Season 2 (2017)
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Episodes 27
When Pi is Not 3.14
You’ve always been told that pi is 3.14. This is true, but this number is based on how we measure distance. Find out what happens to pi when we change the way we measure distance.
Read MoreCan a Chess Piece Explain Markov Chains?
In this episode probability mathematics and chess collide. What is the average number of steps it would take before a randomly moving knight returned to its starting square?
Read MoreSingularities Explained
Mathematician Kelsey Houston-Edwards explains exactly what singularities are and how they exist right under our noses.
Read MoreKill the Mathematical Hydra
Mathematician Kelsey Houston-Edwards explains how to defeat a seemingly undefeatable monster using a rather unexpected mathematical proof. In this episode you’ll see mathematician vs monster, thought vs ferocity, cardinal vs ordinal. You won’t want to miss it.
Read MoreHow Infinity Explains the Finite
Peano arithmetic proves many theories in mathematics but does have its limits. In order to prove certain things you have to step beyond these axioms. Sometimes you need infinity.
Read MoreThe Mathematics of Quantum Computers
What is the math behind quantum computers? And why are quantum computers so amazing? Find out on this episode of Infinite Series.
Read MoreSplitting Rent with Triangles
You can find out how to fairly divide rent between three different people even when you don’t know the third person’s preferences! Find out how with Sperner’s Lemma.
Read MoreInfinite Chess
How long will it take to win a game of chess on an infinite chessboard?
Read More5 Unusual Proofs
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Proving Pick's Theorem
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What is a Random Walk?
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Solving the Wolverine Problem with Graph Coloring
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Can We Combine pi & e to Make a Rational Number?
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How to Break Cryptography
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Hacking at Quantum Speed with Shor's Algorithm
Classical computers struggle to crack modern encryption. But quantum computers using Shor’s Algorithm make short work of RSA cryptography. Find out how.
Read MoreBuilding an Infinite Bridge
Using the harmonic series we can build an infinitely long bridge. It takes a very long time though. A faster method was discovered in 2009.
Read MoreTopology Riddles
Can you turn your pants inside out without taking your feet off the ground?
Read MoreThe Devil's Staircase
Find out why Cantor’s Function is nicknamed the Devil’s Staircase.
Read MoreDissecting Hypercubes with Pascal's Triangle
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Pantographs and the Geometry of Complex Functions
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Voting Systems and the Condorcet Paradox
What is the best voting system? Voting seems relatively straightforward, yet four of the most widely used voting systems can produce four completely different winners.
Read MoreArrow's Impossibility Theorem
The bizarre Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem, or Arrow’s Paradox, shows a counterintuitive relationship between fair voting procedures and dictatorships.
Read MoreNetwork Mathematics and Rival Factions
The theory of social networks allows us to mathematically model and analyze the relationships between governments, organizations and even the rival factions warring on Game of Thrones.
Read MoreMaking Probability Mathematical
What happened when a gambler asked for help from a mathematician? The formal study of Probability
Read MoreWhy Computers are Bad at Algebra
The answer lies in the weirdness of floating-point numbers and the computer's perception of a number line.
Read MoreThe Honeycombs of 4-Dimensional Bees ft. Joe Hanson
Why is there a hexagonal structure in honeycombs? Why not squares? Or asymmetrical blobby shapes? In 36 B.C., the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro wrote about two of the leading theories of the day. First: bees have six legs, so they must obviously prefer six-sided shapes. But that charming piece of numerology did not fool the geometers of day. They provided a second theory: Hexagons are the most efficient shape. Bees use wax to build the honeycombs -- and producing that wax expends bee energy. The ideal honeycomb structure is one that minimizes the amount of wax needed, while maximizing storage -- and the hexagonal structure does this best.
Read MoreStochastic Supertasks
What happens when you try to empty an urn full of infinite balls? It turns out that whether the vase is empty or full at the end of an infinite amount of time depends on what order you try to empty it in. Check out what happens when randomness and the Ross-Littlewood Paradox collide.
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