Episode
#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
2:27:20
Published: Fri May 14 2021
Description
Po-Shen Loh is a mathematician at CMU and coach of the USA International Math Olympiad team. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - The Jordan Harbinger Show: https://jordanharbinger.com/lex/ - Onnit: https://lexfridman.com/onnit - BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off - Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/lex and use code LEX to get special savings - LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack EPISODE LINKS: Po's Twitter: https://twitter.com/poshenloh Po's Website: https://www.poshenloh.com/ Daily Challenges: https://daily.poshenloh.com/ NOVID: https://www.novid.org/ PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (08:51) - Planes and bridges (12:28) - Writing a computer game from scratch (14:54) - Programming competitions (18:28) - Math is hard (23:59) - Contact tracing that preserves privacy (1:01:16) - Math Olympiad (1:16:57) - Hard math problem (1:24:14) - Is math discovered or invented? (1:29:09) - Intelligence (1:35:59) - Math education (1:40:10) - How to learn math (1:49:06) - Combinatorics (1:52:13) - Voting trees (2:02:36) - Stochastic coalescence (2:12:23) - P=NP (2:16:39) - Tolkien and WWII (2:19:00) - Advice for young people (2:21:05) - Meaning of life
Chapters
The best podcasts oscillate between entertaining segments and serious exploration of scientific or historic concepts.
00:00 - 05:25 (05:25)
Summary
The best podcasts oscillate between entertaining segments and serious exploration of scientific or historic concepts. The core ideas stay in the memory, even if the details are forgotten.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
A guest on this podcast discusses his love for building structures and the wonder of human engineering, as well as a strategy for maximizing productivity during a nap.
05:25 - 12:10 (06:45)
Summary
A guest on this podcast discusses his love for building structures and the wonder of human engineering, as well as a strategy for maximizing productivity during a nap.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In this transcript, the speaker shares thoughts on teaching people how to invent through the idea of mathematics and how math can actually be rewarding in problem-solving.
12:10 - 22:44 (10:33)
Summary
In this transcript, the speaker shares thoughts on teaching people how to invent through the idea of mathematics and how math can actually be rewarding in problem-solving. He also cites the importance of seeing an idea executed from start to end, for example, when dealing with a pandemic situation.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The traditional approach of removing sick people against their will from society to control the spread of diseases was not working, leading to the accidental discovery of a new method that involves asking people to voluntarily withdraw themselves from social activities when feeling unwell.
22:44 - 29:30 (06:46)
Summary
The traditional approach of removing sick people against their will from society to control the spread of diseases was not working, leading to the accidental discovery of a new method that involves asking people to voluntarily withdraw themselves from social activities when feeling unwell. This insight is now being refined and applied to manage current and future pandemics.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The effectiveness of contact tracing and identifying those who may be infected with COVID-19 is heavily dependent on reliable information and close proximity to others.
29:30 - 39:41 (10:10)
Summary
The effectiveness of contact tracing and identifying those who may be infected with COVID-19 is heavily dependent on reliable information and close proximity to others. The goal is to separate those who may be sick from those who are not, but it is important for those on the fringe to remove themselves from the interface to avoid potential spread.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
By creating an app where users can see they are indirectly connected to a significant amount of other people, the creators were able to bring people in to build a server infrastructure in C++, that could support significant numbers of people without needing tons of servers.
39:41 - 46:09 (06:28)
Summary
By creating an app where users can see they are indirectly connected to a significant amount of other people, the creators were able to bring people in to build a server infrastructure in C++, that could support significant numbers of people without needing tons of servers.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The potential power of using networked information to understand how the virus spreads and travels can help keep society open during COVID.
46:09 - 51:13 (05:04)
Summary
The potential power of using networked information to understand how the virus spreads and travels can help keep society open during COVID. Researchers are working to understand the answer to this question.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker is working on creating collaborations with other public health researchers to build pilot deployments for controlling pandemics.
51:13 - 58:23 (07:09)
Summary
The speaker is working on creating collaborations with other public health researchers to build pilot deployments for controlling pandemics. They are aiming towards creating solutions that will help scale in parts of the world where vaccines are not easily available.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound economic impact, resulting in job losses and dashed dreams around the world.
58:23 - 1:04:46 (06:22)
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound economic impact, resulting in job losses and dashed dreams around the world. Additionally, the speaker discusses the challenges and difficulty level of a particular examination.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The Soviet Union emphasized rigorous and deep education in order to create good thinkers and creators of ideas.
1:04:46 - 1:12:11 (07:24)
Summary
The Soviet Union emphasized rigorous and deep education in order to create good thinkers and creators of ideas. While this authoritarian approach had its downsides, it also produced individuals who were capable of solving complex problems in the real world.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Law school exams can be challenging, but Professor Brian Leiter helps his students prepare by showing them previous exam problems and expecting them to be competent enough to tackle new questions.
1:12:11 - 1:16:43 (04:32)
Summary
Law school exams can be challenging, but Professor Brian Leiter helps his students prepare by showing them previous exam problems and expecting them to be competent enough to tackle new questions.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Solving a problem that requires insight is not three times as hard as a problem that doesn't, because once you find the insight, you're not necessarily on the right track.
1:16:43 - 1:22:19 (05:35)
Summary
Solving a problem that requires insight is not three times as hard as a problem that doesn't, because once you find the insight, you're not necessarily on the right track. A suggested method for learning math is to attempt to reprove the theorem statement after reading it and before looking at the proof.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The discovery of a common language for mathematical ideas would involve aligning geometrical and mathematical concepts and finding a way to convey these ideas to someone with no knowledge of English or other natural languages.
1:22:19 - 1:31:15 (08:55)
Summary
The discovery of a common language for mathematical ideas would involve aligning geometrical and mathematical concepts and finding a way to convey these ideas to someone with no knowledge of English or other natural languages. Ultimately, the hope is that the curiosity for knowledge will overpower the greed for resources and the willingness to commit violence to gain them.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The middle school is exactly the right time for students to become interested in mathematics as their understanding gets sophisticated enough for them to start doing interesting things.
1:31:15 - 1:37:56 (06:41)
Summary
The middle school is exactly the right time for students to become interested in mathematics as their understanding gets sophisticated enough for them to start doing interesting things. At this point, students can start observing really nifty coincidences and discover the world of mathematics.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In this podcast, the host discusses tips for learning math for middle schoolers and adults who gave up on math early on, emphasizing the importance of practicing with difficult math competition problems.
1:37:56 - 1:41:29 (03:33)
Summary
In this podcast, the host discusses tips for learning math for middle schoolers and adults who gave up on math early on, emphasizing the importance of practicing with difficult math competition problems.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In this episode, the speaker discusses the importance of constantly learning and the educational process throughout one's life.
1:41:29 - 1:47:18 (05:49)
Summary
In this episode, the speaker discusses the importance of constantly learning and the educational process throughout one's life.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In this podcast, the speaker talks about his experience learning combinatorics and how it can be difficult to solve from a running time complexity perspective.
1:47:18 - 1:52:18 (04:59)
Summary
In this podcast, the speaker talks about his experience learning combinatorics and how it can be difficult to solve from a running time complexity perspective. However, he found a great teacher who cared about students and learned how combinatorics can be applied to real-world problems such as network analysis.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The Circuit Problem is discussed where a system of runoffs, structured like a tree, is used as a circuit where there are always going to be an average number of points per person.
1:52:18 - 1:59:05 (06:47)
Summary
The Circuit Problem is discussed where a system of runoffs, structured like a tree, is used as a circuit where there are always going to be an average number of points per person.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The speaker explains the concept of a widget where seven plays against multiple opponents and how it can be used to determine the winner.
1:59:05 - 2:02:54 (03:48)
Summary
The speaker explains the concept of a widget where seven plays against multiple opponents and how it can be used to determine the winner.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The introduction of "memory pointers" where people in a group assign numbers to each other, which can be used to recall information or data, is discussed as a potential solution for retaining collective memory.
2:02:54 - 2:06:36 (03:41)
Summary
The introduction of "memory pointers" where people in a group assign numbers to each other, which can be used to recall information or data, is discussed as a potential solution for retaining collective memory.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The process of randomly selecting a person to delegate information to and then following up on their delegation chain for answers is discussed in this podcast episode.
2:06:36 - 2:10:21 (03:45)
Summary
The process of randomly selecting a person to delegate information to and then following up on their delegation chain for answers is discussed in this podcast episode.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The way we think and talk about numbers can have a significant impact on our behavior and decision-making, with even small percentages having the potential to stick in our minds and influence our actions.
2:10:21 - 2:16:39 (06:18)
Summary
The way we think and talk about numbers can have a significant impact on our behavior and decision-making, with even small percentages having the potential to stick in our minds and influence our actions.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The key to successful learning and development is to focus on inventing rather than mimicking.
2:16:39 - 2:22:31 (05:52)
Summary
The key to successful learning and development is to focus on inventing rather than mimicking. Watching someone do something and repeating it with different inputs can only take you so far.
Episode#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The true immortality lies in ideas that humans invent, which can live on in the minds of others long after they are gone.
2:22:31 - 2:27:13 (04:42)
Summary
The true immortality lies in ideas that humans invent, which can live on in the minds of others long after they are gone.