2010

S10.E1 ∙ The Secret of Snakes and Ladders

Mon, Jan 27, 2020

Snakes and Ladders -- also called Chutes and Ladders in the US -- might look like a simple board game for kids, but it actually goes back thousands of years with deep, meaningful origins. And along the path of creating a morality-based game to help kids navigate the world around them, humans stumbled onto some pretty interesting math.

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S10.E2 ∙ The Number Illusion You Won't Believe

Tue, Feb 25, 2020

Sometimes math is so beautifully tricky, and presented in such a subtle way, that it's virtually indistinguishable from magic. Welcome to The Kruskal Count.

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S10.E3 ∙ The Easiest Problem Everyone Gets Wrong

Sun, Mar 08, 2020

We know how difficult the Monty Hall Problem is for so many people even after they're shown all the math behind the best possible strategy. It's basic probability, but it's deceptive -- and it all started with the Bertrand's Box Paradox.

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S10.E4 ∙ Can Learning Make You Dumb? Yes.

Mon, Apr 06, 2020

I'm an idiot -- and you should be, too. Sometimes.

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S10.E5 ∙ The Game You Can't Win

Mon, May 11, 2020

John Conway's work stretched from nearly-inaccessible math theory to fun children's games, and it defined how we thought about recreational mathematics in the 20th century. Conway's Soldiers is the perfect example of a Conway-esque math game: the rules are simple, the gameplay is easy, and it becomes very hard very quickly... and in this case of a basic checkers game, it packs a surprising punch of becoming literally impossible for a reason that isn't even close to obvious.

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S10.E6 ∙ The Problem Newton Got Wrong

Mon, May 25, 2020

Isaac Newton was right about everything from gravity to the calculus, but he didn't quite get it right on dice and probability.

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S10.E7 ∙ You Don't Know Time

Mon, Jul 13, 2020

It seems easy to know things. The basics of epistemology haven't changed much since Plato's time, and we navigate every minute of our lives using a system of justified true belief. If we're justified in thinking something, that thing is true, and we believe it, then it's knowledge.

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S10.E8 ∙ The Hopeless Game You Need To Play

Mon, Sep 28, 2020

Nothing seems easier, clearer, and more obvious than choosing who to vote for. We've done it for thousands of years across cultures ranging from Ancient Greek city-states to tribal democracies in the Americas. And now that we're about to elect a President of YouTube, it's time to look at how complex seemingly-simple decision theory can really be.

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S10.E9 ∙ Your Life Is 7 Objects

Mon, Oct 12, 2020

You can read Hawking's "A Brief History of Time." You can study classical literature. You can read religious texts that detail how we got here and what we're supposed to do now... or you can gather up a bunch of junk from your bedroom and use it to unpack the majesty of the human experience.

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S10.E10 ∙ The Game Of Lies

Mon, Oct 26, 2020

Your mind is efficient and amazing. It also conspires to ruin your life almost every time you encounter new information. You're lying to yourself, and you can't help it.

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S10.E11 ∙ The Auction Problem

Mon, Nov 23, 2020

The next time you buy a retro game or old t-shirt in an online auction, thank William Vickrey's 1961 paper, "Counterspeculation, Auctions, and Competitive Sealed Tenders" -- because the simple auction style we take for granted today is actually filled with nuance and complexity.

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S10.E12 ∙ The Stolen Money Game (Pascal's Mugging)

Mon, Nov 30, 2020

A money game exists in which the potential payoff from being robbed makes perfect mathematical sense.. but I won't play it. Will you?

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S10.E13 ∙ Surviving The Deadliest 2-Player Game

Sun, Dec 20, 2020

We know from "Surviving the Deadliest Game" that there's no more dangerous game than Russian Roulette. And is there any game stupider than a duel in which two people stand there and shoot at each other? No -- so what happens when you combine them?

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