An historical overview of the influence of technology on mathematical competitions

Abstract

We provide an historical overview of how advances in technology influenced high school and university mathematical competitions in the United States and at the International Mathematical Olympiad. While students are not allowed the usage of technological aids during mathematical competitions, the developments in technology (especially graphing technology) throughout the past century and the increasing employment of such aids in the classroom have affected both the nature of the proposed problems and their expected solutions. We examine several interesting examples from competitions going back several decades.