TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Fractals and the Art of Roughness
Mathematics legend Benoit Mandelbrot develops a theme he first discussed in 1984- the extreme complexity of roughness and the way that fractal math can find order within patterns that seem unknowably complicated. [17:10]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Infinite Hotel Paradox
The Infinite Hotel, a thought experiment created by German mathematician David Hilbert, is a hotel with an infinite number of rooms. Easy to comprehend, right? Wrong. What if it's completely booked but one person wants to check in? What...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Is Time Travel Possible?
Time travel is a staple of science fiction stories, but is it actually possible? Colin Stuart imagines where (or, when) this fascinating phenomenon, time dilation, may one day take us. [5:04]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: A Trip Through Space to Calculate Distance
Imagine two aliens racing across outer space to their moon. Who can we deem the fastest alien? With DIRT- or the equation Distance = Rate x Time- we can calculate their rates, using the distance they traveled and the time they took....
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Good News of the Decade?
Hans Rosling reframes 10 years of UN data with his spectacular visuals, lighting up good news: We're winning the war against child mortality. Along the way, he debunks one flawed approach to stats that blots out such vital stories. [15:34]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Math Jokes Explained
It's not your typical knock-knock joke- these funny jests will tickle your imaginary numbers and teach you a thing or two about mathematics. [4:04]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Infinite Life of Pi
This irrational number, pi, has an infinite number of digits, so we'll never figure out its exact value no matter how close we seem to get. Reynaldo Lopes explains pi's vast applications to the study of music, financial models, and even...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Sponge Bob's House Is Not a Pineapple
Are SpongeBob's pants really square? Is Gary's shell a logarithmic spiral? No. But, how can we figure out if SpongeBob's house is actually a pineapple? There's math everywhere! Let's use Fibonacci numbers to help us determine this...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: What's an Algorithm?
An algorithm is a method of solving problems both big and small. Though computers run algorithms constantly, humans can also solve problems with algorithms. David J. Malan explains how algorithms can be used in seemingly simple...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Candy Factory
Ready, set, count! It looks easy at first, but paying close attention to the candies coming out on the conveyor belt gets trickier as the pace picks up. It also gets much funnier. Let's see just how accurate our counting abilities really...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Mathematics of History
What can mathematics say about history? From changes to language to the deadliness of wars, Jean-Baptiste Michel shows how digitized history is just starting to reveal deep underlying patterns. [4:26]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Magic of Vedic Math
There is more than one way to reach a correct answer in mathematics. Vedic math, an ancient Indian method, sidesteps traditional computations in a manner that provides a shortcut, while being fun to use and to learn. Gaurav Tekriwal...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: What Is Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox?
Can you ever travel from one place to another? Ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea gave a convincing argument that all motion is impossible- but where's the flaw in his logic? Colm Kelleher illustrates how to resolve Zeno's Dichotomy...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Euclid's Puzzling Parallel Postulate
Euclid, known as the "Father of Geometry," developed several of modern geometry's most enduring theorems--but what can we make of his mysterious fifth postulate, the parallel postulate? Jeff Dekofsky shows us how mathematical minds have...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education
Salman Khan talks about how and why he created the remarkable Khan Academy, a carefully structured series of educational videos offering complete curricula in math and, now, other subjects. He shows the power of interactive exercises and...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Pi With Pies
Numberphile did something crazy - attempted to calculate Pi using real Pies. Watch and see how close they got to the real figure of 3.14159265359. [3:13]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How to Organize, Add and Multiply Matrices
When you're working on a problem with lots of numbers, as in economics, cryptography or 3D graphics, it helps to organize those numbers into a grid, or matrix. Bill Shillito shows us how to work with matrices, with tips for adding,...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How to Defeat a Dragon With Math
Having trouble remembering the order of operations? Garth Sundem creates a world in which PEMDAS is the hero but only heroic when in the proper order. [3:46]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Average Speed and Rich Eisen's Ineptitude in the 40 Yard Dash
At the 2010 NFL draft, NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen was dared to run the 40-yard dash. The 40-something reporter in a suit was no match for the 22-year-old NFL draft prospects. Eisen's colleagues put together this segement mocking his...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Where Do Superstitions Come From?
Are you afraid of black cats? Would you open an umbrella indoors? How do you feel about the number 13? Stuart Vyse shares the weird and specific origins of some of our favorite superstitions. [5:10]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Mary's Room: A Philosophical Thought Experiment
Imagine a neuroscientist who has only ever seen black and white things, but she is an expert in color vision and knows everything about its physics and biology. If, one day, she sees color, does she learn anything new? Is there anything...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Would You Sacrafice One Person to Save Five?
Imagine you are watching a runaway trolley barreling down the tracks.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Who Was Voltaire?
Voltaire was one of the wisest, funniest and cleverest people of the 18th century. He continues to have a lot to teach us about toleration, modesty, and kindness. [2:15]
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Egyptian Book of the Dead: A Guidebook for the Underworld
Ancient Egyptians believed that in order to become immortal after death, a spirit must first pass through the underworld. Tejal Gala describes an Egyptian "Book of the Dead" a customized magic scroll written by the living to promote a...