This U.S. Olympiad Coach Has a Unique Approach to Math
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- Опубліковано 7 чер 2024
- Po-Shen Loh believes math education needs an overhaul. And he knows a thing or two about it-he's resurrected the United States International Mathematical Olympiad team, leading it to four first-place rankings in the last six years as the team’s head coach.
Read the full article at Quanta Magazine: www.quantamagazine.org/po-she... - Наука та технологія
He is such a great person! I am fortunate enough to know him.
Didn't expect to see you here Steve!
The man, the King, the Legend
Nice recommendation bprp. I'd be interested though: is there any point at which your thinking about teaching diverges from Po-Shen Loh's?
Wow!!! That's so cool! How well do you know him?
Damn beat me to another one Steve!
How can a man who got a 4.3 at CalTech and was a Churchill scholar be so humble and say that other people are brighter than he? He’s really a gift to the mathematics community.
The key to becoming great is knowing who is greater.
Once you become arrogant with your knowledge is the second you stop learning the best you can because you assume you are correct. Keeping a humble attitude can do wonders for having an open mind and always improving with your learning.
@@letsthink8245 definitely agree. Math has basically said to me remember how you used to be good at things? Well now you’re not. Abstract algebra has humbled me for sure. Though people like Hadamard were just fine thinking nobody else could compare in intellect.
"How can a man who got a 4.3 at CalTech and was a Churchill scholar be so humble and say that other people are brighter than he?"
Another perspective. It takes someone really smart to actually know how dumb they are compared with Richard Feynman. Hearing people say that Richard Feynman is smart because he put sticks on top of sugar cubes to hold windows open (to deal with possible rain) is like hearing people say "Oh, you are a software engineer? Please help me with my password."
@@jefflittle8913 what that tells is that Richard Feynman lives somewhere with no ants.
I’m in awe with him saying that talented people makes him optimistic rather than jealous.
Yeah pretty cool. Imagine how awful it would be if ur teacher is jealous of ur talents 😂
It hurts when your student shows off his/her skills in front of you and takes a glare like "look I can do better than you", but this guy is definitely a legend.
idk what you mean, I love teaching people who are smarter than me
So noble...
@@bb2fiddler these kids are smarter because they can learn faster and more open to new concepts, but the teacher has more experience and knowledge... that is all about
His glasses show he knows he is in a matrix world.
I was gonna comment the same thing. Lol
I can already see him as the one super overwhelming mentor kinda guy to the protagonist and he absolutely adores the protagonist
He is a legend
If glasses on true iam in matrix
No it just shows how bright the sun is lol
I hope every maths teacher in the world sees and really understand this.
Every teacher.
@@tbird81 that’s where you’re wrong, my friend: nobody should ever stop to learn, especially about his own profession. Just because someone is a teacher, it doesn’t mean he’s learnt everything.
@@vittoriopiaser9233 If I could just find a way to convey this to my students.
@@lonestarr1490 You've identified a problem - that's actually a great start. Having done that, you're now seeking a solution, a creative one. I know - it seems obvious, but it's good to be explicit about such things. There'll be no "magic bullet" as the solution'll be context-dependent: depends on you, your students, the learning culture, parental support and expectations, institutional parameters, etc. Po-Shen Loh reminds us that doing math helps us solve problems in other domains too, esp. when we don't know where to start. So, go forth and solve your problem! Believe you can do it : )
Questo è quello che provo a fare ogni giorno in classe; sfidare il pensiero, per stimolare la creatività. Per le spiegazioni della teoria uso UA-cam, il tempo in classe è prezioso per imparare ad imparare, a trovare soluzioni innovative ed a collaborare.
"Maths is distilled heart of thinking "
A Very true and beautiful quote if u ask me .
@@nishanth6403 indeed
Hey! Could you explain that line? Unable to relate to it.
@@arpansatpathi9645 Logic at its finest. What he said after that seems to explain pretty well, "if something else was true, something else is always true"
@@arpansatpathi9645 thinking comes in many varieties. What he meant was that maths is the purest form of thinking.
1:17 This is so important. Po-Shen has that long-term vision which ensures he's not just going to train excellent math competition winners, but in fact the next generation of great mathematicians, scientists, engineers...love to see it!
👌
Lies again? Vigrx Plus
Totally agree
He sounds like a great mind and fun mathematics coach. I’m glad he’s not an engineering professor because he’s the type to make you derive every single equation you use on the test lol.
lol
Lolol well that’s what math is
Derivation is fun, I would do it for every physics class in Uni during exams
@@xcastel6234 I’m an engineer bro. I get paid to do useful work not hard work haha
@@ourtube4266 this reply confirms you are definitely a rockstar engineer.
It is the short-tempered and bad math teachers who make students hate maths.
I totally disagree. I had a very patient and good math teacher in high school but I was just outright bad at math. My biggest problem was that there didn’t seem to be any hard rules on how to show your work. So I tried so hard to show each step but always got marked down because it wasn’t ‘right’. Anyway, still not a fan of math although I use some basic math daily as a programmer.
@@Zei33 not everyone has such math teachers :(
It's could be a number if things that lead to bad math experience. Horrible teacher, horrible class size, and horrible parents. To learn and study math, sometimes you just need the proper tool or proper perspective. I do believe that everyone is capable of having a good knowledge of math up to calculus, and those more gifted will get past linear algebra. Most people will never need math skills past arithmetic.
@@Zei33 you are definently gonna have problems learning machine learning AREN'tcha ?
Ive had good teachers, but i still hated maths throughout my life
I hope his views on teaching will permeate the education system and that the next generations will be taught smarter, more practical and more comprehensive forms of math.
But his approach would only benefit gifted children, while most of the others would be staying even more behind in maths.
Setting this up in a general education system would end up bad.
State education is about training children to memorise, its not about teaching kids how to think. And its not like they dont have the time to teach them that way, and its not harder. Its actually much easier, kids are more engaged, they learn quicker, and the happily spend more time studying (cause theyre actually interested, theyre having fun after all). Its how were naturally wired so its not fighting nature.
But the state wants people stupid, to repeat soundbites the media and politicians say, and to be fooled into thinking thats knowledge. So many people dont understand the soundbites they say, and have zero abilty to even back it up. They often dont have the brains to search the net. Its quite sad really
If there's a new theory you must memorize it that's how it rolls.
@@prysrek8858 no
@@sreyanmajumder8517 yes
An enlightened teacher. We probably disagree about something, but it wasn't here in this clip. Admirable.
Very interesting way to put it. Cheers
This guy is amazing, in such a short video i already know what kind human being he is! Nice content, we need more teachers like him.
Who else was wondering how quickly someone could climb the wall behind him?
Just you 😉
@@hoola_amigos
81 Likes says NO, Fool. 😃
@@infinitytoinfinitysquaredb7836 yo he was making a joke no need to call him a fool
@@darshsundar544
Yeah, it was a dumb joke. 😆
no but i was looking at the wall and found that three quarters of it was shaded. 😀
I'm a 3rd year mathematics grad student, what I wouldn't give for him to be my teacher...
he does live stream daily challenge. youtube it
@@Ensource wow thks!!
@@Ensource thanks!
@@Ensource thanks
You mean “would”
"Right now, we're dealing with CoViD. If that was a text book problem, we would be done by now."
The text book after hearing this: guess what?
Ha ha ha , a philosopher!
👌
You see, there is a difference between textbook problems and exam problems
@@jackwu7028 ... difference between textbook problems, exam problems, and real-world problems
"The man in the class is not an ordinary teacher" so true ...he looks so passionate nd enjoying with what his doing ... am not a math person but he made think different abt it nd wish to give my self a chance to love math...teachers have a big impact on students toward modules and his doing great .
I enjoyed listening to him
3:05 so that explains the shades
Underrated comment😂
SO bright.
It's honestly amazing. The way this man talks about maths, it as though he's gone beyond doing it and viewing it as an activity, but rather a language of it's own. And he speaks it very fluently. But he says it's more so just a method of pure thinking
I love his enthusiasm for teaching, what a great person:)
👌
Oh man, "getting students thinking about how they might come up with an idea on how to solve a problem, as opposed to having students be used to the idea that someone else is gonna show them what to do and than they're just going to copy it."
This is true for ALL of education and I believe Po-Shen just put his finger on the most important thing to change in our approach to teaching.
Cheers from Montreal :)
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It’s so sad that subjects like Math is being taught the wrong way.
Yeah
The guy mentioned how people think that math is memorization, even though everything in math is creativity and a logical conclusion. This happens because teachers (like mine), do not show the proofs so you don't have any idea where they came from.
That's on purpose
@@theamazingone5217 and I learned by my own how they did that. Trust me if u wanna excel in math, its ez. U just tighten up ur basic, and u ready to go.
@@haziqridzwan5199 I know very well how to learn maths, but most of my friends have no idea why things work the way they do and just follow the professor.
And they have it much harder to learn because of the way they're being taught.
@@theamazingone5217 wow, you are in same place as im 🤣 . Wow I just wow finally I ever see someone who's in the same situation as me 🤣🤣 man im happy to know at least there's someone who is same as me. 😁
There is a book of Paul Lockhart called "Measurement". The book is exactly about what this coach is telling. To not teach to memorice how solve a problem but let people resolve by themselves, less textbook problems, more competition problems!
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@thisisankit search करिए mere sir hai please jakr dekhe unhe sapport kare 👍
What an unbelievably passionate and amazing teacher , now a days parents and teachers only promote mugging up school skeet instead of these beautiful competitions and problems, hope everyone gets a teacher like Prof Po Shen Loh in his / her future
:orz: / pj42
This man has so much energy and happiness. What a great example of somone whose job may seem dull or uninteresting, excelling and having fun!
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Every student deserves a teacher like Po-Shen Loh.
I’m a 4th grade math teacher and this is how I have tried to teach math over the past 4 years. Very rewarding!
Appreciate ur efforts
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We need more ppl like him in this world! What an amazing teacher and a hell of a great person. He's making it fun, and incorporating one of the best things you can- getting ppl to think about what they're doing and come up with new solutions
👍
I'm always so happy to see someone talk about their passion so vehemently and enthusiasticly especially when they're optimistic about relaying their interest to others because they actually care about doing so in a way that invokes interest.
Also he's such a charismatic guy! He's smashing the stereotypes of mathematicians being dorky and awkward.
I really like his energy. Such a positive person!
I'm so happy to see all of this positiveness about math. Unfortunately I studied math at university and "rote boring and about memorization" sums up my experience pretty well. I really hope it will change and videos like this go in the right direction
Po-Shen - being a coach gives me the opportunity to see people who are so much more talented than me and to know that the future is bright that gives me the optimism to keep carrying forward in life you
huge respect for Po-Shen!!!
What he said at the end... just wow, what an incredibly humble person. I mean, seriously.
A mathematician's lament. It's a beautiful essay and if you don't like to read there's a video from tibees that discusses it in detail. It so perfectly describes the beauty of math and how catastrophically schools fail to teach it. Of all arts, math is the most underappreciated
To call math an "art" is quite a stretch of the term
@@pbj4184 Art: the expression or application of human skill and imagination; producing works to be primarily appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. This is math, and don't be mistaken that math work is done because it's somehow useful or practical, it may coincidentally be, but math for the sake of math, pure math, is pure fantasy and that's where it's beauty lies. Math is the art of reason. Not to be sappy or dramatic, or, God forbid, start an argument in the comments of a UA-cam video, but math has a very powerful emotional effect on me and I only wish I could more easily let others see what I see in it
@@bruhnling33 "Art" of reason lmao. We can copy definitions from online dictionaries all day long but the important thing is how words are used.
The word "art" is often used as the opposite of "science" in that "art" is said to be emotional and more human centric whereas "science" is stoic, rational and logic centric. Now I know math is purely abstract and is not bound to the universe's laws like how the other sciences are. Math is only bound by logic. Sure I get that. But otherwise math is more close to the sciences than it could ever be to art.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy math too. It tickles all the good spots in me too but just that doesn't make it an art
@@bruhnling33 I know the feeling you're talking about. Being very curious and then slowly learning more and more of the topic until you see the logical structure for yourself. Very neat indeed!
@@bruhnling33 when there is no communication with the subject humans will frown away from it. If they see no meaning in where things are going,How are they happening,What are they and why are they
Well done that man. Glad I watched. I feel better.
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I love his positive way of speaking about math. I hear others too speaking about math but not in such way. Thanks, I would like to see some classes from him
Developing understanding of math on your own is one thing, it is definitely not an easy task and takes time. But teaching and getting that understanding through to the other person from scratch is a truly behemoth task. This is why I really respect good teachers. This man is a genius.
That line at the end was so cute 😭😭😭
👌
@@mathgoldmedalist 👍
Wow, this is so awesome and inspiring. This dude is 10000x smarter than the average person, yet he is excited by the intelligence of those around him...
What he said at the end made me realize that he is a great person, as well as being a great teacher.
He's such an amazing man and a teacher 👏 Never before have I been so inspired or even impressed by someone talking about mathematics 😮👏
Math is in all you see. Shapes and numbers are everything. Thank you sir.
The smile at the end shows how he feels about the future
👌
Poetic in his use of language.
Original in his craft of mathematics.
Inspired in his being as a teacher.
Dr. Po is truly a genius, although he has very little self-esteem for his own, unique intelligence which others all over the world admire so deeply in and out of mathematics. He is a true fanatic of the academic community, a man purely motivated by the will to teach, create and inspire an even brighter next generation, and possibly many more to come influenced by his daring motivation to stretch capability over its limit...
The last lines brought me to tears.. 🥺🥺🤧
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me too! what the heck! I have never heard anyone say that 😭☺️ a coach who want most of their student to be way more ahead and talented than himself as the coach
Very interesting and worthwhile video. Problem solving courses should be more widespread in American schools. This may help in diminishing the foolishness and conspiracy theories that are taking hold of American society.
Yes. Well said.
some dumb people might believe in conspiracies, but if u beileve evertything your told to, then yore no better!
@@VashishtJain you can prove math
@@aaryajain6396 yes. no one is suggesting that we believe everything we're told to.
@@VashishtJain They tell you to believe stuff? 🤔 When?
I took a class with him at CMU. He is a great teacher.
100% respect! If everyone taught like this, students would enjoy learning for the sake of curiosity and exploration, and people would actually retain more information that they come across!
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Love this guy - I feel the same way about learning!
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His last sentences and smile. So pure ❤️
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The sheer optimism and joy he oozes. There is hope!
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Mathematics is the essence that everything is built with and so solve it as just a problem. The books are there to tell you the concepts and methods only not how to think. You are so passionate man, love from India👍💚
👍
This dude is a real one 🔥
Meanwhile somewhere in America: "Is math racist?"
This is somewhere in America? Racist much? Cuz he’s Asian?
😂😂😂
This, unironically, is my school district. They removed Algebra 1 from middle school for some bullshit equity reasons.
Ignore America they are insane
*somewhere else, because this is also in america
He is so full of positive energy....great!!
So much optimism and positivity! I love it
👍
My wife always say the more one has, one should mimic that of a fruit tree: humbles and lowers itself so that others may enjoy. He is a great tree.
I wish I'd had a math teacher like that. I feel like I've lost math in my life
Po-Shen's Putnam Seminar was always full and eagerly attended. I loved it. It was less theory and more about problem solving and deducing patterns.
Wonderful - some great ideas and approach! Thanks for sharing
Tell those H.S. students eating well, good sleep, and fitness plays a part in keeping their minds sharp.
It's not like they're not smart enough to realize these.
@@omniyambot9876 Are you kidding? H.S. students do all those things wrong. And they don't need to take Po-Shen's word for it. Just show them day-in-the-life videos of Google and Amazon employees where all those factors (eating well, quality sleep, fitness and wellness) are imbued into their daily routine.
Thank you for your comment, I shall now resume my exercises
@@SoCalFreelance nah i disagree, most if not all h.s. student know how important these things are, they just couldn't be bothered doing it out of a number of reasons
not everyone needs to be a good student lol
I am happy and I don't know why?
I love his attitude and outlook.
Last 20 seconds were the BEST, hats off to this coach!
👍👌
Mathematics is the one which makes us to see and understand World in a different and logical way
then I had my school teacher, who used to give me zero marks in exams if I attempted same problem with a method not taught by her.
that's sad and kind of rude for me...I mean if there can be several approach made to the problem, why can't those other approach be used?
India Lol 😂
Same here.
Learning how to solve problems is so much better than learning the solution to a specific problem and hoping that it will translate into another
Fantastic! You are awesome Po-Shen Loh.
Are there alternating coaches each year? because from what I can tell there have been three different teachers in since 2018. Also I hope I manage to go to the international mathematical Olympiad when I get to high school next year.
Best of luck in doing so young man!
Best of luck!
First of all, u must be an Asian-American 🤣🤣
@@veerukumarsingh7048 nah man, all you need to be is passionate
@@alexanderschneider2047 thank you sir
He looks like wu zi from gta sa in those black shades 🤣🤣🤣
WU ZI MU IN THE FLESH
This coach is great because he wants greatness for his students. This makes his work effortless
I first saw him in a video about the most beautiful equation in the world. His teaching amused me. Surely a great teacher
👍👌
His students are so bright he has to wear sunglasses
wow...yes very true
"Help the world making a thinking place "
Maybe Karen's and boomers can use that
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Truly inspirational!
He was my Discrete Mathematics teacher at CMU! Brilliant professor.
He looks like one of the brothers from Shaolin Soccer
Can you add youtube subtitles or in-vid-subs for people like me who have difficulties hearing or understanding accents from people especially if those are strong accents
I would so appreciate it, thanks^^
good interview
Love this! Thank you so much.
Yo I listened to this guy's presentation in my city, I was even called up to do an experiment. I love this guy hes literally one of the most interesting coaches in math Olympiad history.
I like how the students who are competing for the US are Indians and Chinese
Diversity is their strength, apparently
The biggest strength of the USA.
Maths is all fun nd logical stuffs until u get stuck in a problem nd spent 2-3 hrs figuring out what went wrong...
Mad respect! Certainly someone to look up to, I want to be like him when I grow up
👍
God bless you for your thoughts & ideas. Keep going...great and good work.
I guess,if he come to Indian cbse schools,then he'll immediately leave india
Totally depends on the teacher, Ncert Maths is a decent book.
@@clumsygallium6104 not at all.
@@kaklisarangi2550 Tum fir wohi log ho jo job nahi hai job nahi hai karte rehte ho.
@@clumsygallium6104 ncert maths padh ke jee bhi nhi nikal sakte, aur yahan baat olympiads ki chal rhi hai. Kaise decent book hua? Aur jobs se kya hai? Those who study outside the box and have better skills will get better jobs. End of discussion.
@@kaklisarangi2550 abe pretty decent book hai, usko solve karke base to bana le. Bada aaye moti moti kitaabe karne.
Maine Ncert ki hai, uske baad Ye Moti Moti kitabe (8+) solve ki hai.
Aur abhi 2 din mein Jee Main dunga, 12th class mein hun.
Result bhi bata dunga, par kehna ye chahta hun ki NCERT Pretty decent hai Maths ki.
That is the covid hair like mine, ever since the lockdown.
--- I am Asian too.
I’m positive he’s the guy from the most beautiful equation in math video, his passion is just beautiful if I could have a quarter of his passion I wouldn’t be having a horrible grade in math rn
How wise and inspirational!
0:47 Somehow I see only focussed Asians xD
hahahaha lol...
I see 3 asians one white and one indian
The kid's nerdiness actually only comes out when they're playing sports.
Omg his approach is just awesome. 👏👏
This guy rules. What an inspiration and what a teacher.
When america hires chinese tutors to teach asian students to compete in a math test for america to beat asian competitors
*Chinese-Americans and Asian-Americans, they are still American, that's what matters most.
An asian teaching asians but wait its a US olympiad team
@@aman-qj5sx Apparently not
@@aman-qj5sx they just take away the juicy people and tag them as American and gain fame
This dudes teaching philosophy is so inspiration and should be a guidance to every teacher.
I hope every teacher is just like him.
In the meanwhile, all my teachers at the university : "yeah, I don't think this has any utility, but you should learn it by heart for the exams" FFS
Now I'm kinda having this issue where I don't enjoy math anymore, even though I loved it...
Oh god, when you learn real math, it is AWESOME. Read some stuff on infinite sets, and how they come in different sizes. Also, number theory is accessible. They say have calculus first, but there's tons you can do for starters without knowing any calculus. Same with combinatorics and probability. Then when you see why calc is so useful, you'll be motivated.
Logic is useful everywhere, but I have to warn you, the less other people use it, the more they will think it's you who's weird. Most people believe that a strong feeling is a guide to truth.
University? That's how our high school was. That is terrible.
@@l.w.paradis2108 Bruh, I'm learning Hilbert spaces, Galois theory and distribution theory, and I don't doubt any second there are geometric/intuitive interpretations, but the whole is just a huge mess of learning by heart and definition - theorem - corollary, at my uni
@@Kolinnor Omg, you are grad level. Had no idea. It is beyond belief that your profs have that attitude toward math. That doesn't compute. Didn't mean to pun.
Do they leave you no free time to pursue your interests, and figure out the deeper patterns and how they may relate to other fields? Or are you being suffocated with this anti-intuitive rot? When I was a math undergrad and had friends doing PhDs, I realized what the difference was between them (gifted) and me (not; I just liked it and found it exciting): they would "just know" the answer, then slog through a proof. Their spatial intuition was magic. Me, it was about how words fit together, straight verbal reasoning. Very deficient in spatial intuition. Ended up getting a philosophy degree, with nearly a second major in math. ;(
A question occurred to me the other day: are there infinitely many Fibonacci primes? Wow when I found out it is a major unsolved problem. Most of the known Fibonacci primes are huge.
Yeah, I love math. :/
blackpenredpen, is that 𝒚𝒐𝒖?
No. He is 1 googol times better! 😃
@@blackpenredpen But still, you teach much more people than him
What a great smile at the end. This is a great video thanks for the upload. Great content.
👍👌
Being humble and intelligent made him the best coach of American olympiad