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Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

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Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#91

Post by saurik »

wingmanjd wrote: post #62
ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

I wasn't as cool as this kid, but I wrote a binomial expansion program in TI BASIC back in high school that I was pretty proud of. Teacher said it was neat, but then banned calculators on our tests/ quizzes after I demoed it.

I remember my teacher banned the use of software on calculators (not the calculators themselves) but left an exception for me because she knew I was writing all the software I was using and didn't want to discourage me using that to learn about both algorithms and the underlying math.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#92

Post by Auracle »

RC_ITR wrote: post #54
Vt71fcAqt7 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And, to add to this, we need to find and nurture these minds so they don't get bored and can grow at their natural speed.

>Throughout high school, Kaczynski was ahead of his classmates academically. Placed in a more advanced mathematics class, he soon mastered the material. He skipped the eleventh grade, and by attending summer school he graduated at age 15. Kaczynski was one of his school's five National Merit finalists and was encouraged to apply to Harvard.[17] While still at age 15, he was accepted to Harvard and entered the univers…

There should be some sort of university made for people like that - where they’re learning high level stuff but with people their age.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#93

Post by akira2501 »

JadeNB wrote: post #74
ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

> Since then, I don't feel bad if someone achieves more than me, because clearly there are some people out there that are born to solve certain classes of problems (maybe their brain structure is better for those, or something, who knows). As a math teacher, I very much like every part of your comment except for this. There are way too many people who decide never to try mathematics because they weren't born to it. I…

In school I essentially hated all math beyond Algebra, because it started to become something less tangible and more rote. Which is a sensible way to teach it as a pure subject, but it completely undercuts it's utility and connection to real world problems and the intrigues that go along with them.

Once I started to really want to understand and write audio processing code, I suddenly had a framework to not only care about Trigonometry, but to actually apply it and to have a tool that would validate my understanding of it. That short feedback loop got me through the subject incredibly quickly.

I was completely blown away when I started reading some Linear Algebra material because I realized that I had essentially been doing it for years without even strictly realizing it. The subject came to me very quickly because I already had a solid "mechanical" understanding of how to implement systems utilizing a particular subset of it.

I think passion for the deeper maths is something most people just have to discover through application, and there just happen to be a rare few who discover a pure love of it very early in life.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#94

Post by jablongo »

ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

> A computer program to factor any polynomial equation string input to it: Do you mean a program to solve for f(x) = 0 using numerical approximation? Factorization has a specific meaning and is not necessarily possible for quintic and higher-degree polynomials / there is no closed form solution like the quadratic formula for n>=5.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#95

Post by Waterluvian »

ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

Someone once told me, “comparison is the thief of joy.”

I’m confident this is a famous quote. But once I heard it, it kept resonating.

Then years later I watched Bluey with my kids and mom says, “just run your own race” and it all clicked. I’m so thankful that it clicked because I feel liberated from this self-imposed sense that I need to absolutely maximize my time here, which is an impossible task.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#96

Post by BaseballPhysics »

MikePlacid wrote: post #25
BaseballPhysics wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would rather guess that it is some genetic defect in the brain causing a person to prefer playing with abstract problems to booze, smoke and sexual gratification. But I doubt that having such a guess is allowed. Understandable given it's a comically elitist point of view. Fun fact: Richard Feynman experimented with both LSD and Ketamine, among other things. Shame, imagine how much he could have achieved if he had…

Elitist?? I doubt that any American family has a lower standard of living, than a Soviet math post-graduate student, single mother of two. We have no permanent beds only folding ones, I made my studies on a drawing board put over a sewing machine (do you know what sewing machine is for? It’s to repair your old clothing) our apartment was shared by two families, it has no hot water and water itself was de facto ration…

There may be a language issue here, but to be clear: Elitist != rich. I've run across many poorer folks who harbour elitist attitudes (like, say, ascribing mental or moral failings to folks who choose to indulge in sex, drugs, or alcohol).

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#97

Post by noir_lord »

wingmanjd wrote: post #62
ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

I wasn't as cool as this kid, but I wrote a binomial expansion program in TI BASIC back in high school that I was pretty proud of. Teacher said it was neat, but then banned calculators on our tests/ quizzes after I demoed it.

I had a maths teacher who accused me of cheating because we had coursework to solve a particular problem, I solved the problem for that case and then the general case using math she hadn’t taught me even had a pascal program that you could enter parameters and it’d give you the answer.

She literally couldn’t get her head around a student going to the library, taking out a book on maths and teaching themselves because they where curious.

The UK has a very strange educational system, curiosity isn’t encouraged, you learn like a good little peg in a round hole.

Left a very bad taste in my mouth but at least she did eventually apologise.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#98

Post by doodledo32 »

Zamicol wrote: post #76
Vt71fcAqt7 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And, to add to this, we need to find and nurture these minds so they don't get bored and can grow at their natural speed.

I don't hear this viewpoint acknowledged enough. Society wasting and discarding undiscovered talent is one of my deepest fears.

No post body was provided.

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#99

Post by ducktective »

ok_dad wrote: post #43

I knew a guy in high school that carried around a sub-compact notebook and one day in science class we were learning about how to factor quadratic equations (a review of old math we should know) and this guy was not paying attention at all, just typing away. The teacher asked him what he was doing that was so important that he couldn't listen, and to please come up and solve the problem. This kid walked straight up t…

>there are some people out there that are born to solve certain classes of problems

exact same experience... there is literally a genetic factor but people are not willing to admit it

Re: Teenager solves stubborn riddle about prime number look-alikes

#100

Post by [deleted] »

RC_ITR wrote: post #54
Vt71fcAqt7 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And, to add to this, we need to find and nurture these minds so they don't get bored and can grow at their natural speed.

>Throughout high school, Kaczynski was ahead of his classmates academically. Placed in a more advanced mathematics class, he soon mastered the material. He skipped the eleventh grade, and by attending summer school he graduated at age 15. Kaczynski was one of his school's five National Merit finalists and was encouraged to apply to Harvard.[17] While still at age 15, he was accepted to Harvard and entered the univers…

[deleted]
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