- #1
philosophking
- 175
- 0
Hi, I was wondering what the "big" math people here think about a correllation between recreational problems and performance in professional math fields. I hope this isn't too much of a stupid question. But this is what I was thinking.
I was wondering if people who do well on the AIME, USAMO, IMO, Putnam are the only people who can *really* succeed in the professional math world? Or can there be mathematicians who may not be so good at these problem solving competitions but still do very well in their respective field?
I've been fighting with this problem quite a bit, because I'm a little scared of how I stack up with other math majors out there. Will it end up hurting me in the end if I don't do well on the Putnam? Are there other ways to display my mathematical abilities, aside from classes?
I was wondering if people who do well on the AIME, USAMO, IMO, Putnam are the only people who can *really* succeed in the professional math world? Or can there be mathematicians who may not be so good at these problem solving competitions but still do very well in their respective field?
I've been fighting with this problem quite a bit, because I'm a little scared of how I stack up with other math majors out there. Will it end up hurting me in the end if I don't do well on the Putnam? Are there other ways to display my mathematical abilities, aside from classes?