Videos

In 1960, American composer John Cage went on national television to share his latest work. But rather than employing traditional instruments, Cage appeared surrounded by household clutter, including a bathtub, ice cubes, a toy fish, a pressure cooker, a rubber duck, and several radios. Armed with these tools and a stopwatch, he performed “Water Walk,” …

Test yourself: Can you tell the difference between music and noise? – Hanako Sawada 더 보기 »

Sugar is playing hide and seek with you. You’d think it would be pretty easy for you to win, considering all the sugar in sodas, ice cream, candy, and big white bags labeled sugar. People get about half of their added sugars from those drinks and treats, so it might seem like sugar is hiding …

Sugar: Hiding in plain sight – Robert Lustig 더 보기 »

You’re facing a giant bowl of energy packed Carbon Crunchies. One spoonful. Two. Three. Soon, you’re powered up by the energy surge that comes from your meal. But how did that energy get into your bowl? Energy exists in the form of sugars made by the plant your cereal came from, like wheat or corn. …

Nature’s smallest factory: The Calvin cycle – Cathy Symington 더 보기 »

He was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, forever changing the course of one of the world’s largest countries. But was he a hero who toppled an oppressive tyranny or a villain who replaced it with another? It’s time to put Lenin on the stand in History vs. Lenin. “Order, order, …

History vs. Vladimir Lenin – Alex Gendler 더 보기 »

French fries are delicious. French fries with ketchup are a little slice of heaven. The problem is it’s basically impossible to pour the exactly right amount. We’re so used to pouring ketchup that we don’t realize how weird its behavior is. Imagine a ketchup bottle filled with a straight up solid like steel. No amount …

Why is ketchup so hard to pour? – George Zaidan 더 보기 »

Studies have shown that taking vitamins is good for your health and bad for your health. That newly discovered herb can improve your memory or destroy your liver. Headlines proclaim a promising new cancer treatment and never mention it again. On a daily basis, we are bombarded with attention-grabbing news, backed up by scientific studies, …

Not all scientific studies are created equal – David H. Schwartz 더 보기 »

It was a night like any other night, except here I was climbing the platonic peaks like Romeo on a second date. (ugh) I was there for the dame. She had eyes like imaginary numbers and curves that went on forever. Said she wanted to go home. Said I could help. Said the pay was …

The case of the missing fractals – Alex Rosenthal and George Zaidan 더 보기 »

Light: it’s the fastest thing in the universe, but we can still measure its speed if we slow down the animation, we can analyze light’s motion using a space-time diagram, which takes a flipbook of animation panels, and turns them on their side. In this lesson, we’ll add the single experimental fact that whenever anyone …

The fundamentals of space-time: Part 2 – Andrew Pontzen and Tom Whyntie 더 보기 »

Transcriber: Jessica Ruby Reviewer: Caroline Cristal Russia, with the largest territory in the world, has roughly the same total population as Nigeria, a country 1/16 its size. But this similarity won’t last long. One of the populations is rapidly growing, while the other is slowly declining. What can this tell us about the two countries? …

Population pyramids: Powerful predictors of the future – Kim Preshoff 더 보기 »

When you hear the word symmetry, maybe you picture a simple geometric shape like a square or a triangle, or the complex pattern on a butterfly’s wings. If you are artistically inclined, you might think of the subtle modulations of a Mozart concerto, or the effortless poise of a prima ballerina. When used in every …

The science of symmetry – Colm Kelleher 더 보기 »