Mathematics

This book is not written in the manner of a typical textbook. (Indeed, it is not really designed to serve as a textbook at all, though it could certainly be used as one with highly motivated students.) That is, we do not present full developments of key theorems up front, leaving only routine exercises for the reader to consider. For one, we leave strategic gaps in the exposition for the reader to fill in. For another, we include a number of nonroutine problems, of the sort found on the IMO or related national competitions. The reader may or may not succeed in solving these, but attempting them should provide a solid test of one’s understanding. In any case, solutions to the exercises and problems are included in the back; we have kept these brief, and they are only intended to make sense once you have already thought a bit about the corresponding exercises/problems on your own.