Science, More or Less

Vsauce2:
The Problem Newton Got Wrong
May 26, 2020 – 13:14
Isaac Newton was right about everything from gravity to the calculus, but he didn’t quite get it right on dice and probability.

The Newton-Pepys Problem represents Isaac Newton’s only documented foray into probability. Samuel Pepys sent him a letter asking whether it would be more likely to roll one six in 6 dice, two sixes in 12 dice, or three sixes in 18 dice. In terms of computing the answer, we’ve got it pretty easy in the 21st century, whether we do it the long way, whether we apply binomial distribution, or just run a Monte Carlo simulation. To us, it’s a relatively basic problem in probability.

But Newton had to work it all out himself, and as he did that, he missed a few things. He just… didn’t get it totally right even though his numbers were accurate. The *real* Newton-Pepys Problem is deciding how much that even matters, and the answer gives us insight into the complex relationship between math, numbers, and the realities of human thought.

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So, What is Science?

Is Science About
Mind?

How Do Lockdowns Impact Mental Health?
PragerU – 18:40

Science – Down to Earth and Out of this World

5 Clues to Earth’s Climate History
SciShow – May 10, 2020 – 10:03
As Earth’s climate changes, one of the hardest things to figure out is exactly how the planet will change in response. And while we can’t know the future for sure, we can get a lot of good clues from the past. Hosted by: Michael Aranda

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Cement: A Really Hard Problem
SciShow – May 11, 2020 – 6:16

Your Other People’s Videos blog host is going to take a moment to editorialize (a/k/a rant) about these lines, which I usually don’t cut’n’paste from SciShow descriptions:

To learn more about the fight to stop climate change go to https://gatesnot.es/2SUfgkv. Thanks to Bill Gates and Breakthrough Energy for supporting this episode of SciShow.

THE FIGHT TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE? THAT’S INSANE! YOU CAN’T STOP CLIMATE CHANGE. YOU CAN’T PREDICT CLIMATE CHANGE! YOU CAN’T EVEN PREDICT NEXT WEEK’S WEATHER! ALL OF HUMANKIND IN ALL OF HISTORY CAN BARELY AFFECT LOCALIZED MICROCLIMATES. CO2 IS YOUR FRIEND. THE OZONE HOLE IS CLOSED AND IT’S NOT BECAUSE WE QUIT USING SPRAY CANS. CLIMATE HYSTERIA IS A FRAUD PERPETRATED BY TOTALITARIAN GLOBALISTS, AND BILL GATES SHOULD BE RELIEVED OF ALL HIS WEALTH, WHICH SHOULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO ANYBODY WHO EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH “WINDOWS.”

We now return to our regular program.

Concrete sucks CO2 out of the atmosphere, but making it initially produces a lot of carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Fortunately, by rethinking the chemistry of cement altogether, we can actually use carbon dioxide to create our concrete instead. Hosted by: Hank Green

Science of Nom Nom Nom

From Old-School Gardening to the Future of Food.
SciShow – May 7, 2020 – 41:07
From the starter plants in your window to giant agriculture, there’s a lot of science to cover before dinner. Hosted by: Michael Aranda

Science – Because, Stuff

5 Ecosystems Thriving in the Least Likely Places
SciShow – Apr 19, 2020 – 12:11
Around the world, living things have managed to build truly extraordinary ecosystems in some of the last places you would think to look. Understanding these ecosystems can help us protect or repair them, and it can also help us appreciate how incredibly resilient and creative living things can be. Hosted by: Hank Green