A request to all the staff

How can problems like these be rated??Click here..Is this a bug???

#Combinatorics #NumberTheory #IntroduceYourself

This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.

When posting on Brilliant:

Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.
Stay on topic — we're all here to learn more about math and science, not to hear about your favorite get-rich-quick scheme or current world events.

Markdown	Appears as
`italics` or `_italics_`	italics
`bold` or `__bold__`	bold
- bulleted - list	bulleted list
1. numbered 2. list	numbered list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1 paragraph 2	paragraph 1 paragraph 2
`[example link](https://brilliant.org)`	example link
`> This is a quote`	This is a quote
# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"	# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$

Comments

These seriously seem like trolls...

Yeah, these should be taken off of the rating scale.

Michael Diao - 7 years, 4 months ago

You're right. I just now tried this one:

https://brilliant.org/community-problem/22/?group=jRizc9UF2e9B&ref_id=101636

I had a rating of 2139, and when I put in the obvious answer of 4 for "What is 2 + 2?", my rating plummeted to 2107. I complained earlier that I thought the rating system was kind of random, but the staff took issue with that opinion. Yes, it is random. I don't pay attention to ratings any more, they're a waste of time.

Michael Mendrin - 7 years, 4 months ago

It's bad enough that Brilliant has a lot of "gotcha questions" like this, where one is forced to spend a lot of time spending careful attention to exactly what is being asked, much more so than actually solving the problem itself. But then to get a big ratings deduction like this, well, I think it trivializes the Brilliant experience. it makes it less of a math forum and more of a game with trolls in it. Mathematics is about problem solving, not about legalistic interpretations of exactly what the question is. I think this is one of the most unpleasant things about Brilliant, and is very likely to discourage my further participation of it.

Michael Mendrin - 7 years, 4 months ago

Hi Everone,

Please see Silas's comment in this thread here. It was not a bug, but it also was not intended behavior. We quietly launched the ability for all member to attach a rating and topic to their problems, and it didn't work out like we wanted too. Please email Silas if you would like your rating adjusted to reflect the unfairness of those problems.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Peter Taylor Staff - 7 years, 4 months ago

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$