The maths society had the pleasure of welcoming one of our own, Mykhailo who presented a captivating talk on problem solving in mathematics.
He began by telling us of his journey through mathematics, starting in Ukraine at the humble age of 7, where he agreed to compete in his first Olympiad in return for some Lego - a worthy reward. By the age of 11, however, he began to lose interest until a remarkable geometry teacher reignited his passion.
From that point on, he was completely hooked on geometry, so much so that his Olympiad scores reflected his singular focus: 0/7, 0/7, 0/7, and finally, 7/7, as he excelled in geometry alone.
He, therefore, decided that it would be best for his progress if he stopped doing geometry altogether, focusing instead on the other 3 areas of math: Algebra, Arithmetic, and Number theory.
He led us through a series of questions, seemingly impossible at the face of it but very manageable after explanation. Among the problems were a complex simultaneous equation with 3 unknowns, sourced from a USA Olympiad Team selection test, and a classic math puzzle crafted by Archimedes himself.
