About Core Mathematics

First of all, I really like the concept of the new Core Mathematics section. It is indeed a huge improvement, because like you said, the surprise effect of weekly problems works great for olympiad problems, but not for core subjects. There are some things that I would like to point out, though.

I found several bugs. When I complete set 1 (successfully) on a certain subject, and I click on set 2, it at first shows me the first problem of set 1 with the solution shown (so basically what I saw right after answering that problem), and clicking on 'Next Problem' results in viewing the second problem of set 2, rather than the first.

Also, after completing both set 1 and set 2 of a certain subject, it sometimes shows me the technique screen (with all sets on it) with set 2 on the left and set 1 on the left, so it swapped their positions. However, sometimes they are in the correct order. It's not really a problem, but I don't think it's intentional.

I think there is also a bug in the star system. I'm not sure if I completely understand it, but this is how I think it works: the amount of stars you earn for a certain topic depends on the most difficult set you've successfully completed. Correct me if I'm wrong. I successfully completed the first two sets of both basic and intermediate prime factorization, and I only got one star. I even completed one advanced set (so I think I should get three stars, rather than one).

The unit in which to answer the problem isn't always mentioned. It was really clear from the context, but I still point it out because usually it is mentioned. Also, it once said 'in minute' rather than 'in minutes', I don't remember which problem though.

Now, about the necessity to invite friends on facebook to unlock additional sets. I know I'm not the first one to point it out, but I also don't think this is the way to go. I think I can manage to invite several facebook friends, but I know many Brilliant users will not. Alexander S. pointed out it would be good if we could buy sets with points, and I think that is a great idea.

I'm not sure if the problem submit form also works for the Core Mathematics problems, but if it does, that would be great. It might be an idea to be able to specify the topic and level of a problem when submitting it. If you do this right, I'm sure the Brilliant community can make tons and tons of great problems for every difficulty. Although there is a broad range of topics already available, the amount of problems in a topic is sometimes very little, and I'm sure many users would love to contribute.

That's it for now. I hope this helps you towards improving this amazing website even further. :) Thank you for all your work, I really appreciate it.

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Math

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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}

Easy Math Editor

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.

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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

FWIW everybody should now have the correct number of stars.

Jordan Bettis - 8 years, 1 month ago

Thanks for this excellent writeup.

We believe the star issue was a problem that was fixed a few hours after the new system was launched. If it's still occurring on new attempts, please let us know.

Currently the data is still incorrect from the few hour window between when the system went live and when the fix was deployed. I think I can fix that automatically based on other data we have, so the number of stars you have should get corrected in a few hours.

The same star bug occurs here too. I have done all the three sets but yet I am only awarded 1 star. :(

Pranav Arora - 8 years, 1 month ago

What technique was it and what time did you finish the "Advanced" level?

And by all three sets, you mean "Basic" "Intermediate" and "Advanced" and not 3 "Basic" sets in the same technique?

Sam Solomon Staff - 8 years, 1 month ago

@Sam Solomon – Sorry for not being clear enough, I meant "Basic" "Intermediate" and "Advanced" sets. The technique is Prime factorisation. I did all the problems in Advance Set 1 but I wasn't awarded 3 stars.

@Pranav Arora – Did you get all 3 problems correct in the Advanced set? All three problems must be correct to be awarded stars, if I was looking at the right data, I believe that while you answered the problem titled: "Positive Divisors" correct, you viewed the solution on the other 2 problems instead of answering them.

@Sam Solomon – Yes, I did check the solutions of the 2 problems in Advance Set 2. I unlocked the Set 2 a lot later after completing the Advance Set 1 (and I was not awarded 3 stars for that). Never mind, the stars doesn't matter to me. Thank you for your time! :)

EDIT: Just checked the techniques trainer, I do have three stars for "Prime Factorisation" now. Thanks!

I still only have one star for Prime Factorization, while I did complete an advanced set and two intermediate sets.

Tim Vermeulen - 8 years, 1 month ago

Yeah it took time to make migrations to fix the data created while the original bug existed.

You should now have the correct number of stars for all techniques.

@Jordan Bettis – Yup, it's fixed, thanks.

I've been busy with exams and haven't been able to actually try everything out yet, but I really like the website and i think its good preparation for doing extra problem solving practice to help me with possible interview questions on application to university. However, I dislike the attachment to facebook, I like the site and I tell my friends who I think would be interested in it to try it out, and they have, but I wouldn't like this attached to my facebook, I try to limit what is posted on my wall. Also, would you be planning on adding a section for 'core physics' problems? I tend to struggle more with the physics problems, and these are the ones which Id most like to have a 'techniques trainer' for, particularly concerning problems i don't meet at school, mostly magnetism.

Ben Blayney - 8 years, 1 month ago

The first bug you noted has also been fixed, when you click on a new and available second set, you should be taken straight to that set now.

When are you going to delete the facebook unlock thing?

Bob Yang - 8 years, 1 month ago

Hi Bob,

Sorry, but we will not be removing facebook as it has been an effective way for a lot of our users to share the site with their friends, however, as mentioned in this comment we will be working on other ways to get access to the bonus problems, including different ways to invite friends without using Facebook, but it will take some time.

Given that adding more ways to gain access is going to take some time, we launched with just Facebook because we wanted at least some of the problems to be available to everyone immediately. Please be patient, there are already hundreds of new problems you can do even without the extra sets.

can u help me to learn maths

Isha Mourya - 8 years, 1 month 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}`	$\boxed{123}$