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1:54The Loudness War
2.7M views • 20 years ago
Matt Mayfield Music
A two-minute demonstration of the loudness war, showing how heavy dynamic range compression in CD mastering makes music louder while degrading sound quality. It uses audio examples so you can hear the distortion.
6:42Carl Sagan - Cosmos - Eratosthenes
3M views • 17 years ago
carlsagandotcom
A short clip from Carl Sagan's Cosmos in which he explains how Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the Earth using shadows in two Egyptian cities. It is a clear, visual account of an ancient scientific feat.
2:23Music 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 · Productivity & self-improvement
2:42Power 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.
Topic match · Business & economics (other)
9:31Around The Corner - How Differential Steering Works (1937)
22.3M views • 17 years ago
US Auto Industry
A 1937 GM-produced film explaining how the automobile differential lets wheels turn at different speeds around a corner. It uses clear animations and cutaway demonstrations to build the idea from first principles.
Topic match · Mechanical & precision engineering
6:01Cambridge Ideas - Professor Risk
128K views • 16 years ago
Cambridge University
David Spiegelhalter, Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, uses statistics to weigh everyday risks such as bacon sandwiches and cycling. The six-minute piece introduces micromorts as a way to compare the risk of dying.
Topic match · Probability & game theory
9:29Inferno: Dust Explosion at Imperial Sugar
2M views • 17 years ago
USCSB
A US Chemical Safety Board video explaining how sugar dust explosions at the Imperial Sugar plant in Georgia killed fourteen workers in 2008.
Topic match · Manufacturing & industrial processes
2:27What 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 · Mechanical & precision engineering