Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011 - (Page 9)

A Skill for the 21st Century by Richard Rusczyk doomed to lose. Computers are better than we are at pretty much every function they perform. But while machines are gradually taking over more and more well-understood tasks, they’re still usually no match for us when facing novel problems. This critical skill, overcoming obstacles you’ve never encountered before, is problem solving. The key to becoming an excellent problem solver is learning how to learn. This is not only the holy grail of those hoping to develop artificial intelligence, but the main goal of those of us trying to develop human intelligence, too. technological, and medical discoveries that are coupled with innovative engineering and economic implementation to make our lives healthier, longer, and richer in immeasurable ways. Moreover, advancing technologies make our best problem solvers more powerful than ever. We can now leverage the efforts of the few to the benefit of the many in ways never before possible. A century ago, Henry Ford needed thousands of people to revolutionize transportation by building cars. Now, entire industries can be turned upside down, or created out of thin air, by a few dozen people implementing a powerful idea in a creative way. At the core of every one of these revolutions is a small cadre of problem solvers. We know who many of the best problem solvers of tomorrow will be—they’re among the best problem-solving students today. This is what motivates many of us who work with these students: We know that they will shape not only their own futures, but ours, too. Richard Rusczyk is the founder of the Art of Problem Solving, the author of several AoPS textbooks, a co-creator of the Mandelbrot Competition, and a past director of the USA Mathematical t alent Search. He was a participant in National MAtHCOUNtS, a three-time participant in the Math Olympiad Summer Program, and a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner (1989). He graduated from Princeton University in 1993, and worked as a bond trader for D.E. Shaw & Company for four years. AoPS marks richard’s return to his vocation—educating motivated students. Math & Beyond We at Art of Problem Solving use mathematics as a vehicle to teach problem solving. Math isn’t the only way to learn problem solving, but we think it is the best way. Sadly, math is not often taught as a vehicle for problem solving. It’s taught as “stuff we know.” But mathematics isn’t just “stuff we know.” It’s “how we know it.” Math is the process by which we combine facts to deduce new facts. At heart, it is discovery. It’s the language we use to model the world around us, which makes it our most powerful problem-solving tool. Of course, math also has the benefit of being beautiful, but it’s not an end point for most of our students. It’s merely a beginning, as they move on to make their marks in a wide variety of fields, using the problem-solving skills they honed with math. My math peers from high school and college and my past students are not only among the country’s best mathematicians. They’re also among the country’s best doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators, economists, traders, entrepreneurs, scientists, and programmers. Increasingly, the world is being shaped by the best problem solvers. They make crucial scientific, To learn more about Art of Problem Solving, visit www.artofproblemsolving.com. www.cty.jhu.edu/imagine http://www.artofproblemsolving.com http://www.cty.jhu.edu/imagine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011
Contents
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Problem Solving
Orange County Math Circle
Number Theory
Count Me In
National Mathematics Competitions
Math at the Science Fair
Just My Speed
MathPath
When Origami Meets Rocket Science
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Making a Difference
High School Options for Gifted Students
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - March/April 2011

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