I commented on codeforces too but all the people started bashing me making fake accounts. It was eally disheartening for me. Anyway, since I did not have any right to speak on codeforces anymore I would like to clear some things here and expect the people here to be a bit open minded and think about this calmly.
Firstly, when I was in the camp, I was said that whatever I learn I am expected to share it with the world. Like, I learnt something there, apply my own thinking to it, come up with something new and then teach it to others so that they understand better. Someone asked me on codeforces,“Do you really think you can understand advanced stuff like FFT and peristent structures?” Well, guess what? I knew FFT before I went to the camp(But I did not know how to implement it) and I have solved two problems(One in May long[required persistent tries] and one in June long[required persistent segtree]) on persistent structures and I implemented it all by my own, I just had the very basic idea what persistence means. Also, I have solved SANDWICH from May long by Generalized Lucas theorem which I learned from a research paper that I googled. I also wrote an answer on quora about it(https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-good-implementations-of-the-general-Lucas’-theorem-in-C++)
As far as my result in INOI is concerned, I solved the first problem in 15 mins but I struggled with the second problem because I was not good at DP but does that really define my performance now? That time I could not do anything in DP, not even the standard problems but now, I have solved some codeforces C/D DP problems.
Moreover, as far as rating is concerned, look at my codechef rating and codeforces rating. My codechef rating is good because since May I have been doing well in codechef long, that means I am well versed with advanced topics but my codeforces rating has gone down recently because its my speed and accuracy that brings me down, I just need more practice to improve on that. If you really think that speed and accuracy of solving problems was more important than understanding the concepts in the camp then you’re are wrong! Speed and accuracy has nothing to do with what you gained from the camp if you don’t understand anything in the camp.
My comment on codeforces said “Maybe, I got selected because of my contribution”. I did not mean that they selected me because I contribute, I meant they selected me because my contribution proves that I am well-versed with the advanced concepts. To this came a reply stating: “This is quite the reason Indians are lagging behind in Competitive Programming! Had CodeChef given chance to a regular Candidate Master on CF who has 1 year left for participating in ICPC (yeah, that’s me) and others like me who didn’t got selected instead of just making fool of themselves, then the condition of Competitive Programming would have been much better in India.” I understood “FFT, DFT, persistent data structures and other advanced stuff that were being taught there”. And know this, I have 4 attempts in ICPC+1 attempt in IOI left till now and I will be a lot better than the person who commented when I will be in third year(I will work hard) and yeah, about Kevin’s lectures, many people didn’t get it, I just didn’t understand the last three lectures of kevin and the lecture on suffix trees. And also, since I didn’t understand, I did not spend any gala time, I left the lectures, went to some other instructor and asked him to clear some of my doubts and also some insights to some problems.
Bottomline is I learnt a lot in the camp and this has motivated me, and I will keep contributing and practicing. If you think codechef has made a bad decision by choosing any of us INOI non-qualifiers(Me, @mathecodician or Anupam) then just mail them and ask them for clarifications. Btw, mathecodician and me learnt a lot from each other, he will improve I know and anupam understood and attended each and every lecture without fail.
