New Features and a User Count

This post originally appeared on the Brilliant blog on 3/10/2013.

On our discussions page, folks have been wondering how many others are using Brilliant? Currently, there are 10,000 monthly active users, and 40,000 registered users on Brilliant.org. We are steadily growing, and will keep you updated in the coming weeks and months as the community evolves.

From the graph above, you will notice an impressive international distribution of users. In the coming weeks, we will be exploring ways to permit all of you to better meet and benefit from the diverse collection of avid thinkers on our site. If you have friends, family, teachers, or meet a stranger who you think would enjoy Brilliant, spread the word. The more the merrier!

Two new features have appeared in the last week. Last Sunday (Monday for many of you), we unveiled a "Curriculum Math" category of problem sets (see picture below). Our original sections of Algebra and Number Theory, and Geometry and Combinatorics, have always aimed to pose problems that are more challenging and fascinating than what most people are offered in school. Our user feedback over the past couple of months has told us that many people find these problem sets uncannily addictive, and that their appetite for our Olympiad problems will never be sated. Many of these same people expressed a desire for additional problem sets that would more directly help them practice for school, and potentially serve as a bridge to improvement on our "Olympiad Math" problem sets.

For these reasons, we opened up an Algebra and Trigonometry section to provide more practice on the basics for those that desire it. Thinking people might enjoy a taste of calculus with their weekly problem sets, we also opened up a calculus category. We are aware that many of you are in calculus courses right now, and possibly preparing for high stakes calculus intensive exams. We wish all of you the best of luck and hope our problem sets can be both a helpful study tool and a fun diversion from your coursework.

The curriculum math section appears right below the traditional categories Algebra/Number theory and Geometry/Combinatorics on the "Challenges" page. At the end of this last week, we unveiled a Key Techniques Trainer. Over the past several months, this blog has published a regular series of Key Techniques posts that highlight essential concepts and methods of mathematics. These posts introduce and illustrate a topic to show how the concepts can be applied to a wide range of thought and problem solving.

The Key Technique Trainer button is currently visible to those who are levels 1-3 in Algebra/Number Theory. Many of these posts pertain directly or indirectly to the problems on our site. If you get two wrong attempts on a question in your problem set that pertains to a Key Technique we have written about, you will be offered a link to the relevant Key Technique post. Reading through this post might offer you insights on how to solve the problem before making your last attempt. These Key Technique posts in the Trainer, now have "Test Yourself" questions that can accept numerical answers and tell you if you are right or wrong. These questions are not worth any points, but accept unlimited attempts. They allow you to verify whether you understand the concept, and to keep trying until you figure it out.

You can also go directly to the Key Technique Trainer main page and browse all the Key Techniques available, to see which ones you can apply in your current problem set. The Trainer tracks how many problems you have solved that use each technique, so you can track your progress and gauge your mastery of a topic. If people enjoy the Key Technique Trainer, we will migrate more of the Key Technique posts from the blog into the Trainer, and expand it into other problem sections and more levels..

Both Curriculum Math and the Key Techniques Trainer are works in progress, and will evolve in response to your feedback and use patterns. Please give feedback on the Key Technique Trainer here, and give feedback on the Curriculum Math sections here. It is our hope that they are both steps toward making Brilliant the most stimulating place on the web to explore your passions for math and physics.

Happy problem solving and have a great week!