What is Digg?539 Comments
- Berkana, on 03/22/2008, -7/+745If all technical topics were taught with this kind of methodical clarity, we would have a lot fewer people dropping out of engineering majors.
- jordan314, on 03/22/2008, -6/+391it's like sesame street for MIT students
- noahhoward, on 03/22/2008, -89/+430Is there really a point to this? It is only possible with a theoretical material that can't actually exist.
- Four20, on 03/22/2008, -27/+339wait, what?
- Biks, on 03/22/2008, -5/+270I think it would've been better if they sounded like an old married couple. Her: "You never listen to me, you can't have a crease in the fold" Him: "Shut up, I know what I'm doing."
- thefirelane, on 03/22/2008, -6/+220You both are missing the point. You don't know what solutions you'll stumble upon, and what problems you'll solve BEFORE you solve a mathematical problem. In the process of solving something, very often new things are discovered which are applicable to other things.
- Schmidtopolis, on 03/22/2008, -2/+182But then, where would all the drama majors come from?
- davidlow, on 03/22/2008, -1/+166Is this going to be on the test?
- RogueMountie, on 03/22/2008, -12/+161Why am I turned on by this?
- karmabandit, on 03/22/2008, -1/+120That's a pretty narrow minded thing to say. Not all spheres are real-life beachballs-- some are mathematical constructs only living on paper, used to explain some aspect of physics. In addition, the concepts of winding number and other topological invariants are applicable to any shape, it just happens that spheres are a nice way to make it slightly comprehensible to average people. Unfortunately, by making it comprehensible, they leave themselves open to people complaining, "ye can't make no beachballs like that! Hell, I could'a told them fools that without any fancy-schmancy videos."
Moreover, mathematics doesn't need a point. It doesn't have to be applicable to anything. It's mathematics, not engineering or physics. But very often, today's esoteric "useless" mathematics becomes tomorrow's revolutionary physics. - cathpah, on 03/22/2008, -6/+115maybe it'll work....with FLUBBER!
- CarStan, on 03/22/2008, -0/+108Most impressive of all, is that this vid was made back in 1994. Kudos to the team.
- davidlow, on 03/22/2008, -4/+93...and a lot fewer people who say, "Wait, what?"
- adml_shake, on 03/22/2008, -12/+99witchcraft....
- bs0l, on 03/22/2008, -3/+88But what if the problem DID exist? Then we're one step ahead!
- eddywolf, on 03/22/2008, -5/+88Surprisingly interesting.
- ilikedthecore, on 03/22/2008, -2/+82"Is it possible for humans to fly unaided?"
Yes, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. - reclusiveraider, on 03/22/2008, -0/+70yeah, I can't believe I actually watched whole thing.
- CheeseburgerBro, on 03/22/2008, -2/+72That was nerdliciously awesome.
Why, I'm going to go out and create some radical topological transformations in my local community *right now*! - bs0l, on 03/22/2008, -1/+66And I have yet to see it.
Dugg - SilverhammerMBA, on 03/22/2008, -0/+62As a math major, I find this very cool. Honestly, who cares if you can't do it in real life? It's still an interesting and difficult problem that, at first, seems entirely impossible. I know it can be difficult to enjoy something that doesn't seem applicable, but usually there are applications: they're just very difficult to see when you're working at such a theoretical level.
- JesseRuth89, on 03/22/2008, -3/+61cause your penis does the same thing?
- phronko, on 03/22/2008, -0/+57So it takes an IQ above 150 to understand something that's clearly shown with pretty pictures, in slow motion, step-by-step, and repeated several times?
If so, I think our civilization is doomed. - quill, on 03/22/2008, -1/+55Example: Prime Numbers study was absolutely pointless fluff for centuries.
Without this research, modern cryptography would be non-existent, making things like Internet Banking impossibly unsafe. - CaptainM4d, on 03/22/2008, -1/+55I could seriously watch stuff like this all day. It's just so interesting.
- phronko, on 03/22/2008, -4/+58You saw wrong?
I'm pretty sure they thought of that, given it was the whole point of the video. It's not like they created the whole thing then were like "phew, that was a nice decade's worth of math. Oh hey, whoops, look, actually there is a crease there. Oh well, just release the video anyway." - cmpsr2000, on 03/22/2008, -1/+54The turning number measures happiness.
/sagelyNod - lochness, on 03/22/2008, -8/+60Why is Counselor Deanna Troi narrating videos on theoretical physics ?
- kenvsryu, on 03/22/2008, -5/+53Damn it my breakfast is getting cold - early morning math pwns.
- gr3yn3t, on 03/22/2008, -5/+5321 minutes?
- tandy400, on 03/22/2008, -3/+50I hate to break it to you... but that's how science works. First, someone comes along and creates a seemingly useless mathematical theory... decades later, someone else might discover a technology that applies that mathematical model. You think this is bad? Take an upper-level math class, that ***** will blow your mind...
- piesforyou, on 03/22/2008, -2/+48If you find a material which can... how did they put it... "self-intersect"?, then try it!
- PlancksCnst, on 03/22/2008, -2/+48There is a big point. It is part of the study of topology, which has a huge impact on real-world problems.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topology - PlancksCnst, on 03/22/2008, -1/+42That was hot.
I've seen the inversion several times, but never an explanation. - phronko, on 03/22/2008, -7/+48I can't say for sure, but I imagine this has implications for things like describing the nature of reality. The fabric of spacetime probably acts a lot like the flubber in the video. Figuring out ways that it can possibly bend and flip can tell use whether things like time travel are possible or not. That's a pretty big "point".
But even if there was no point, it's just beautiful to figure out these fundamental mathematical principles. It's like asking what the point of figuring out how to make food taste good is, since in reality it's just fuel for our bodies. - wrathchilde, on 03/22/2008, -0/+39Imagine, if you will, that the surface is an abstract of dimensions other than space (X, Y, Z) and you wish to know how to manipulate those dimensions without creating any singularities (sharpnesses in the video), since that would be catastrophic. Understanding that these solid-surface transformations are possible without singularities could be a critical starting point.
A physical example might involve electron clouds, which do have these properties. Matter to anitmatter conversion could be the power plant of the future. - ICANSTANDIT, on 03/22/2008, -0/+39Topology at its graphic best! The purpose to it all? Marvelous mental gymnastics! Beautiful presentation!
- jadrian, on 03/22/2008, -4/+43And these kind of comments (with a positive score) is where we see the difference between digg and slashdot. Geeez.
- DarkLance, on 03/22/2008, -3/+40the same place porn stars come from, lofty dreams of stardom
- SlowOnTheUptake, on 03/22/2008, -0/+33I've spent my entire life on a sphere.
- karmabandit, on 03/22/2008, -3/+36You just buried all of mathematics as lame. Mathematics is the process of setting up rules-- as few as possible-- and then deducing what these rules allow us to get away with. I'm sorry that you restrict yourself to the mundane rules of everyday life, but fortunately for modern society, not everyone was so narrow-minded in what they thought about.
- willx99, on 03/22/2008, -2/+34It would also take about 20 years to actually get your degree.
- hamobu, on 03/22/2008, -0/+32I head from someone that current cutting edge mathematics will not have a real world application for centuries, just like people in Newtons time had no real benefit in describing motions of heavenly bodies, but we need that now.
- DeFex, on 03/22/2008, -3/+35I would have understood it better if they had used monorail cat.
Do children still learn this stuff in school? or is it just "this is whats going to be in your test. learn it so our school gets more $$$" - pcgeek101, on 03/22/2008, -4/+35That's really cool. Now, if only I had paid attention way back in math class :(
- xtekian, on 03/22/2008, -1/+31It was so refreshing to see such a well explained video! This is why some materials should have standardized teaching; those guys probably found the best way to explain turning circles and spheres
- fwertz, on 03/22/2008, -0/+30It worked for Mr. Rogers.
- Schmidtopolis, on 03/22/2008, -3/+32You're right... more videos of football to the groin.
- Disease, on 03/22/2008, -0/+29Learning to pass tests about sums it up. Critical thinking and imagination isn't required anymore.
- Derrekito, on 03/22/2008, -0/+28Must be a sign for you to get back to it!
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