You failed your math test, comrade Einstein : adventures and misadventures of young mathematicians or test your skills in almost recreational mathematics / edited by M. Shifman.

Includes bibliographical references.

Print version record.

"Two essays written by well-known mathematician Ilan Vardi, who is currently living in France, constitute the book's core. The first essay presents a thorough analysis of contrived problems given to "undesirable" applicants to the Department of Mathematics, Moscow University. The second essay is an in-depth discussion of solutions to the International Mathematical Olympiad of 2000, with emphasis on the comparison of the Olympiad problems to those of the Moscow University entrance examinations." "The second part of the book provides a historical background of a unique phenomenon in mathematics that flourished in the 1970s and 80s in the USSR. Specially designed math problems were not used to test students' ingenuity and creativity; rather, they served as "killer problems," to deny "undesirable" applicants access to higher education. The focus of this part of the book is the 1980 essay Intellectual Genocide by B. Kanevsky and V. Senderov, published here for the first time."--Jacket.

Machine generated contents note: From the editor / M. Shifman -- Mekh-Mat entrance examinations problems / Ilan Vardi -- Solutions to the year 2000 International Mathematical Olympiad / Ilan Vardi -- My role as an outsider, Ilan Vardi's epilogue / Ilan Vardi -- Intellectual genocide / B. Kanevsky / V. Senderov -- Remarks / Ilan Vardi -- Science and totalitarianism / A. Vershik -- Admission to the mathematics departments in Russia in the 1970s and 1980s / A. Vershik -- Entrance examination to the Mekhmat / A. Shen -- Free education at the highest price / K. Tylevich -- Jewish University / D. Fuchs -- Remembering Bella Abramovna / A. Zelevinsky.

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