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Milton Friedman - I, Pencil2:26

Milton Friedman - I, Pencil

802K views • 14 years ago
Free To Choose Network
A two-minute clip in which Milton Friedman uses a humble pencil to show how thousands of strangers across many countries cooperate, without central direction, to make a simple product. It is a short visual version of the 'I, Pencil' essay's argument about free markets and dispersed knowledge.
Power of the Market - The Pencil2:42

Power of the Market - The Pencil

551K views • 18 years ago
LibertyPen
A three-minute excerpt from Milton Friedman's Free to Choose in which he uses a pencil to show that no single person knows how to make it. He argues that the free market coordinates countless strangers peacefully.
First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy2:58

First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

8.8M views • 16 years ago
Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers annotates a short clip of a lone dancer at a festival, showing how a first follower turns a ridiculous act into a movement. He draws out lessons about leadership and making it easy to follow.
(1/4) Intro/History: Introducing a 100-year-old mechanical computer3:39

(1/4) Intro/History: Introducing a 100-year-old mechanical computer

476K views • 12 years ago
engineerguy
The first of four short videos from Bill Hammack (engineerguy) introducing and giving the history of a 100-year-old mechanical computer, Michelson's harmonic analyzer. The series goes on to explain Fourier synthesis, analysis and operation of the machine.
Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam3:47

Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam

1.3M views • 7 years ago
Not Just Bikes
A four-minute Not Just Bikes comparison of grocery shopping in Amsterdam versus car-centric North America, arguing that frequent small fresh-food trips beat bulk shopping. It ties this to land use and reduced food waste.
Topic match · Transit, cities & urban planning
Complete Solution To The Twins Paradox3:34

Complete Solution To The Twins Paradox

2.3M views • 10 years ago
minutephysics
A minutephysics explainer on the twins paradox in special relativity. It shows why the traveling twin ends up younger and how acceleration resolves the paradox.
Topic match · Everyday physics & science demos
Are You Eating a Credit Card Every Week?3:52

Are You Eating a Credit Card Every Week?

256K views • 4 years ago
vlogbrothers
A vlogbrothers video tracing how the claim that people eat a credit card of plastic every week spread. It walks through the funded talking point, the misleading amplification, and the peer review that missed it.
Topic match · Scientific method & science communication
How our voting system (and IRV) betrays your favourite candidate3:35

How our voting system (and IRV) betrays your favourite candidate

35K views • 12 years ago
The Center for Election Science
The Center for Election Science explains favorite betrayal in instant-runoff voting: in some elections, ranking your favorite first can cause your least favorite to win. It contrasts this with plurality voting's spoiler problem.
Topic match · Probability & game theory
How Highways Almost Destroyed Amsterdam - Plan Jokinen3:26

How Highways Almost Destroyed Amsterdam - Plan Jokinen

408K views • 7 years ago
Not Just Bikes
A short Not Just Bikes video on the 1960s plans (Plan Jokinen) to cut highways through Amsterdam to accommodate cars. It shows how radically different the city would look had they succeeded.
Topic match · Transit, cities & urban planning
The Trinity Hall Prime - Numberphile3:49

The Trinity Hall Prime - Numberphile

322K views • 9 years ago
Numberphile
Numberphile with Tadashi Tokieda on the Trinity Hall Prime, a prime number whose digits form a picture of the college's coat of arms, left as a gift by a departing mathematician.
Topic match · Recreational & visual math
Paul Otlet, visioning a web in 19341:20

Paul Otlet, visioning a web in 1934

102K views • 18 years ago
Attila Gárdos
A one-minute clip about Paul Otlet, the Belgian bibliographer who in 1934 imagined users accessing a remote database through an electric telescope over a phone line. It presents his vision as a precursor of the web.
Topic match · Internet culture & memes
The 'duck curve' is solar energy's greatest challenge3:58

The 'duck curve' is solar energy's greatest challenge

2.7M views • 8 years ago
Vox
A short Vox explainer on the duck curve, the shape electricity demand takes in California as solar output grows. It explains why grid operators struggle to balance supply and demand with lots of solar.
Topic match · Renewables, batteries & storage
Brené Brown on Empathy2:53

Brené Brown on Empathy

24.1M views • 12 years ago
Royal Society of Arts
A short animated RSA piece with Dr Brene Brown's voiceover on the difference between empathy and sympathy. She argues that real connection requires getting in touch with your own vulnerability, rather than trying to fix someone's pain.
Topic match · Psychology & human behavior
What keeps a train on the track?2:27

What keeps a train on the track?

191K views • 17 years ago
BoreMeScience
A short clip of Richard Feynman explaining how a train stays on its tracks, through the conical shape of wheels and how it handles curves without differentials.
Topic match · Transit, cities & urban planning
Explained: New Navy UFO Videos2:54

Explained: New Navy UFO Videos

284K views • 6 years ago
Mick West
Mick West explains the three Navy UFO videos (FLIR, GIMBAL and GOFAST) released in 2020, giving mundane explanations such as a distant plane and camera artifacts. He notes the videos were not new and had been circulating since 2017.
Topic match · Media, journalism & propaganda
Why Do Reversing Trucks Not Beep Any More?1:45

Why Do Reversing Trucks Not Beep Any More?

1.6M views • 12 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott stands by a construction site and explains why reversing vehicles now use a white-noise hiss instead of beeping. The sound is easier to locate directionally and less annoying to neighbours.
Topic match · Everyday physics & science demos
Feynman: Mirrors FUN TO IMAGINE 63:16

Feynman: Mirrors FUN TO IMAGINE 6

600K views • 18 years ago
Christopher Sykes
Richard Feynman, in a clip from the BBC series Fun to Imagine, takes on the puzzle of why mirrors seem to swap left and right but not top and bottom.
Topic match · Everyday physics & science demos
Andreas Antonopoulos - 51% Bitcoin Attack2:16

Andreas Antonopoulos - 51% Bitcoin Attack

72K views • 11 years ago
Rodolfo Díaz
A two-minute clip of Andreas Antonopoulos explaining why a 51% attack on Bitcoin would not destroy it and what such an attack would cost. It is a succinct take on mining security.
Topic match · Cryptography
Why I Cook With Induction3:01

Why I Cook With Induction

383K views • 5 years ago
Jon Kung
Chef Jon Kung explains why he cooks almost exclusively on induction, citing fast heating, cleanliness and precise temperature control. He shows a rounded induction wok burner.
Topic match · Cooking & food
Why “No Problem” Can Seem Rude: Phatic Expressions3:51

Why “No Problem” Can Seem Rude: Phatic Expressions

5M views • 7 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains phatic expressions such as hello, thank you and how are you, which carry social meaning rather than information, and why replies like no problem can seem rude to some people.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps2:58

Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps

6.8M views • 12 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains why Britain historically has separate hot and cold taps rather than mixer taps, tracing it to how water was stored in tanks. He notes why the hot tap is not safe to drink from.
Topic match · World history
Your Coffee Addiction Is Probably Good for You3:47

Your Coffee Addiction Is Probably Good for You

9.6M views • 15 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey's short explainer arguing that caffeine addiction is mostly harmless and may even be beneficial. It covers what caffeine does in the body.
Topic match · Nutrition & diet science
What is a rocket mass heater?2:27

What is a rocket mass heater?

508K views • 9 years ago
paul wheaton
A two-minute explanation of what a rocket mass heater is, starting from how a conventional wood stove works and why creosote and chimney fires occur. It shows how burning hot and storing the heat in thermal mass makes for an efficient heater.
Topic match · Power grid, heating & buildings
The Lava Lamps That Help Keep The Internet Secure3:59

The Lava Lamps That Help Keep The Internet Secure

4.3M views • 9 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott visits Cloudflare's San Francisco office to show the wall of lava lamps whose camera feed is used as a source of entropy for random number generation. It is a short explainer on how this helps secure internet encryption.
Topic match · Cryptography
Buy, Borrow, Die: How America's Ultrawealthy Stay That Way1:53

Buy, Borrow, Die: How America's Ultrawealthy Stay That Way

475K views • 5 years ago
ProPublica
A short ProPublica video explaining the "Buy, Borrow, Die" strategy wealthy Americans use to cut taxes. They borrow against appreciating assets instead of selling, and the gains are never taxed at death.
Topic match · Investing & personal finance
Trusted Computing? Yes or No3:31

Trusted Computing? Yes or No

47K views • 20 years ago
Robin Good
A four-minute 2006 explainer on trusted computing, describing what it is and whether users should support it, with a skeptical DRM angle.
Topic match · Privacy, surveillance & cybercrime
The centuries-old debt that's still paying interest3:58

The centuries-old debt that's still paying interest

9.3M views • 9 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott visits Yale's archives to look at a 367-year-old bond from a Dutch water authority that is still paying interest. Finance professor Geert Rouwenhorst explains how it works.
Topic match · Investing & personal finance
Making an international standard cup of tea3:34

Making an international standard cup of tea

2.7M views • 8 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott follows the ISO 3103 / BS 6008 standard to make an international standard cup of tea, using specialist tasting equipment. The video shows how precisely the standard is specified.
Topic match · Cooking & food
Lies on the London Underground2:28

Lies on the London Underground

4.6M views • 13 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott and Matt Parker investigate some of the small deceptions and oddities of the London Underground, such as misleading signage and map distortions.
Topic match · Transit, cities & urban planning
Inequality: Why are the rich getting richer?3:01

Inequality: Why are the rich getting richer?

130K views • 13 years ago
Positive Money UK
A three-minute Positive Money UK explainer arguing that the commercial banking system, where banks create most money as debt, redistributes income from the bottom 90 percent to the top 10 percent through interest.
Topic match · Macroeconomics & financial crises
I can't show you how pink this pink is.3:52

I can't show you how pink this pink is.

9.7M views • 9 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains why a vivid pink pigment by artist Stuart Semple cannot be fully shown on a screen, and touches on the dispute over exclusive rights to the blackest black pigment. It is a short explainer on color gamuts and pigment politics.
Topic match · Visual arts, photography & architecture
The Counterintuitive Physics of Turning a Bike1:47

The Counterintuitive Physics of Turning a Bike

855K views • 11 years ago
minutephysics
A two-minute minutephysics video explaining why turning a bicycle requires first steering briefly the other way. It covers counter-steering and balance with slow-motion footage and 3D animation.
Topic match · Everyday physics & science demos
Music and Life - Alan Watts2:23

Music and Life - Alan Watts

2.6M views • 19 years ago
seandulac
A two-minute animation of an Alan Watts talk arguing that life is like music: it is meant to be danced to in the moment, not rushed toward a final goal. It is a short, accessible take on living in the present.
Topic match · Philosophy & ethics
IBM Selectric Typewriter & its digital to analogue converter3:05

IBM Selectric Typewriter & its digital to analogue converter

1.1M views • 16 years ago
engineerguy
Bill Hammack of engineerguy uses slow motion video to show how the IBM Selectric typewriter works. He focuses on its fully mechanical digital-to-analog converter, which turns key presses into rotation of the type ball.
Topic match · Mechanical & precision engineering
Why Tipping Should Be Banned - Adam Ruins Everything3:55

Why Tipping Should Be Banned - Adam Ruins Everything

15.8M views • 11 years ago
Dropout
An Adam Ruins Everything segment arguing that tipping should be banned. It covers the history of tipping, its weak link to service quality, and why employers should pay a fair wage.
Topic match · Microeconomics & behavioral economics
The Dutch Solution for Safer Sidewalks - Continuous Sidewalks3:45

The Dutch Solution for Safer Sidewalks - Continuous Sidewalks

452K views • 6 years ago
Not Just Bikes
A short Not Just Bikes video on continuous sidewalks in the Netherlands, where the sidewalk runs unbroken across side streets so cars must visibly cross pedestrian space. It places them within Dutch sustainable safety and Vision Zero efforts.
Topic match · Transit, cities & urban planning
Gender Neutral Pronouns: They're Here, Get Used To Them3:49

Gender Neutral Pronouns: They're Here, Get Used To Them

4.6M views • 13 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott argues that grammatical gender is a silly concept and that the singular 'they' is an established gender-neutral pronoun. The description carries later corrections and reflections he added in 2019.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
3D Gaussian Splatting - Why Graphics Will Never Be The Same2:12

3D Gaussian Splatting - Why Graphics Will Never Be The Same

2M views • 3 years ago
IndividualKex
A two-minute explainer of 3D Gaussian Splatting, the rendering technique from a 2023 research paper. It outlines why it could change how 3D graphics are made.
Topic match · Computer graphics & rendering
Tea Consent2:51

Tea Consent

12.4M views • 11 years ago
Blue Seat Studios
A three-minute animated video that explains sexual consent through the analogy of offering someone a cup of tea. It is based on a blog post by Emmeline May.
Topic match · Social issues & culture
Two Monkeys Were Paid Unequally: Excerpt from Frans de Waal's TED Talk2:44

Two Monkeys Were Paid Unequally: Excerpt from Frans de Waal's TED Talk

25.4M views • 13 years ago
TED Blog Video
A short excerpt from Frans de Waal's TED talk showing a capuchin monkey fairness experiment in which two monkeys are paid unequally, one with cucumber and one with grapes. The shortchanged monkey reacts angrily.
Topic match · Psychology & human behavior