Can a 16-Year-Old Solve the Dirichlet Problem Better Than Mathematicians?

[QuantumTheory]

This 16 year old kid found a new way to solve the Dirichlet problem and he's only 16!

That's some damn hard math for someone who is 16. Wow. It's on CNN science and space.

 

[___]

WOW! This is crazy! really crazy!
:D

 

[JasonRox]

I hope I can work with him one day.

 

[DeadWolfe]

That IS crazy.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Has he published it? Is there a reference to a paper?

 

[___]

I hope I can work with him one day.

no offense but why the f___ would like to work him for a day?
i think there r better choices like Carmen Electra.

 

[JasonRox]

no offense but why the f___ would like to work him for a day?
i think there r better choices like Carmen Electra.

I said with him not for him. He will for work for me.

If I had to choose, Carmen Electra wouldn't be at the top of my list.

 

[zoobyshoe]

This 16 year old kid found a new way to solve the Dirichlet problem and he's only 16!
That's some damn hard math for someone who is 16. Wow. It's on CNN science and space.

No link? ...

 

[waht]

Here is the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051206/ap_on_sc/science_competition;_ylt=Ajg..ylMRqIsTPi_3I6MQcBvieAA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl


I hope there is more people like that in the world, and who knows, maybe there another kid finishing up proof of Riemann hypothesis.

 

[rachmaninoff]

No link to the paper? Or is it not yet published?

 

[Astronuc]

Michael Viscardi, a senior from San Diego, won a $100,000 college scholarship, the top individual prize in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

Not bad, eh?

"On the Solution of the Dirichlet Problem with Rational Boundary Data" - Apparently not published yet, or at least not on the internet yet.

http://www.siemens-foundation.org/2005Berkeley.htm#Michael

BTW - it's the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Lots of smart HS students.

 

[QuantumTheory]

Did any of you guys do partial derivatives in high school? All Ic an say is..amazing. He even found a new way to solve it and he's only 16.

 

[QuantumTheory]

His dream job is to be a math professor and concert pianist/violinist/composer.

He's played the violin for 6 years. He's also cmposes music and won awards in music.

That makes me jealous..I'm 17. I don't even know calculus that well..

 

[Astronuc]

Did any of you guys do partial derivatives in high school? All Ic an say is..amazing. He even found a new way to solve it and he's only 16.

My calculus class in HS did toward the end (and in my senior year), but then my HS was an exception. Besides, I bought math and science books and pretty much taught myself.

I also hired a kid like that, and he is now finishing his senior year studying Mathematics at Harvard. I wished I could find more like him.

 

[JamesU]

Why is it that "news" on PF actually happened quite awhile back?

 

[bomba923]

This 16 year old kid found a new way to solve the Dirichlet problem and he's only 16!
That's some damn hard math for someone who is 16. Wow. It's on CNN science and space.

Almost as importantly ,

This is yet another reason why I believe that homeschooling works

(indeed, I will homeschool my children)

 

[rachmaninoff]

Almost as importantly ,

This is yet another reason why I believe that homeschooling works

What, some kid spends most of his time absorbed in differential equations, and you call that a success?

I've asked this already, does anyone know if he's published a paper on this subject, or if this is some sort of pre-emptive scholarship? It's frustrating that for all the publicity he's getting, I can't look at his actual achievement for myself. His presentation was titled, "On the Solution of the Dirichlet Problem with Rational Boundary Data", that's all I've found.

 

[bomba923]

What, some kid spends most of his time absorbed in differential equations, and you call that a success?

(From my perspective) Homeschooling can provide a much more comprehensive (and rigorous) academic foundation for children. Although I do consider it more risky than public education, homeschooling in the least allows a "better use" of time for education.

(Specfically, even in the rare case where it might not cover much beyond a public school curriculum,--->at least, e.g., what will or might be covered up to and during a usual senior year in public HS, will already be known and understood at a much earlier time)

Also, I was suprised that a large proportion of the contestants play musical instruments...and quite well...:shy: (Not that it should, but this did come as a surprise...)

I've asked this already, does anyone know if he's published a paper on this subject, or if this is some sort of pre-emptive scholarship? It's frustrating that for all the publicity he's getting, I can't look at his actual achievement for myself. His presentation was titled, "On the Solution of the Dirichlet Problem with Rational Boundary Data", that's all I've found.

Indeed
Why no paper? (however 'short' it maybe be..)

 

[rachmaninoff]

On topic, I suggest that there's nothing extraordinary whatsoever about teenagers doing advanced mathematics. They're simply not taught at the high-school level; that combined with the anti-math culture of the modern world, is the reason that students like Viscardi are so few. There's no inherent reason that 16-year olds can't be fluent in PDEs and such - just look at some of the former USSR schools, look at the texts they used at the secondary-school level! No doubt he's extremely smart; but if everyone were thrown into academia at a very young age (soviet-style), there'd be thousands like him. Can you imagine what that's like? What it means to spend the better part of your life, the majority of your childhood, doing academics? Can you re-picture your own life, minus the schooling, minus most of your memories, and plus ten years of college-level studies, ten thousand hours of reading in isolation? You people complain that college work is tireing, and time-consuming - but your American colleges are jokes, compared to what they could be. There do exist academics, who've chosen to absorb themselves in a subject for an entire lifetime - I haven't met any myself. It's their preference. And would you choose such a life?

Sorry if I ramble.

 

[Pengwuino]

What, some kid spends most of his time absorbed in differential equations, and you call that a success?

Success is subjective. I personally would MUCH rather get this guy comen out into the real world then some person whose "well rounded" according to the normal US educational standards.

 

[rachmaninoff]

You can't be serious?

 

[Pengwuino]

Yes, at least this person did something productive. You're average high school grad won't do anything for society.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Yes, at least this person did something productive. You're average high school grad won't do anything for society.

...

 

[Pengwuino]

...

my point exactly.

How can you argue with those results?

 

[rachmaninoff]

I was actually amusing myself on a point of grammar - I apologize.

Seriously - I can't. Most people on Earth are only marginally productive and will not make significant contributions to the course of humanity, like Newton or Maxwell did. It's a fault, if you will. The vast majority of society - is of no special importance to society. I proudly count myself among that number.

So what, are we all useless?

 

[Pengwuino]

So what, are we all useless?

statistically, yes :)

 

[rachmaninoff]

My, how we've gone off topic.

 

[tribdog]

I was actually amusing myself on a point of grammar - I apologize.

Seriously - I can't. Most people on Earth are only marginally productive and will not make significant contributions to the course of humanity, like Newton or Maxwell did. It's a fault, if you will. The vast majority of society - is of no special importance to society. I proudly count myself among that number.

So what, are we all useless?

The world is a better place because I'm in it. That's pretty important.

 

[Pengwuino]

Ugh, tribdog, just another by-product of the school system :(

 

[bomba923]

On topic, I suggest that there's nothing extraordinary whatsoever about teenagers doing advanced mathematics. They're simply not taught at the high-school level; that combined with the anti-math culture of the modern world, is the reason that students like Viscardi are so few. There's no inherent reason that 16-year olds can't be fluent in PDEs and such - just look at some of the former USSR schools, look at the texts they used at the secondary-school level! No doubt he's extremely smart; but if everyone were thrown into academia at a very young age (soviet-style), there'd be thousands like him.

Indeed there would be (an opinion I held for a long time...and still do).

You also introduced two systems of public education here (no doubt the Soviet structure is more rigorous ..and in my opinion, more preferable than the American educational approach, one of the reasons being a stronger sense of personal discipline towards academia).

But that's where I believe the homeschooling "edge" comes in towards academic matters; parents can model after the Soviet approach, as well as certain other approaches, but nonetheless homeschooling is individualized (as compared to public education, be it Soviet, American, Chinese,..etc). Although it essentially places more responsibility and work in the hands of parents---a large part the greater "risk" factor I mentioned earlier---the potential academic growth (in my opinion) is worth the time, effort, and challenge.

Sorry if I ramble.

I think I ramble quite more here
(whenever I do post in GD)

Edit:
*And to rachmaninoff and Pengwuino:

(hey, why not?)