8/2/2023 0 Comments Joe mathlete![]() All mathematicians are strange because they place such an exceptional value on thought, ideas and understanding. “My personal view is that the prefix ‘mis’ in the previous sentence can be deleted. On the film’s portrayal of maths prodigies, Smith says: “There has been a natural concern in the maths community that portraying some mathematicians as being less than socially fluent is dangerous, because it could lead to the misapprehension that mathematicians are all strange. Lisa Sauermann, from Germany, was the most successful participant in the 2011 IMO and currently ranked second in the IMO hall of fame last year Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian former IMO gold medal winner and now a maths professor, became the first woman to win the world’s most prestigious mathematics prize, the Fields Medal. Sometimes the best young mathematician in the world is a girl.” It’s not because of a lack of female talent, says the UK team leader Dr Geoff Smith, of Bath University (played by Eddie Marsan in the film). Only 10% of all competitors are female, a situation that organisers are trying to address with the launch of girls-only international contests such as the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad. In reality “there’s not much romance”, says Joe’s teammate Warren Li, 17, an IMO veteran with two competitions under his belt. The film triggered much debate among the world’s best young mathematicians, both for its portrayal of a gifted young “mathlete” on the autistic spectrum and its love interest. ![]() ![]() He represents the UK at the IMO, during which there’s a romantic encounter with a fellow competitor, a Chinese girl called Zhang Mei. ![]() Last year, the little-known world of the IMO was the backdrop for a well-reviewed feature film, X+Y, starring Asa Butterfield as a mathematics prodigy who has difficulty understanding people but is very good with numbers. Sometimes I watch the TV and I’m thinking.”īenton’s primary school worked hard to keep up with his appetite for maths. Sometimes I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling, trying to think. In the runup he’s been doing one or two problems a day, gradually building up as the competition approaches. “It always works best when you’re enjoying it,” he says. This year Joe, whose father works for IBM and whose mother is a geneticist, is hoping for gold. “It’s natural because of the population size and they put a lot more effort into it as nations.” “There are obviously countries that are stronger – China, America, Russia,” Joe says philosophically. Since then he has attended training camps and last year he was chosen to represent the UK at the IMO in Cape Town, where he won a silver medal as part of a team that came 20th overall (the top three was China, USA and Taiwan). His gift was soon spotted by the UK Mathematics Trust, which runs contests in schools to scout for talent, and when Joe was 14 he enrolled in a summer camp for exceptionally talented young mathematicians. Joe’s state primary school worked hard to keep up with his appetite for maths his secondary, St Paul’s independent school in Barnes, south-east London, has an established tradition of entering pupils in maths competitions. There’s some anxiety, but that comes mostly after you’ve sat the exams and you’re waiting for the results.” You have an idea and you try it and you work from there. 2014 film X+Y tells the story of a maths prodigy falling in love at the International Maths Olympiad
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