Mathletes

I just finished reading Count Down: Six Kids Vie for Glory at the World's Toughest Math Competition written by Steve Olson. The math competition they're referring to is the International Mathematics Olympiad.

For many years, this competition was held, and the US did not participate. Many people feared that the US would get trounced in math competitions against East European countries, China, and the like. However, after some cajoling, Americans began to participate in 1974. The book covers the event in 2001, which was held, I believe, in Washington DC.

This book is a quick read. You get some idea of the background of some of the kids, plus some of the problems they solved, and also a discussion of what makes these kids so bright. Discussions of creativity, talent, competition, all come up.

Olson is reasonably balanced in his presentation. Sure, he believes competitions like the Olympiad encourage bright kids to learn math, but he also presents countering views. For example, one scientists claims there's no such thing as talent. If you spend X number of hours on a task, you'll be just as good as these talented people. Thus, Mozart was a genius because he played several hours of piano a day when he was young. Any kid who did the same would sound just as great.

He cites another scientist who believes competition is bad, and it encourages all the wrong kinds of motivations, especially for women, and that any kind of intellectual competition (including exams, etc) should be banned.

While I wouldn't say I gained a great deal of insight into the world of math, Olson does cover many different areas, from the lives of the kids, to the people that surround them, to social issues such as ethnicity, gender and the source of intelligence, drive, and creativity.

Decent book, quick read, and doesn't require much math to follow, though it has enough if you care.