Teens surprise math world with Pythagorean Theorem trigonometry proof | 60 Minutes
A high school teacher didn’t expect a solution when she set a 2,000-year-old Pythagorean Theorem problem in front of her students. Then Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson stepped up to the challenge.
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Not only did they find a solution, they found two separate solutions. What an accomplishment.
There was already a "solution." Since about 300bc. Now if they've proven it with trig that would be interesting.(solving something and proving it are two different things) Though they are not the first to do that either. It's still an accomplishment for highschool girls.
😮
It doesn’t work with some triangles so how is it a proof, almost a proof would not of counted for anyone not african American, hence why you don’t know who Jason zimba is who actually solved the proof in 2009 but he is white so who cares about him
Those two found 7 more solutions, all of them using only trigonometry. That's astounding.
It wasn't a real unsolved problem. Where those exist you don't get students in the same class simultaneously solving them.
It wasn't until this video that I realized that they didn't work together on their proofs. I had no idea they each had their own separate proofs. Which makes it even more amazing. Well done, ladies!
Do we really have to pander because they are AA?
@bunjijumper5345 OP didn't even mention their race. These high school students came up with 2 new PT proofs, independently of each other. This is a feat for anyone and would be news regardless.
@@bunjijumper5345are you a bot? I didn't mention them being AA at all.
@@bunjijumper5345your jealousy inadequacy is gross.
@@ericar.6370People like them are so infuriating. I say we ignore them but for the time being I don’t blame anyone who publicly shames them either.
Wow! As a black, 71year old woman, Math major, I am so proud of these young ladies. Thank you for this story. It is so needed. Watched the video on May 16, 2024.
71? I do restorative therapy in a nursing home can I pick your brain?
Math like this is a superpower.
Can you.imagine all those in public school,for all students. Wake up America your cures are in these children. My grandson loves the tech stuff.
@@BTc-ox3mx You are willfully ignorant of real history. Also, punctuation is your friend.
He is ignorant and nit waste anyone’s time here beloved. Carry on into peace and abundance and leave him in agony and unrest😂❤️🙏🏾
That was my high school!!!! We were the 100th graduating class in 1995!!!! So proud of you ladies!!!!!!
You were blessed to be launched by a school with caring teachers and administrators who showed extraordinary leadership. This school and all it represents deeply touches my heart!
Great Work. However I do have reservations. 1. Students today use math software to solve everything. 2. The first proof relies on right triangles inside of right triangles. This is circular logic 3. The way the first is constructed (like Archimedes'' proof for the area of a circle) really requires a concept of limits (Fundamental Theorem of Calculus). 4. For the second proof, the only lengths know are the diameter and the radius. The latter doesn't help.
@@jaquesstrappe7664 Given how far their proofs have gone so far in terms of review by the mathematical society, my bet is you're missing something. #2) 4:43 Right triangle inside of right triangles does NOT imply circular logic. By inspection, you'll notice that the terms successively diminIsh towards zero. This is an INFINITE SERIES. If you're familiar with the Sine and Cosine functions, they are defined by the Taylor series expansion of an infinite series of diminishing terms. I can see where this is headed, and it's not circular logic #3) Yes, the concept of limits inherently applies. One has to determine if the infinite series converges towards some limiting value., or not. #4) 5:28 Sorry, but your statement is FALSE. If you look again, it not only lists the diameter (C) and radius (C/2), but by inscribing a right triangle inside the circle, it also defines the other 2 sides of the right triangle. (a, b)
"I wasn't necessarily looking for a solve... I was looking for some ingenuity" we need more teachers who think like this
There are many, however, the students, parents and principals want grades so it must be graded, how to give a grade for ingenuity? Yes, these two got As, but let’s talk about the ones who didn’t get this far. How much did they do? Should they get Cs or even Bs?
This is why our kids should be taught by OUR PEOPLE. Wyte people have clear bias and use it. They cant get over their unnatural hate for us
@@wayneriley7367Im pretty sure this was bonus work
@@wayneriley7367 Not to mention within today's educational Spectrum of trying to teach mathematics within the public system, comes with a myriad of problems impossible to discuss within the public form. I am so happy for those girls, I wish them all the best and who knows maybe they might decide to major in mathematics.
@@martinsolis7409 agreed, they didn’t decide to be mathematicians, the end they state their choices. In a world where building things is prized engineering is much better. PhD in mathematics is lonely and writing papers and teaching.
100% graduation and 100% college acceptance is absolutely amazing. Please bring these standards to all schools in America! Congrats!
I highly doubt in 17 year it's 100%... That's improbable! The grades are getting juiced or they don't count the drop outs.
@LakerTriangle that's a huge accusation. You have proof of that that you can share?
Of course it’s 100% private schools can get away with this because they expel anyone who doesn’t follow the rules. Public schools do not have that option.
@@mlhawkins8342it's an educated guess...She said 100% grad and college acceptance 17 years straight. I want you to actually think about that and life in general. So nobody got into an accident, pregnant, had family issues, nothing... Everyone enrolled made it? Not one drop out? And all proficient in every class? Statistically it's impossible for that length of time. Name any other entity that has a 100% success rate when dealing with HS age kids for 17 years...
For that you need a very select group of students are actually smart motivated goal oriented. The current trend of forcing good students to be in the same classroom as disruptive hooligans is VERY harmful to the education of the good students
17 years. 100% graduation. 100% college acceptance. I've never heard stats like that. Incredible kids. Incredible staff. The kind of story that keeps hope alive
They don't want stories like that spread
There are MANY private schools with 100% graduation and college acceptances. LOL
@@mongoosevsgt That's because private schools cherry pick their students and then kick out anyone who is failing. Every private school in my area also has 100% graduation and college acceptances.
Private schools have high expectations and standards, while the government’s department of education has lowered public school expectations and standards, over time. When you have high expectations of your students you’re showing that you *believe in them*
The bigger question not answered is what's the college graduation rate???
After 25 years at an elementary school I saw that one teacher that expected the best, encouraged the best, and told the children you're all capable of the best, did do their best.
The 2 girls found proof using trigonometry, went on for 5 additional proofs, and both say they are NOT math geniuses. So SWEET of them!!👋👋👋
They may be pushing against the idea that genius has come up with these things without a ton of work
A Genius never calls him or herself a Genius.
@@platform1974it's not being cocky if you back it up.
@@ModernDayRenaissanceMan Sure, but nobody ever backs it up, because the statement disproves itself.
I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, but in this case using the term 'sweet' is denigrating, patronizing, condescending, sexist, rascist, disrespecting, misogynistic, and otherwise unsuitable. Anybody thinks they're just trying to be 'sweet' ? Really ? Would you call Einstein sweet ? He too always refuted to be a genius.
I don't know what is more impressive, the proofs, the humility of the students, or the 100% graduation and college placement. The entire national public education system needs to figure how to apply this approach to the education of all of our nation's children. Truly remarkable!
Dont let your kids be taught by those people. History has taught us wyte people have extreme bias. Their children have it also. Its a sickness of hate. Dont let those people teach your kids
@@RUTHLESSambition5 Buzz off!
A school with rules. There's a lesson there.
Get republican businessmen out of education and end standardized testing.
Well expressed! It truly is ALL quite impressive. I appreciate their humility and that they hold such high standards
The school fostered an atmosphere and culture of empowerment and achievement. This is what every school should adopt.
It's simple! The school creates the RIGHT kind of environment FREE from distractions! Watch the ladies from that school rule the world. Very inspiring!
It makes me feel warm inside to know such school exits. There is no doubt in my mind more than one of these students WILL rule our country in the near future. We are in much need of change; they will be that change.
I'm a 50 yo man, and I'm in tears. To be surrounded by love and encouragement IS heaven.
Same here - 50 year old man and I’m in tears 😭 by their accomplishments. Glory to God!
Me3(on the crying part)🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 happy happy tears! @@bksekou6135
Same
It is heaven. Just don't forget about the absolute hell that envelopes many many many many many other creatures
Well I’m only 43…and also in tears. 😂 I have two daughters in elementary and I can’t wait to show this to them.
This _can't_ be a coincidence. If these two young ladies are not geniuses, then it implies that how they were taught mathematics is the difference maker here.
You got a point there.
But why aren't they geniuses ? Because it had never been done, so it took two math Black geniuses to solve the math problem. So, what is your real point or problem ? Hummmmm
Right they're absolutely geniuses because everyone in that class being taught like they were would've done the same thing too.
@@richardroundtree2022The two young ladies don't belive they are math geniuses.
@@richardroundtree2022 The OP is not saying they aren't geniuses; rather, if they don't feel that and that they are just doing math to this high degree, then their math teacher must be really doing a great job. They are adding value to their understanding of this math but feel as though what they understand is normal for students at St. Mary's. It is indeed a compliment if there ever was one.
If I had a daughter and I lived in New Orleans, she would go to the school even if she didn’t get a scholarship I would pay this tuition only second to paying my house note. Much congratulations to these ladies. This is one of the most impressive stories I’ve heard all year, I’m gonna find a way to make charitable donations to the school every year
The genius of these 2 individuals combined with their modesty has me in tears. Inspirational.
Shoutout to the math teacher for challenging the students - Not necessarily expecting a right answer, but some ingenuity!
I love this story, shout out to that school. This is what happens when you don't have racist teachers in front of Black children. The girls are Great.
@@44bonkers And that's all that's needed PERIOD, Black excellence !!!!
I agree...although if i were a student there, i might be a little irritated that one of our problems was to solve a proof that took professional mathematicians 2,000 years to solve.
Albert Einstein: "“It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.” The discipline to work on a problem for as long as it takes to solve it is the best gift a school can give to its students. These two students worked on the problem for several months, which is a testimony to their mental perseverance. Most people, even genius level people, will eventually put down a really hard problem after struggling to solve it for awhile. Congrats on cracking a problem thought to be unsolvable! Very impressive accomplishment...
Bro they're smart 😂
I’ve heard that kind of wisdom before, particularly with mathematics. Sure, it helps to be smart. But it also takes the ability to stick to the problem and NOT GIVE UP! I bet it also helps that there appears to be little focus on boys, makeup, phones, etc.
Thanks for that quote.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
It’s not discipline so much as it is passion for the topic
Finally a high school in America, where the students are actually learning and not beating up their teachers . I wonder what they're doing differently.
@9:25, “People have a vision of who can be successful…” That’s a powerful statement!
That part gave me chills. For better or for worse, it is extremely powerful. That vision can make or break people, and unfortunately when it comes to how people view Black girls, it is often the latter. 😢 It makes me so happy to see these teachers be the former!
That Teacher is a gift. She gave a very difficult problem but did not underestimate her students ability to come up elaborate solutions.
Now that's the moral reason for this story. Well said my friend 👏.
What a moral formula from the teacher. Maybe she's the ultimate genius!❤
@@vegasmokeThis! It doesn’t matter that she and the two students are black. What matters is that she is a *motivating* teacher who pushes her students, and that they *took on the challenge* and achieved a wonderful *accomplishment!*
That is actually the case during segregation at many black schools, as the teachers at many of those schools were over qualified.
@@ckh937610yes black teachers were over qualified during segregation cause jobs were segregated too. Blacks were just not allowed to be in certain high paying professions like engineering.
Their parents must be extremely proud.
The dads can't be found...
@tobyfitzpatrick3914, I just watched a dad being interviewed in this story. How could you possibly miss that?
@@tobyfitzpatrick3914 Cece and Cal, Calcea's parents, are definitely in the video ... Neliska, Ne'Kiya's mom is sitting next to them by herself. Why? "Donald Jackson passed away on February 3, 2019 at the age of 40. He leaves behind his wife Neliska Jackson, his 3 children Ne'kiya, Jakhi and Demetris" He's DEAD. He was also a veteran. You can scour through hours of videos of kids every other color just living their lives, and not one random will slander them with anything ... Yet you can find cavebeast culture within minutes if the child is black, even if the video is featuring a baby. What is it with that? I guess we should all start assuming you and some random kids are or will be internationally traveling, dog defiling, child defiling Peter Scully's at some point. Because who cares about individual achievements
@@tobyfitzpatrick3914do we know where your dad is 🤔🤣🤣
@@tobyfitzpatrick3914 an apology is warranted admit you were wrong Toby
What a proud moment for those parents.
Damn this really makes me want to cry. It's refreshing to see schools that have standards and strive for the best for their students. Like they're actually LEARNING!! These 2 young women are incredibly talented. So respectful, so well spoken, dressed in the school uniform, and pushing their knowledge to no limit! The teacher and parents are also a factor in this as well. Big shoutout to them!
TF is everyone crying about? JESUS H
Stories such as this deserve more exposure.
There are plenty of stories like this, from all over the world! Black people and Africans, inventing things that were thought to be impossible! But these stories will never be promoted! They're afraid it will break all the negative Black stereotypes they've created!
the president needs to personally congratulate them, this is a big achievement
Also the black media, enough gossip about rappers.
This story was actually international, it was all over social media, including the ones that just talk about non sense, last year.
@@BuffyNoir140actually a lot of black media covered this even tea gif, and lipstick alley. (Of.course tik tok and reddit made it popular first)
Every young person needs this type of education
Every preschooler is a genius.
not every child wants it though
@@SgtJoeSmith So why punish those who do by not offering it? Those who aren't interested are few and far between. There are people who would probably say the same things about these young ladies until they were given the tools they needed to be successful.
Every person shall have access to quality education. Fixed your uneducated rambling.
@@Look_What_You_Did Do you feel superior now?
Imagine having the brilliance of intuitive math at a genius level, as a hobby. Their humbleness and curiosity start at home.
This is proof you can accomplish the seemingly impossible when you don't have people poisoning your mind with doubt and telling you what "can't be done."
So many other schools would benefit if they followed this school's model and philosophy of excellence.
Very much agree.
Absolutely; but that would take a new attitude in public school system -- which is looong overdue.
and do you think St Mary's accepts all students ?
Restore the study of The Philosophy of Education ( as in RS Peters) to all teacher training and curriculum designers and educational policy makers. Remove unit standardized lessons, and restore teacher autonomy.
@@CKLee-rs4kl What? You don't believe in teaching to the least common denominator? 😉
So not only did they come up with a trigonometric proof, but they came up with two different ways to make that proof? Wow.
Sounds like she said they found 5 and possibly an additional 5 at the end there.
5 possibly 10
I know its not gonna happen, but how funny would it be if like in a month we found out they both used chat-GPT to get the answer. lol
@@VidaFBaby1 Plus a generalized proof.
@@sparquisdesade None of the LLM's are that smart, they have a long way to go to do things that people can do. (At least a year). I drive a Tesla its smart and drives better than a human, but still makes mistakes, mostly in navigation.
Someone should spend a school year documenting exactly how that school works so that there is a template for starting more successful schools. Two kids, each with an original proof is amazing. Also that they feel motivated to work on more. That could be a spark of genius plus a good teacher, and it probably is at least a little,, but 100% graduation and 100% college acceptance, the school must be doing something right beyond a dress code.
What impresses me is their problem-solving ability. These two women went off and worked at the problem and kept at it. I'm a retired computer programmer and my strongest skill was trouble-shooting. I had situations where I had to dig into problems and keep digging until I found the cause and find a solution. It takes persistence, and these two have that. You can have brains but persistence is what leads to success.
The problem in most American classrooms is that kids are taught to memorize instead of how to understand and apply fundamental concepts. When you learn basic concepts and break down math problems, math is nowhere near as difficult as people think it is.
4:08 Props to Ne'Kiya's mother for supplying her daughter access to an excellent education and encouraging her although she has no idea what exactly she's doing. It's honestly so sweet.
I think 99.9% of the world doesn’t know what the students are doing lol I know I have no idea what the students are leaning lol
I thought they worked together to find a single proof. I didn’t realize they worked separately and found two separate proofs. That is amazing!
The two of them are humble beast! Solving ancient mathematical conundrums and refusing to acknowledge themselves as geniuses is a flex within itself!!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
good for them. the students and the school deserve more recognition. it is important to know we are not limited by anything.
Recognition might not be the best thing for this school in LA. Black people don't always need to advertise their success to a wider public. That wider public may want to hinder or disrupt that success out of envy.
As someone who completed calculus and absolutely failed their math major, and had to drop out due to proofs, the difficulty of this is hard to explain to someone who's never tried one. This is a monumental achievement, and the depths of this challenge cannot fully be understood by someone non versed in mathematics. The fact that teenagers did this is mind blowing. All the kudos in the world, congrats.
Though I would say at first learning proofs isn't easy by any stretch. It's not that bad... especially not to drop out from lol 😂
One does not "complete" calculus. You completed a single course in calculus.
@@reh3884 That's exactly what completing calculus means, it means you completed a calculus course
In college I passed all my math courses with A's and 1-b+. I had 4 main and 2 i took as electives. For me, what I found out is they are teaching SHORTCUTS and getting to the end answer did not connect for me. I had to study the book and with some personal tutoring I was able to understand the flow and remember the formulas. My child is in elementary school and I had to check/ conference a teacher about my child's work same issue about SHORTCUTS If the answer is correct and the work is shown there shouldn't be a problem. Math is not always straightforward.
Yes, but in a Mathematics curriculum, you have to be able to compose proofs on the fly; these gals had months to figure it out - and oh, I am sure they were assisted along the way.
I was born and raised in New Orleans. Two of my aunts who were both part of the order, Sisters of the Holy Family, taught at St. Mary’s Academy for many years…one has passed on - the other sadly has dementia. They would both be unbelievably proud of these two outstanding young ladies❤️
If all schools had this teaching standard where we would be. The ceilings statement is so true and heartbreaking.
As a proud melanated Louisianian, 2x times math major, from a HBCU this pleases me so much. I have watched this more than once AND watched a couple mathematician demo the proof. Totally blk girl geek out and loving every drop of it.
This is a tribute to their excellent teacher! This teacher allowed these young women to know their capabilities! Congratulations to all of them!!!
Exactly! As one of the young ladies remarked, people might think that they couldn’t accomplish such a feat- as she stated- particularly due to their age, race & gender. So to have a black, female math teacher like Michelle Blouin-Williams encouraging her students to take on such a task, it must have been an inspiration and motivation. Congratulations to her for pushing her students, and to them for creating new proofs for the theorem. 🧡
Congrats young New Orleans Louisiana ladies in a region that invented Jazz🌹🌹 You have creative people in New Orleans Louisiana. And congrats to the teachers who inspired, motivated the students , but the students had to do the work!✨🌹✨ Have a Beautiful Journey.
These kiddos gave something to the scientific world to play with for generations to come yet they remain so humble. They totally rock! ✊🏽
I don't think they fully understand just how cool they are!
I hope their names are in history and text books.
@@CKLee-rs4kl Oh yes they do, at the end they say what else they did that will knock the socks off the mathematical world.
From an Applied Mathematics degree holder… you two young ladies have truly accomplished something incredible! Fantastic work and best of luck to you both in your future endeavors!
Wow this is amazing and impressive. These are the type of stories that should be highlighted in our community and to our children. Salute to these young ladies.
I hope their teacher is up for an award for this! Great job teaching problem solving to bright kids!
definetly
Listen, she's over teaching math how we all should've had math back in school. Some great stuff!
The Principal and all of the teachers at the school should be up for awards.
This is so refreshing to see !!!!!! As a 48 yr old man from Louisiana, these two young ladies extremely inspired me to finish my electrical engineering degree. Inspiration comes in all form's just put your ego ,fear, and the naysayers aside.
Congratulations!!!! Best of luck to you!
Go get em sir!!
I wish you extreme success!!!
Do it!
Yay for you! I’ll be rooting for you.
Black Girls Rock. I am sooo overwhelmed with feelings of love, joy and pride. I promise to do my all, to fight for our communities. God bless you two, amazing young ladies.
That math teacher is gold ❤ and congratulations to these young ladies 🎉 what an achievement. Their school and staff are doing a great job. They should be the model for all schools globally.
When students aren't led to believe they can't, and learn instead through experience that they actually can achieve things, then the possibilities become endless. What is amazing is the 17 year record for the school of a 100 % graduation rate along with a 100% college acceptance rate. 100% for 17 years. Wow.
IOW they need to get away from WS run schools.
No cell phones alone would change the entire education system for the better
take away calculators, too, right? 😅 The system didn't work without cell phones before, so why would it now be the case?
I disagree. Cell phones are an anxiety management necessity for students with prior trauma of any kind.
@@mr.monitor.it WORKS at this academy .. so ?.
@@mteokay1246 So, this academy would fail if they allowed cell phones?
@@mr.monitor. You cant be serious. Data proves that cell phones hinder achievement. People who think that cell phones are not a problem are the main ones addicted.
It is amazing what a person can do when you simply tell them they can. So many of us have been told we’re unintelligent, we’re lazy, we’re incapable. These two ladies and their school proved all many people need to achieve greatness is encouragement, inspiration, and a sense of empowerment. Absolutely brilliant.
Standards are the backbone of STEM, and your outstanding performance in navigating new and uncharted territories is truly remarkable. Beautifully done! Brava a tutti! I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you!
I’m a 45 year old Asian American man and I’m INSPIRED by these AMAZING young women and their school.
What does your age race, and gender Gotta do with it?
Fake comment 🤣🤣🤣
@bribay Apparently you don’t live in the US. In this country, we never need to ask those questions. Those three things have bearing on everything in our lives.
@@hopegold883 yes. Separate schools for black students is best for everyone
@@hopegold883 For anyone reading that thinks this is serious: it's not. This person desperately wants to propogate the "hurr durr America bad" narrative by pretending that we're some third-world country still going through apartheid or something. Now granted, we're backwards af when it comes to things like healthcare, public transit, trans rights, etc. But to claim that race, age, and gender "have bearing on everything in our lives" is absolute fiction lmao
The spirit of Katherine Johnson lives on.
Amen!
That's the first thing I thought, too
HELLO!!
Did Katherine Johnson go to that school?
@@mercuryfever392 Katherine Johnson did not attend that school in New Orleans. Johnson showed strong mathematical abilities from an early age. Because Greenbrier County, West Virginia did not offer public schooling for African-American students past the eighth grade, the Colemans arranged for their children to attend high school in Institute, West Virginia. This school was on the campus of West Virginia State College (WVSC); Johnson was enrolled when she was ten years old.
SO many lessons to learn from this. 1. Discipline matters a lot to a child's overall development. 2. Good schools play a huge role in academic success. 3. Good teachers important. 4. Setting bar high is very necessary.
These two students and their school is incredible. You can tell the students, teachers, school, and parents all value an education. That I think is missing in a lot of our education system.
This story should be shared worldwide!
Share and like it❤..
We know it won't be.
With all the horrible sad news out there, this is a giant light of hope and positivity! A huge congratulations to two amazing girls!
for real, theres tons of stories like this that dont make the news
Schools for black students only gives you hope and positivity?
Yes, please keep up.the postive stories. We need the inspiration and hope
As long as we are still classifying students by color of skin and making them go to the schools with kids of the same
Segregating schools?
An Encouraging Teacher can absolutely make all the difference!! I had a few..Mrs. Lee and Mrs.Ostrale...im so grateful for them🙏
It is a great proof, and it was long thought a trigonometric proof was impossible. That said, Elisha Loomis published a book with a collection of 367 proofs of the pythagorean theorem in 1968, and since then 4 more proofs was found, including this.
Boy, America needs more schools like this. From elementary to High School to College. No matter what the race. This school is remarkable and so are the kids.
No it doesn't. Guarantee you voted against public education.... more than once. There is a party that is undercutting your education... while pumping public funds into private schools so they can fully moderate the attendance and the curriculum. A party that receives billions from elite colleges and their alma mater... I bet you don't see a problem with that...
There are already MANY schools like this unfortunately it's quite the opposite of what is happening now.
@@mongoosevsgtwhat does many mean to you? 😂
@@ajatathemu Many as in numerous. What does it not mean to you?
@@mongoosevsgt many is relative. There are not many schools like this. That’s part of the problem.
The term genius takes away from the effort of the accomplishment. I understand that people mean it as an compliment, but there is reason that they are refusing it. They worked very hard to accomplish what they accomplished. The school also emphasizes that they believe all of their students can accomplish great things. Attributing success to genius, goes against the idea that everyone can succeed.
I’m glad that they realize that from such a young age. I’m no genius and I had to struggle five to six hours a day studying organic chemistry to earn a 97 overall. You can’t learn what you don’t consistently think about.
@@VonJay Organic Chemistry kills a lot of med school hopes and dreams. Congratulations on not giving in!
@@VonJay As someone who's also taking organic, I feel your pain. And I'm pretty sure I'm just learning the most basic of organics.
@@VonJay This comment should be plastered everywhere
Or the fact that they are getting credit for what a white dude did in 2009 Jason zimba or the fact they didn’t use only trigonometry like the news claims look at the equations
Astonishing that two young ladies who know each other from school EACH created separate and very different proofs. After thousands of years, and just one prior proof. Truly amazing work! What fantastic minds!
Finally something positive and amazing in this country to smile and be proud about 😊
Hitting the mark, a sign of talent. Hitting the mark that nobody else can see... That's genius. You ladies are brilliant.
- Arthur Schopenhauer
Kudos to the teacher for knowing this as a long standing math problem and presenting it to her students.
to put it simply, you just REALLY NEED TO HAVE THE VISION TO SEE IT. it takes dedication and a new perspective on math to understand it. great job.
Bravo to Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson for show how intelligent women are so classy! WOW!
Absolutely hands down unsurprised that two hard working, intelligent, driven, articulate and aware students, with proper guidance at school and support from home, could change the world. No matter color, race, sexual orientation, gender or economic status. I applaud these wonderful human beings! Way to go!
Who said anything about their color, race, or gender? If they were white men would you have made any mention of their race or gender? It’s the things you aren’t saying in what you are saying that make this so funny.
@@zachmorley158Do you have any idea of what you’re talking about? If they were white men they would have gotten instant credit for their proof without anybody doubting that they were capable of this. What’s funny is that you think that’s OK.
@@zachmorley158 they themselves said it at the end of the video if you watched it? not everyone is mentioning race out of nowhere, the girls in the video themselves said it. you're growing the divide by your failure to pay attention its weird
Calm down. You cant be like that for free.
@@Optim40 appreciate the clear as mud context. At whatever cost, we should, as they have, seek excellence. At every level.
100% graduation and college acceptance rate is astounding. Kudos to these two young women and their stellar high school.
They actually made it very simple, and that’s amaaaaazing!!
This school must incorporate great content for problem solving and creativity within their classes. It so great to see the proud and happy parents, big smiles! 🙂
Love these two young ladies. I am 72 now, came up with a theorem, was not encouraged to go into engineering or physics. Low expectations back then… nurse secretary teacher all I dreamed about was designing buildings Buck M. Fuller Frank Loyd Wright my guidance counselor helped me get accepted into RISDI … my parents ended that dream . Feel blessed that your creativity and problem solving is a gift , make the world a better place .
Some would say “those were the times” and some would say “that lack of support is shameful.” I would guess that you taking the time to pass that lesson on much later in life is probably just another example of you making this world a better place.
Surprisingly, it was easier to solve the Pythagorean theorem problem than to prove that a woman with a penis is not a woman!!
@signumcrucis71 For every complex problem, there is an answer that is simple, obvious, and wrong. As much as humans want to categorise everything into neat (ideally binary) boxes - friend/foe, male/female, good/bad etc. - Nature is nuanced. The vast majority of developmental disorders are incompatible with life, and result in a miscarriage, whereas differences of sexual or gender development are not, because our reproductive systems are not essential for our survival (unlike, say, our cardiovascular system). So there is much more variation in human sex and gender than we are used to seeing - in every other way, humans are incredibly uniform. I’m sorry human sex and gender don’t fit into your neat binary model, but maybe it is time to expand your model. Every model of reality is a trade-off between accuracy and simplicity. The most accurate model of reality is reality itself. But hey, nuance is hard for some people. 🤷🏻♂️
@maddeusdoggeus1 I wanted to make a supportive comment to OP, but couldn’t come up with one better than this, so instead I will just second your comment. 👍🏻
@@signumcrucis71you are not well bringing things up that have nothing to do with the topic. Obviously transexuality deeply disturbs you, but you dont have to spray your issues all over the internet. You are contributing nothing. Peace.
“I started something. I need to finish it.” I’ve missed out on so many breakthroughs just because I didn’t have the discipline to finish.
C'mon 60 minutes, show the full names of these two amazing girls on the screen whenever they are talking. You do it for every guest when they talk. These amazing girls deserve to be celebrated. Their accomplishments are beyond words. Talk about being great without knowing that you are great. KEEP FLYING HIGH GIRLS!
I’m a math teacher and I am so happy the two young ladies worked hard and were successful. The two should get full college scholarships. I don’t care they were black or girls. So why do the adults have to say no one believed they did it? They were successful because the school demanded discipline and work. Normal schools can’t demand that because the parents complain. Yes, all schools could be like this if discipline and rules regarding a disciplined environment and respect for others could be set, but most young people with illiterate parents don’t like that, they want it easy.
My grandparents went to a strict school with a million rules for anything and everything and corporal punishment too. A third of the kids didn't graduate. Educational achievement requires much more than being strict. Indeed, Montessori schools have almost no rules at all and have graduated some incredible minds.
@@gunkulator1 sorry, but discipline and rules are not the same thing. When I stated rules I was a bit wrong but was trying to refer to common sense rules of behavior, dress and electronic play things.
@@wayneriley7367 "Common sense" is neither. Everyone has their own definition and even that evolves with time. What is common sense today was not common sense 100 years ago when everyone just knew that an education like this would have been wasted on these two particular girls.
@@gunkulator1 have to disagree, common sense is common sense. If you let bigotry and racism guide your common sense then it’s not common sense. Common sense says all people can do anything. But, I agree that we place limits on others because they don’t look or think like us.
@@wayneriley7367 Common sense is common because it is shared. Bigotry and racism were both very popular throughout most of human history, including US history. They were a part of most everyone's common sense. It is only in recent decades that this has changed, although numerous examples of it persist today. I find that what people call common sense is just a euphemism for the specific set of morals and values they were raised with but in actuality this is a moving target. The generations that follow yours will have a different definition just as the generations before yours had one different from yours.
I love this so much! 😭😭😭 Baby girl said it best at 7:43-7:49 "Celebrate it for what it is: A GREAT mathematical achievement." 🎉💯👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Surprised, not shocked. A majority of the science/math/art innovations have come from people who were relatively young (20s). This story really warms my heart. Giving young people the tools and expectations to do big things and then they go and do them.
So true. I think it's because they are still at the age where we are still told we can do anything.
Only 3 trig proofs for Pythagoras' Theorem on 3-sided right triangles in the last 2,000 years?! If the universe ended in the 2020s, I wouldn't be surprised lol (joke).
if it was two asian kids they'd never be on tv lol
@@kebabmarley2505 Here we go with the baiting. Any kid who has an academic break through like this is going to be recognized.
@@KaySpradley yeah with michelle obama congratulating I am sure and their news story being republished after a year just for more clicks lol
My GOD, what a beautiful segment. YOU GO ST.MARY!!!! Thank you 60 Minutes.
This brought me to tears, thank you 60 minutes for uploading this!
One of the things no one seem to be talking about is the dept of mastery these students have to know and have been taught, in order to have the abilities to come up with these two different proofs. As someone who has had a lot of math in college getting through a course is much, much easier then going deep into understanding of what is it you are really doing. It is usually not until you are in upper level courses that you understand better lower level courses. There is something very special happening at this school to produce these students, these two different proofs, and the ability to come up with them. What an amazing job!!!
Surprisingly, it was easier to solve the Pythagorean theorem problem than to prove that a woman with a penis is not a woman!!
Math isn’t difficult if you’re taught correctly. This school clearly does that and also teaches it in the correct order: geometry BEFORE algebra. Teaching algebra first makes students math-stupid. We didn’t do that here until the 1970s. They still don’t do it in places like Norway, and this school.
As a former physics teacher, I have to say that this makes me so proud of these kids, the teachers, the admin, and the school as a whole. I'm so sad there are such nay-sayers but even more overjoyed that within such a world, this school and these girls could show us all the proof at least just as great as their multiple Pythagorean Theorem proofs, the proof that young people, especially young black women, can break barriers thought unbreakable. The highest of fives to everyone involved!! ❤❤
Well said fellow physics teacher! :)
Agreed. I think young people are often made to feel they should 'sit small' rather than challenge the academic boundaries out there. This is to the detriment of our society's development and progress.
What a terrific story. What a terrific school. It would be great to share those lessons with every school in the country.
I love this story. I like the hard work they did, the two separate proofs, the school. We need more of all of it.
This is nothing short of amazement for me. I barely passed chemistry class in college with a B,(c’s were not acceptable to obtain my degree) and accepted it HAPPILY. To see these students succeed at 100% graduation, 100% college acceptance is nothing short of a miracle. The staff at this school needs to run the educational department in Washington DC.
What’s your degree?
@elainepurdyyahu9493 RE: "The staff at this school needs to run the educational department in Washington DC." No, they don't. They should stay exactly where they are, and people from other educational institutions could come and emulate and be trained in their methods. Being political bureaucrats in the DOE would be less than useless.
@@spaceman081447 yes, i thought about people would take my statement literally. I wasn’t thinking they should leave where they physically are and move to Washington DC. They can indirectly run it by allowing others to learn their concepts and be willing to implement the necessary changes. I agree with you wholeheartedly. However, there should be no compromise where the shade is grey. What is your opinion on the students who don’t fit?
@@Chad-Giga. my grad degree was in environmental science. We just had to pass chemistry back then. Don’t know what the criteria is now. My mother and son are both nurses. Chemistry came easy for them- I think it was a mental block with me. These young ladies at this school shows the majority of people are capable of learning what we consider very difficult.
@@elainepurdyyahu9493 What do you mean by "students who don't fit"? I believe that anyone can be taught if the teacher is willing to make the necessary effort.
I wasn't suppose to cry-I am so proud of our young minds today, there's hope for humanity and the future.❤
Hunnie , its ok to craaah . because i was fixin' to cry as well.
I cried to....I'm so proud of them and they're so humble. My heart!
These are the stories we need to hear more of in the daily news.
My only comment is I think that high school is just wonderful!!! It is great to see these girls get the encouragement needed to see them success!!
What blew my mind, of course, apart from these young girls archivement, is their high school has 💯/💯 graduation and college acceptance. Wow, right there is the model for America.
Yes, that was quite impressive.
All the girls and women shown here are an inspiration. Ive got to shout out the interviewe too, he did a wonderful job. He prioritised the perspectives of the interviewees, was respectful and its clear to see that he wanted them to feel comfortable. A stellar example of journalism
i can't stand interviews that show the interviewer's face in those fake questioning shots, as if that person is some intellectual giant on the topic at hand. much better to just listen to interviews like this one, rather than watch it.
_'A stellar example of journalism'_ He literally ignored the fact that this "story" is bogus.
love the environment they are cultivating here and protecting these children from the gaslighting of their achievements.
Beautiful story. I choked up when they said for 17 years the school has had 100% graduation rate, and 100% of the students were accepted to college.
You choked up? This was a touchstone moment for you. Dubious.
What a remarkable school. I went to Sacred Heart Girls' College in New Plymouth and was treated as a non starter. I've since learned that I have autism and adhd. I thrived at my previous primary school because our teachers believed in us. Words really do matter.
Starter Students weren't comfortable being around you or going along because you weren't a starter at that school? Can you tell us more about this. Very queer
these girls are as humble as they are intelligent
As a "Lost" Marine who has been looking since Vietnam for God I thank you, tonight at 75 I have been looking for man that speaks to me. I've meet two pastors like you, one they shunned out of his church because he wanted to preach to the "whole church" and not to the ones who thought they can dictate to minister because they have been a member a long time, and the others who wanted him to the wishes of the church board (you know what I mean) I use to hear him praying and crying to God for help. Unfortunately he passed away from the pressure his own congregation put on his for work. Thank You.
Higher math always eluded me but I'm intrigued by it even in my advanced 70 years. Anyone that really gets it will always have my admiration. That these 2 young ladies accomplished what was thought to be impossible for 2,000+ years is beyond awesome. I wish them all the success in their careers.
From a 68 year old white woman who was told that Girls are NOT suppose to like Math and Sciend, I salute you both. I don't care your colour, your upbringing, or anything. YOU GO GIRLES!!!!! We need more young ladies like yourself studing Math, Science and Engineering. From now on you will need to remember to turn around and offer your fellow ladies a hand up. It was 3 black women who helped put our men into space.
Very true!!
Thank You!!!
What does the color of your skin have to do with anything?
I appreciate this! But we do want people to see our color! It’s important that the world see us in the light that we are!
@@kanibist8330 because it wasn't just black woman and girl who were deemed not "smart enough" for higher math. ALL women were at one time and in some cases still are. These lovely young women are Black, not a problem with me, but I was just telling them that this old lady helped open the door to those ladies and they don't have to be just teachers, secretaries, and nurses now.
That $500 was something serious. This is some ancient Kemett technology. God bless them.
they're both so humble too, but they are absolutely math geniuses
When asked if they were math geniuses, they didn't give themselves that kind credit, but they're geniuses, smart and beautiful. So humbling. So proud of them🙌❤❤