Math gold medalist talks about the art of math

James Tao, a senior at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, won a gold medal competing for Team USA at the International Mathematics Olympiad this summer.

[@Chaosdude341]

"Being a nerd doesn't make you unique -- it just gives you more things to talk about." That was next level.

[@ladasodaexplains3355]

and that's why I've mistakenly made everyone in school think i'm the smartest person in the school...

[@brian8614]

that was deep

[@AkshatSinghania]

@@RAM-nm4fo Yes but we wont protest 🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉

[@leif1075]

@@ladasodaexplains3355 why is what?

[@leif1075]

Being a need csn you make younunqie..nothing necessarily wrong with that. .

[@Kirralee09]

The level of self awareness on this dude is off the charts. respect

[@williamjames2086]

KillaLee0908 how

[@MrBlues113]

Just because he knew he was a nerd. Sad.

[@alephnull4044]

'Self-awareness'? He's not a robot lol.

[@foxface04]

*Top10 smartest anime character*

[@misse2359]

For whom doesnt understand the comment : for example, he thinks about the process of how the solution of a problem cliks in his consciousness

[@abhijitharakali]

Congratulations to James Tao for securing gold medals twice at IMO! Very few mortals have been able to accomplish what he has accomplished. I feel very humbled to know about achievements of people like James.

[@teddyscribner4742]

The artist calls his work mathematical and the mathematician calls his work an art.

[@OlatundeAdegbola]

So true. Artists want us to know their work is logical and mathematicians want us to know their work is creative.

[@particle4rts]

well said. well said

[@Philover]

​@@OlatundeAdegbolawhen in fact noone has to say anything and just do what they want to do without justifying it by calling it creative, logical or what have you. So many mathematicians talk about aesthetics, art, beauty etc when in fact these are things philosophers talk about. It's like they feel the burdain to explain everything there is to be explained and cannot leave something unexplained.

[@OlatundeAdegbola]

@@Philover Thanks for sharing. 👌👌

[@ducgia1493]

They overlap actually. You teach math with no art, you just teach numb.

[@manamritsingh969]

Watching this video enlightened within me once again the reason why I do math - it's not just to follow along the logic. It's to develop that deep rooted all pervasive understanding where everything you have studied so far just comes together to make a collective sense because it's all related. Thanks once again. I needed that

[@МартинТемелакиев]

The guy is really catching my vibe, I was also fascinated about that mystical, at first glance, process in the brain that takes you from not being able to solve a problem to solving it. Amazing!

[@dabig_guy2204]

"I realized..that being a nerd does not really make you unique, it just gives you more things to talk about" ; Very true.

[@SasapessoS]

The single most important thing about math is what he said:"'Well, early on I figured out that it (math) isn't all logic. What was keeping me from understanding it wasn't somehow that I couldn't follow the logic because I could. What was keeping me from understanding it was somehow these ideas were so different, so new. Realizing that it wasn't all about the logic but rather about a creative process."

[@gerjaison]

This guy is talking about pure maths, an equivalent to fine art, which is an art. Good luck with his career, hopefully all these mathematicians achieve something extraordinary, ie millennium problems.

[@lowereastsideastrologist7769]

This guy is pure genius.

[@ranjitprasad2155]

Tao (Terence + James ) = two exceptionally gifted mathematicians .

[@danielparra9271]

Are they brothers?

[@ranjitprasad2155]

@@danielparra9271 don't know , but I don't think so

[@andilouis8770]

​@@danielparra9271both are overseas chinese

[@ducgia1493]

Haha. Sort of

[@YonDivi]

Not by blood!

[@ralphschraven339]

A gifted mathematician who happens to also be extraordinarily eloquent shares with us his perspective on mathematics and, in particular, competitive maths such as the IMO. I think it's very telling of the KZbin community that all that people can come up with in response to this is "OMG! He made a blunder by using circular reasoning!" or "His last name is Tao, just like _Terence_ Tao! LOL!" Come on folks, we can do better than this. He's one of the few people that can very well describe why so many people that get started on "actual" (i.e. not bland high school level) mathematics get hooked on it. Judging from the current state of mathematical education in the Western world, I'd say we need more people like him to carefully explain this to us and motivate people to get into maths.

[@clareeirendale4900]

Ralph Schraven jjkk

[@izzyexplains8620]

He’s not a mathematician, he’s a high school student. There’s nothing wrong with pointing out he made a mistake. And, yes there are a lot of dumb comments. This is KZbin; what did you expect?

[@sciencemadeeasy7284]

Eye opening speech, sir. I am giving a math contest tomorrow. Respect.

[@AkshatSinghania]

did you won sir

[@DesBatt7]

I resonate so much with the message in the former part of this video! I agree 100% that math is a kind of art form and geometry encapsulates this idea.

[@solventwitch]

The ubiquity of "Tao" in mathematics should be called a *Tao*-tology

[@johnsmith-be4jr]

😁

[@Lazlo.]

I was probably at a couple math competitions in high school with him. Pretty cool.

[@beergaucho2]

Holy moly, he’s a high school student?!?!?

[@kennytheripper2526]

Son of Terence Tao ! Brother you are lucky to get guidance from a guy like him.

[@cryto-alex5869]

This is a remarkable coincidence that James has the same last name as Terence Tao who is probably the greatest mathematician alive today (from UCLA)

[@bbsara0146]

a lot of asians have the same last name mate.

[@orphica5739]

I couldn’t have expressed it as well, but this is exactly how I feel about math and art and the “art of math”

[@actuallyarjun]

he literally said "maybe the real art of math was the friends we made along the way"😭

[@Pleaseunderstand]

I'm fascinated listening to the art of math while I observe the art of my own stupidity.

[@Wild4lon]

New Age Retro Hippie Relatable. Aka I used to be good at maths until A levels...

[@janisstrods4404]

If you acknowledge your own stupidity you are not really that stupid. Stupid people usually overestimate their abilities, I believe that's called the Dunning-Kruger effect.

[@kasajizo8963]

@@janisstrods4404 not true. Stupid people who fall victim to the Dunning-Kruger Effect just don't have enough experience to be able to realise their own stupidity. Most stupid people would know that they're stupid and admit it. Just because they said they are stupid doesn't mean they are actually intelligent. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. In my experience stupid people are more insecure about their intelligence while smart people are arrogance and full of ego.

[@janisstrods4404]

@@kasajizo8963 "Stupid people who fall victim to the Dunning-Kruger Effect just don't have enough experience to be able to realize their own stupidity" Mostly untrue(emphasis on mostly and not all the time), it's not that they don't have enough experience it is that they are unwilling to take up that experience, in other words ignorance and the effect go hand in hand. "Most stupid people would know that they're stupid and admit it" Also highly debatable, it's usually the not so dumb people, embarrassed that they not know one specific thing, that were to call themselves stupid, the people that are the dumbest are more than likely the most ignorant. "Just because they said they are stupid doesn't mean they are actually intelligent" I never implied that, I said that he is not really that dumb(as he believes). "In my experience stupid people are more insecure about their intelligence while smart people are arrogant and full of ego" You have to admit that nowadays in most people's cases it's quite the opposite. Dumb people can't shut up about how "able" or "cool" they are and the smart people are full of doubt(again MOST not all, there are plenty of people using dumber people for their personal gain). TL;DR Most people from whom the effect can be observed are unable to pick up on their stupidity not because of inexperience but because of ignorance. They so deep up in their butt that they show a surprised pikachu face when things go wrong.

[@kasajizo8963]

@@janisstrods4404 trust me, when smart people meet other smart people, they start to act arrogant and condescending in order to prove their intelligence and intimidate their rivals. I know this because I go to a grammar school. Intellectuals don't tend to boast towards non-intellectuals; they simply don't need to because they know that they are smarter. That's why you think that smart people are always humble and reserved. On the inside, they are actually full of ego, and they are definitely not doubtful. They know how smart they are because of all their academic achievements.

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Very inspiring video about a very promising math student.

[@dianachow6806]

It is so fortunate to be gifted with anything...

[@vicachcoup]

+Diana Chow We all have some gift. For some it is not as obvious or demonstrable

[@madhavgopakumar8597]

vicachcoup Not really, most people are better at some things than others, but that does not mean we are gifted at it

[@theorist-qx4vz]

+Diana Chow Maybe, maybe it's a gift. Or maybe some people just don't try hard enough.

[@str8upbonkersgaylover332]

Gifts do not exist. Cognition allows you to succeed in anything. Talent is a myth, genes exist

[@Chillo56]

theorist199791 That’s not always the case, especially with math. Not every kid is able to do say theoretical physics at age 13, only the genetically gifted can. If it was down to hard work, a lot more people would be engineers/physicists.

[@wongawonga1000]

Isn't it interesting how even abstract topics such as maths that have no existence beyond the human mind can, with sufficient development, generate a beauty all of their own. It seems to me that beauty is not found within the individual building blocks. Rather, it is found when observing the building blocks come together as a whole. For example, there is little beauty to be found in a block of quarried sandstone that has just been blasted from the side of a cliff. If however thousands of these blocks are given to a group of stone masons, they can be carved and put together to create cathedral. You might say that beauty, both in the physical and cognitive worlds, is an emergent property. It is created when many individual elements come together to form an entity that is greater than the sum of its parts. That is, it transcends itself. This point of transcendence forms the boundary between science and religion.

[@Holexification]

His definition and love of geometry is so close to mine, my favourite piece of math has always been deductive geometry, in particular circle geometry.

[@vladbcom]

Holexification likewise :)

[@Darkenedbyshadows]

Holexification Number Theory ftw!

[@dineshjagai]

Aristarchus of Samos geometry is what shapes my life.

[@PieceOfCandyPS]

i like turtles

[@rustyshackelford4613]

You guys have some mental problems ,this shit is boring af

[@venkateshbabu5623]

When you do integral or differential it has so many meanings. It can be space it can be time it can be angels it can be acceleration in physical structures. Structure is what is mostly created by integral.

[@venkateshbabu5623]

Angles is related to spin and energy transfer.

[@venkateshbabu5623]

Mass time space etc are relative integral of dimensions.

[@venkateshbabu5623]

Numbers of relative integrals with respect to primes are the structure of the cosmos.

[@yes6087]

the thumbnail already makes me nervous

[@dr.kennethspeers8014]

If a implies b and b implies c then a implies c, but it is not necessary that c implies a.........

[@llsaiah]

+JR H (JRHoflife) You are correct. I think he was trying to illustrate a tautology but instead wound up giving an example of circular reasoning.

[@MrWwoww123]

JR H a=b ,b=c, a=c.. a=a

[@dr.kennethspeers8014]

a implies b, b implies c. not equality.

[@mathsgenius9065]

x>1 ,x>0 x>-1 but x>-1 not implies ×>1

[@izzyexplains8620]

Yokuda if b is a subset of a that means a implies b, and c is a subset of b that means b implies c, then c is a subset of a, which means a implies c. But he accidentally said c implies a which is not necessarily true. For example: I’m in downtown Baltimore which implies I’m in Baltimore which implies I’m in Maryland. However, just because I’m in Maryland does not mean I’m in downtown Baltimore.

[@DP-vg3fq]

I love this guy. The words he produces are used to only expose facts. Totally worth listening to.

[@instinct022]

I studied 13 hours a day for 2 weeks for a final. After the final was over it was just respect to all those people that went higher than me. I just have a BSCS Minor in Math. Respect to all those higher than that..

[@mikemer79]

Shame in you

[@instinct022]

mikemer79 don't be jealous. .appreciate..

[@reza4975]

+instinct022 It's a nice gesture to be appreciative; however, be greedy when it comes to grades. Both my Aunt's finished their master's thesis in Electronics engineering at the university of Cambridge, and they studied their asses off. I can recall them studying up to 18 hours a day, 6 months prior to their exam. However, they had a lot of competition.

[@instinct022]

+It is I I'm first generation in USA and first generation in college which means..just tutor help and loans..USA citizen..sadly my teacher gave me c for a 79.2 for a Calc III class in summer..I fought it..grades were average b n c's some a's...i fought all the way up to get the bachelors with ok English language ..i respect all major but some are more difficult than others..it depends on each human being how we perceive things..chemistry or biology are hard too..Medical field it ain't easy too..

[@DepressionVarietyVlog]

Cool he thought about math as a tautology. That’s deep because it makes it trivial but math also is profound.

[@globaldigitaldirectsubsidi4493]

Opportunities to do good and bring on the consciousness of the great mystery that lies hidden in math are different from opportunities to achieve power. "Don´t become a man of success, try to be a man of value."

[@klsar1]

Can someone give me aspirin please

[@Reds_Garage]

+klsar1 LMAO how did i get here

[@MrBiyi]

kslar1 i know right jeez only need a above average not the whole thing but good for him none the less

[@Blendsandeats]

same pass me some aspirin as well

[@sanjaydixit1121]

Go nd buy😂

[@nikhilnirmal7772]

klsar1 must watch channel Nikhil Nirmal Geometry Theorem of 18°72°90°

[@danielmafileo4078]

I want to have a mathematical mind because I know mathematics is one of the important subject in the universe, understanding how the world works like physician do. thanks man

[@eggs2627]

Like his Humility

[@vector8310]

Too many people in these comments are stuck in the propositional calculus when criticizing Tao's statement that a-->b-->c-->a. To avoid joining the lemmings, familiarize yourself with the concept of a cyclic and linear group in Group Theory and modular arithmetic. A little information, imagination and ambition can go a long way toward recognizing the knee-jerk ignorance below for what it is.

[@Generalist18]

Bot

[@Maslacak1985]

in mathematics obviously you need to have Tao surname :)

[@Googler-nz2sh]

I think that most of us can solve any of difficult math problems with the right perspective. So, first thing first, set up the mindset.

[@Googler-nz2sh]

Like - it's just we can "find ideas" to get the solution in just some steps - when i was in hs, i am more focus on any else, then realized in college that i can do such an easy geometry problem with 2 simple ideas. It might be an illusion, but it's a good start to do more. - (updating) (Will be updated)

[@yourfriend_]

How to become a great mathematician in 4 easy steps : Step 1 : Change your last name to Tao Step 2 : Do math Step 3 : ???? Step 4 : Profit

[@Riiisuu]

This is what everyone should think about math, it’s beautiful.

[@RiemannFender]

"Being a nerd does not make you unique, it just gives you more things to talk by about"...

[@a2zfactz678]

The approach to a problem on which many diff. concepts and techniques can be applied in a many diff. ways simultaneously is more likely to be worked out than those problems who do not satisfy this symmetry. It depends on the solver experience and training to build the simplest possible approach with less entropy and more symmetry.

[@particleonazock2246]

So true

[@russeldioneo5187]

Huh I just found two math geniuses, that both has the name Tao, Heres James Tao, and one of the smartest person in the world Terence Tao. Holy shit they look similar too.

[@anrybale3634]

im still watching it in 2015

[@robertlee-nq6mg]

in 2018

[@ScholarStream_25]

All Tao's are smart 👍

[@prabhakarkumar9590]

Maths has always fascinated me..✌

[@raghavchaudhary5748]

Logic is very much built into math. However one can apply logical analysis when one has some sort of a starting point, the first step. Getting to that first step is indeed the creative aspect of math, which is what I feel imparts it beauty and an artistic touch..... 🤔🤔Oh man how much I craved to learn pure maths, somehow ended up in physics ( no offence intended)

[@oedihamijok6504]

SO MANY TAO'S .... TERENCE TAO... SEDRICK TAO....

[@W_hassan]

FOOKING TAAOOOS

[@oedihamijok6504]

@@W_hassan ahhhhhh

[@somanathdash8143]

He is so true about mathematics

[@mikerousi443]

*QUICKMATHS* sorry somebody had to say it

[@inciandmaths6317]

I am interested in Math too.I can't say l am good at Maths. But l love Maths so much. I love find Maths secrets and solve hard questions. Like Pisagor, l believe "Everything have a mathematical answers" . Thats true. I am so happy we have like this people love maths. Pls move on and learn all maths secrets.

[@santiagorestrepo5458]

Don't receive the hate from this gents, in words of Isaac Asimov “There is a common cult of ignorance, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life" stay strong, focus on science. Great dialogue man

[@migfed]

At 38th second this guy said "a implies b, b implies c, so c implies a" that´s not a correct implication, is it?

[@Gytax0]

It isn't.

[@jeffrey8770]

Actually it must be, assuming that the only way to get to C is by first getting to A. Therefore if you are at C, you first have first have been at A, hence implying the existence of A. (Btw... i am... terrible at math)

[@jeffrey8770]

Please read properly. 'Assuming that the only way to get to C is by first getting to A. ' Though one may think that this train of thought has limited applications, it occurs frequently in math. Where you have to , for example, understand the particular assumptions and implications in a equation.

[@jonmolina948]

I guess theoretically, like he said, if math is all a tautology then nothing is false. So A,B, and C are true (Every propositional variable in logic is a well formed formula so they have to be true if they are mathematical statements by his assumption) then the rest of the statements he made including their converses hold.

[@jeffrey8770]

jonmolina948 (wut?...)

[@ryanchiang9587]

121 / 11 - 6 = 5

[@shifta7726]

sir i wonder if this person could do very well in iit jee advanced exam im curious pls help me crack this thought

[@GG-el5te]

@@shifta7726 in the history of India, there were only 12 IMO gold medals winner, India ranks 31st in the world for Math Olympiad, if he can understand the questions and not make any careless mistakes a gold medalist can easily get 100%.

[@victorrocha8907]

It's not about the size of your tool, it's about how you use it.

[@learningmathmyself]

💗

[@scammedbygov]

2,777.78 (converted from cm to inches) 1,110

[@friedrichfermi6559]

i'll become this guy when i grow up

[@mrpal6681]

Search for QUADRATIC EQUATIONS by Crunching Numbers

[@seeker4430]

The Tao of math

[@peiyiliu1151]

Terry Tao, James Tao

[@shakirahsanromeo7863]

Same things can be said for Programming Contests :-)

[@budoshi-f2l]

I suffer from dyscalculia so im the opposite of him i will never be able to do maths and that ruined my goals and my dream job . well now im a janitor thats life. Learning chinesse would be more easy for me.

[@abhijitsen7749]

This video will go over the head of Kota IIT aspirants.

[@user09832]

No it will not. Almost all the gold medalist of the country at some point prepares for Advanced. They're smart unlike you

[@M4RCH_]

He meant an avg aspirant ​@@user09832

[@gnamp]

"I'm resorting to math in order to find a way to increase the angle my jaw can open."

[@Εγώ-υ1β]

When I am processing maths I start to speak like a maniac and the people get scarred.

[@celpabedn]

What makes them who they are is not that they are fighting it like we do, but their natural propensity towards things we generally as kids hate to do... They get aroused by it just as we get with sports, as young they are nerds and weirdos! But when we get older we envy their nature, and as the world progresses towards robotization, we enter the age of the nerds, and the dawn of the mind over the body as we never saw it before, they become the jocks and the athletes of the time to come!

[@fsmobilecinematography6708]

There must be someone behind anyone's success. It may be mother or father.

[@danattack4779]

Math can also be a competition for the atiquit few to be a winner allways.

[@jiasheng]

atiquit And the most ambitious spelling of adequate award goes to...

[@MegaEmmawatsonlover]

Yo Tao , what's 9+10 ?

[@19lionkingfan]

21

[@michaelkors2413]

badr badr 910 !

[@reza4975]

911.

[@reza4975]

+neizetetz Spongebob = 9 Squarepants = 11. Something to think about.

[@a2zfactz678]

+badr badr it's 1 with a 9 ahead of it....

[@sonofagunM357]

There is art to math, I was looking for this video

[@goldbaker94]

"do math" in Peter Griffin's voice

[@zadeh79]

This is very well said . Connectionist networks of the mind suggest associative-heuritistic processes are at work in the creative process, which is probably just as important as anayltical thinking.

[@idiosinkrazijske.rutine]

Great way of thinking about things.

[@laman8914]

Is he related to Prof. Terrence Tao, the premier mathematician at UCLA?

[@py3696]

A implies B, B implies C; so A implies C and NOT C implies A. That would not be a tautology but an equivalence.

[@FezileNkuna]

So to be a Tao means you're a math genius? Is this the next Terrence Tao?

[@ujjwalrana5899]

Fezile Nkuna if this is so then i m jealous that i m not a tao

[@applecake122]

Perhaps a scholar family, like the Bernoullis.

[@doubled5659]

Im tao

[@bassam4153]

In filipino language tao= person

[@alhassani626]

"..somehow something doesn't click until it does.."

[@hoogmonster]

The Nerdosity Co-efficient was off scale here. Nice...

[@FallenDevi.]

Average Japanese students if they learn English

[@wojak6793]

Lol I saw this video before but I didn’t realize he went to IMSA until I saw the IMSA archives

[@CodeRevolution]

Inspiring... Well said!

[@saifahmedyassen3725]

iam too scared to continue this

[@ajcent8905]

He can solve all maths problems

[@curseofgladstone4981]

i myself have been in the ukmt once already. only got merit. thats maybe top 1400 in the country for years 7+8. this year i got into the ukmt again for years 9+10+11. his age group. i am officially top 500 for my year in the country!

[@cliffhangerlivelihood6334]

Hi! I presume you are in uni now?

[@curseofgladstone4981]

@@cliffhangerlivelihood6334 Yeah second year studying physics. Oh dear god my comment comes off badly.

[@cliffhangerlivelihood6334]

@@curseofgladstone4981 Haha don’t worry. Did you end up doing BMO 1/2 later on in Y11 or Sixth Form? Also, if I may ask, what uni are you studying in?

[@curseofgladstone4981]

@@cliffhangerlivelihood6334 I got pink kangaroo or whatever its called with merit in year 11 Sixth form I got bmo1 with merit and second year senior kangaroo. And I go to the University of bath. It's a very nice uni. First year was a bit crap due to covid though 😔

[@curseofgladstone4981]

Uni is so much harder. Some modules I find easy but a lot of them I have to constantly work at. Thankfully I haven't failed anything but it's been close a few times.

[@AmirKhan-yy5ev]

Being gifted & not having right resources to pursue your dream spirals you into depression.

[@happbe1552]

Thanks for sharing! I asked my son how he sees math after this video? " PUZZLE."

[@zadeh79]

Why discover the answer, when you can invent it.

[@volbolt99]

i stop understanding after he says 1 becomes 1

[@colorcreme5185]

good points, math is art

[@RB-xf4fe]

Add some more videos please.

[@happyr3318]

2+2 is 4 -1 is 3 quick math

[@jastid5294]

This is that guy from good will hunting

[@BRIGHTENGINEERSACADEMY]

Good job sir...

[@imealtyme1630]

Bet this n00b isn't even a mathlete like my boy Chris Kuehl.

[@sw_nn]

1:24 Hey guys, Vsauce

[@karsultimatelifeform2620]

Omg hahahah

[@dasmensch2317]

I have now suddenly the motivation to learn math 😂

[@siddharthabiswas2147]

He is just like my son ,he had aspergers too

[@hoffington]

He lost me on the 1 becomes a 2 becomes b part

[@haroldh6678]

qefohs bahaha i said the exact same thing

[@jagaimo6013]

came here from a manga about this dude trying to compete in the imo forgot the title though

[@rextran3464]

This same guy? Did u ever find it again lmao

[@josefranco480]

Give this guy a medal! Oh wait

[@maxicambo4017]

@topcommentgod