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Future Problem Solving

themetfairy May 28 2008 06:39 PM

Tomorrow MiniKnight is flying to Michigan for the Future Problem Solving International Conference. Part of me is bursting with pride while the other part of me is freaking out that my baby is flying off without me at such a young age. But his best friend is on the team, and that kid's mom will be chaperoning the trip, so I'm working on sticking with the bursting with pride side of things.

Rockin' Doc May 28 2008 09:02 PM

You have reason to be proud. Great job Miniknight. This should be a great experience for him.

themetfairy May 28 2008 09:13 PM

Thanks RD. It should. He'll be meeting kids from around the country and around the world. I keep telling him not to start any international incidents ;)

Willets Point May 28 2008 09:15 PM

The Adult Competition sounds a bit risque.

G-Fafif May 28 2008 09:33 PM

Problems don't dare get in MK's way. And if he needs any help solving them, he should look for inspiration to the greatest problem-solver of them all, Fernando Tatis. Burst, Fairy. Burst.

metsguyinmichigan May 29 2008 04:03 PM

East Lansing is a pretty safe place to hang around, especially when the college kids are out of town and not rioting. She'll be safe -- and only about an hour away if I can provide any assistance you need.

themetfairy May 29 2008 07:01 PM

Actually, MiniKnight is a he. And thanks for the offer :)

metsguyinmichigan May 29 2008 07:49 PM

themetfairy wrote: Actually, MiniKnight is a he. And thanks for the offer :) My bad! I hope I didn't insult him. DOH!

themetfairy May 29 2008 07:54 PM

No worries :) He called from the conference a little while ago, and sounded like he's having a great time. Saturday he's going to a Lugnuts game -

TheOldMole May 30 2008 06:38 AM

This is wonderful news, Metfairy. Congratulations to him and to mom.

themetfairy May 30 2008 08:27 AM

Thanks Mole - I'm very proud of the little guy :)

themetfairy Jun 01 2008 12:20 PM

MiniKnight phoned us this morning. He was an alternate on the team that won the state competition, which meant that he competed in the Alternate Competition in Lansing. He was on a team with a girl from Texas and a boy from Nebraska, and the three of them came in 2nd in their tournament! I'll get more details when he gets home tonight, but I am incredibly proud of that boy :)

G-Fafif Jun 01 2008 04:08 PM

Yay for MK!

metirish Jun 02 2008 01:42 PM

Very nice , congrats to MK.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 02 2008 02:09 PM

What kinds of future problems can be solved? Let's say if I get fired for goofing off all day, for instance ... I can go for state-championship help?

themetfairy Jun 02 2008 02:17 PM

In MK's case, the topic was child labor. And he said that the actual scenario he was given in the competition was practically out of World of Warcraft. So I'd say find a very good RPG game and goof off at that if you're going to goof off at work.

Centerfield Jun 05 2008 11:33 AM

Great job MiniKnight! Now go fix Oliver Perez. I can't believe the little shinkicker is solving the world's problems already.

themetfairy Jun 05 2008 02:00 PM

Centerfield wrote: Great job MiniKnight! Now go fix Oliver Perez. I can't believe the little shinkicker is solving the world's problems already. He's a kid, not a miracle worker! And I predict that your boy is going to be joining MK in solving problems before you know it :)

Rockin' Doc Jun 05 2008 03:38 PM

As a youngster, I was more into creating problems, than solving them. Keep up the good work Mini-Knight. Our future generations are going to need some great problem solvers to clean up the mess we're leaving behind.

themetfairy Mar 03 2010 04:39 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

MK didn't qualify last year, but this year his team qualified for the State Bowl again. He got the word this evening, and he's flying high :)

Edgy DC Mar 03 2010 08:44 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

"You know, child labor is a real problem these days." "An epidemic." "An epidemic. Ex-act-ly." "What are you saying?" "Well, you know, somebody should do something." "You?" "God, no. Not when I can get some stupid kids to do it."

Fman99 Mar 04 2010 09:52 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

MK rules. Can he solve the problem of Fgirl screaming like Bon Scott every night at 2:30 AM?

themetfairy Mar 04 2010 09:57 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

He's a 13-year-old boy. I don't think he has girls figured out quite yet.... And thanks :)

themetfairy Mar 05 2010 01:40 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

I didn't want to start another MK thread, but the kid is having a good week. In addition to qualifying for the State FPS tournament, MK participated in the middle school Science Bowl today. Out of a field of 16 teams, he and his schoolmates came in third place!

themetfairy Mar 27 2010 11:19 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

Two is the number of the day. MK's team came in 2nd place in the Future Problem Solving State Bowl. Which means that, for the second time in three years, he's heading to the International Competition. University of Wisconsin La Crosse, here we come!

Kong76 Mar 27 2010 02:07 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Congrats to MK!

themetfairy Mar 27 2010 02:41 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Thanks Kase :)

themetfairy Mar 27 2010 03:07 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

The kids in red are from the other middle school in our district. They came in first place. The kids in the front row are MK's teammates. All of these kids are heading to the international competition, and as you can see they're pretty jazzed about it :)

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 27 2010 03:48 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

The international competish, and it's in La Crosse? Were Kampala, Kuala Lampur and Geneva booked? (Congrats to perpetual asskicker MK.)

Kong76 Mar 27 2010 04:18 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

I didn't know Geddy Lee's grand nephew was on the team!

themetfairy Mar 27 2010 04:33 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: The international competish, and it's in La Crosse? Were Kampala, Kuala Lampur and Geneva booked? (Congrats to perpetual asskicker MK.) Two years ago it was at Michigan State University in Lansing. The international competitors come to the Midwest for this, I guess....

themetfairy Mar 27 2010 04:35 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Kong76 wrote: I didn't know Geddy Lee's grand nephew was on the team! If you're talking about the kid in the orange and grey - he's a good kid, and one of MK's few fellow Mets fans in this MFY/Phillies vortex where we live.

Kong76 Mar 27 2010 07:46 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

lol, the two girls and the hoops tee kid don't look like Lee.

dgwphotography Mar 28 2010 03:11 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Congrats to MK! I see Julian Lennon more than Geddy Lee...

seawolf17 Mar 29 2010 07:29 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

It's all in the matching shirts. You want to be the champ, you have to have a little bit of swagger. Same reason my sixth-grade math team convinced our advisor to get us matching shirts; when we walked into Smithtown High School or wherever, we wanted those wannabe math nerds to know what was coming.

Fman99 Mar 29 2010 10:23 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

seawolf17 wrote: It's all in the matching shirts. You want to be the champ, you have to have a little bit of swagger. Same reason my sixth-grade math team convinced our advisor to get us matching shirts; when we walked into Smithtown High School or wherever, we wanted those wannabe math nerds to know what was coming. Mathlete.

themetfairy Mar 29 2010 10:28 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

They had matching shirts for the competition. Just not on the awards day....

seawolf17 Mar 29 2010 11:38 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

Fman99 wrote: seawolf17 wrote: It's all in the matching shirts. You want to be the champ, you have to have a little bit of swagger. Same reason my sixth-grade math team convinced our advisor to get us matching shirts; when we walked into Smithtown High School or wherever, we wanted those wannabe math nerds to know what was coming. Mathlete. Hey, not only did I get into Geneseo, but I was in the Honors Program. I was a hard-core mathlete.

DocTee Mar 29 2010 09:01 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Cool...here's hoping he doesn't turn out like this guy: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-ge ... th.Genius/ 'Nyet' to $1 million? Math genius may reject award ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Who doesn't want to be a millionaire? Maybe a 43-year-old unemployed bachelor who lives with his elderly mother in Russia — and who won $1 million for solving a problem that has stumped mathematicians for a century. Grigory Perelman can't decide if he wants the money. "He said he would need to think about it," said James Carlson, who telephoned Perelman with the news he had won the Millennium Prize awarded by the Clay Mathematics Institute of Cambridge, Mass. Carlson said he wasn't too surprised by the apparent lack of interest from Perelman, a reclusive genius who has a history of refusing big prizes. In 2006, Perelman made headlines when he stayed away from the ceremony in Madrid where he was supposed to get a Fields Medal, often called the Nobel prize of mathematics. He remained at home in St. Petersburg instead. As for the new prize, Perelman (PER-il-mahn) told a local television station he hasn't made a decision on whether to accept the money, and that Carlson's institute will be the first to know when he does. Sergei Rukshin, Perelman's high school math teacher, told The Associated Press on Monday that Perelman is still unsure whether to accept it. "I know that this time he is seriously thinking about whether he will accept the prize. He still has some time," Rukshin said. The awards ceremony is in June. Rukshin said Perelman has been without work for four years and has declined all job offers. He previously worked at the Steklov Mathematics Institute. "As far as I know, after there was so much media attention ... he did not want to be a public person and to look like an animal in the zoo," Rukshin said. He said he had encouraged Perelman to accept the prize to provide for himself and his elderly mother. Technically, the award is a done deal. "He has been awarded the prize. That's the decision of the committee," Carlson said. "He may or may not accept the money." Carlson declined to discuss what would happen to the $1 million if Perelman rejects it. Several groups in Russia, including the St. Petersburg Communist Party, have made public appeals to Perelman to give them the cash to fight poverty if he doesn't want it for himself. Perelman was honored for proving the Poincare (pwan-kah-RAY) conjecture, which deals with shapes that exist in four or more dimensions, rather than the familiar three dimensions. The conjecture proposes a test for determining whether a shape in such space, no matter how distorted, is a three-dimensional sphere. That was one of seven problems the Clay institute identified in 2000 as being worthy of a $1 million Millennium Prize. It's the first problem on the list to be solved. The Clay institute was founded in 1998 by Landon T. Clay, a Boston businessman, and his wife, Lavinia D. Clay. Tamara Yefimova, a deputy director of Perelman's high school who has known the mathematician since he was a student there, said that once he started working on the Poincare conjecture he became totally absorbed in it. She said Perelman stopped visiting his old school to help students and stopped attending meetings of the city's math society. As a high school student, Perelman obviously was the most gifted student, Yefimova said. The only reason he didn't get a gold medal upon graduation, she said, was that the unathletic scholar didn't get the top grade in physical education. Perelman went on to earn college and postgraduate degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering from Leningrad State University and Steklov Mathematics Institute. "It could have been only him who would solve the Poincare conjecture," Yefimova said. Indeed, Carlson said, Perelman's solution was "a truly amazing piece of mathematics." Perelman lives in an aging three-room high-rise apartment with his mother and doesn't like to pick up awards he's won, money or not. What is going on here? Dean Simonton, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis, said the field of abstract mathematics can attract people who live in extreme isolation, are aggressively nonconformist and "too often let their personalities interfere with their professional success." Thomas Greenspon, a Minneapolis psychologist who has long worked with gifted children and adults, speculated that Perelman may be reacting to growing up brilliant. "It's easy to grow up feeling bad about yourself and maybe even feeling like a freak and sort of reacting accordingly," so social skills can suffer, he said. Mathematicians will gather in Paris in June to celebrate Perelman's achievement and put on some kind of ceremony whether he's there or not. Does Carlson care whether Perelman shows up? "It would be nice," Carlson said. "But on the other hand, I respect his desire for calm and tranquility."

themetfairy Mar 29 2010 09:08 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Trust me - the kid would take the money!

Fman99 Mar 30 2010 06:27 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

seawolf17 wrote: seawolf17 wrote: It's all in the matching shirts. You want to be the champ, you have to have a little bit of swagger. Same reason my sixth-grade math team convinced our advisor to get us matching shirts; when we walked into Smithtown High School or wherever, we wanted those wannabe math nerds to know what was coming. Mathlete. Hey, not only did I get into Geneseo, but I was in the Honors Program. I was a hard-core mathlete. Geneseo represent. I was in mathletics in high school as well. Started for all four seasons, on the A squad no less. My brother's college math team had t shirts that said "We're number -(e^i?)"

themetfairy Jun 10 2010 05:26 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

This is the big weekend. MK is at the Philly airport right now, awaiting his flight to the Midwest. What's funny is that he will be taking the same flight to Minneapolis that the family took two weeks ago, and the team will drive to LaCrosse from there. When they have time to kill at the airport on Sunday, the kid knows the good places there to hang out. But between now and then, it's FPS time. MK is going to be the flag bearer for New Jersey at the opening ceremonies, and he and his team are excited about the competition.

MFS62 Jun 10 2010 09:12 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

Fman99 wrote: seawolf17 wrote: It's all in the matching shirts. You want to be the champ, you have to have a little bit of swagger. Same reason my sixth-grade math team convinced our advisor to get us matching shirts; when we walked into Smithtown High School or wherever, we wanted those wannabe math nerds to know what was coming. Mathlete. As ESPN announcer Mike Greenberg likes to say, he was thrown off his high school chess team for not being athletic enough. Later

themetfairy Jun 13 2010 06:55 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

No trophies, but MK's team came in 8th place out of 66 teams in the International Competition. He'll be home from Wisconsin later tonight. I'm really proud of him and his teammates - they worked really hard, and did us proud!

Fman99 Jun 14 2010 06:21 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

Nice work by MK, smart kid!

themetfairy Jun 14 2010 06:29 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

Thanks Fman :)

MFS62 Jun 14 2010 09:54 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

What was the "stumper"? Later

themetfairy Jun 14 2010 10:02 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

That's not how the competition is done. The kids are given a scenario, and have to strategize and come up with answers for it in their test booklets in two hours. Judges then read over all of the booklets and assign point values to the answers based on specific criteria. It's more analogous to the Bar Exam than to a game show.

themetfairy Jun 14 2010 02:09 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

I was wrong about something - he did bring home a trophy! He didn't get home last night until about midnight, and he needed to go to school this morning, so I didn't see the trophy until he got home this afternoon and started unpacking. As I said before, I am very proud of that boy (as well as the rest of his team!).

themetfairy Jun 14 2010 02:12 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

And here he is with the trophy -

Zvon Jun 14 2010 02:26 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

The trophy looked HUGE in the pic of it alone, lol. [bigpurple:5s7fks8l]GRATZ MK![/bigpurple:5s7fks8l]

themetfairy Jun 14 2010 03:33 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

LOL - it's appropriately petite And thanks :)

Centerfield Jun 15 2010 12:38 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Congratulations MK. You know, if he's into future-problem solving, ask him how I can figure out a way to get my kids into decent public schools on the Upper West Side. Apparently you have to sleep with someone. I have no problem doing this, I just need to know who.

Centerfield Jun 15 2010 12:39 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

BTW, isn't "MiniKnight" much bigger than ScarletKnight by now?

themetfairy Jun 15 2010 12:55 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

I don't know - I moved out of New York rather than tackle that issue.... And yes, he is taller than I am now. Thanks for the good wishes :)

metsmarathon Jun 16 2010 02:00 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

that whole competition is pretty cool. congrats to mk. y'know, i hadn't fully realized it, but my cousins' kid was at the same competition, competing in the senior division, apparently. small world, eh?

themetfairy Jun 16 2010 02:09 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Yes - it was a great experience for MK. I think it has given him a new sense of confidence. WTG to your cousin's kid mm!

themetfairy Jul 09 2010 11:38 AM Re: Future Problem Solving

The local paper ran the team's picture today -

The Second Spitter Jul 09 2010 12:15 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Very nice. Probably the first photo of MK i've seen without Mets paraphernalia.

themetfairy Jul 09 2010 07:03 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

Thanks 3D! (And the pix on p.1 and p.2 are also Metsless ones....)

The Second Spitter Jul 09 2010 10:04 PM Re: Future Problem Solving

themetfairy wrote: (And the pix on p.1 and p.2 are also Metsless ones....) I'm not up to those pages yet in my CPF catch-up ;)