3 ms·

Alternatively we just need more people not trained in formal math who also happen to be geniuses: http://jeffjonas.typepad.com/jeff_jonas/2011/04/data-beats-mat

by Jach 15y ago

Alternatively we just need more people not trained in formal math who also happen to be geniuses: http://jeffjonas.typepad.com/jeff_jonas/2011/04/data-beats-math.html http://jeffjonas.typepad.com/jeff_jonas/2011/04/data-beats-m... Seriously, Jonas demolishes the "'deep analytical expertise' is simply extremely high mathematical ability" interpretation. It's about creating the right algorithms, which sometimes involves math and sometimes doesn't (I like the insertion sort because it's intuitively how humans sort things--it could have been discovered by a middle schooler). It's not about being able to do hardcore math and liking it. This is the first time I've heard of MathCounts though, was this really just blogospam for that program with this site just plucking Big Data Analytics out of the spectrum of possible link-bait subjects? Are the kids there doing hardcore math that other math competitions do? (The video never really focused on a particular problem.) Edit: here's a link to their handbook. http://mathcounts.org/handbook http://mathcounts.org/handbook Doesn't look very fun to me.

elangoc 15y ago
When I was in middle school (MathCounts' age range), math came naturally to me, and I was a competitive kid. For that reason, Mathcounts was fun for me, and it helped that I consistently did well. If you've never been to a math competition, it's an interesting environment. It's one of the few places that I thought you could gain respect for "academic prowess". Imagine that, in America! I think that the act of creating a space for an alternative way of thinking / being is a powerful one, and MathCounts does create that for math. I wonder if I would have done a math major in undergrad if it weren't for the combination of math competitions and advanced math classes from middle school through high school. A lot of MathCounts alumni (who self-select to report their current activities) have gone on in fields science, math, technology, programming, and business. Was it b/c of MC? Maybe not. And it is true that math competition-style math is not "real math". Instead, it requires a lot of problem-solving skills, and to a lesser extent, a knowledge of tricks. Upper-level math requires a little bit of that kind of "sideways thinking", too. To me, it is apparent that math contest-style problem-solving is a lot like hacking together software. You have math tricks (known hacks) and you synthesize different domains (algebra, geometry, trig; hardware, networks, storage, etc.) with a little problem-solving (or programming) to get to the answer (or final version of code). I also think that hacking software is a lot like doing research (http://www.elangocheran.com/blog/2012/02/essence-of-productivity/ http://www.elangocheran.com/blog/2012/02/essence-of-producti...), so using the transitive property... I can see how MathCounts can help foster the analytical skills and math skills that we need as a society.

by Jach 15y ago

elangoc 15y ago

When I was in middle school (MathCounts' age range), math came naturally to me, and I was a competitive kid. For that reason, Mathcounts was fun for me, and it helped that I consistently did well. If you've never been to a math competition, it's an interesting environment. It's one of the few places that I thought you could gain respect for "academic prowess". Imagine that, in America! I think that the act of creating a space for an alternative way of thinking / being is a powerful one, and MathCounts does create that for math. I wonder if I would have done a math major in undergrad if it weren't for the combination of math competitions and advanced math classes from middle school through high school. A lot of MathCounts alumni (who self-select to report their current activities) have gone on in fields science, math, technology, programming, and business. Was it b/c of MC? Maybe not. And it is true that math competition-style math is not "real math". Instead, it requires a lot of problem-solving skills, and to a lesser extent, a knowledge of tricks. Upper-level math requires a little bit of that kind of "sideways thinking", too. To me, it is apparent that math contest-style problem-solving is a lot like hacking together software. You have math tricks (known hacks) and you synthesize different domains (algebra, geometry, trig; hardware, networks, storage, etc.) with a little problem-solving (or programming) to get to the answer (or final version of code). I also think that hacking software is a lot like doing research (http://www.elangocheran.com/blog/2012/02/essence-of-productivity/ http://www.elangocheran.com/blog/2012/02/essence-of-producti...), so using the transitive property... I can see how MathCounts can help foster the analytical skills and math skills that we need as a society.