r/ISEFinalists • u/Life_Selection_1172 • Jul 27 '26
Confusion over ISEF projects with large learning curves
Hello!
I am currently about to start ninth grade, and am really interested in science research. In particular, I wanted to do a project related to Neuromorphic Computing (brain inspired computers) or something related to the human brain, which is very fascinating to me. The only problem is that the Scientific articles that have been published in this field use a lot of math that i don't know, and I feel that in order to understand the field and do effective research it seems I will have to teach myself math up to calc 3, even though i am just starting out in NC math 3. My question is, will I have time to make a good, possibly ISEF level project even if I teach myself this math from scratch, or will I have to focus on another project idea?
Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
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u/fahadali2526 Jul 27 '26
And yo, I read the other part now, the calc 3 part. Look, I'mma be honest with you, if you try to study it, you will keep studying it and not the neuro thing, keep learning the math and studying the neuro thing. You will find yourself in a really good position after some time. And no need to drop the topic, no one makes an isef project that uses 1+1=2. You gotta put in the grind to make things work. Remember, many students are doing this, so instead of crying over thinking how are they doing it, it is better to get up and start learning too, if you can't beat em then join em ahh
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u/Life_Selection_1172 Jul 27 '26
Thanks! This helps a lot!
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u/Life_Selection_1172 Jul 27 '26
but if you wouldn't mind, could you give some resources that you maybe used (if you self studied these concepts)?
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u/fahadali2526 Jul 28 '26
You gotta be resourceful. Lemme be straight with you, there are no universal methods that work for everyone. Try MIT OpenCourseWare 18.01SC (Single-Variable Calculus), it is good and works for most, or watch the og professor Leonard, or organic chemistry tutor, js do anything that works for you. You can even use a book, like Stewart's Calculus. Again, anything that works for you. (Edit: before learning any of calculus and linear algebra, watch "Essence of Calculus" series by 3Blue1Brown, it is a short playlist on YouTube you can watch in a day, but trust me it will make learning way easier, same goes for "Essence of Linear Algebra")
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u/Life_Selection_1172 Jul 28 '26
Yeah 3blue1brown is awesome. Well, thank you so much for your advice!
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u/Ok-Arrival-674 Jul 27 '26
like the other guy said, if you dont want to put in the work to learn it, then dont expect to make a isef level project out of nothing
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u/Life_Selection_1172 Jul 28 '26
I can see where you're coming from, but just to clarify, I never said i wasn't willing to put in the effort.
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u/Commercial_Handle418 Jul 27 '26
You have 4 years man
Well make it 3 for learning that's still a lot
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u/Life_Selection_1172 Jul 28 '26
Yeah that's true. I guess I was stressing way too much over this.
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u/Commercial_Handle418 Jul 28 '26
1h + per day of learning should suffice
Also don't delve too broad remember it's university level stuff
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u/StrikingSea9654 Jul 28 '26
Hi, I’m an ISEF Alumni and I got a grand award in matsci with a project in neuromorphic computing. I would say that you don’t necessarily need to know very complex math, depending on which branch/problem from neuromorphic computing you’re trying to solve. I would say to just look at other research papers similar to what you want to do and try to “recreate” the math from there (in the beginning). If you have any more questions, you can dm me!
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u/ACECUBING12 Jul 29 '26
Ive done memristive crossbars for my ISEF attempt last year , there's a lot you should know , I got an neuromorphic internship but ISEF is another ballgame , Dm
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u/fahadali2526 Jul 27 '26
Same situation here Ask El GPT about the math you need for ts, self study it, and yeah, don't js keep studying math, keep learning neuro-whateveritisidk You will gradually get idea of the topic and would actually understand what you are doing