Masters Round
by rrusczyk, May 9, 2009, 9:49 PM
The masters round was about base 
(solafidefarms would have crushed this). As one of the extra questions, Max was asked, "Can you represent one-half for us?" Max responded, "Sure." And he wrote, 
.
(Yes, Max did go on to answer the question correctly.)
The Masters Round was a lot more fun than I expected, and I surely wouldn't have wanted to judge it. Bobby and Max got through the most material. David fell into a bit of a trap by trying to be a bit too formal and thorough about everything -- the perils of bringing his USAMO training to MATHCOUNTS, perhaps. Calvin was very thorough and clear in his explanations, though I think the thoroughness cost him precious time.
I think a lot will come down to what the judges are looking for. Bobby was probably a touch more thorough than Max in his explanations, and Max was more colorful and fun than everyone in the room. I don't know what the students are told is the metric, and I don't know what the actual metric is. If it's getting the most stuff right, I think Max edges out Bobby since he went through the material faster and was therefore able to cover a bit more ground. If it's the thoroughness of the explanation, Bobby will have a very good chance. If it's stand-up comedy, I don't think there's any contest at all...
(solafidefarms would have crushed this). As one of the extra questions, Max was asked, "Can you represent one-half for us?" Max responded, "Sure." And he wrote, 
.(Yes, Max did go on to answer the question correctly.)
The Masters Round was a lot more fun than I expected, and I surely wouldn't have wanted to judge it. Bobby and Max got through the most material. David fell into a bit of a trap by trying to be a bit too formal and thorough about everything -- the perils of bringing his USAMO training to MATHCOUNTS, perhaps. Calvin was very thorough and clear in his explanations, though I think the thoroughness cost him precious time.
I think a lot will come down to what the judges are looking for. Bobby was probably a touch more thorough than Max in his explanations, and Max was more colorful and fun than everyone in the room. I don't know what the students are told is the metric, and I don't know what the actual metric is. If it's getting the most stuff right, I think Max edges out Bobby since he went through the material faster and was therefore able to cover a bit more ground. If it's the thoroughness of the explanation, Bobby will have a very good chance. If it's stand-up comedy, I don't think there's any contest at all...
February 2012
January 2012