Metroplex Math Circle

2012 CIE-DFW Presentation

Metroplex Math Circle — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 14:00:05 +0000

If you found Metroplex Math Circle through the parent presentation at the 2012 CIE-DFW MathComp/MathFun you can find the link to the presentation here.

If you have any questions we weren’t able to take during the presentation feel free to post them below.

2012 CIE-DFW MathComp/MathFun

Metroplex Math Circle — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:35:07 +0000

Its that time of year again! The DFW chapter of CIE will once again sponsor their math competition and festival. Metroplex Math Circle has been very happy to participate each year in this well attended and well run event. Please come meet us there.

David Cordeiro – “The Flaw of Averages: Monte Carlo Simulation and Problem Solving Applied to Business Decisions”

Metroplex Math Circle — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:26:30 +0000

Do you grab an umbrella when the weatherman calls for an 80% chance of rain? 50%? 20%? How do you make decisions about something as uncertain as the weather?

Life in general, and business specifically, can be just as uncertain as the weather. Unfortunately, most companies and highly paid executives rely on a combination of deterministic tools, heuristic thinking and averages to make their decisions. This “flaw of averages” leads many business leaders to oversimplify problems and to be far more confident in their decisions than they have any right to be.

For our last session of the 2011-2012 season, David Cordeiro will give an introduction to Monte Carlo simulation and its application to a wide variety of important business decisions. Mr. Cordeiro will share his first hand experience witnessing how deterministic decision making led to falling stock prices, work force reductions and ruined careers. It is never too late or too early to learn the art of stochastic forecasting and how to use these powerful techniques to make better decisions and avoid the Flaw of Averages.

Once requiring the power of a mainframe computer, Monte Carlo simulation software now runs on a standard laptop and can take advantage of the logic of standard Excel spreadsheets. This software should be in the toolkit of anyone trying to make decisions about future outcomes (i.e. everyone).

Does our approach to teaching math fail even the smartest kids?

Metroplex Math Circle — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:54:32 +0000

“Does our approach to teaching math fail even the smartest kids?” is the title of a great article published on the Great Schools website which liberally quotes our good friend Richard Rusczyk. Following are a few key points made, but please go and read the whole article for yourself (and pass it along to other families who don’t yet enjoy the benefits of a math circle).

Rusczyk recalls, formerly accomplished students were faced with a new idea: that math required more than rote learning — it required creativity, grit, and strenuous mental gymnastics. “They had been taught that math was a set of destinations and they were taught to follow a set of rules to get to those places,” he recalls. “They were never taught how to read a map, or even that there is a map.”

…

When Rusczyk looked around him, he noticed a pattern. His classmates who had experienced this kind of difficult problem solving — usually in after-school math clubs — could survive the transition to college math. The ones who had only been exposed to traditional math curriculum, the ones who, as Rusczyk puts it, have experienced the “tyranny of 100%” — gave up too easily because they thought if they weren’t getting top scores, they weren’t meant to do math. “Suddenly, a solid B was a 40%, the top grade [was] an 82%, the next 68%, and no one is getting a 100%,” he recalls. “But they didn’t know this.” Rusczyk realized that these kids had been dealt a bad hand: “They were taught [math] is a set of facts, not a process.”

…

Rusczyk cautions that kids who love math and science often end up filling up their time with AP classes that aren’t central to their aspirations but more focused on GPA calculations (like AP Art History), and shortchange themselves when it comes to exploring math and science learning outside the classroom.

2012 Texas USAMO and USAJMO Qualifiers

Metroplex Math Circle — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:32:05 +0000

Congratulations to all of the Texas students who qualified to sit for the 2012 USAMO or the USAJMO.

USAMO Qualifiers:

S. Chen, Westwood HS, Austin
D. Fan, Dulles HS, Sugar Land
B. Ferguson, Ferguson Homeschool, Dallas
G. Ge, Texas Academy of Math & Science, Denton
P. Guo, Westwood HS, Austin
N. Gupta, Texas Academy of Math & Science, Denton
K. Li, A&M Consolidated HS, College Station
M. Ma, Rice MS, Plano
A. Sadun, Liberal Arts & Science Academy HS, Austin
B. Shen, Dulles HS, Sugar Land, TX
K. Tian, Westwood HS, Austin
A. Whatley, North Houston Academy of Science & Mathematics, Spring
L. Wu, Stephen F. Austin HS, Sugar Land
S. Xu, Dawson HS, Pearland
A. Zhao, Texas Academy of Math & Science, Denton
D. Zhou, Harmony School of Advancement, Houston

USAJMO Qualifiers

N. Balachandar, Shepton HS, Plano
R. Guo, St Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas
M. Hwang, Dulles HS, Sugar Land
L. Ilic, Westlake HS, Austin
A. Jain, William P Clements HS, Sugar Land
S. Jiang, William P Clements HS, Sugar Land
P. Konduri, Harmony School of Advancement, Houston
W. Li, William P. Clements HS, Sugar Land
X. Lin, St. Stephens Episcopal School, Austin
E. Nguyen, Robert L. Paschal HS, Fort Worth
V. Vale, Gnanam Academy, Richardson
G. Venkat, Fort Settlement MS, Sugar Land
D. Whatley, North Houston Academy of Science & Mathematics
A. Yang, William P. Clements HS, Sugar Land
V. Zhou, St. Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas

Please use the comments below to congratulate these students many of whom attend the Metroplex Math Circle.

April 7, 2012 – Dr. Dimitar Grantcharov – “Inequalities”

Metroplex Math Circle — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:02:16 +0000

This Saturday we welcome our good friend Dr. Dimitar Grantcharov, director of the Mid-Cities Math Circle at UT Arlington. Dr. Grantcharov will share a number of problems involving inequalities. You will not want to miss it!

(MC)² Director

Dimitar Grantcharov, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Area of research: Algebra and Geometry

Session Leader, San Jose Math Circle, 2004-2008.
Guest Lecturer, COSMOS Program at UC Irvine, 1998-2003.
Bronze Medal, XXX International Mathematical Olympiad, 1989.
First place, VI Balkan Mathematical Olympiad, 1989.
First place, Bulgarian National Mathematical Olympiad, 1989.

How to design video games that support good math learning: Level 5

Metroplex Math Circle — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:19:10 +0000

Reblogged from profkeithdevlin:

Procedures or thinking? Part 5 of a series

The vast majority of video games that claim to teach mathematics do not actually do that. Rather, what they do is provide a means for students to practice what they have already been taught. For the most part, the focus is on basic computational skills.

A good example is the first-person shooter…

March 31, 2012 – Dr. Frank Wang – “Group Theory with Fruits – A Fun and Intuitive Introduction to Abstract Algebra & Beyond”

Metroplex Math Circle — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:25:35 +0000

In this fun and interactive talk, Dr. Frank Wang will introduce students to the concepts and “big ideas” of Group Theory. Dr. Wang has given this talk at math teacher conferences, on live cable television, and to students as young as fourth grade in schools, large and small, throughout the country. Dr. Wang is a mathematician by training (PhD in pure math from MIT), textbook author (with Saxon Publishers), and former textbook publisher (formerly CEO of Saxon Publishers) whose passion and mission are to make the concepts of higher math accessible and interesting to students of all ages and abilities. In recent years, he has worked with students in Los Angeles Unified, Chicago Public Schools, NYC Public Schools, Clark Co. Public Schools and here at DISD. This summer, he will become the president of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, succeeding the founding president who has served since the school opened its doors in 1990. Dr. Wang gives this talk in thanks to the wonderful support he has gotten from and the many friendships he and his family has made in the north Dallas community.

MMC Regulars Continue on to MATHCOUNTS Nationals!

Metroplex Math Circle — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:07:26 +0000

Our MMC regulars: Vinjai Vale, Michael Ma and Jeffrey Huang continued their success this weekend in Austin at the State MATHCOUNTS competition. Jeffrey came in first, Michael received second and Vinjai received 7th place all in their first year of eligibility! Michael and Jeffrey will now represent Texas at nationals! Please join us in congratulating the boys by liking this post.

Top 3 team round schools: 1st place, Ft. Settlement Middle school from Sugarland, 2nd – Rice Middle school and 3rd – Harmony School of Excellence from Houston.

March 24, 2012 – Ivan Borsenco – “Solving Problems with Pigeonhole and Extremal Principle”

Metroplex Math Circle — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:10:53 +0000

We are looking forward to Ivan Borsenco’s return to UT Dallas. Ivan, a former mathematical olympian, AwesomeMath instructor and current MIT student will present a number of problems and their solutions using the Pigeonhole and Extremal Principles.

The pigeonhole and the extremal principles are heuristical principles that are not tied to any subject but are applicable in all branches of mathematics. Their beauty lies in the fact that they can justify existence of an object with a certain properties. We will learn the use of these principles by going through a couple of classical theorems and solving lots of entertaining problems that have unexpected solutions.