[HN Gopher] A layman's guide to recreational mathematics videos
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       A layman's guide to recreational mathematics videos
        
       Author : MajesticFrogBoy
       Score  : 269 points
       Date   : 2021-08-31 23:15 UTC (10 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (samenright.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (samenright.com)
        
       | panic wrote:
       | Henry Segerman has some mind-bending videos:
       | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4zzTEL5tuIgGMvzjk1Ozbg
        
       | zerop wrote:
       | Any suggestions for YouTube channel for videos on maths for
       | kids..
        
         | arooaroo wrote:
         | +1 I'm keen on finding engaging maths content for my 8yo.
        
       | GrigoriyMikh wrote:
       | Channel of Robert Ghrist is very overlooked one:
       | https://www.youtube.com/c/ProfGhristMath. He does whole courses
       | with awesome animations. He also has single variable calculus
       | course on Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/learn/discrete-
       | calculus.
        
       | swayson wrote:
       | Great list! I'd just add one complementary platform to the fun.
       | brilliant.org, the way they approach math puzzles is stimulating
       | and has been great to enhance understanding. You need to
       | subscribe, but if you actually use it I think it is priceless.
       | 
       | Note: this is my personal recommendation, I don't benefit from
       | promoting brilliant, just thought others might share a similar
       | learning style.
        
         | ketralnis wrote:
         | If you watch any of these you'd find it hard to have not heard
         | of them :-p
        
       | nxpnsv wrote:
       | There are several good recommendations, I think Michael Penn's
       | channel is really nice, I enjoy the no nonsense blackboard
       | approach to math.
        
       | abraxas wrote:
       | I think Nancy Pi deserves a spot on the solver list? Her channel
       | has some of the best videos in that category for beginners.
        
         | guiambros wrote:
         | Seconded. I needed a refresher on the derivation and the chain
         | rule a while ago, and her content was perfect.
         | 
         | NancyPi channel here:
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRGXV1QlxZ8aucmE45tRx8w
        
       | tkojames wrote:
       | I hated math growing up.. I thought I was stupid and just didn't
       | not get what was taught to me.. I went into the liberal arts..
       | now I am dev and I love math now.. I am trying to learn so much.
       | I struggled with basic algebra my whole life.. but the older I
       | get the more I love math. Thank you!! Just reading this and
       | follow someone videos my understanding is so much better thank
       | you.
        
       | digianarchist wrote:
       | Maybe I'm so far behind on my maths education (stopped at 18
       | after UK A Level) but I found a lot of 3Blue1Brown's videos hard
       | to understand. It's possible that he has prerequisites I never
       | watched. YouTube is bad at discovery.
        
         | xmprt wrote:
         | A lot of math videos aren't meant to be understood on first
         | watch. If you're really trying to learn, you'll need to pause
         | and think about what he's saying and really internalize it.
         | Take it at your own pace. And also rewatch the video to see if
         | there's any insights you missed on your first watch.
         | 
         | So don't be discouraged if you need to pause often or take a
         | long time to finish the video. The rewards are worth it.
        
         | tkzed49 wrote:
         | I agree about these videos not always being designed to get you
         | to a complete understanding just by watching through the
         | series.
         | 
         | For example, the 3b1b linear algebra series is great but I
         | couldn't have used it to become proficient at _doing_ linear
         | algebra. Even having taken a linear algebra class, I got more
         | out of that series as a supplement to actually working out math
         | problems on paper than as a primary source--and I definitely
         | think that's what's intended.
        
         | opheliate wrote:
         | If it helps, I'm currently studying maths at university, and
         | I've never found them very helpful for my understanding
         | personally. Grant uses a lot of geometric/visual analogy and
         | intuition which just isn't how I think about problems. I think
         | his videos are great, but they're not for me.
        
       | SV_BubbleTime wrote:
       | I saw a YouTube video today from a "mathematician" that was
       | sketchy from the first 3 seconds. I didn't really think that
       | "ancient knowledge" and numerology types were still pushing their
       | garbage.
       | 
       | Your eyes aren't open if you aren't seeing the problem
       | immediately.
       | 
       | So... complete trash, but fun in a that this guy is totally
       | serious and that's insane way.
       | 
       | Be warned, may not be safe for life. But may be useful in a Rick
       | Rolling way. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GDQCsFBI-24
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | hoten wrote:
       | Tibees has a very approachable explainer on the maths found on
       | ancient Babylonian clay tablets: https://youtu.be/rRDYP95lhjc
        
       | max-ibel wrote:
       | Eddie Woo has good high school content
       | 
       | https://youtube.com/c/misterwootube
       | 
       | Would have loved to have him as math teacher
        
         | tsjq wrote:
         | Came here to post this. Eddie Woo is fantastic math channel.
        
         | jonahx wrote:
         | I'd just add that while he's a high-school teacher, much of the
         | content would be equally applicable to undergrads or to anyone
         | wanting to brush up on subjects like calculus and trigonometry.
        
           | max-ibel wrote:
           | You're not wrong.
        
       | mkaic wrote:
       | Was disappointed to see the lack of ViHart, but other than that,
       | fantastic list!
        
         | ink_13 wrote:
         | Vi seems to have mostly-retired from YouTube, alas, but her
         | excellent back catalogue is still with us.
        
           | gmiller123456 wrote:
           | "Infinite Series" is officially discontinued and still made
           | the list. Vi still occasionally posts something.
        
         | emmelaich wrote:
         | Same!
         | 
         | URL for reference: https://www.youtube.com/user/vihart
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | hellbannedguy wrote:
       | Can anyone explain 196884=196883+1 That Moonshine equation. A
       | layperson's explanation if possible? Thanks in advance.
        
         | dvt wrote:
         | This[1] is a very good explanation.
         | 
         | [1] https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-amazing-coincidences-
         | in-...
        
       | alberto_ol wrote:
       | can someone suggest good videos about information theory?
        
         | adamisntdead wrote:
         | I'm a big fan of this video from Reducible on Huffman codes:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3y0RsVCyrw, and from
         | 3Blue1Brown on Hamming codes:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8jsijhllIA
        
           | alberto_ol wrote:
           | Thanks. To be more specific, i'm interested in learning
           | Shannon's information theory from scratch. So far I know just
           | the definition of entropy.
        
             | tlb wrote:
             | Shannon's book, The Mathematical Theory of Communication,
             | is approachable with the mathematical background of first-
             | year college calculus. I don't think it requires any more
             | math than is essential to understand the topic.
        
       | ducaale wrote:
       | I would add to the list two more channels that were recommended
       | by 3Blue1Brown:
       | 
       | - Welch labs https://youtube.com/c/WelchLabsVideo
       | 
       | - Think twice https://youtube.com/c/ThinkTwiceLtu
        
       | ravi-delia wrote:
       | Jan Misali is incredible, and 'There are 48 Regular Polyhedra' is
       | an absolute fever dream. The idea of a conlang channel making
       | this fantastically in depth video, complete with animation and
       | weird monotone musical transitions, is just so funny to me.
        
         | scubbo wrote:
         | That was lovely, thank you!
        
       | adamisntdead wrote:
       | If we're talking about Fun maths, there's a couple of really good
       | channels that look at Olympiad problems.
       | 
       | - vEnhance (https://www.youtube.com/c/vEnhance), an MIT student
       | and IMO Gold Medalist who solved problems live on stream (and
       | plays various games)
       | 
       | - Osman Nal (https://www.youtube.com/c/OsmanNal), looking at
       | problems ranging from AMC/AIME to IMO 3/6s
       | 
       | - Michael Greenberg
       | (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3mhbGC7kQgzkXT9fceNOwA), a
       | geometry enthusiast who also live solves problems, though the
       | production quality isn't amazing
       | 
       | And of course, Michael Penn (but that's in the post above)!
        
       | js290 wrote:
       | Redesigning Civilization -- with Permaculture - Education
       | http://bit.ly/1nVx30R
        
       | dlundqvist wrote:
       | I find Insights into Mathematics
       | (https://youtube.com/c/njwildberger) interesting and thought
       | provoking. Even though many subjects are well beyond me, I
       | appreciate the way subjects are dissected and explained. Note
       | though, AFAIU the channel mainly deals with pure mathematics, not
       | always relevant for applied mathematics.
        
         | qsort wrote:
         | Just a caveat: Wildberger subscribes to a strict, non-
         | mainstream view that rejects the existence of infinite objects.
         | His exposition is fantastic, and as you say the content is
         | definitely thought provoking if you have enough mathematical
         | sophistication to (at least superficially) understand what he's
         | about, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody who hasn't taken
         | a traditional real analysis course.
        
           | dlundqvist wrote:
           | Yes, should have mentioned that. It's not always clear, even
           | though he rarely fails to mention it :)
           | 
           | Thanks for clarifying.
        
       | callen43 wrote:
       | Mathologer has the greatest collection of Math/Nerd-T-Shirts out
       | there!
       | 
       | Check any of his videos :)
       | https://www.youtube.com/c/Mathologer/videos
        
       | CalChris wrote:
       | I'm surprised Socratica didn't merit a mention.
       | 
       | https://www.socratica.com/
        
         | jacobolus wrote:
         | This one is very strange, at least the abstract algebra videos
         | (the only one I glanced at): It's a hired actress with no
         | apparent math background reading a script she's never seen
         | before, but the script is the shortened summary of a very dry
         | abstract algebra textbook. I don't really see the point vs.
         | just reading the book yourself.
         | 
         | Their "about" page has testimonials from the "Great Thinkers"
         | Isaac Newton, Hermione Granger, and The Sun.
        
           | erklik wrote:
           | > It's a hired actress
           | 
           | Maybe that's it? Learning Maths from a conventionally
           | attractive person has got to have an effect on how much you
           | learn.
           | 
           | I wonder if this is something that's been researched before?
        
       | BoppreH wrote:
       | I'm also a big fan of Freya Holmer. She's the author of one of my
       | favorite VR games, Budget Cuts, and her Youtube channel has
       | videos on game development math and shaders
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7M-Wz4zK8oikt6ATcoTwBA
       | 
       | Her latest video is on Bezier Curves, using beautiful imagery
       | from her Unity plugin Shapes:
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVwxzDHniEw
        
       | samasblack wrote:
       | Richard Borcherds, a Fields medalist, has been putting out great
       | math content on YouTube for the past year and a half
       | (https://youtube.com/channel/UCIyDqfi_cbkp-RU20aBF-MQ). He even
       | has lecture courses on a variety of undergraduate and graduate
       | classes.
        
         | hnrj95 wrote:
         | his sense of humor is impeccable, too
        
       | callen43 wrote:
       | (German speaking readers)
       | 
       | Edmund Weitz's youtube channel is also great!
       | 
       | Check his christmas videos for example:
       | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjTfChr0yyz4iZq0x12Q6xA/vid...
        
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       (page generated 2021-09-01 10:01 UTC)