| | | | Richard Rusczyk is a math Olympian. He’s also a YouTube star and the founder of Art of Problem Solving, a resource for emerging math prodigies. At math competitions, students and parents flock to him for autographs and selfies. In some families, he’s a household name. (“ ‘Richard,’ as he’s known in our house,” one parent tweeted this morning.) How he started follows a familiar path—for math nerds, at least: high-school math team, national math contests, summer math camp. But figuring out what to do next was a conundrum. As Ingfei Chen writes in her fascinating profile of Rusczyk, “If you’re a math prodigy who doesn’t want to become a mathematician, what do you do with your life?” For Rusczyk, starting Art of Problem Solving was the solution. AoPS includes print textbooks, a summer camp, online programs, and more—and it’s a lifeline for budding math whizzes, like Rusczyk once was. “Exceptionally gifted young math students often find classroom math unbearably easy and tedious,” Chen writes. But “The Art of Problem Solving” textbook teaches “not facts, but approaches . . . if you find yourself memorizing formulas, you are missing the point.” Rusczyk isn’t trying to create math geniuses but to “guide more young brainiacs toward lives in math, or outside of it.” In math, as in life, it’s the complexity that counts. —Jessie Li, newsletter editor Read “Richard Rusczyk’s Worldwide Math Camp.” For more mathematical musings, read Dan Rockmore on his father’s theorem, Alec Wilkinson on Yitang Zhang’s pursuit of beauty in math, and Paul Grimstad on the debt we owe to Alan Turing. | | | | From the News Desk | Daily Comment The January 6th Investigation Gets Closer to Donald TrumpJudges, national-security officials, and Liz Cheney say that the effort must proceed. By David Rohde | | Q. & A. How Trump Transformed the Supreme CourtThe legal journalist Linda Greenhouse expects the new conservative majority to change American law on abortion, religion, and affirmative action. By Isaac Chotiner | | | | | Editor’s Pick |  Books Victoria Chang’s Correspondence with GriefIn “Dear Memory,” Chang experiments with the grammar of loss, addressing letters to those who will never respond, and finding meaning in their silence. By Kamran Javadizadeh | | | | | Dept. of Delight | |  Illustration by Brian Blomerth 🍄 Magic mushrooms, a love story: A new graphic novel, excerpted today on our site, tells the story of the couple whose love for fungi and each other laid the foundation for the serious study of psilocybin. 🎶 If you listen to dance-rock, you may be familiar with Parquet Courts. (Their new album, “Sympathy for Life,” is out now.) Nick Paumgarten joined the band’s frontmen for a night out on the dance floor in Brooklyn. | | | | In Case You Missed It | A collection of this week’s best reads, hand-picked for you. | | | | Letter from HondurasIs the President of Honduras a Narco-Trafficker?For decades, the U.S. has accommodated corruption in Central America. Now it is contending with the results. By Jon Lee Anderson | | A Reporter at LargeFrom June: Kyle Rittenhouse, American VigilanteThe trial of Rittenhouse, who killed two men at a racial-justice protest in Kenosha in the summer of 2020, is ongoing. By Paige Williams | | Cultural CommentEmily Ratajkowski and the Burden of Being Perfect-LookingIn a new collection of essays, “My Body,” the writer and model reckons with how her appearance has shaped her personal relationships, career, and psyche. By Carrie Battan | | Annals of MedicineMedicine’s Wellness ConundrumPatients want alternative therapies. How can hospitals offer them without putting medical integrity at risk? By Jessica Wapner | | On TelevisionThe Splendid Uncoolness of “Sex, Love & Goop”Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Netflix series, which follows couples who are struggling with sexual dysfunction, is unexpectedly real, and genuinely moving. By Naomi Fry | | | | | Fun & Games Dept. |  Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz The fewer clues you need, the more points you receive. By Liz Maynes-Aminzade |  Daily Cartoon Friday, November 12th By Jason Adam Katzenstein | |  Daily Shouts Hi, I’m Your Best Friend Who Can Rationalize Anything! When we prioritize ourselves, it empowers those around us. I read that on Instagram. By Lauren Bans |  Daily Shouts Future Lana Del Rey Albums “The Born-Again-Virgin Suicides,” “Proud Boys on the Potomac,” “The Real Queen of Detroit,” and other astonishments for your ears. By Noël Wells and Jason Adam Katzenstein | | | | | | 💛P.S. Neil Young turns seventy-six today. In 2012, Alec Wilkinson wrote about the musician’s memoir and the vexing simplicity of his prose: “I was a little surprised when Neil Young published his memoir, ‘Waging Heavy Peace,’ because he is the only artist I have ever encountered who is proud of not reading.” | | | | Today’s newsletter was written by Jessie Li. | | | | | | | |
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