Let's do some math

May 25, 2020 8:04 AM

3Blue1Brown known for beautiful visualizations of complex mathematical topics gives a go at livestreaming high-school level math with a 'Lockdown math' series. Brush up on things you probably forgot from math class.

The simpler quadratic formula | Lockdown math ep. 1
Trigonometry fundamentals | Lockdown math ep. 2
Complex number fundamentals | Lockdown math ep. 3
What is Euler's formula actually saying? | Lockdown math ep. 4
Imaginary interest rates | Lockdown math ep. 5
Logarithm Fundamentals | Lockdown math ep. 6
What makes the natural log "natural"? | Lockdown math ep. 7
The power tower puzzle | Lockdown math ep. 8
Intuition for i to the power i | Lockdown math ep. 9
Tips to be a better problem solver [Last lecture] | Lockdown math ep. 10

Bonus:

The Accidental Streamer (with 3blue1brown) - Numberphile Podcast
The Hope Diamond (with 3blue1brown) - Numberphile Podcast
The 1890 US Census and the history of punchcard computing [feat. Grant of 3blue1brown fame]

posted by zengargoyle (13 comments total)

I found myself casually tuned in to a few of these. Really nice, relaxed lessons.
posted by wotsac at 8:53 AM on May 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

A level up:

The most unexpected answer to a counting puzzle
Feynman's lost lecture

Great stuff.
posted by StephenB at 10:51 AM on May 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm not embarrassed to say that this guy helped me get through my MSc. I don't know how they did it back before Youtube and the Internet at large (though back then, none of the technology I worked on would have been possible).
posted by klanawa at 11:33 AM on May 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

I needed this for the Calculus class I got a D in (again), but I found I liked blackpenredpen the best, as well as this mysterious Sal person. Khan Academy doesn't seem very forthcoming with teacher's names (not all Calc I Khan videos are by this guy). I was already stressed so these no-nonsense tutorials were right up my alley, where 3Blue is more expository. I probably would have gravitated more toward him if my class was online-only and I wanted some lecture time behind my homework.
posted by rhizome at 3:52 PM on May 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

I love that guy. I haven’t watched him for a while but I absolutely love that he exists and that I know he exists.
posted by hwestiii at 5:36 PM on May 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

I don't know how they did it back before Youtube and the Internet at large (though back then, none of the technology I worked on would have been possible).

We spent a lot more time in libraries. As an undergraduate math student I remember getting desperate enough to look through the books written in german and such, because usually the formulae were still decipherable. It sucked.
posted by axiom at 7:58 PM on May 25, 2020 [3 favorites]

I wish stuff like this existed when I was in high school and a huge math nerd. YouTube sort of existed but not with the sheer quantity and quality of stuff you can find with a little poking about.

I found a lot of it eventually, but mostly in dusty books and the occasional video set I managed to find in weird academic corners of the internet.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:31 PM on May 25, 2020

usually the formulae were still decipherable

or at least no less undecipherable
posted by BungaDunga at 9:34 PM on May 25, 2020

Nope, definitely still less.
posted by axiom at 11:42 PM on May 25, 2020

Lockdown math? No better time for Lockhart's Lament about the parlous state of mathematical education in 2002 (and before and since, I guess). 25 page PDF. “Mental acuity of any kind comes from solving problems yourself, not from being told how to solve them.” Snippets for folk who prefer short-form. Lockhart Metaprev.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:09 AM on May 26, 2020

In a (soft of) similar vein, you might also enjoy WooTube, from Sydney high school teacher and education leader Eddie Woo.
'Wootube' Youtube channel
posted by joz at 1:36 AM on May 26, 2020

Oh, Grant is wonderful! He and I were part of the same cohort at Khan Academy; we both started in the fall of 2015, and our desks were right next to each other. Somewhere floating around the internet is a clip of him explaining Hilbert's Infinite Hotel to me.

I'm so proud of the work he's gone on to do! He's such a smart, sensible man, and he's managed to do something very difficult: create a successful business as a math celebrity on the internet. I find his videos very calming and reassuring, and I can tell you that he's very kind in person, too.
posted by IcarusFloats at 8:52 AM on May 26, 2020 [4 favorites]

I clicked on the "Logarithm Fundamentals" link and spent five minutes being told that "The lesson will begin shortly"

That's really lame.
posted by Effervescent cuboid at 10:14 AM on May 26, 2020