National Math Olympiade - Which I'm going to compete in.

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Did I ever tell you I'm going to compete in the Dutch National Mathematics Olympiade? There will be around 100 competents, which scored the most points in the first round. The best ten will go to Greece next year for the international version. (I'm not going to get there.)

It will be held next Friday.[/color:post_uid0]

[NAHTMMM]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Sounds wonderful, catalina! Good luck! :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]May the fours be with you.[/color:post_uid0]

[mudshark]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Go, cat! :)

[quote:post_uid0](I'm not going to get there.)[/quote:post_uid0]And you're sure of this [i:post_uid0]because? Hmmm?[/i:post_uid0]
[quote:post_uid0]May the fours be with you.[/quote:post_uid0]Ow.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Sa'ar..... :moans:


Good luck, Cat! :sends good math vibes her way:[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]Sa'ar..... :moans:[/quote:post_uid0]

<snicker>


[quote:post_uid0]Good luck, Cat![/quote:post_uid0]

Indeed.[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Math. Bah.

Still, good luck. I hope you do well.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[quote:post_uid0="catalina_marina"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Did I ever tell you I'm going to compete in the Dutch National Mathematics Olympiad?[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Awesome! I've done a couple of Olympiads in my day -- hope you have as much fun as I did. I'm sure you'll do your school proud. Don't go in thinking "I won't get there," though... it may be a cliché, but you really [i:post_uid0]won't[/i:post_uid0] win with that attitude.[/color:post_uid0]

[Standback]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Hey, good luck! Very Kewl.

Send pictures from Greece.[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Thanks all. :smile:

[quote:post_uid0]May the fours be with you.[/quote:post_uid0]
:lol:

[quote:post_uid0]And you're sure of this because[i:post_uid0]? Hmmm?[/i:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
Because I've seen examples of problems of previous years. What am I saying... My teacher assembled almost all of them from '69 untill '97, with answers. And I understood one of them.

Also, I've read that there is at least one school where students are trained for this. It seems very unfair to me.

[quote:post_uid0]Math. Bah.[/quote:post_uid0]
You don't like math? Weird. ;)

Don't pay any attention to that previous statement. I only know a few people who do like math.

[quote:post_uid0]Don't go in thinking "I won't get there," though... it may be a cliché, but you really [i:post_uid0]won't[/i:post_uid0] win with that attitude.[/quote:post_uid0]
I just say that to everyone because, well, it's true, but it doesn't mean I won't give my best shot at this. Believe me, I won't give up on Greece untill I get the results, even though I already know what they will be. A girl can hope, right? :bigsmile:

Besides, I probably scored higher on the first round than most second-round-participants did.

I'm only being realistic. Of course I'm going for Greece, but if I [i:post_uid0]almost[/i:post_uid0] get there... well... that would suck, but it would be better than if I end up last. I find it an honor on itself to participate in it. :smile:

[quote:post_uid0]Send pictures from Greece.[/quote:post_uid0]
You're very optimistic. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm sure you'll do well, Cat! You go, girl! :unearths a pair of pom-poms ans starts a cheerleading group on the forum:[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Oh, great. Just great.

I now have this image of Delenn waving around pom-poms (not to be confused with Pom Pom) stuck in my head. Do you realise how disturbing that is?[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Heh. It's not Delenn, it's 17, there's a difference... I think.

I did the Olympiad, and I did quite well I think. I did two and a half of five assignments and I think I got them mostly correct.
I don't think I won, though. There were a lot of people there, and ten is just a small fraction of it. I also found out it's not exactly the [i:post_uid0]best[/i:post_uid0] ten who will go to Greece. There are two classes (grades, forms, levels?) from which the participants came, fifth and sixth. I'm in sixth, and apperantly, those from fifth have a slightly better change of going to the next round. :([/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]Heh. It's not Delenn, it's 17, there's a difference... I think.[/quote:post_uid0]

There is. Trust me.

And it's not disturbing in the least.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="PointyHairedJedi"]I now have this image of Delenn waving around pom-poms stuck in my head. Do you realise how disturbing that is?[/quote:post_uid0]

Yes, because you've just gotten that image stuck in my head too! GYAAAAH! I must have a garrote hidden somewhere around here.... Â :swear:


MUUAHAHAHAHA.[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]Yes, because you've just gotten that image stuck in my head too[/quote:post_uid0]

*making notes*[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I just got the results. I got 22 points from a total of 50. Highest was 34.

Remember what I said about [i:post_uid0]almost[/i:post_uid0] getting there? Well, I would have gotten there if I'd had two points more.

:crying:

Btw, in the first round, I apparently ended up somewhere between second and sixth. (There were five with the same score as me, and only one with a higher score.)[/color:post_uid0]

[NeoMatrix]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Better luck next time

At least you did well[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]If it'd been me, I'd have arranged for those with higher scores to have 'accidents'. Not at all like anything Catbert would do you understand.[/color:post_uid0]

[Standback]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Owwwwww.

Wait a minute. No, you got that wrong. You got 24 points. You should have realised that, because 24 is the inverse of 42, and we all know what that means. Go back and tell them they counted wrong. And after all, who's the math whiz here - you or them? No one's gonna argue about counting with somebody who gets 24 points out of 50 in a National Math Olympiade, am I right here?

Listen, if they give you any trouble, tell 'em I sent you. And then set the hellhounds at 'em.

Send pictures from Greece.

:D

Seriously, though - they picked the 10 best, and you were only two points away? Meaning the tenth was only [i:post_uid0]1 point over you?[/i:post_uid0]

Whoa. You're really something :) And I mean that, of course, in the best possible way.

I was in a math olympiade once... Kinda national, I guess... and got to the finals, finished 6th (out of the 6 finalists). Nothing on the scale you're describing, though. Nice going, Catalina![/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0]Wait a minute. No, you got that wrong. You got 24 points. You should have realised that, because 24 is the inverse of 42, and we all know what that means. Go back and tell them they counted wrong. And after all, who's the math whiz here - you or them?[/quote:post_uid0]
Of course I realized that. Sure, right when I first saw the results. But since [i:post_uid0]they[/i:post_uid0] are all math profs, who am I to argue with them?

[quote:post_uid0]Seriously, though - they picked the 10 best, and you were only two points away? Meaning the tenth was only 1 point over you?[/quote:post_uid0]
Actually, the 8th, 9th and 10th all got 24 points, which means I would have been at least 10th with the same score, since I got more points in the first round. The other two have exactly the same score, including the first round. (But maybe I'd get to be 8th just because I would have been the only girl in there.)
But that's if I would have had two points more, which I don't.

[quote:post_uid0]If it'd been me, I'd have arranged for those with higher scores to have 'accidents'. Not at all like anything Catbert would do you understand.[/quote:post_uid0]
No of course not. Sadly, some of the winners might not make Greece. They might, say, break an arm, their writing arm of course. But only just a few weeks before they're supposed to leave. There's still plenty of time.

You two have really great ideas... This is not over yet.
:evil grin:[/color:post_uid0]

[NAHTMMM]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I [i:post_uid0]still[/i:post_uid0] remember the time I lost a three-way tie with my two arch-nemeses at the state meet and slipped to sixth.

Did I mention they only give prizes to the top five in each event?

:(

I do not do well on tiebreakers, in general.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]You lost a three way with.... oh. :D

:hugs Cat: It's okay, I'm sure you'll do better next them and crush all those wannabes back to the Stone Age! Whoop whoop![/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Thanks but... There won't be a next time. I can't participate again next year.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Awwww.... :hugs: Nevermind, you've got the highest postcount in the fora :D

Maybe another subject? Physics? Physics, In My Screwed Up Opinion, is just like Math, only messier.[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0][quote:post_uid0="taya17"]Nevermind, you've got the highest postcount in the fora :D[/quote:post_uid0]
Talking of wannabes :D[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Honestly, if I weren't so nice, I might be seriously offended. Nobody like being called a wannabe by someone they personally know. :mad:[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Sorry about that. I wasn't trying to offend you.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm not offended-- as I said, I'm a NICE person :D But other people might be ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Alright, I believe you. But I have a question for you: How can a nice person be so evil?

You [i:post_uid0]are[/i:post_uid0] still evil, right? :D[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I'm nice to everyone on the forum, evil to everyone else.

[b:post_uid0]BWAAAHAHAHAHA![/b:post_uid0]


Why doesn't this page have an Evil Smiley? I need an Evil Smiley.[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Really? I happen to remember differently...

I'll shut up now, hopefully before you change your mind. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]What?! That's it! This is WAR! :seizes baguette:

[b:post_uid0]KILL THEM ALL! NO MERCY![/b:post_uid0]

:D[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]:Sigh: I knew I should have kept my mouth shut.

:Hides behind Neo:
Can I hide here? Pretty please? :p[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]What about "Kill them [i:post_uid0]all[/i:post_uid0]" didn't you understand? You can run, but you can't hide!

:unleashes her Drunken Minbari Legions of Terror all over the fora:

[b:post_uid0]MUAAAHAHAHAA![/b:post_uid0][/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]The all part, I suppose. :D

Neo, let's run!

Meanwhile, I'm going to hide anyway. I'm too tired to run right now.[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]<font size = 5>[b:post_uid0] BOO![/b:post_uid0]</font>

Found you! Now, since I'm such a nice person, I'll give you a ten second headstart.... start running!

:lol:[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Ten seconds? What about ten hours?

Wait a minute, how could you have gotten here so fast? It's a long way from Singapore to the Netherlands, you know.[/color:post_uid0]

[Sa'ar Chasm]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]It's even farther from Sinapore to BC...depending on which way you go. If you follow the timezones, you take the long way around.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Congratulations, Cat! It sounds like you did a great job -- that can't be diminished by anyone else's scores. (Only universities are dumb enough to grade on a curve.)

Forgive me if this sounds weird, but I'm proud of you. ;)[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[quote:post_uid0="Zeke"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Only universities are dumb enough to grade on a curve.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Only universities are dumb enough to fail everyone and resort to using curves so that there are at least some A students.[/color:post_uid0]

[NeoMatrix]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I've seen some crazy curving systems[/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[quote:post_uid0="Zeke"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Forgive me if this sounds weird, but I'm proud of you. ;)[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Oh great. Now I really see you as someone at least half a generation older than me. :p

Which doesn't change the fact that I'm proud of me too. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[PointyHairedJedi]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Rats - I missed the baguette fight.[/color:post_uid0]

[Michiel]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Cool, a Math Olympiade. :D I like mathamatics. I participated in the 'Kangoeroe wedstrijd' the last three years in high school, and belonged to the top 5%. I got a T-shirt. ;) You can't participate in 6 VWO, though.

Anyway, good job![/color:post_uid0]

[catalina_marina]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Ah yes. I got one of those T-shirts too. :D I think I was second of my school.

I didn't know you could participate in it in the 4th and 5th, though.[/color:post_uid0]

[Celeste]

[quote:post_uid0="NeoMatrix"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I've seen some crazy curving systems[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]In my college chemistry class, 20 to 27 points were added to your final grade as the curve. I failed every test and got a B+.[/color:post_uid0]

[Zeke]

[quote:post_uid0="catalina_marina"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Oh great. Now I really see you as someone at least half a generation older than me. :p[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]Unless you're 10, I seriously doubt that.[/color:post_uid0]

[Derek]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]::pokes head in::

Just wanted to say congratulations to you as well, catalina.

::removes head::[/color:post_uid0]

[taya17]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Derek, that just sounds.... disturbing.

[quote:post_uid0="Celeste"]In my college chemistry class, 20 to 27 points were added to your final grade as the curve. I failed every test and got a B+.[/quote:post_uid0]

I can sympathize. In the last genetics test that I had, the class average for the two questions set by my crazy prof (Norbert Lehming, I'm sure he's been mentioned here before) were 4.4 and 3.3 respectively. Out of 20. And there are plenty of brilliant people in my class.

:mutters darkly:[/color:post_uid0]