MathSoc NIT Calicut
MathSoc Meeting Minutes
Author: Sahil Muhammed
Date: August 26th, 2025
General Note
- Based on suggestions from the previous meeting, this time we focused on better publicity.
- An email was circulated by a faculty member to all students, which led to:
- Increased participation for SMMC.
- Higher attendance compared to the last meeting (14 people showed up).
- The event was also livestreamed on YouTube: Watch Here.
- Due to curfew restrictions on freshmen, only the initial part of the stream was properly covered.
- This is an area to improve for upcoming meets and events.
Commencement
- The meeting began with a discussion of the Putnam Exam and how it compares with the Simon Marais Mathematics Competition (SMMC).
- Members reflected on the elegance of arriving at solutions in mathematics.
- Insights were shared about potential internships and cash prizes that top performers in SMMC can receive.
Activities
- Past Paper Discussion
- Participants explored questions from previous year SMMC papers.
- Dr. Praphulla Koushik (faculty coordinator for SMMC) guided attendees with:
- Walkthroughs of selected problems.
- Tips for problem-solving endurance (e.g., sitting through 6 hours of exams).
- Techniques for reframing problems: start with what you know, attempt simpler versions, then gradually build toward the original problem.
- Jane Street Puzzle Walkthrough
- The puzzle: Jane Street Hooks Puzzle.
- It was straightforward to understand but required careful incremental reasoning to reach the solution.
Future Outlook
- Participants were introduced to upcoming problem-solving events such as NSUCRYPTO.
- Advent of Code was recommended as an excellent resource for building problem-solving habits, especially in puzzles similar to Jane Street’s.
