Jason Qin has enrolled in Awesome Math’s Computational Geometry and Algebra 1.5 online courses. He has learned much during his first week and says that the courses have really broadened his perspective on math. The class schedule runs from Monday through Friday, with 2-hour lectures and 1-hour problem sessions hosted via Zoom. Saturdays are test days, with timed tests for students to take on their own time.
“This week, the test for the Computational Geometry class was 5 questions long and had a 3-hour time limit. Now, I know this might sound like way too much time for 5 questions, but it definitely takes that long to complete. For Computational Geometry, most of the problems are proof-based questions. We basically have to use the theorems and laws learned in the lecture to prove further theorems. I used to be pretty scared of straight proofs, but after a week of this class, I have realized that proofs are basically solved by trying to reason with observations and known facts,” Jason explains.
“For Algebra 1.5, my test was 11 questions long and had a 2-hour time limit. The problems on the test build off of the topics we learned that week. They are designed so that just memorizing the formulas and theorems is not enough, you have to be able to expand and branch off of those concepts that are learned in the lectures. In fact, the Computational Geometry test lets you use your notes and all the notes from the lectures,” Jason adds.
After class students are able to discuss problems and ask questions on a discussion page on Google classroom. “This is a great aspect of this class, as I am able to see how my peers solved a problem and provide my own insights,” Jason says.
The classes, mostly based on problem solving, are very different from material Jason has learned in school. “Awesome Math problems build off of the foundations learned in school, and require creative thinking to solve. The problems are definitely meant to be challenging, and sometimes impossible to solve with normal methods,” Jason reports.
“One example, on the first day of the Algebra 1.5 class, the instructor gave us ‘intro problems’ to get our brains warmed up. One of these problems was this really complicated polynomial that we had to solve. As it turned out, that problem was impossible to solve algebraically, turning the problem from ‘solve for x’ to ‘prove there is no real solution for x.’ This opened my mind to the idea that not everything can be solved mathematically or algebraically, but sometimes, simple logic is the solution,” Jason adds.
During his second week at Awesome Math, Jason reports that he has been learning new concepts and methods that he would not have been able to learn or use in regular math classes. “Competitive math is not some far away place, and it is very closely related to fundamental mathematics. One wonderful thing that Awesome Math has showed me is to believe in the process of problems. Basically, just getting the answers right does not mean anything if your work can’t back it up,” Jason says.
“From this experience, I have been able to recollect the reason I fell in love with mathematics. There is so much brilliance and elegance in proofs and the process of solving a problem, and I feel like competition math has narrowed my field of vision with ‘memorize formulas and tricks to succeed.’ I feel that Computational Geometry has brought back the curiosity and power in problem solving,” Jason explains.
Great work and continued success, Jason!
>> Read Jason’s Final Report. (PDF file, 199 KB).
>> Learn about other students’ experiences in the GFF Scholarship Program.
