60-Second Adventures in Thought

A picture illustrating the Hilbert's Infinite Hotel. Image: The Open University6 Short Videos about the Philosophy of Maths and Science

The Open University has created a series of 6 short animated iTunes videos about the Philosophy behind Maths and Science.  A real treat.  And it’s educational too!  If you have only 60 seconds, you can now learn how we rationalise the abstract concepts at the root of everything there is to know about matter, energy, life, the Universe and everything…

Watch it now!

  1. Achilles and the Tortoise

    • Ancient mathematical trickery proves that a mighty hero cannot overtake a tortoise!
  2. The Grandfather Paradox

    • A well known story that questions the logic of time travel.
  3. The Chinese Room

    • An argument against computers ever being truly intelligent.
  4. Hilbert’s Infinite Hotel

    • A never-ending hotel, always full of guests, helps to explain the nature of infinity.
  5. The Twin Paradox

    • An identical twin in space illustrates Einstein’s special  theory of relativity.
  6. Schrödinger’s Cat

    • This famous experiment tackling quantum theory involves a cat in a potentially lethal box.

No iTunes?  No problem.  Watch all the videos from YouTube below:

Learn more with OpenLearn, the home of free learning from The Open University.

 

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