Thai maths whizzes win 19 gold medals in India

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Thai maths whizzes win 19 gold medals in India
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thai primary students won a total of 19 gold medals and five silvers in the Wizard at Mathematics International Competition 2014 (WIZMIC), held from October 14 to 22 in the Indian city of Lucknow, Office of Basic Education Commission chief Kamol Rodklai said yesterday. The 16 students will land back in Thailand this evening.

The competition featured 172 students from nine countries - France, the United Kingdom, Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The winners of individual gold medals were:

1. Kirathi Sutheerayongprasert from Anuban Sukhothai School in Sukhothai province

2. Rawat Phadungkiatwong from Wat Don Kai Tia School in Phetchaburi province

3. Pakorn Nantha-aree from Jitlada School in Bangkok

4. Suwalak Tanchai-ekkul from Anuban Suthithorn School in Nakhon Pathom province

5. Chalisa Wirunrat from Anuban Watpitulatirat Rangsarit School in Chachoengsao province

6. Thee Itthipanichpong from Anuban Yuwapatnakhon in Nakhon Sawan province

7. Chayapol Chaoweeraprasit from Kasetsart University Laboratory School in Bangkok

8. Wasin Sitthidechakul from Sarasas Witaed Saimai School in Bangkok

9. Paramat Samutsindhu from Siam Sam Trai School in Bangkok

10. Patcharapol Kasemthamsawaeng from Anuban Rayong School in Rayong province

11. Wethit Kaljaras from Anuban Nakhon Ratchasima School in Nakhon Ratchasima province

12. Arisara Jichkitti from Amnuaysilpa School in Bangkok

13. Jirasin Janaporn from Bangkok Christian College in Bangkok

The winners of team gold medals were:

1. Team A comprising Kirathi Sutheerayongprasert, Rawat Phadungkiatwong, Pakorn Nantha-aree and Suwalak Tanchai-ekkul

2. Team B comprising Chalisa Wirunrat, Thee Itthipanichpong, Chayapol Chaoweeraprasit, plus Maitree Hirantiyakul from Anuban Nakhon Ratchasima School in Nakhon Ratchasima province

3. Team D comprising Patcharapol Kasemthamsawaeng, Wethit Kaljaras, Arisara Jichkitti, Jirasin Janaporn

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thai-maths-whizzes-win-19-gold-medals-in-India-30246018.html


-- The Nation 2014-10-22

[mandee]

I seriously applaud the achievements of the winners. Excellence in maths/physics in Asia is frequently held up to compare the flagging results of USA.

The sad thing is , that however high the ratings of scholastic achievement in Asia, what appears to be a lack of imagination prevents them from

inventing/creating anything significant.

Whenever there is a scientific/medical breakthrough e.g. yesterday's announcement of a spinal chord repair was a Polish/British achievement.(using olfactory nose cells)

I would change places if I were Apple's 84 million dollar (this years bonus/salary) CEO with any of these guys.

This is not a racist thing, but the few Chinese Nobel prize winners were born in China but resident in US

The Japanese are the exception.

Greatest number of Nobel Prizes..try wiki, u won't be surprised.

[ScubaPhuket]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

[kurnell]

I assume this is a legit event http://www.cmseducation.org/wizmic/ but I can't imagine the cream of the crop from Europe, USA, Australia, Asia attending, so is this somehow supposed to convince Thais and the world that the Thai education system is working?

[mandee]

Recent article on BBC about

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29688355

also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Gardner

Says his mathematical/logic games and puzzles inspired many to study maths and go on to careers of distinction

Important thing about them was that they required thinking outside of the box, which is not easy for rote learners.

Simple example, if a washer is heated uniformly, does the hole get bigger or smaller as it expands.?

Some other stuff from/about him

• Flexagons (Dec 1956)
• The Game of Hex (Jul 1957)
• The Soma cube (Sep 1958)
• Polyominoes (Nov 1960)
• The Paradox of the unexpected hanging (Mar 1963)
• Rep-tiles (May 1963)
• The game of Hare and Hounds (Oct 1963)
• The Superellipse (Sep 1965)
• Pentominoes (Oct 1965)
• Fractals (Mar 1967)
• Conway's Game of Life (Oct 1970)
• Tangrams (Aug 1974)
• Penrose tilings (Jan 1977)
• Public-key cryptography (Aug 1977)
• Douglas R Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach (Jul 1979)
• The Monster group (Jun 1980)

[spidermike007]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

No, but there are many brilliant Indians. The fact that they could win against the Indians is a real accomplishment. I think many Indians are even smarter than many Chinese. The Chinese may be more cunning and more clever in business. But, many Indians are very sharp. Indians make a real mark on the world stage.

[ScubaPhuket]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

No, but there are many brilliant Indians. The fact that they could win against the Indians is a real accomplishment. I think many Indians are even smarter than many Chinese. The Chinese may be more cunning and more clever in business. But, many Indians are very sharp. Indians make a real mark on the world stage.

There are but most are educated abroad. England mainly. I've seen the Indian education system in action & it's not pretty.

[mandee]

Worth a read I think

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29645760

[mandee]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

No, but there are many brilliant Indians. The fact that they could win against the Indians is a real accomplishment. I think many Indians are even smarter than many Chinese. The Chinese may be more cunning and more clever in business. But, many Indians are very sharp. Indians make a real mark on the world stage.

Fully agree do you know about

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan

he is mostly remembered for

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1729_(number)

[mandee]

Indians = Asians ?

Don't know how authoritative but......

People from the Eastern half of India are considered Mongoloid, which is the same race as Chinese, Japanese and Korean people. Indians from the Western half of India are considered Caucasian. Caucasian is the same race as Europeans and Arabs.

[JeremyBowskill]

Why is it whenever I go into a mom and pop store they look at me like Steven Hawking for giving them the correct money, before they have even finished messing around with the calculator then?

Must be a huge drop between these cleaver kids and the average Thai child........

[mandee]

Why is it whenever I go into a mom and pop store they look at me like Steven Hawking for giving them the correct money, before they have even finished messing around with the calculator then?

Must be a huge drop between these cleaver kids and the average Thai child........

As an amateur philosopher I've pondered that aspects humanity are not on a continuum but very distinctly stratified.

I draw much of this from TV posts.

[Songhua]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

You accidentally left out France and the UK.

[jaltsc]

"Thai primary students won a total of 19 gold medals and five silvers in the Wizard at Mathematics International Competition 2014..."

If they are true whizzes, they will take their expertise overseas and get jobs where they can use their knowledge and skills for true scientific projects and be properly remunerated. I worked for a fairly prestigious university in the west and just about every Thai student I met was seeking a position with a firm that would reimburse the Thai government for amount spent on the students' educations. This way they would not have to return to Thailand and work in dead end, low paying jobs (usually 4-8 years, depending on the degree attained) in exchange for the expenses incurred for their western education.

[ScubaPhuket]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

You accidentally left out France and the UK.

Nope. The Nation 'accidentally' added them. http://www.cmseducation.org/wizmic/participating_list.htm

It's just more national propaganda.

[mandee]

Definitive....

http://www.cmseducation.org/wizmic/participating_list.htm

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh
2. Bulgaria
3. India
4. Indonesia
5. Iran
6. Nepal
7. Philippines
8. South Africa
9. Sri Lanka
10. Taiwan
11. Thailand
12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

You accidentally left out France and the UK.

Nope. The Nation 'accidentally' added them. http://www.cmseducation.org/wizmic/participating_list.htm

It's just more national propaganda.

[kriswillems]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

You accidentally left out France and the UK.

Nope. The Nation 'accidentally' added them. http://www.cmseducation.org/wizmic/participating_list.htm

It's just more national propaganda.

Not only they need to censor the media, very often they exaggerate or tell plain lies in order to support the national pride.

How many times did we see Thai groups/ Thai children become world champion in a discipline where there were no contestants?

How many times did Thailand invent or cure for AIDS and a vaccine for dengue fever?

And why don't drive all cars on water after a Thai has invented the car on water?

Or roof insulation - that a Thai invented 10 years ago ....?

And when is the Tour De France coming to Thailand?

The first thing we should do when reading these reports in Thai newspapers is check the sources.

The total unrealistic reports you sometimes find in newspapers are the result of 70 years non-stop propaganda and indoctrination.

The journalists just go on in the same style as they were educated.

That said I do think that Thai school are pretty good until about pratom 3 level.

The level of secondary or university education is nowhere near to international standards.

I am talking about the average levels. Some individual (usually expensive) schools seems to get better results.

[mandee]

I recall the Aids Cure, he could not charge for the "cure" but charged Baht4,8000 for the blood test.

[h90]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

I would maybe count Iran as developed. But surely Taiwan. And India is famous for having many brilliant mathematicians.

[mandee]

I worked with a Thai who really got the highest grades at top (the top technical in UK ) universities overseas, he'd spent most of his life abroad until he was 23.

He would return calls, advise if he was delayed, and do all the considerate things I take as normal. Unfortunately he soon reverted to the norms here, I guess he had to.

I had an Indian Math Lecturer..I can hear him now "eggzis whole square under de root".. but he was a nice guy.

[Robby nz]

Countries competing in the WIZMIC 'international' competition;

1. Bangladesh

2. Bulgaria

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Iran

6. Nepal

7. Philippines

8. South Africa

9. Sri Lanka

10. Taiwan

11. Thailand

12. Zimbabwe

No developed countries then.

The competition featured 172 students from nine countries - France, the United Kingdom, Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Reading the OP before posting would be a great start.

[malathione]

Apparently, this is a small competition set up by a private school. http://www.cmseducation.org/wizmic/

This is not a competition between teams that have won a national competition to win the right to compete.

[mandee]

I'd like to see the problems and conditions, I'm out of searching mode now, any help ?

[ScubaPhuket]

Google ""Wizard at Mathematics International Competition" 2014 & you'll see that the only pages reporting it are thai.

Propaganda is also deemed illegal by the UN along with human rights violations.

They'll be kicked out soon if they're not careful.

[orpheus454]

As an amateur philosopher I've pondered that aspects humanity are not on a continuum but very distinctly stratified.

I draw much of this from TV posts.

I'm not sure about that.

A relevant example might be delusions of racial or ethnic superiority. Superficially, we might think that people are either afflicted with them or not.

But there is a continuum involved: people hold with these types of views to various degrees, some quite extreme, while the wiser amongst us might have been able to just about move on from them all together.

[mandee]

No-one disputes that there are many excellent mathematicians worldwide, but brilliant ? how brilliant is brilliant ?

As there is no Nobel for math perhaps we should look at the Fields Medal Winners

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Medal

He is not on the list Prof. Gerald Lambeau from Good Will Hunting

[mandee]

As an amateur philosopher I've pondered that aspects humanity are not on a continuum but very distinctly stratified.

I draw much of this from TV posts.

I'm not sure about that.

A relevant example might be delusions of racial or ethnic superiority. Superficially, we might think that people are either afflicted with them or not.

But there is a continuum involved: people hold with these types of views to various degrees, some quite extreme, while the wiser amongst us might have been able to just about move on from them all together.

Whatever I'm on a low, very low level I know and see no path to connect above.

I know some guys who consult on cyberstuff at Harvard, people from CERN, Quantum Mechanics Consultant, actually a US/Chinese guy and even a guy who worked with Einstein at Princeton, to me they inhabit a different planet, never mind strata.

If you have time to read Bertrand Russell's "History of Western Philosophy", you may find some interpretaions which support my musings, but no ref. to TV of course.

[godden]

Should get a job in 7 then

[GanDoonToonPet]

Most Asians, at least in Primary, learn arithmetic by the Vedic method. It seems impressive at first but is nothing more than a series of magic tricks learnt by rote memorisation. They can take nothing from it forward to algebra, such as multiplication as addition, associative or distributive laws etc. That's why most Thai mattayom students can't do basic algebra!

These competitions are the same in that they comprise questions for which the method is practiced parrot-fashion. The questions may again look impressive but they all involve a series of steps to get the answer if you don't understand what you're trying to do; rote memorised daily over a period of months.

[mandee]

Me teaching algebra.."let us say the unknown is equal to x "

Albert triumphantly..."Aaahhhh, but suppose it isn't ?"