tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679715190635795973.post3204926145895603231..comments2023-09-06T08:23:30.799-07:00Comments on y of x: What Would a Spectator Friendly Math Competition Look Like?fakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12859709233583742208noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679715190635795973.post-79057163802360351952009-04-09T03:04:00.000-07:002009-04-09T03:04:00.000-07:00I was googling Italian Math Battles and came up wi...I was googling Italian Math Battles and came up with <A HREF="http://www.math.toronto.edu/oz/turgor/mathbattle/2002battles.php" REL="nofollow">this</A>. This sounds promising!fakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12859709233583742208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679715190635795973.post-70742424572207728972009-04-06T18:17:00.000-07:002009-04-06T18:17:00.000-07:00Kate, I had no clue. I've heard of some pretty fie...Kate, <BR/><BR/>I had no clue. I've heard of some pretty fierce rivalries, but I have never read about any "math battles". I'll start with your reference. Maybe I can engineer one. Thanks!fakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12859709233583742208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4679715190635795973.post-53230954556192914292009-04-06T17:21:00.000-07:002009-04-06T17:21:00.000-07:00Are you familiar with the 16th century Italian "ma...Are you familiar with the 16th century Italian "math battles"? Apparently these dudes would THROW DOWN. Like if I thought of some hard problem that I had a solution for, I would send a letter to my mortal math enemy, challenging her to solve it. And then she would write me back with a problem of her devising, that she thought I couldn't solve! Then we would get together in front of an audience to decide who was more brilliant. <BR/><BR/>OK I am probably oversimplifying, but I think you should do THAT.<BR/><BR/>(There is a story in Journey Through Genius by William Dunham that explains how Cardano's solution to the cubic was first publicized this way.)Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14229054922453438248noreply@blogger.com