Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing | Lex Fridman Podcast #183

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

May 14, 2021

Duration

2h 20m

Channel

Lex Fridman Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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:

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EPISODE LINKS: Po's Twitter: https://twitter.com/poshenloh Po's Website: https://www.poshenloh.com/ Daily Challenges: https://daily.poshenloh.com/ NOVID: https://www.novid.org/ PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 1:43 - Planes and bridges 5:21 - Writing a computer game from scratch 7:46 - Programming competitions 11:21 - Math is hard 16:52 - Contact tracing that preserves privacy 54:09 - Math Olympiad 1:09:49 - Hard math problem 1:17:06 - Is math discovered or invented? 1:22:02 - Intelligence 1:28:52 - Math education 1:33:03 - How to learn math 1:41:58 - Combinatorics 1:45:05 - Voting trees 1:55:29 - Stochastic coalescence 2:05:15 - P=NP 2:09:32 - Tolkien and WWII 2:11:52 - Advice for young people 2:13:57 - Meaning of life SOCIAL:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
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• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
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• Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman
• Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Lex Fridman

  host

• Po-Shen Loh

  guest

• Narrator

  other

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Po-Shen Loh, Po-Shen Loh: Mathematics, Math Olympiad, Combinatorics & Contact Tracing | Lex Fridman Podcast #183 explores po-Shen Loh on math, invention, and rethinking pandemic control systems Lex Fridman and Po‑Shen Loh discuss how genuine mathematical thinking is about invention and reframing hard problems, not memorizing methods, and how Olympiad-style challenges build that skill. Po explains his teaching philosophy, live-problem-solving approach, and why middle school is a crucial moment to help students experience creating their own solutions. A major portion focuses on NOVID, his privacy-preserving, network-theory-based app that reframes contact tracing as early-warning risk information aligned with personal incentives and freedom. They also touch on combinatorics, distributed algorithms, voting systems, and the broader question of pursuing long-term, high-impact work whose ideas outlast one’s own lifetime.

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