Intelligence and math abilities improvement

[nbafitis28]

Hello,
My name is Nikolaos Bafitis,
and currently I am student at St. Johns College Highschool in DC. Two years ago I moved back from Italy where I stayed in for 3 years. Upon my return to the US I have noticed that I seem to be getting slower at math skills and speed after being placed in classes I think were too easy for me, which is kind of scary considering in Italy I could safely say I was top 3 in the class. I am writing this email to ask if this is permanent and I just lost a chunk of my math skills, or if my previous skills can be recovered and if possible improved compared to how they were in Italy, and if so how can I do this and what resources do I need to do so. Also I don-t just want to learn tips and tricks, I want to genuinely get smarter and better at math

 

[fresh_42]

It is a matter of training, so practice and you will improve.

You can search the pdf in
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/solution-manuals-for-the-math-challenges.977057/
For the search key "HS-", you will find 153 problems at the high school level. Some are tricky, some are difficult, and hopefully some easy ones, too. They all have the solution with them.

 

[Hornbein]

Hello,
My name is Nikolaos Bafitis,
and currently I am student at St. Johns College Highschool in DC. Two years ago I moved back from Italy where I stayed in for 3 years. Upon my return to the US I have noticed that I seem to be getting slower at math skills and speed after being placed in classes I think were too easy for me, which is kind of scary considering in Italy I could safely say I was top 3 in the class. I am writing this email to ask if this is permanent and I just lost a chunk of my math skills, or if my previous skills can be recovered and if possible improved compared to how they were in Italy, and if so how can I do this and what resources do I need to do so. Also I don-t just want to learn tips and tricks, I want to genuinely get smarter and better at math

I went to graduate school in math. I wasn't that good at it and gave up, but I did meet someone who later transferred to be a graduate student at very prestigious Princeton. He didn't need classes, he knew it all already. Indeed that is where you need to be to gain admission to Princeton. The professors there can't be bothered to give classes so they don't. All and all the people who make it to be professors of mathematics have had it as a hobby since they were about ten years old. Classes may fill in some gaps and provide structure but they learned their skill by solving problems in American Mathematical Monthly as a hobby. Classes were secondary.

I suppose your goals aren't that ambitious. You could petition to be placed in a higher grade class at the high school.

 

[nbafitis28]

It is a matter of training, so practice and you will improve.

You can search the pdf in
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/solution-manuals-for-the-math-challenges.977057/
For the search key "HS-", you will find 153 problems at the high school level. Some are tricky, some are difficult, and hopefully some easy ones, too. They all have the solution with them.

how much should I train per week?

 

[fresh_42]

how much should I train per week?

This is almost impossible to answer without knowing your skills, your weaknesses, the specific school system and teacher, the kinds of tests, or your goals.

I tend to compare mathematics with railway modeling. It should be fun playing with it. Also, curiosity is important. It is hard to improve if it feels like a burden. Mathematics at school is often quite different from mathematics at universities. OpenStax ("We are a nonprofit initiative of Rice University.") has some books that are meant to bridge that gap. Have a look and see how familiar you are with the subjects.

 

[nbafitis28]

how about the art of problem solving book, would that help?

 

[fresh_42]

how about the art of problem solving book, would that help?

Fine, but you should find a way to use it without having to study the entire book. However, it contains many valuable methods.

 

[nbafitis28]

ok thanks

 

[symbolipoint]

how much should I train per week?

(Just trying to express a reaction...)

That is the wrong way to think. One way to begin to answer the question is, "regularly; everyday".

 

[Yaroslav Granowski]

Hello,
My name is Nikolaos Bafitis,
and currently I am student at St. Johns College Highschool in DC. Two years ago I moved back from Italy where I stayed in for 3 years. Upon my return to the US I have noticed that I seem to be getting slower at math skills and speed after being placed in classes I think were too easy for me, which is kind of scary considering in Italy I could safely say I was top 3 in the class. I am writing this email to ask if this is permanent and I just lost a chunk of my math skills, or if my previous skills can be recovered and if possible improved compared to how they were in Italy, and if so how can I do this and what resources do I need to do so. Also I don-t just want to learn tips and tricks, I want to genuinely get smarter and better at math

This could be a distraction problem. Something occupies your brains in the new place, like social interactions, girlfriend, job, etc.

 

[mad mathematician]

Hello,
My name is Nikolaos Bafitis,
and currently I am student at St. Johns College Highschool in DC. Two years ago I moved back from Italy where I stayed in for 3 years. Upon my return to the US I have noticed that I seem to be getting slower at math skills and speed after being placed in classes I think were too easy for me, which is kind of scary considering in Italy I could safely say I was top 3 in the class. I am writing this email to ask if this is permanent and I just lost a chunk of my math skills, or if my previous skills can be recovered and if possible improved compared to how they were in Italy, and if so how can I do this and what resources do I need to do so. Also I don-t just want to learn tips and tricks, I want to genuinely get smarter and better at math

It's called Degeneration.
But at a young age?!

 

[nbafitis28]

(Just trying to express a reaction...)

That is the wrong way to think. One way to begin to answer the question is, "regularly; everyday".

do you think a bit of arithmetic zetamac and alcumus would help every day?

 

[symbolipoint]

do you think a bit of arithmetic zetamac and alcumus would help every day?

Bizarre question. To get back to your original worry, you should study regularly, if necessary repeatedly; and do so every day. You can return to how good you were before, which is the included goals for reviewing what you previously studied and learned.

 

[Gavran]

Also I don-t just want to learn tips and tricks, I want to genuinely get smarter and better at math

Work conquers all.

 

[lavinia]

IMO and based on personal experience, I think that getting good at math means getting good at thinking mathematically. It is a mental discipline. Once that is achieved one can learn math on one's own and how good you get at a particular subject directly reflects how much work and passion you put into it.

How one achieves mathematical thinking is probably personal but I can tell you for myself that I spent a year trying to learn a subject on my own and that meant without going to class and without consulting the book until I understood exactly what I did not know in order to solve a problem. Usually the problems were at the end of chapters in a textbook, so I would go to the problems without reading the chapter first then struggle relentlessly until it was clear what it was that I needed to know that I did not. At some point I just knew I could do it and instead of making coffee and going to my tiny blackboard in my East Village apartment, I went to class.

I found it important to never stop, to do it all day everyday, and also not try to reference even my own chalk scribblings. Once scratched out, they were immediately erased, hence the virtue of a small blackboard.

This worked for me. I was never good at math and have zero talent which many mathematicians do have, such as photographic memories and the general ability to remember and intergrate large amounts of abstract information.

In my opinion if one can think mathematically one is good at mathematics. If one cannot think mathematically, then one needs to learn how.