge my own daughter that way, and also in sports, all to no avail. I was a firm believer in nurture over nature till she was born. She popped out of the womb with a personality that's still recognizable today. When I look at her and my numerous nephews and nieces, they've all marched to their own drummers. They've had parents who pushed them to do certain things, and parents who encouraged them to pursue whatever they wanted. But in the end, they've all wound up doing something you could have predicted when they were five or ten years old.

eembg pointed out that the kids at the event are about 90% male, and it looks like that's the case for most parts of the world. When you have 90% males pretty much regardless of culture, you have to think that it's not a cultural thing. It's likely a complex origin that we don't understand.

Boy @Bigboote ---I wholeheartedly agree. Like you I have seen the personality they were born with, they are as adults.
I began college as a very challenged math student.
I had a tutor that taught me how to think in mathematical terms and although it wasn't easy I began to love math.
My children were overwhelmingly girls. I began early telling them they could do anything they wanted. One in 5th grad was adding, subtracting multiplying in different bases. She went to MIT. Another in the Medical field (science based), One Psychology
Law (Harvard). The point is you can nudge or push and they choose. It isn't Male vs Female as some tend to think. It isn't that schools push girls away from those courses. It is an individual decision, usually. Some didn't want the intense education demanded by Math/Science others just had no interest in that area.

 

[cohenzone]

Boy @Bigboote ---I wholeheartedly agree. Like you I have seen the personality they were born with, they are as adults.
I began college as a very challenged math student.
I had a tutor that taught me how to think in mathematical terms and although it wasn't easy I began to love math.
My children were overwhelmingly girls. I began early telling them they could do anything they wanted. One in 5th grad was adding, subtracting multiplying in different bases. She went to MIT. Another in the Medical field (science based), One Psychology
Law (Harvard). The point is you can nudge or push and they choose. It isn't Male vs Female as some tend to think. It isn't that schools push girls away from those courses. It is an individual decision, usually. Some didn't want the intense education demanded by Math/Science others just had no interest in that area.

Congratulations to your daughters, you should be proud. I have 3 sons and one is a scientist/college prof. The others are less math challenged than I was, but one became an attorney and the other an Emmy winning TV producer. Young women are now entering all the fields which is a good thing. The sciences are wide open to them.

One problem for a lot of modern kids isn’t so much math as it is writing ability. They spend so much time writing short hand in emails and more recently even worse, by texting, that writing is suffering. It’s a challenge for parents and teachers to overcome. And with the advent of the easy availability of electronics for kids to play games on and text, reading is slipping as a pass time which also tends to make writing skills suffer. In my previous life as an attorney I’d get an occasional letter from lawyers so poorly written that it made me wonder how they got through law school and passed a bar exam.

 

[BroadwayVa]

"American kids are not taught HOW to think math." Once I and several other computer programmers and systems designers were discussing how we designed computer programs in our heads. As I was describing how I see types of code as different geometric forms, I suddenly realized from where my thinking originated. Mr. Meese! My geometry teacher in high school who would not allow us to workout solutions on paper. We had think through the problem and then and only then write the solution on the blackboard and explain it. I can still hear him urging me to visualize the process and the solutions. When I realized this I located his house and visited him. He was retired at the time. I thanked him for teaching me to think through geometry. Upon reflection I think his wife was happier with my visit. She seem so proud of him. He taught a lot of us to think (and quite a lot of geometry). He was teaching us to think period and not just think math. Loh says it's important to teach math as more than mere memorization and formulas. I guess Mr. Meese knew this all those years ago.

The first time I walked into Oracle Corp.'s cafeteria; it was like walking into the United Nations cafeteria. Larry Ellison cared less about who or what you were as long as you could think very well. The software development staff was recruited from all of the finest computer science programs in the world. I was in sales.

I have always struggled trying to explain to Mrs. SVC and our artistic friends why a computer program like a mathematical proof can be as artistically beautiful as any work of art such as a painting or a sculpture.

Your teacher was the exception that proves the rule (my point) MOST of math is poorly taught you were lucky in finding a teacher who truly understood how to teach math.

Math must begin at an early age and taught as a FUN subject. It must be taught as the base for most things in life, ie. tie it to related subjects, events, life. Then build on that. Do you know how many people can't balance a checkbook?

Your HS math teacher was an innovator--I cheer loudly this teacher.
Way too many Boys and Girls don't understand enough math to the point of Math phobia. If you are ever fortunate to see that teacher again--give her a hug and kiss from me. She/he should be publically honored. Thank you.
I began programming at the machine level in the 60's when we required a bootstrap punched in, by finger, to allow a paper tape "program" to initiate---then with 2 dual cassettes we could evaluate the total nuclear spectrum analyzing nuclear material on a dewar with a geli detector and a pulse height analyzer. I bought a "Commodore computer to teach my girls. My son got his hands on it and that became his life.
I have been lucky enough to wander through many fields of science; more than just a few Women were and are exceptional in their fields, some how the media seems to miss the great women and their numbers in math and science--role models missed.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Congratulations to your daughters, you should be proud. I have 3 sons and one is a scientist/college prof. The others are less math challenged than I was, but one became an attorney and the other an Emmy winning TV producer. Young women are now entering all the fields which is a good thing. The sciences are wide open to them.

One problem for a lot of modern kids isn’t so much math as it is writing ability. They spend so much time writing short hand in emails and more recently even worse, by texting, that writing is suffering. It’s a challenge for parents and teachers to overcome. And with the advent of the easy availability of electronics for kids to play games on and text, reading is slipping as a pass time which also tends to make writing skills suffer. In my previous life as an attorney, I’d get an occasional letter from lawyers so poorly written that it made me wonder how they got through law school and passed a bar exam.

As a youth, I was forced to read "the classics" when my interest was science. I read anything with a scientific word in the title. In the past 30 years, I found the fun of reading beyond science (although I'm drawn that way). My spouse is a retired English Prof. and she tells me I write as though English was my 25th language
I'm not an attorney I did, however, attend a number of Contract Law classes presented at George Mason by a Federal Judge. My attorney daughter was born with a "fairness" adjudicating gene it was evident at an early age. As you pointed out personalities appear early. Speaking about your exceptional kids, kudo's to a good dad. They didn't get there without you. Your genes, your guidance, your help.

 

[BroadwayVa]

What is the competition for the lower notch kids? Life? No matter how one feels theoretically not all students are created equal. Other countries regarding education are not all about touchy feely. See Japan. See China. Their education is not completely in the hands of the education system. Their parents get involved. Or at least someone in the family gets involved. Sometimes a kid may need Dr. Frederick Herzberg's KITA - kick in the ass. I will admit many teachers teach like Ben Stein's Mr. Cantwell in the Wonder Years. Perhaps there isn't enough effort to reach the boys in the back of the room or the girls. A good friend who quit a successful industry career to teach math made a concerted effort to reach all of his students whether they wanted to be in his class or not. He would ask what they thought they wanted to do after high school. If there some who wanted to be carpenters, then by god he dedicated a number of classes to applying math to carpentry and how it made things easier and resulted in a higher quality result. He did this for several occupations. He hooked them for the rest of the math ride he was taking them on. He did not need any bovine scatology bureaucratic standardized tests for his kids to excel. But even he admits there are students who were not mentally equipped to excel. Anything they learned was a bonus.

You need to do a DNA test, from this posting it would appear I AM your clone (no not clown). I can attest that it I often appeared to be a successful teacher when I had exceptional students that required little of me. I often arranged my classrooms putting the chairs in a circular pattern allowing me to teach in a personal way to each student.

High lighted area---my belief that at an early age students must see the practical and fun use of math, then build on a foundation of no fear of math.