#183 – Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing

About this episode

<p>Po-Shen Loh is a mathematician at CMU and coach of the USA International Math Olympiad team. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>The Jordan Harbinger Show</b>: <a href="https://jordanharbinger.com/lex/">https://jordanharbinger.com/lex/</a><br /> &#8211; <b>Onnit</b>: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/onnit">https://lexfridman.com/onnit</a><br /> &#8211; <b>BetterHelp</b>: <a href="https://betterhelp.com/lex">https://betterhelp.com/lex</a> to get 10% off<br /> &#8211; <b>Eight Sleep</b>: <a href="https://www.eightsleep.com/lex">https://www.eightsleep.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get special savings<br /> &#8211; <b>LMNT</b>: <a href="https://drinkLMNT.com/lex">https://drinkLMNT.com/lex</a> to get free sample pack</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Po&#8217;s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/poshenloh">https://twitter.com/poshenloh</a><br /> Po&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://www.poshenloh.com/">https://www.poshenloh.com/</a><br /> Daily Challenges: <a href="https://daily.poshenloh.com/">https://daily.poshenloh.com/</a><br /> NOVID: <a href="https://www.novid.org/">https://www.novid.org/</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (08:51) &#8211; Planes and bridges<br /> (12:28) &#8211; Writing a computer game from scratch<br /> (14:54) &#8211; Programming competitions<br /> (18:28) &#8211; Math is hard<br /> (23:59) &#8211; Contact tracing that preserves privacy<br /> (1:01:16) &#8211; Math Olympiad<br /> (1:16:57) &#8211; Hard math problem<br /> (1:24:14) &#8211; Is math discovered or invented?<br /> (1:29:09) &#8211; Intelligence<br /> (1:35:59) &#8211; Math education<br /> (1:40:10) &#8211; How to learn math<br /> (1:49:06) &#8211; Combinatorics<br /> (1:52:13) &#8211; Voting trees<br /> (2:02:36) &#8211; Stochastic coalescence<br /> (2:12:23) &#8211; P=NP<br /> (2:16:39) &#8211; Tolkien and WWII<br /> (2:19:00) &#8211; Advice for young people<br /> (2:21:05) &#8211; Meaning of life</p>