Let’s teach mathematics creatively | Ivan Zelich | TEDxYouth@Sydney

Two years ago, when Ivan Zelich was a 17-year-old school student, he co-developed a theorem that took the global scientific community by storm. He believes that the way that maths is taught in school needs to adapt and change – that we need to think of it as a creative journey and not simply a list of formulas to memorise. At age 17, Ivan Zelich co-developed a groundbreaking mathematical theorem that works faster than a computer and has applications in better understanding geometric structures. The Liang-Zelich Theorem paved the possibility for anyone to deal with the complexity of isopivotal cubics having only high-school level knowledge of mathematics. A paper on the theorem was published in the peer-reviewed, International Journal of Geometry, making Zelich and his collaborator Xuming Liang, the youngest contributors ever to the journal. Aside from his passion for numbers, Ivan is a swimming state champion, speaks six languages, and has represented Queensland in chess. He is currently undertaking his fast-tracked, undergraduate degree at University of Queensland. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx