The Best Young Math Problem Solver in the World Is a Girl

I don’t even understand the questions. There are people that can answer these?

So much respect.

I have so much respect for her getting perfect on this competition. I have exactly the same amount of respect I would if she was a ‘he’.

That’s just sick!  Anybody who’s better at math than me is sick.  Lots and lots of sick people in this world, I’m tellin’ you!  😉

Nothing, but it has everything to do with breaking down stereotypes.

Might be worth noting that Hemant is a math teacher, and there is the occasional off-topic post, privilege of being the blog’s owner. 😉 That and the fact that atheism has allies amongst other movements harmed by religion (which isn’t _directly_ the case here, but on the whole feminism certainly isn’t helped any) and it’s nice to give a shout-out when something good happens to a friend, as it were. 🙂

Woah woah woah. Lay off. “The Best Young Math Problem Solver in the World is a Girl” title is just a simple statement. There’s no animosity or misogyny or even incredulity implied by it. There’s nothing implied by it, except the possible “duh”.

As for the article;
::sigh::
I could have been that good. But I discovered other things around 10th grade. I miss math. There was always a reason that your answer was right or wrong. 

Perhaps the social meme that “women are not normally good at math” is what Hemant was trying to shatter with this story.  Any math performance deficit among women (if there is any) is only due to socialization.  Not innate ability.

In regards to some previous comments, I find this more noteworthy than if  a boy (man, male human, as you prefer) won because the lower number of girls (women etc.) in math makes is less likely for them to win, even before including that the ones who do math anyway still face discrimination and hurdles that boys (men) do not. 

There is not a high correlation between IMO medalist and Fields medalists. She didnt solve a big problem nor she helped math in any other way. If she want to be recognized she’d better start solving real math problems and not those made by (male) mathematicians.

My prediction is that in about a decade, it will be boys and men benefitting from affirmative action laws and scholarships getting them into college. 

My comment is tangential at best, but for some reason it’s what I thought of.

This is a victory for Lisa Sauermann, for girls, and also for education in general.  I imagine it takes many years (and many teachers) saying you are capable and not dismissing your ability simply because you are a girl to get this good. 

“Here’s a story that probably won’t get as much
press, but it’s just as impressive considering how few women go into
mathematics.”

According to the statistics from the department of commerce recently released, the same percentage of women as men go into mathematics.

@twitter-19684120:disqus – not easilyI’m impressed _anyone_ got a perfect six.

On the first one, I can’t think of a nA greater than 3
A general formula would be {a,b,c,ab+ac+bc-(a+b+c)}

On the second one, I’m a little confused, because a point in the middle of a triangle of points would NEVER have l pass through it. I can see the infinite progression of points on the outer edge

The third one, I’d give a shot via an indirect proof. But I don’t see it right away…

yay..
since no one here has posted the related smbc comic-post, lemme do the honors:

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2214
“Math is gender neutral. And if you disagree, you will be too”
🙂

Wow, someone did something (relatively) remarkable.  Quick, the morphology of the gonads must be examined!!  Primates are silly.

nice job woman. congrats on your victory. i hope it leads to scholarship money and academic opportunity for you.

Yet, no matter how attentive you are in the future, someone will find reason to take offense.

As my dad like to say, “If it were raining diamonds and gold, someone would bitch about the noise on the roof.”

Point taken. 

girl, (n): a female child

child, (n): A young human being below the age of full physical development or below the
legal age of majority

She can’t drink or rent a car. She’s still a girl.

I’ve concluded that the only other solution to #1 is (1, 11, 19, 29) and all multiples.  I have a proof, but it’s too big for the margins. 😉

I second that.  You’re the expert Hemant and an educator.  We bow to your advanced knowledge and require a through explanation. 😉

Well, honestly, they’d have more than enough reason to bitch (diamonds would cut you up horribly, like broken glass, and gold is so heavy that it would crush the roof).

Still, your point is well taken.

At least women are acknowledged to be no worse than men concerning mathematics.

Is there a rule that Hemant can only post about atheism on his blog? It is his blog, he can post whatever the hell he wants.

That is utterly stupid and quite big waste of resources. I don’t think she personally has had this problem. She is from Germany and Germany, as Finland where I live, has now days quite equlitarian education system and girls are encouraged to be interested in maths and natural sciences. Atleast here it is the test scores and showing of personal ineterest, that matter to th teacher most. Ofcourse there is some attitude differences still left.

I have heard some teachers say, that both genders need little different handling and teaching tactics in basic education level.  Still I think this is more on per person basis and student are handled based on their interest and motivation level on the subject.

Ofcourse I know that this is not the case in all countries, which is sad. I study astronomy in university and can vouchfrom personal experience, that female and male are just as capable in “hard” sciences and maths. This has much more to do with personal capability, than gender. Also such thinking is utter waste of good resources. There is no scarcity on people who want to be scientist, but there is scarcity on people who are motivated and skilled enough to actually be good at it. Plus basic understanding of mathemathics is good for everyone, so that they can themself check their mortages, loans and other daily life calculation. It keeps you from being cheated, when handing your personal finances.

So if this is problem it should be tackled.