Can you solve the three gods riddle? - Alex Gendler
AdultsCreativityMathProblem-SolvingYou and your team have crash-landed on an ancient planet. Can you appease the three alien overlords who rule it and get your team safely home? Created by logician Raymond Smullyan, and popularized by his colleague George Boolos, this riddle has been called the hardest logic puzzle ever. Alex Gendler shows how to solve it.
Can you solve the virus riddle? - Lisa Winer
AdultsCreativityMathHealth...Your research team has found a prehistoric virus preserved in the permafrost and isolated it for study. After a late night working, you're just closing up the lab when a sudden earthquake hits and breaks all the sample vials. Will you be able to destroy the virus before the vents open and unleash a deadly airborne plague? Lisa Winer shows how.
Why do people get so anxious about math? - Orly Rubinsten
AdultsMathPsychologyEducation...Have you ever sat down to take a math test and immediately felt your heart beat faster and your palms start to sweat? This is called math anxiety, and if it happens to you, you're not alone: Researchers think about 20 percent of the population suffers from it. So what's going on? And can it be fixed? Orly Rubinsten explores the current research and suggests ways to increase math performance.
How the Meter Became the Meter
AdultsHistoryMathScienceThe meter is the world's ultimate measure, but how did it become "the" meter? What is this measurement based on? The story of this revolution in measurement traces its roots to the French Revolution. Scientists decided that an equal and united people should have equal and united measures. So they sent a pair of young astronomers out to measure the world, and invent the meter. Little did they know they'd find nothing but war, deception, and strife along the way. As a result of this ill-fated mission, the meter carries an error that still persists today. Still think the metric system is so perfect?
Why do airlines sell too many tickets?
AdultsEconomyMathTransportation...Have you ever sat in a doctor's office for hours, despite having an appointment?
Can you solve the counterfeit coin riddle?
AdultsCreativityMathProblem-SolvingYou're the realm's greatest mathematician, but ever since you criticized the Emperor's tax laws, you've been locked in the dungeon.
Should You Trust Your Gut Instinct?
AdultsMathPsychologyMental HealthCan you trust your gut feelings?
Can you solve the passcode riddle? - Ganesh Pai
AdultsCreativityMathGaming...In a dystopian world, your resistance group is humanity's last hope. Unfortunately, you've all been captured by the tyrannical rulers and brought to the ancient coliseum for their deadly entertainment.
This Number is Illegal
AdultsCybersecurityMathTechnology85650789657397829 + 1402 more digits is an illegal number. To understand why this is, we need to learn a little bit of cryptology, a little bit of math, and a little bit of programming.
What is Random?
AdultsInternet CultureMathPhilosophy...Is the future of the universe already determined?
How To Count Past Infinity
AdultsMathSciencePhilosophyI'm very grateful to mathematician Hugh Woodin, Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at Harvard, for taking the time on multiple occasions to discuss this topic with me and help me wrap my (finite) head around it.
Can you solve the locker riddle? - Lisa Winer
AdultsCreativityMathFunYour rich, eccentric uncle just passed away, and you and your 99 nasty relatives have been invited to the reading of his will. He wanted to leave all of his money to you, but he knew that if he did, your relatives would pester you forever. Can you solve the riddle he left for you and get the inheritance? Lisa Winer shows how.
Can you solve "Einstein's Riddle"? - Dan Van der Vieren
AdultsCreativityMathBefore he turned physics upside down, a young Albert Einstein supposedly showed off his genius by devising a complex riddle involving a stolen exotic fish and a long list of suspects. Can you resist tackling a brain teaser written by one of the smartest people in history? Dan Van der Vieren shows how.