Joe Palca from NPR.orgA biologist at Harvard was chatting with a colleague about a mentor who pushed him to do harder math problems. It turns out the colleague had the same mentor — and so did many others.
George Berzsenyi is a retired math professor living in Milwaukee County. Most people have never heard of him.
But Berzsenyi has had a remarkable impact on American science and mathematics. He has mentored thousands of high school students, including some who became among the best mathematicians and scientists in the country.
I also find myself thinking, yet again, what was it about the early 1900’s in Hungary that they turned out, not even so many great scientists, but so many fantastic mathematicians? What were they doing right that we seem to be missing now? Can it be replicated? Was it cultural? Was it a certain type of teaching method? Simple expectations?