Great Vid Bro,one thing that is funny that after 1 month u uploaded another this type of vid (I am talking abt 4 months ago)and the whiteboard is same messier with bashing of geometry problems :D Love from India!
I am so happy to see this video! thank you so much❤ I am 16 years old from Japan. Last time, I passed the first qualifying round for the first time, and was almost last in the second exam. I would like to be in the top 20 in the domestic second exam next year and advance to the final exam. My assignments are geometry and combinations. I think I lack knowledge on combinations. I think the problem may be that I have only studied elementary geometry. I plan to study Evan Chen's EGMO in this year. Here are some questions for you. ①Are there any good websites to learn about combinations? ②When studying for EGMO, if you think about it for more than 3 hours and still don't understand, should you look at the hints? Also, what should you do if you still don't understand even after looking at the hints? ③Regarding general preparations for the Mathematical Olympiad, when you solve problems but don't make any progress, what criteria do you use to look at the answers? ④Should I review the same problems? I'm waiting for your answer. Please advise!
Hey congratulations ! Don't get discouraged if you go down between rounds and with good preparation you'll do well next year! 1. None that I know (though I might make one in the next 30 days). Best I can suggest are books like Engel's problem solving strategies and then Pranav Sriram's Olympiad Combinatorics. 2. Yup look at hint even after 2 hours for most problems. Try to learn the theory behind the problem or analyze the solution after at least another hour after looking at the hints. 3. If I'm stuck for more than 30 minutes for beginner problems, 60 for medium and 120 for harder problems, I'm looking up the answer. 4. It's good to come back and analyze solutions after a while. Especially if you now "get the problem"
@@ShefsofProblemSolving Thank you for teaching me! Your words have encouraged me! I plan to solve a lot of math problems and have a lot of fun over the next seven months. I will start by studying one of the combination books you told me about. Until now, I never wanted to look at the answer, and even when I couldn't solve it, I would think about it for more than 10 hours, so maybe that was inefficient. I think I'll try to look for hints more proactively. Also, if I have any questions, I'll come and ask you for advice.
Great vid! I was just wondering if you could tell what IMO topic is GENERALLY the hardest one? (Algebra,combo,geo, NT) I know that for everyone it is different, but generally concerning all the theory/creativit needed
In my opinion, I think its NT or Combi, well I am bad at Combi so this comment may be biased, but one thing is for sure and that is number theory is hard.
I'd say generally it's combinatorics because it's the most general and has the biggest amount of different approaches you can try. I heard that a buddy of mine at the IMO 2017 tried to solve problem 5 in more than 8 different ways and failed at every single one. There is also a lot of theory in combinatorics and it doesn't build up as nicely as it does in geometry.
An awesome video! Nowadays I`m at pre-IMO level and I fail my mock tests. I learned a lot in combinatorics and geometry, but I can`t use my knowledge in solving probems. What would you advice me to do? Thank you very much in advance.
Did you go to class during your competition? Do you think that it is possible to pass TST with only books without any classes at all?(In a country like yours)
Hi, great video! Just wanted to ask a question: how do you learn to do proof writing? Is it just by completing questions or are there resources and theory that you need to learn? I'd really appreciate it if you could answer my questions!
hi, well for starters: THANK YOU! i feel like most olympiad tutors often paint themselves as heroes and it's hard for me to learn from perfect. your tips feel useful for humans and i feel relieved i'm not the only one who struggles with things as stress and pressure. specially as a woman who has had experiences with sexist teachers, i often believe feeling this way just proves them right "woman are too emotional for math." and i'm just too thankful for your realistic advice. however, i've some questions: 1. how to learn from a teacher's lesson? i often feel lessons are over me or just too easy, and it's easy for me to give up. i record the class just to never see it again. is this wrong? how to take advantage from live Olympiad classes? do you think I can succeed by myself? cause even so, in my country showing interest to classes does affect your chances to get selected. 2. how do you deal with frustration? you've no idea how helpful the "try something easier" is to me. i used to think solving problems below my level was some kind of weakness or lost of time, but do you have any additional advice for those times where you just don't enjoy math anymore and you are seriously considering giving up? 3. 2023 is my second, yet last IMO (if i get selected). i need to DRASTICALLY improve my level but i feel like i don't have enough time. any sort of advice for that pleassssssse? 4. as a bilingual student, any advice for how to learn math in both languages? cause i feel i find more information in english but i still need to write my solutions in my language for selection tests.
OMG these are amazing questions and thank you for sharing your experiences. Sorry I was away for a while and didn’t check this often. 1. The only piece of advice that worked for me is that I was assertive, active, and if I said something “stupid” my approach was “okay but what’s the idea”. In the sense I’m not focused on what you think about me but rather in solving the problem. Also sometimes you might just have a bad teacher. Someone who doesn’t explain things well. Best you can do is try to find a similar lesson online (I’d even suggest you shoot me an email about a lesson so I could make it, but I’m aware that I’m currently very busy and slow to respond so no expectations there). 2. Have a good reason WHY you’re doing this. Get clear on that. For me it was I wanted to bring the first gold medal from the IMO for my country and inspire others. Now even though in retrospect there was some insecurity motivating that, it still made it easier to deal with frustration. 3. I don’t have any magic advice other than to work on your inner game and also to solve problems that stretch you. 4. It’s weird how that works… I think in both my mother language and English. What helps is while I read proofs in English I try to understand the main idea and then I put it in my own words in my language. Testing in your native language helps a lot. Let me know if anything else pops up
I wouldn’t spend that much time on a problem if you’re preparing for competitions. Best to spend up to 5 hours on a problem. If it’s taking longer maybe try an easier problem first and build up to that one
Thank you for the video! I really found it helpful, but my real problem right now is that, even after doing what you told in this video from september until last week when I had the county level of olympiad in Romania, i got the second with 14 points and did not qualify for the nationals. I am sooo so depressed right now as qualifying for the last step of the olympiad has been my dream since I started the year. I do not know what to do 🥺😮💨 My friend told me that I need a good olympiad "coach" to train me better for these kind of problems. I quite disagree with him, and agree with him at the same time. I do not know what to do, since I have never worked privately with a teacher. Is that really what would work?
I mean you can’t guarantee success in any realm of life that involves competition, you can only work on getting better yourself. It sucks when you fail to reach your goals (been there), though a good question to ask yourself is what else would you like to do? Say you choose to quit math after this defeat. Ok…then what? Unless there is something you think is more worthy of your time, why would you quit? On the private instructor. It can definitely help if the instructor is well versed in competitive mathematics. You don’t want someone who will be teaching you about category theory or differential equations or someone who will spoon feed you solutions. So yes, that can be helpful but it also has a cost and maybe the person isn’t the right fit. On the issue of talent, there are many opinions around talent. The way I look at it is that talent is what people say a person has when they can’t explain that person’s success. I consider myself to be lucky to have played math games and enjoyed math as a kid and that I was best in my class. That’s what I think made me great at math. Could there be biological underpinnings of this? Sure but given I don’t have an identical twin it’s difficult to make the differentiation. Best you can do is find a reason for doing these competitions. I happen to believe they make you a better thinker and it’s a great activity during high school. They can also help with college applications in the USA. Also how many more years of high school do you have left? Mind you that you can also figure out where you went wrong and prepare more for next year if you’re competing.
@@ShefsofProblemSolving I have 3 years left. And no, i definetly don't want to quit. I will keep improving myself until I (hopefully) reach my goals. I was just a bit sad ;( and still am. But I'll get over it. Anyways, thanks for advice and for your time. All good wishes!
@@Bossudeboss898 Hey you're in a better spot than you think. Three years is a looong time and also note that Romania is a very strong country in math competitions with a long tradition in math competitions. Just realize that it's not a trivial task to actually get to the final round in your country and that you also have a lot more times to try. This is not to say to not train now, but rather to give perspective that you are more options. Also you'll be better at solving all sorts of problems after these competitions. It's okay and perfectly normal to be sad. After my IMO 2017 I would, a month after the competition, at some point in the night wake up and think back to how I could've solved problem 2 or 5. It happened a couple of times even though I was happy in Rio. Over time it's possible to get better and focus on the next set of challenges and problems life brings to you :)
hey! I try to learn problem solving from the IMO by my self, is there any formal list of theoretical subjects that are often involved? since right now I have only the problems and the solutions to look at.
Great video! I definitely found this video really helpful and inspiring! Keep doing what you're doing!
Thank you very much! Let me know if you have ways I could improve :)
Thank you. We like these videos and definitely want more of them.
Great Vid Bro,one thing that is funny that after 1 month u uploaded another this type of vid (I am talking abt 4 months ago)and the whiteboard is same messier with bashing of geometry problems :D
Love from India!
Hahaha it’s one thing to record the videos and another to get them ready for TH-cam 🤷♂️
What a video!! What a video!!
Thank you ! The enthusiasm in the comment made me smile :)
I am so happy to see this video!
thank you so much❤
I am 16 years old from Japan. Last time, I passed the first qualifying round for the first time, and was almost last in the second exam. I would like to be in the top 20 in the domestic second exam next year and advance to the final exam. My assignments are geometry and combinations. I think I lack knowledge on combinations. I think the problem may be that I have only studied elementary geometry. I plan to study Evan Chen's EGMO in this year.
Here are some questions for you.
①Are there any good websites to learn about combinations?
②When studying for EGMO, if you think about it for more than 3 hours and still don't understand, should you look at the hints? Also, what should you do if you still don't understand even after looking at the hints?
③Regarding general preparations for the Mathematical Olympiad, when you solve problems but don't make any progress, what criteria do you use to look at the answers?
④Should I review the same problems?
I'm waiting for your answer. Please advise!
Rez
Hey congratulations ! Don't get discouraged if you go down between rounds and with good preparation you'll do well next year!
1. None that I know (though I might make one in the next 30 days). Best I can suggest are books like Engel's problem solving strategies and then Pranav Sriram's Olympiad Combinatorics.
2. Yup look at hint even after 2 hours for most problems. Try to learn the theory behind the problem or analyze the solution after at least another hour after looking at the hints.
3. If I'm stuck for more than 30 minutes for beginner problems, 60 for medium and 120 for harder problems, I'm looking up the answer.
4. It's good to come back and analyze solutions after a while. Especially if you now "get the problem"
@@ShefsofProblemSolving
Thank you for teaching me! Your words have encouraged me! I plan to solve a lot of math problems and have a lot of fun over the next seven months. I will start by studying one of the combination books you told me about. Until now, I never wanted to look at the answer, and even when I couldn't solve it, I would think about it for more than 10 hours, so maybe that was inefficient. I think I'll try to look for hints more proactively. Also, if I have any questions, I'll come and ask you for advice.
Please make a playlist for guides as well!
I will do that! Good thinking!
Great vid!
I was just wondering if you could tell what IMO topic is GENERALLY the hardest one?
(Algebra,combo,geo, NT) I know that for everyone it is different, but generally concerning all the theory/creativit needed
In my opinion, I think its NT or Combi, well I am bad at Combi so this comment may be biased, but one thing is for
sure and that is number theory is hard.
I'd say generally it's combinatorics because it's the most general and has the biggest amount of different approaches you can try. I heard that a buddy of mine at the IMO 2017 tried to solve problem 5 in more than 8 different ways and failed at every single one. There is also a lot of theory in combinatorics and it doesn't build up as nicely as it does in geometry.
@@ShefsofProblemSolving yeah, id definitely say combinatorics and the easiest probably algebra.
Good video, very good video. More such videos, please.
Definitely! Any topic suggestions?
@@ShefsofProblemSolving lifting the exponent lemma . please do it.
@@ShefsofProblemSolving anti-pascal triangle?😏 (IMO 2018 P3)
@@maxicambo4017 I'll tackle that one in 2022 :P
Could you please make a specific video on the USAJMO
An awesome video! Nowadays I`m at pre-IMO level and I fail my mock tests. I learned a lot in combinatorics and geometry, but I can`t use my knowledge in solving probems. What would you advice me to do? Thank you very much in advance.
Micheal Penn also has a nice way of explaining problems :>
Great video, well I would have gone for the olympiads but no opportunity, anyways thanks man
Thank you! Any other video suggestions?
Well I think you should try out college maths
Did you go to class during your competition? Do you think that it is possible to pass TST with only books without any classes at all?(In a country like yours)
Hi, great video! Just wanted to ask a question: how do you learn to do proof writing? Is it just by completing questions or are there resources and theory that you need to learn? I'd really appreciate it if you could answer my questions!
nice video!
Thank you!
Great video
Thank you!
Excellent video! Could you make an in-depth tutorial on how to do proof please?
Look up proofs class from mit open course ware
Also if you want to learn algebra, trig and Calc and also statistics I suggest codeacadamy tutorials on TH-cam
@@lucaaaa6382 ok thank you! I’m a Year 11 student I hope it won’t be too hard lol
How can I raise my level within two weeks?
can u make a video on your daily learning routine, or how you divide your time in a day when you was preparing your imo?
Absolutely ! I'll do that.
Amazing video. However, where can I find past test papers for olympiads for all levels?
Great vid, btw I noticed that that whiteboard hasn’t been cleared for a long while lol.
Hahahaha very fair! I recorded these videos in a couple of days and only edited them later :D
Beautiful background ❤
Beautiful background ❤
hi, well for starters: THANK YOU! i feel like most olympiad tutors often paint themselves as heroes and it's hard for me to learn from perfect. your tips feel useful for humans and i feel relieved i'm not the only one who struggles with things as stress and pressure. specially as a woman who has had experiences with sexist teachers, i often believe feeling this way just proves them right "woman are too emotional for math." and i'm just too thankful for your realistic advice. however, i've some questions:
1. how to learn from a teacher's lesson? i often feel lessons are over me or just too easy, and it's easy for me to give up. i record the class just to never see it again. is this wrong? how to take advantage from live Olympiad classes? do you think I can succeed by myself? cause even so, in my country showing interest to classes does affect your chances to get selected.
2. how do you deal with frustration? you've no idea how helpful the "try something easier" is to me. i used to think solving problems below my level was some kind of weakness or lost of time, but do you have any additional advice for those times where you just don't enjoy math anymore and you are seriously considering giving up?
3. 2023 is my second, yet last IMO (if i get selected). i need to DRASTICALLY improve my level but i feel like i don't have enough time. any sort of advice for that pleassssssse?
4. as a bilingual student, any advice for how to learn math in both languages? cause i feel i find more information in english but i still need to write my solutions in my language for selection tests.
OMG these are amazing questions and thank you for sharing your experiences. Sorry I was away for a while and didn’t check this often.
1. The only piece of advice that worked for me is that I was assertive, active, and if I said something “stupid” my approach was “okay but what’s the idea”. In the sense I’m not focused on what you think about me but rather in solving the problem.
Also sometimes you might just have a bad teacher. Someone who doesn’t explain things well. Best you can do is try to find a similar lesson online (I’d even suggest you shoot me an email about a lesson so I could make it, but I’m aware that I’m currently very busy and slow to respond so no expectations there).
2. Have a good reason WHY you’re doing this. Get clear on that. For me it was I wanted to bring the first gold medal from the IMO for my country and inspire others. Now even though in retrospect there was some insecurity motivating that, it still made it easier to deal with frustration.
3. I don’t have any magic advice other than to work on your inner game and also to solve problems that stretch you.
4. It’s weird how that works… I think in both my mother language and English. What helps is while I read proofs in English I try to understand the main idea and then I put it in my own words in my language. Testing in your native language helps a lot.
Let me know if anything else pops up
@@ShefsofProblemSolving THANK YOU! you've no idea how helpful you've been!
@@varsiarvi8473 Glad to have been helpful! Good luck on your contests!
Really very helpful 👍
Great! Happy to see that
I spend a lot of time in a single problem , sometimes it takes a day or 2 days , Is it right to spend a lot on a single problem?
I wouldn’t spend that much time on a problem if you’re preparing for competitions. Best to spend up to 5 hours on a problem. If it’s taking longer maybe try an easier problem first and build up to that one
@@ShefsofProblemSolving Thankyou for advice.
@@hypergaming2051 Absolutely! You're welcome!
Thanks so much!!!
You’re welcome
@@ShefsofProblemSolving 🙏:🙏
Thank you for the video! I really found it helpful, but my real problem right now is that, even after doing what you told in this video from september until last week when I had the county level of olympiad in Romania, i got the second with 14 points and did not qualify for the nationals. I am sooo so depressed right now as qualifying for the last step of the olympiad has been my dream since I started the year. I do not know what to do 🥺😮💨
My friend told me that I need a good olympiad "coach" to train me better for these kind of problems. I quite disagree with him, and agree with him at the same time. I do not know what to do, since I have never worked privately with a teacher. Is that really what would work?
Or maybe I am just not talented enough...
I mean you can’t guarantee success in any realm of life that involves competition, you can only work on getting better yourself. It sucks when you fail to reach your goals (been there), though a good question to ask yourself is what else would you like to do? Say you choose to quit math after this defeat. Ok…then what? Unless there is something you think is more worthy of your time, why would you quit?
On the private instructor. It can definitely help if the instructor is well versed in competitive mathematics. You don’t want someone who will be teaching you about category theory or differential equations or someone who will spoon feed you solutions. So yes, that can be helpful but it also has a cost and maybe the person isn’t the right fit.
On the issue of talent, there are many opinions around talent. The way I look at it is that talent is what people say a person has when they can’t explain that person’s success. I consider myself to be lucky to have played math games and enjoyed math as a kid and that I was best in my class. That’s what I think made me great at math. Could there be biological underpinnings of this? Sure but given I don’t have an identical twin it’s difficult to make the differentiation.
Best you can do is find a reason for doing these competitions. I happen to believe they make you a better thinker and it’s a great activity during high school. They can also help with college applications in the USA. Also how many more years of high school do you have left? Mind you that you can also figure out where you went wrong and prepare more for next year if you’re competing.
@@ShefsofProblemSolving I have 3 years left. And no, i definetly don't want to quit. I will keep improving myself until I (hopefully) reach my goals. I was just a bit sad ;( and still am. But I'll get over it.
Anyways, thanks for advice and for your time. All good wishes!
@@Bossudeboss898 Hey you're in a better spot than you think. Three years is a looong time and also note that Romania is a very strong country in math competitions with a long tradition in math competitions. Just realize that it's not a trivial task to actually get to the final round in your country and that you also have a lot more times to try. This is not to say to not train now, but rather to give perspective that you are more options. Also you'll be better at solving all sorts of problems after these competitions.
It's okay and perfectly normal to be sad. After my IMO 2017 I would, a month after the competition, at some point in the night wake up and think back to how I could've solved problem 2 or 5. It happened a couple of times even though I was happy in Rio. Over time it's possible to get better and focus on the next set of challenges and problems life brings to you :)
hey!
I try to learn problem solving from the IMO by my self, is there any formal list of theoretical subjects that are often involved? since right now I have only the problems and the solutions to look at.
Have you found what you needed
@@prod_EYEScan you help?
You from Switzerland?
Sir If i wanted to learn proof writing do I have to learn Propositional Logic
Nope!
Can you tell how crack imc contest from zero
Thank you sm ^_^
You're welcome :)
Learning math is a long journey isn't it? It takes decades for people to join such prestigious math competition like IMO.
Nope not decades, just a couple of years. Depending on where you’re competing from could be months
Thanks
good
cute
GOD bless you in this new year. JESUS CHRIST cares for you. JESUS CHRIST is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.
Jay shree ram bro.....Krishna says he is god bro...but Jesus says he is only the messenger of God...therefore krishna is the way bro🇮🇳🇮🇳🚩🚩
Thanks for sharing that
God is the only way, Christ is just a prophet..
bro