Some Ideas On How To Make The Solutions Discussions Better

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest features on Brilliant is that you can participate in solutions-discussions, share how you solve problems with others, comment on others' solutions and learn from one another. Here are some ideas that I believe will make the solutions discussions even better.

$1.$ Add a "request for solution" button:

I know there is a 'request for solutions message board' but that can't be the permanent solution [no pun intended.]. Posts gradually get buried in feeds, so after a while people will [probably] stop commenting on it. I suggest adding a 'request for solution' button for every problem. If someone clicks on it, that problem is going to appear in the feeds of people who have solved it. That problem will have some kind of marker like 'add a solution to this problem' [remember posts that were marked as 'suggested for you'? I'm thinking of something like that.].

$2.$ Introduce a rating system for solution writing:

If there is a rating system for solution-writing, a lot of people will be more encouraged to post solutions and that, I believe, will essentially make the discussions more enriched.

The rating system can take certain things into account, like: the average number of upvotes per solution.

$3.$ Add something like 'reputation points':

I believe this will not only improve the overall quality of the solutions-discussions but discussions in general. This will encourage a lot of users to offer constructive comments and feedback.

This thing can take things like number of upvotes per comment, number of likes and re-shares per post etc. into account.

I know these ideas are quite hard to implement. They are easier said than done. But I do believe that they can effectively make Brilliant better site for everyone.

I'd like to hear what other users have to say. I'd also love it if a staff member responded by at least leaving a comment.

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**bold** or __bold__

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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}

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.

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

Thanks for your feedback. These are good ideas that we will take into consideration when redesigning the solution discussions.

Calvin Lin Staff - 7 years, 1 month ago

Dude, these are some really fantastic ideas. But doing this would motivate people to post solutions only to popular problems as to maximize points. So...

Finn Hulse - 7 years, 1 month ago

That's why there will be a 'request for solution' button! This will ensure that problems that require solutions will always get solutions.

Mursalin Habib - 7 years, 1 month ago

Mmm.

These are really great suggestions!

jatin yadav - 7 years, 1 month ago

Good advice. Brilliant is the best site I visit every day.

Brahmam Meka - 7 years, 1 month ago

Nice advice.!! I also get lax at times and skip posting solutions for problems. Actually, rewarding with ratings will indeed encourage more people to write solutions.

Vishal Sharma - 7 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}`	$\boxed{123}$