#11
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Average SMP IQ.
I wrote the Putnam in a year when the problems were easier
than usual (>10 years ago) and regretted not "studying for it" (amazingly knew hardly any abstract algebra!) and had a sick feeling after all of it, since it was clear that I couldn't answer some of the problems. Nowadays, Putnam problems on average seem much harder (but that's likely because I'm not as sharp!). If anyone scores above 30 nowadays, that should be considered a decent accomplishment. I was completely stunned to learn that many students score ZERO (!) on the Putnam ( recently discovered this). There was only one other exam that made me feel this way: an analysis midterm that had six very difficult problems, of which we could choose three to solve. The professor stated to us, "Just try to do ONE WELL". Needless to say, after that midterm, our "big class" of almost twenty eventually dropped to about ten (okay, maybe the prof didn't think some students belonged!). In any case, to be absolutely honest, this was the very first exam in which there was no problem I could even think of solving! Then, I couldn't completely solve more than one problem on that midterm (despite making some attempts on all six), the papers were marked (my paper received four "checkmarks") but the exam didn't count towards our grade (it became a "take-home" exam). Although I felt totally sick, I couldn't imagine how most of my classmates felt! And worst of all: I thought I had prepared extremely well before the midterm! Also, FWIW, I scored 41/48 on Ron Hoeflin's IQ test, which is more difficult to achieve. Again, it doesn't really mean very much in the "grand scheme", but could explain why my perception is often skewed [ such as a "legitimate" Ph.D. in mathematics is a lot easier to obtain than previously thought!]. |
|
|