Count Down by Steve Olson, Houghton Mifflin, $24, ISBN 0618251413 Reviewed by Elizabeth Sourbut
EVERY year the best teenage mathematicians in the world fight it out at the International Mathematical Olympiad. The six problems they are given to work on do not require advanced techniques, but they are very, very hard. Answering them requires insight, creativity, talent, knowledge and persistence. In this highly readable account Steve Olson asks how these teenagers develop their problem-solving abilities. Are they natural-born geniuses or were their skills developed by their circumstances?
The nature-nurture debate is an old one, but Olson gives it fresh life. He explores aspects of mathematical ability by following the 2001 US team through the competition. He considers the backgrounds of the six Olympiad members and their guide, who in the late 1990s was the only girl ever to compete in a US team. He explores why there are so few girls, and why Eastern Europeans and Far East Asians do so well.
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Count Down is also about maths, arguing convincingly that the subject is far more accessible than most people think. For those who want to try them, the six Olympiad questions are included.
Olson鈥檚 book is highly relevant, not just to the top achievers, but to everyone involved in the subject. His conclusions about putting problem-solving skills at the core of maths teaching should be brought to the attention of policy-makers and those who develop school curricula.