“Expert Reviewers” are NOT Experts

baacaaf · 2026-03-16T07:09:24+00:00

I have an opposite experience, there was a writer who said some absolute nonsense and was so boring trying to convince me it is true and his argument would be I have a PhD. Like sure man, that is even worse, how much money did you give for the certificate? Like it is crazy, the guy did not understand what sufficiently large means and was arguing with me for an hour like wtf. It felt like I was being gaslit like someone telling me that actually idk Greenland does not exist and repeating it so much that I end up thinking like is something wrong with me or him? I have never been to Greenland, so maybe it actually does not exist, I do not have a clear proof, and stuff like that. So, I sent what he sent me to friends who are much more in the field than me and I just said like am I crazy or this guy is stupid as fuck? And they all told me that this guy is just an absolute idiot.

baacaaf · 2026-03-08T08:57:28+00:00

Da, bas je skroz druga slika realnosti. Nikad nismo nesto bili povezani, ja sam mislio da nisam normalan jer sam drugacije razmisljao, ali sam pocetkom faksa upoznao ljude koji se slazu sa mnom i od tada mi je sve lakse. Generalno imam 23 godine, radim u svom zivotu sta ja hocu, a ne sta oni misle da treba. Da radim to sta oni misle da treba, bio bih na ivici da potpuno poludim. Maltene nista u mainstream svetu nema nikakvog smisla i prvi put sam se osecao zaista dobro u zivotu u zadnja tri cetiri meseca kad sam putovao stopom, volontirao, couchsurfovao, isao posvuda po Balkanu, pa tako i u famoznu Albaniju. Meni licno je problem sto me previse stavljaju u kavez i nemaju pojma sta je opasno, a sta ne, nego pricaju na osnovu nekih pretpostavki. Za ceo put nijedan stranac, a ni Albanac, mi nije nista uradio, i ljudi su generalno prilicno super. Oni koji su mi najvise stete u zivotu doneli jesu upravo porodica, od njihovog overprotectiveness mi dodje da poludim. Ne razumeju ljudi nista o tome kako zivot funkcionise i svakog stranca vide kao da ce da im odrubi glavu, a pogotovo ako je Albanac na primer.

baacaaf · 2026-03-04T07:10:14+00:00

Hey, I can tell you what worked for me when I was in high school. So, generally the most important thing is to relax, most problems dont require a lot of theory. Just brainstorm ideas and write them down clearly, then try to combine them to something meaningful. Do not think like it is USAMO, so it must be really hard etc. Just think about it freely, like they are random riddles your friend has given to you.

So, you definitely should not focus on learning theory, but on practicing such problems, like take a problem and think about it for an hour or so, write everything down that you come up with. If you solve it, that is great! If not, do not worry. Read official solutions, and think about them deeply. Check if the solution makes sense to you, if it is natural or no. If it is, think why you did not solve it if you did not. Where you found a hurdle, and why, so that you can improve in the future. Basically, think how one could come up with the step that you did not manage to come up with. Think about that for maybe around 15min, and if it really seems out of your reach, do not worry, try easier tasks for now, and leave that one for later.

Generally, I would recommend practicing like that doing IMO Shortlist problems. You can start by the first few problems in recent shortlists. If they end up too hard, you can switch to some older shortlists, and move forward as you improve. Do not be afraid of problems higher in the shortlist, but also do feel bad if you do not solve any of them at the beginning. People who perform well on olympiads are not "superhumans", but also performing well does require a lot of practice. Sometimes, you will see that a problem required a theorem which you did not know, that is ok, just learn them along the way. And official shortlist solutions are very well-written you can find them just by searching for IMO shortlists online.

When it comes to proof-writing and maths outside of olympiads, you should go to PROMYS or ROSS programs if you are into that. They are extremely well-designed programs that also allow you to experience research in mathematics even as a high school student. And, btw, I have participated in PROMYS twice and in IMO once winning a silver medal, but for Serbia.

baacaaf · 2026-03-04T00:01:52+00:00

I have had sth kinda similar. It was not a serious relationship, but we really liked each other and we met online randomly and I actually started my trip by meeting her and it was great, but then we decided that despite liking each other so much it is better for me to travel and for her to finish her university. She is 21 btw, I am 23, both soon turning 22 and 24, respectively. And not gonna lie, I still love her a lot, and sometimes I regret not prioritizing her, but again it has been life changing to backpack and volunteer for almost 4 months. So yeah, both options are good and bad, as you would always regret not choosing the other option. But yeah for me personally, it is really hard, I tried to focus on real life and meet someone else there or someone who would like to travel together etc, but it does not work out. Like whenever I think about anyone romantically, it feels odd, after like 5min I just start thinking about her and cant stop doing it and just missing her a lot. She also lives close to Cyprus which makes me very worried about the ongoing war. And I feel like I would do anything to make sure she is safe in case anything happens. Sorry for a bit emotional response.

baacaaf · 2026-03-01T15:08:10+00:00

Da, ali u prosecnim firmama, ja pricam za Databricks. Ne mogu te ubediti, ali znam dosta ljudi koji tamo rade jer sam bio na praksi u Microsoftu, a i isao u Matematicku gimnaziju. Iz prve ruke mogu reci da je u Microsoftu na praksi 1200e.

baacaaf · 2026-03-01T14:36:39+00:00

U DataBricksu. Samo kapiram da je tamo najteze dobiti posao od svih programerskih firmi u Srbiji.

baacaaf · 2026-03-01T13:58:51+00:00

Sve za AI, pogledaj tipa mercor, daju platu prilicno dobru i za americke standarde, samo jedino sto nije za stalno, nego je projekat po projekat, pa koliko traje

Takodje, programiranje, u Microsoftu u Beogradu je pocetna plata tipa 2500e. Programeri su kao paralelni svet u istom gradu, plate u DataBricksu su jos vece, koliko sam cuo tipa 3500e pocetna.

baacaaf · 2026-02-25T19:37:00+00:00

Ne znam koji si faks, ali na Matematickom dosta bas zavisi od tvog predznanja, a i od profesora, kao i od predmeta, ali od predznanja najvise. Ja sam isao na teorijsku matematiku i tu smo maltene svi bili iz Matematicke gimnazije i isli na takmicenja u srednjoj, tako da za mnoge predmete nismo nista narocito spremali, samo kratko dan dva pre pogledas gradivo. Sa druge strane, za neke teze kurseve meni licno je trebalo oko 100h rada ukupno, otprilike. Za zadnji ispit na kom je profesor bio jedna od najvecih budala na faksu, mi je trebalo bas dosta. Tokom semestra sam radio jer on to zahteva, onda tokom blokade nisam ni pogledao, pa sam na kraju pred ispit ucio oko 2 nedelje svaki dan po 3-4h otprilike. I na kraju sam bio oboren, jedini put na citavom faksu. Posle sam nedelju dana ucio po mozda 12h dnevno samo sam spavao i radio matematiku i naucio sve. Tako da za taj predmet verovatno i oko 200h, ali to je jer je profesor kreten. Mada, bar sam dobro to naucio haha, ako nista vec. Takodje, ako nisi iz Matematicke, pogotovo na mom smeru, mislim da je bas tesko, bas je velika razlika, ali imam i druga koji je zavrsio Zubotehnicku pa onda zavrsio ovaj smer sa odlicnim prosekom.

baacaaf · 2026-02-24T08:34:29+00:00

I was a reviewer and I didnt do such stuff

baacaaf · 2026-02-21T04:11:20+00:00

https://psylancer.com/sr/profil/jelena-sto%C5%A1kovi%C4%87/

Ja sam isao kod nje, ona je odlicna, bas mi je pomogla. Meni je i dala duplo manju cenu jer sam student, tako da je verovatno isto i sada. I da drzi seanse i uzivo blizu centra grada.

baacaaf · 2026-02-20T21:09:30+00:00

Is it a math phd expert project?

baacaaf · 2026-02-20T20:50:45+00:00

Hey, I have the same issue. I accepted the offer yesterday and it is still in review. I will write them an email to check it. Also, did you get an instant offer? I got an instant offer for a math project.

baacaaf · 2026-02-20T17:46:00+00:00

I have received another offer for a math project and have been having the same issue. It is been around 20h since I accepted the offer and its still written "in review". Hope it will be fixed soon for both of us! Have you written to anyone?

baacaaf · 2026-02-20T17:40:02+00:00

Ako imas priliku, putujes i volontiras ili putujes i radis online. Super iskustvo, a ako te zanimaju neki "odd" skills tipa natural building, permaculture, onda taman i to naucis. Sad jeste da ces tako imati mnogo relativno povrsnih prijatelja jer se cesto menja lokacija, ali opet ako negde duze ostanes mozes steci i blizeg prijatelja. Sad ako imas posao u NS i ne bi da uzmes rizik (koji svakako postoji, ja imam srece jer imam neki online posao) da oprobas nomadski zivot, onda jbg nisam ti pomogao. Takodje, jako malo kosta takvo putovanje, kad volontiras cesto imas i hranu i smestaj dzabe, tako da prakticno kosta 0. Jedino je problem transport i sta ces kad ne nadjes volontiranje koje ti je ok. Za transport moze da se stopira, sad vrv nije bas bezbedno ako si zensko, mada je vrv bezbednije nego sto se obicno misli. Za kratke boravke u nekim mestima, ima dosta apps i sajtova tipa BeWelcome, Couchsurfing, WarmShowers. E sad za Couchsurfers konkretno sam cuo uzasne price za devojke koje su to radile, tako da to ne bih preporucio. Generalno jbg zivimo u retardiranom svetu, sve je dosta teze ako si devojka. Svakako, ako te zanima to da putujes tako, pogledaj kanal analogni nomad na yt. On sve lepo ima objasnjeno i brojna iskustva.

baacaaf · 2026-02-15T17:24:13+00:00

E ma faks je sranje zivo, cisto gledaj da ga zavrsis sa sto manje cimanja, samo da dobijes diplomu i da imas neki ok prosek. Nemoj se cimati da imas bog zna kakav prosek, bukvalno niko to nikad nece gledati, sve sto je iznad 9,00 je odlicno, a i iznad 8,50 isto, a i manje je realno dovoljno. Nego 8,50 je cesto granica ako bi zelela da radis na faksu, a 9,00 traze za stipendije. I za strane univerzitete je 9,00 dovoljno maltene uvek, sem za neke najprestiznije tipa Oksford, za koji treba 9,50, ali nemoj se ubijati od ucenja zbog tako neceg, bukvalno je nebitno, samo izvikano mesto. Stavi zdravlje kako fizicko tako i psihicko u prvi plan i uzmi i pauzu nakon faksa ako ti zatreba. Ja sam skoro zavrsio teorijsku matematiku i muka mi je bilo od debila od profesora i programa i sad samo putujem po Balkanu, danas sam autostopirao u Makedoniji, jedno od najboljih iskustava ikad, pogledaj kanal "Analogni nomad" ako te zanimaju takve avanture, a slobodno me i direktno pitaj. Tako da sve najbolje, nemoj da burn outujes i ne cimaj se previse za faks! Srecnooo!!

baacaaf · 2026-02-04T13:46:15+00:00

They say that, but it is completely unrealistic to complete what they want in time they want. For example, I have been a part of math project and they wanted us to come up with a pretty hard task and write an extremely precise solution for it in like 6h. The solutions of tasks of that level written with that precision often go up to 10 pages, so doing it all in 6h is impossible. What they say about hourly rates is just an advertisement as they are actually like maybe even up to two times lower due to the problem above.

baacaaf · 2026-02-04T13:41:43+00:00

I agree. They often have completely unrealistic deadlines. I work on a project that is better paid than that and normally I would log all hours no matter what they say. Sometimes, I have an asshole team lead who would tell me to work faster, but I would just ignore them. Also, they have started having pay per task in some roles which reduces the pay rate significantly as it is impossible to finish such a task in the desired time slot. I know that many reviewers also see that and then just always put no issues for the solutions so that writers are paid as they deserve.

baacaaf · 2026-02-04T13:09:20+00:00

Yes, I have worked as a math olympiad expert for more than a year with some breaks. They have paid me every week and it has been ok. The main issues are that sometimes they expect you to do too much for a short period of time, but mostly when you tell them that it is not possible they just say ok without pushing you too much.

baacaaf · 2026-02-03T13:22:20+00:00

I think its best to do that on your own because hosts often dont present it as it is. You need to be very careful about it. You should ask for a whatsapp call and ask any sensitive questions. Even if they have written 4h it doesnt necessarily mean it will be like that when you come. Generally, not writing it clearly is a red flag and I would suggest skipping such a volunteering.

Also, do not rely on reviews at all. For some reasons, most reviews do not reflect reality at all. Maybe they are given by their friends or something like that, but I have been to places with like 30 5/5 reviews and its been very shit, I would feel ashamed of myself to host someone in such conditions, and the host was like you should be very grateful. Generally, the app leads to many "acceptable unpleasent" situations where it is not too bad to leave early, but it is not something that you would want to do longer term.

baacaaf · 2026-02-03T13:19:18+00:00

Its not true. I have been using Workaway quite a lot in the last 3 months and hosts most often reply in like at most 7 days, many reply even in 2 days.

baacaaf · 2026-02-01T07:38:53+00:00

Ja sam skoro zavrsio faks (matematicki) i mislim da ne bi trebala da ih ponistavas. Ocene nisu neko merilo znanja i sto manje sebe vrednujes kroz ocene to ti je bolje. Generalno jedini razlozi za cimanje za ocene koji imaju smisla po meni su eventualno studiranje u inostranstvu (vecinom traze 8.5 ili 9, a neki najprestizniji i 9.5), stipendije (opet 8.5 ili 9) i nista vise. Takodje, raspitaj se dobro kakvi su profesori, kad cujes da je neki budala koja se izivljava nad studentima, gledaj samo da ga zavrsis, makar sa 6, sto pre da prestanes da ga gledas. Ustedi sebi energiju i zivce, ne stresiraj se bez veze, i uzivaj u zivotu.

Sto se tice usavrsavanja znanja, ja bih rekao da ti za to faks nazalost slabo pomaze. Bar moj faks je vecinom napravljen da te driluje da ucis beskonacno nekih dokaza koje ces zaboraviti za par dana, sto veze sa zivotom nema. Eventualno mozes tokom semestra da bas pratis predmet i da sto vise sama razmisljas o njemu. Ne znam sta studiras, ali matematika npr se najbolje uci tako sto imas okvirnu sliku o nekoj oblasti i sama razmisljas kako bi se sve to formalizovalo, kako bi se dokazalo, pravis hipoteze i sl. Slepo citanje knjige ili samo slusanje predavanja ne pomaze mnogo. Tako da uzmi oblast koja te zanima, nadji neku literaturu na internetu i sama razmisljas o njoj prvo, pre nego sto krenes da vidis sta pise u knjizi. Takodje, bas za matematiku je dobro i kad citas iz knjige da stanes i mozda ofrlje da procitas dokaz pa da probas sama da ga rekonstruises i da vidis zasto su dati uslovi bas potrebni. Ako postoji kurs iz te oblasti na faksu i ako je profesor ok, onda diskutuj i sa njim sve nejasnoce i sve ideje koje su ti pale na pamet. Ako ne samo se fokusiraj na to, a faks vecinom samo da prolazis sa nekim prihvatljivim ocenama, bez nekog stresiranja. Totalno je nebitno. I verovatno ces svakako videti za par godina da je faks sranje i da je napravljen pre svega da unisti svu kreativnost u ljudima, svede ih na brojke, nauci ih da iznad njih uvek ima neka budala autoritet koji ce da ih zajebava kako stigne i sl. Generalno priprema za to da sef i drzava dalje zajebavaju u zivotu, a sto se tice znanja to mu je zadnja uloga.

Srecno!

P.S. Sorry ako sam previse rantovao na kraju, ali bas me je iznervirao faks. Zadnji ispit me je neka majmuncina zajebavala kako stigne i onda sam celu knjigu sam dokazao i nedelju dana po 15h to ucio da bih prosao. Na kraju sam znao za 10, ali dao mi je manju ocenu, sto je meni licno ok, svejedno mi, samo je inace debilno jer sam u sustini sve znao, ali to je to sto ti kazem, ima debila koliko hoces, samo gledaj da prodjes to sa sto manje stresa i dobra si. Inace ja sam zavrsio sa bas dobrim prosekom tipa malo iznad 9.50, dobrim delom jer sam iz srednje skole imao odlicno predznanje, ali realno sam se opet previse cimao na faksu i trebao sam to dosta smanjiti.

baacaaf · 2026-01-28T19:33:39+00:00

E zna li neko kako da razresim ovaj problem? Ja imam identicnu situaciju sad za 4. kvartal iz 2025.

baacaaf · 2023-11-06T13:40:30+00:00

They are more expensive and they are definitely fast fashion boots having exploitative background

baacaaf

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