Science360
Off the water grid Energy efficient and sustainable
This University of Miami residence hall may look typical, but students in one of the apartments are participating in research involving one of the planet's most precious commodities--water. With support from the National Science...
Curated Video
HARD Math Problem A 13 Year-Old Solved 1 Second! 2017 MathCounts Final Question
"In a barn, 100 chicks sit peacefully in a circle. Suddenly, each chick randomly pecks the chick immediately to its left or right. What is the expected number of unpecked chicks?" This question is from the 2017 Raytheon National...
Curated Video
How Logical Are You? The Irrationality Illusion Tricks Most
This video relates a cognitive bias ("irrational" decision) to an optical illusion (picture at 1:45). For more, check out my new book, "The Irrationality Illusion: How to Make Smart Decisions And Overcome Bias."...
Curated Video
Adults Are Arguing About This 3rd Grade Math Problem
"If Sue runs around the track twice, and John runs around the track four times more than Sue, how many times does John run around the track?" This problem was given to 3rd graders. A parent disagreed with the answer the teacher was...
Curated Video
9 - 3 ÷ 1/3 + 1 = ? The Correct Answer (Viral Problem In Japan)
What is 9 - 3 ÷ 1/3 + 1 = ? This problem went viral in Japan after a study found 60 percent of 20 somethings could get the correct answer, down from a rate of 90 percent in the 1980s. I explain a common mistake and how to get the correct...
Curated Video
Only 18% Of Mathematicians Solved This Tricky Problem
This puzzle went viral in the discrete mathematics community because so many people got it wrong! You roll a fair dice until you get a 6. What is the expected number of rolls, including the roll of 6, conditioned on the event that all...
Curated Video
The "Hot Hand" IS Real - Classic Fallacy Debunked
Probability and statistics rarely get this kind of attention. But this story is special. It’s about debunking a long-held statistics result that itself was about debunking sports lore. A 1985 study found that basketball players do not...
Curated Video
An Awesomely Evil Test Question And The Game Theory Answer
This test question went viral on Twitter and then got coverage in the Baltimore Sun and other mainstream media. But most of the coverage was wrong. This video explains the game theory answer. Blog post with a summary and more detailed...
Curated Video
Two Grade School Math Questions Stumping Adults Worldwide Right Now
Media outlets around the world are reporting on these math problems that have "flummoxed" everyone. As these got so much attention, I wanted to share some of the headlines and give a small discussion about what I think is the real lesson...
Curated Video
Why Group Texts Are Annoying - The Mathematical Reason
Group texts are like emails where each person does a "reply-all" to every message. This video considers organizing a dinner with N friends and compares sending individual texts to each person versus sending a group text. We show that...
Curated Video
Can You Solve This Crazy Equation? Ramanujan's Radical Brain Teaser
In 1911, Srinivasa Ramanujan posed this problem involving an infinite nested radical (a never-ending expression that has square roots inside of square roots). Can you figure out how to simplify the equation? The video presents an...
Curated Video
How To Split A Cake Fairly Using Math
How can 2 people split up a cake, knowing that each person wants to get a larger piece than the other? What about 3 people, or even N people? This is an example of a fair division problem from game theory. There are many cake-cutting...
Curated Video
How Many Triangles Are There? Learn The Formula For Any Size!
How many triangles are formed in a grid of equilateral triangles with N triangles in its base? The video shows a pattern in the case of n=4 and presents a formula for the general case. Blog post (text explanation): http://wp.me/p6aMk-4sO...
Curated Video
GENIUS TRICK - Convert Decimal Numbers To Binary (Base 2)
This video gives a method to convert decimal numbers to binary numbers quickly. This is a variation of the remainder system that is typically taught in courses. I like this method because it gives the answer in the correct order from...
Curated Video
"Only Geniuses Can Solve" The Viral 11x11 = 4 Puzzle. The Correct Answer Explained
If 11x11=4 and 22x22=16, what is 33x33=? This puzzle has been shared with the claim that only geniuses can solve it. It has gotten millions of views on the internet and Facebook as people have debated the correct answer. In this video I...