REMINDER and ADVICE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reminder: ~~~~~~~~~ The 68th Wm. L. Putnam Mathematical Competition Exam will take place this Sat. 1 Dec. 2007, 7:45 - 11 am. and 12:45 - 4 pm. At the Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley the exam will take place in Rm. 150 of the Goldman School of Public Policy at Hearst & Le Roy; enter from Le Roy at street level. The weather forecast for Saturday is cool and sunny. Contestants should have pre-registered for the exam, and must bring their student ID card or other picture ID and evidence of student status that can be checked before the exam begins. Would-be contestants who have registered after the pre-registration deadline can be seated only in place of pre-registrants who fail to show up for the exam in time; there have always been some of these. BRING NO BOOK, PAPER, COMPUTER, CALCULATOR NOR TELEPHONE. Any of these you do bring will have to be separated from you for the duration of the exam. Lots of scratch paper will be supplied, and also extra pens, pencils and erasers, as well as something to nibble and something to sip. Read more details on the Math. H90 Class web page especially .../Putnam07.pdf and .../PutnamRegs.pdf. Read the last item closely because it tells you what to expect and what will be expected of you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Such solutions as have been found by Mon. 3 Dec. will be taken up at the last meeting of Math. H90, 4 - 6 pm. Monday in 71 Evans. Advice: ~~~~~~~ By this time trying to study for the exam is futile. The best preparation now is to enjoy a movie or a concert, or to jog half a mile on Friday evening, to tire yourself out and fall asleep promptly in bed and then get a full night's sleep in time to awaken refreshed early enough on Saturday morning. Nervous apprehension is futile too, but you already know that. You should know too that you have little to lose. If you solve one problem in the morning and one in the afternoon you will be ahead of most contestants. Try to think of the exam not as an ordeal but as an adventure in mathematical exploration and an exercise in clear exposition. Think like a Viking! And then "Que sera sera." W. K.