Is it possible? Simple questions, not so simple solutions

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  • Опубліковано 9 лют 2025

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  • @bezpansky
    @bezpansky 5 років тому +3535

    I have discrete math course flashbacks. All of this is fun and games, until you are graded for it.

    • @isee7283
      @isee7283 5 років тому +27

      ikr

    • @ItsAllEnzynes
      @ItsAllEnzynes 5 років тому +67

      My discrete final is in 10 hours, very much so not looking forward to it :|

    • @melaniemedina8037
      @melaniemedina8037 4 роки тому +78

      It shouldn't be that way... School conditions us to be scared of math but once you actually look at it from a fun and games angle it's actually really interesting and useful in certain applications.

    • @realbignoob1886
      @realbignoob1886 4 роки тому +3

      Yea

    • @patstaysuckafreeboss8006
      @patstaysuckafreeboss8006 4 роки тому +8

      @@melaniemedina8037 Must depend on the school/teachers/kids. Nobody was "scared" of math at my school. Maybe some who were less than average but that's about it

  • @no.6794
    @no.6794 4 роки тому +3018

    "Is it possible to start with 4 students and infect the whole class?"
    2020: Say no more.

    • @coolboy9854
      @coolboy9854 4 роки тому +5

      worse ror what happened to this guy?

    • @Zack_Zander
      @Zack_Zander 4 роки тому +21

      worse ror
      Patient Zer0 lives while thousands of other people died...
      Quite ironic

    • @tandlose
      @tandlose 4 роки тому +3

      666 likes, seems fitting

    • @DanksterPaws
      @DanksterPaws 4 роки тому +3

      @@Zack_Zander whos Patient 0

    • @Berilia
      @Berilia 3 роки тому +5

      @@DanksterPaws I'm pretty sure patient zero just refers to the first human recorded to have a particular disease

  • @soup6482
    @soup6482 5 років тому +3094

    3:20 imagine pausing the video to try to solve it for like an hour jsut to come back, unpause it, and see its impossible

    • @kugelblitz-8614
      @kugelblitz-8614 5 років тому +204

      but if you're smart enough you will understand the impossibility and start trying to prove it

    • @CGoldthorpe
      @CGoldthorpe 5 років тому +19

      Who would do that

    • @CGoldthorpe
      @CGoldthorpe 5 років тому +58

      That is comendable engagement, and you likely understand why better than those who just shake their heads in agreement. Stay a skeptic in all matters!

    • @mohammedjawahri5726
      @mohammedjawahri5726 5 років тому +38

      if you couldn't figure out that it's impossible then you couldn't solve it

    • @robossthinking1056
      @robossthinking1056 5 років тому +8

      Mohammed jawahri that doesn’t mean u can’t solve it

  • @BobbyJCFHvLichtenstein
    @BobbyJCFHvLichtenstein 4 роки тому +2444

    If you get a pen thicc enough, you can connect all of them with 1 line

    • @ryancw714
      @ryancw714 3 роки тому +130

      If the dots are big enough, you can use only three really long lines at slight angles.

    • @brucefulton
      @brucefulton 3 роки тому +28

      @@ryancw714 Or if the piece of paper is large enough

    • @Neo36563
      @Neo36563 3 роки тому +22

      Or if all dots are overlapped

    • @KuyashiiPlays
      @KuyashiiPlays 3 роки тому +21

      Or if you can fold the paper

    • @JohnSmith-im8qt
      @JohnSmith-im8qt 3 роки тому +10

      A line has no width.

  • @tvao9010
    @tvao9010 2 роки тому +356

    The infected question is actually similar to multiplying water in minecraft, the best way is to place a water source across the diagonal of the cube, so every block becomes a water source

    • @jay-tbl
      @jay-tbl 2 роки тому +55

      That's what I immediately thought! And i figured the most efficient way to infect students would be put the infected kids diagonally across the room, just like the way you would fill an area with water in minecraft

    • @brandonm1708
      @brandonm1708 Рік тому +12

      I love that that’s what I thought of as well

    • @M_1024
      @M_1024 Рік тому +10

      Just wanted to comment that!

    • @vivaankhanna7125
      @vivaankhanna7125 Рік тому +7

      Ikr!!

    • @Potato-pq5ez
      @Potato-pq5ez Рік тому

      life imitates art..

  • @KiemPlant
    @KiemPlant 5 років тому +177

    3:16 that moment when you've placed enough water sources in Minecraft to know the answer immediately.

    • @betmenc
      @betmenc Рік тому +2

      I was thinking same

  • @randomfun3552
    @randomfun3552 5 років тому +657

    there is something unique about this channel

  • @rohanbalasubramanian2466
    @rohanbalasubramanian2466 4 роки тому +95

    The police thief problem at 8:26 is similar to a concept in chess called triangulation where you lose a tempo with your peices and force your opponent to play an unfavorable move due to him having no good move(like the Red Red city of police and the robber in this example)

    • @null3007
      @null3007 Рік тому +6

      I was thinking about that as well haha, came to the timed comment section to see if anyone else spotted it.

    • @gjy0525
      @gjy0525 Рік тому +2

      Do you play chess?

    • @michapiwowarski4834
      @michapiwowarski4834 Рік тому

      ua-cam.com/video/bE6ENkdnG0c/v-deo.html
      Puzzle 3 in this video is the most insane version of this ever.

    • @ericp20z4
      @ericp20z4 Рік тому +1

      ​@@null3007me too haha

    • @ericp20z4
      @ericp20z4 Рік тому +10

      In germany we call this Zugzwang

  • @qsaification
    @qsaification 5 років тому +2207

    1:53 the third problem is actually how water works in Minecraft

    • @user-go5he1fe1g
      @user-go5he1fe1g 5 років тому +47

      C o p i e d

    • @brian-bed
      @brian-bed 5 років тому +33

      qsaification I was going to write the exact same thing!!!

    • @AutisticShyGuy
      @AutisticShyGuy 5 років тому +25

      **looks at number of likes** nice

    • @qsaification
      @qsaification 5 років тому +66

      @@user-go5he1fe1g It is actually pretty obvious to those who have played Minecraft, that's the first thought that came into my mind. It doesn't surprise me if you saw comments similar to mine :)

    • @user-go5he1fe1g
      @user-go5he1fe1g 5 років тому +7

      @@qsaification oh k

  • @grezende4056
    @grezende4056 4 роки тому +68

    Theory: whenever someone says "no pun intended" in a video/presentation... The pun was intended.

  • @brunicorn
    @brunicorn 5 років тому +796

    Can't believe you didn't mention triangulation in chess in the thief/cop problem.

    • @efrestein
      @efrestein 5 років тому +35

      This problem reminded me exactly the same thing

    • @vinodkumar-wm3oq
      @vinodkumar-wm3oq 5 років тому +54

      Magnus carlsen has joined the chat.

    • @tonyth9240
      @tonyth9240 5 років тому +9

      Yes, I thought of the same.

    • @Dimitri_gdr
      @Dimitri_gdr 5 років тому +4

      I thought exacly the same too !

    • @swoobidydoogidie7769
      @swoobidydoogidie7769 4 роки тому +5

      Bobby Fischer has entered the chat

  • @quirix6843
    @quirix6843 3 роки тому +1

    Thanks

  • @xvnexus8814
    @xvnexus8814 5 років тому +689

    3:06 and that's why you sit in the corner of the class room.

    • @mayocult
      @mayocult 5 років тому +29

      Best chance to survive a zombie apocalypse

    • @HPD1171
      @HPD1171 5 років тому +30

      @@mayocult taking classes online is an even better strategy

    • @mayocult
      @mayocult 5 років тому +2

      @@HPD1171 true

    • @tishaflorence1009
      @tishaflorence1009 4 роки тому +9

      @@HPD1171 now we all have to take online classess

    • @thegallivantinggamers4904
      @thegallivantinggamers4904 4 роки тому +3

      HPD1171 Welp,

  • @stylesmarshall6990
    @stylesmarshall6990 4 роки тому +8

    Thank you so much! I've tried with at least a dozen classrooms by know and I couldn't figure out how there were always survivors! I've used this info four times now and it has worked without fail!

  • @sesemuller4086
    @sesemuller4086 5 років тому +4925

    The classroom problem is the infinite water source problem in minecraft.
    Just sayin’...

    • @joske7804
      @joske7804 5 років тому +171

      Yooo thats what I was thinking.. spooky

    • @neongamerlp9856
      @neongamerlp9856 5 років тому +31

      Wie alle Mainguaftler das selbe denken xd

    • @user-cc5kl7qv8f
      @user-cc5kl7qv8f 5 років тому +28

      I thought that too :D

    • @RandomPerson-fu3ro
      @RandomPerson-fu3ro 5 років тому +212

      _uses Minecraft to simulate this problem_

    • @ohboy1113
      @ohboy1113 5 років тому +59

      Damn all you, I thought I was original.

  • @akgamer1825
    @akgamer1825 3 роки тому +3

    13:31 ah yes, I didn't see the answer until you made that simple shape! Thank you

  • @codingphysics695
    @codingphysics695 5 років тому +408

    I found a different way to think about the infection problem: Suppose all in infected students are inside a rectangle smaller then the 5 * 5 grid. Since all healty students outside the rectangle share at most a single border with an infected person, the infection can never spread outside the rectangle. With 4 or fewer infected persons you can allways draw rectangles around them, so that there are remaining students outside the rectangles. Only with 5 infected students, that are placed along the diagonal, the surrounding rectangle is equal to the complete grid, so everyone can be infected (and also will be).

    • @zachstar
      @zachstar  5 років тому +46

      I might have interpreted this wrong but what about 4 people along the diagonal being infected (ignoring the center)? Now you cant draw a rectangle around everyone and have students outside of it.

    • @karagi101
      @karagi101 5 років тому +6

      MajorPrep For the thief problem, what prevents the thief from doing the same thing as the police? That is, go to the neutral city and switch states so once again the police can’t land on the same color city as that of the thief. Seems to me that then there is no guarantee that the thief can be caught.

    • @zachstar
      @zachstar  5 років тому +40

      @karagi101 If the thief has the opportunity to go through that city on their own before the cop then they will change the state of the game to one they'd lose. the cop could just follow them and it'd result in that same pin. But either way from the beginning the cop has the ability to go through the city first and from there the thief couldn't get to it themselves (at least in the layout from the video).

    • @-abigail
      @-abigail 5 років тому +14

      I think this solution works but nerds expanding a little: draw bounding boxes around each subset of students who don't neighbour each other, including diagonal neighbours. Each subset won't be able to infect beyond their bounding box, and with n infected students the biggest bounding box you can construct has an area of n² - so 4 students can't create a 5x5 bounding box, but 5 can.

    • @robharwood3538
      @robharwood3538 5 років тому +13

      @@zachstar I think the OP means 'rectangle' not in terms of an outer hull of all the points, but a connected sub-matrix with no 0 rows or columns. In your example of 4 along the diagonal, there will always be 1 row/column which is all 0s, either making a single 4x4 'rectangle', or two disconnected 'rectangles' either a 1x1 & a 3x3 or two 2x2 ones. Each of those separated connected-sub-matrices cannot expand beyond their own borders. The 0 row/column can never become populated with any infected students. Thus, the problem can be thought of in terms of matrices, matrix degrees, and linear independence (at least for figuring out the minimal n; the reasoning doesn't quite work when the # of initial infected students is allowed to be larger than the minimal n, since 0 rows/columns can then sometimes become infected).

  • @TataOwO
    @TataOwO 3 роки тому +6

    If we bring the question at 3:13 to Minecraft "Can you use only 4 water bucket to fill the 5x5 grid?" it will be a lot easier to think

  • @ir2001
    @ir2001 5 років тому +319

    The police-theif game at 8:26 can win you a bet

    • @NameisU
      @NameisU 5 років тому +22

      How exactly will you propose the bet?
      Be this thief so I can prove to you that I can capture you as a cop for $x

    • @NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache
      @NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache 5 років тому +11

      @@NameisU Or I bet the cop will/will not catch the thief

    • @Wtahc
      @Wtahc 5 років тому +5

      Can it really? how dumb are people? you can solve it with very minimal bruteforcing/pattern recognition...

    • @Wtahc
      @Wtahc 5 років тому

      @@NameisU Yes, what elde would the bet be? lmao

    • @ir2001
      @ir2001 5 років тому +5

      1. Thou Shant Lewd Kaori Any wise person could increase the complexity of the problem while preserving that basic odd edge which is the key to solve this problem. In this way your brute force approach shall be in force forever.

  • @jjtucker
    @jjtucker 3 роки тому +10

    The way I looked at the disease question is that when you initially select the infected desks, you are immediately choosing the parameters of how far the infection can spread. If you have a 5x5 square, and you put a student on (1,2) a student on (1,4) a student on (2,3) and a student on (2,5) then your parameters are going to be where the farthest x and y points meet. Since you're given a maximum of 4 people to infect, your parameters can never exceed 4x4, or 16 squares.

    • @jacoblillo1077
      @jacoblillo1077 2 роки тому

      Like water source blocks in Minecraft

    • @wren_.
      @wren_. 2 роки тому

      and the furthest you can place your edges are at the corners. But you can’t have students at just (1,1) (2,2) (4,4) and (5,5), because they would just create 2 x 2 squares. You have to connect them which would mean you would have to have five students at least

    • @destructicon844
      @destructicon844 Рік тому

      Idk if it was assumed that the classroom was a square, but my solution was: square root of area - one

  • @robharwood3538
    @robharwood3538 5 років тому +27

    This was a surprisingly insightful video, connecting the simple idea of whether something is possible, to how to identify and understand invariants, to the final revelation of Euler's Characteristic, which I've seen before but never really understood. Thanks!! 😊
    You're on par with 3Blue1Brown, Mathologer, et al., but a little briefer, more collected, and more to-the-point. It makes your videos a little easier to digest, not requiring quite as much time spent. Truly great work, MajorPrep! Thanks again!

  • @mihaleben6051
    @mihaleben6051 Рік тому +4

    1:07 this is some weird minesweeper

  • @blazethefaith
    @blazethefaith 5 років тому +202

    Never thought this would become useful, but the infection problem is just minecraft water spread mechanics. At least 2 adjacent water sources are needed to form a new one, and the least amount you can fill a square with is a diagonal of them, which would be the same as any given side. This just multiplies it by 4 and uses the perimeter.
    That's hilarious

    • @Hydrastic-bz5qm
      @Hydrastic-bz5qm 5 років тому +22

      @@qbwkp because Minecraft is an accurate model of the universe.

    • @erinelizabeth9545
      @erinelizabeth9545 5 років тому +2

      Just VACCINATE YOUR CHILDREN

    • @sbunny8
      @sbunny8 4 роки тому +6

      Diagonal is only one possible solution. It can be done without putting any sources on the diagonal.
      Here's an N=5 solution that doesn't use the diagonals.
      0 1 0 0 0
      1 0 0 0 1
      0 0 0 1 0
      0 0 0 0 0
      0 1 0 0 0

    • @ImLuna_az
      @ImLuna_az 3 роки тому +2

      @@erinelizabeth9545 Someone mentions Minecraft water physics
      You:

    • @unliving_ball_of_gas
      @unliving_ball_of_gas 2 роки тому

      @@sbunny8 Or a more systematic way of doing it is to cover two connected sides of the square like an "L" as in:
      00001
      00001
      00001
      00001
      11111
      But then that would be wasting students since there are infected students that already have two neighbours at the start. So the most efficient way is to draw the "L" without infected students that already have two neighbours:
      00001
      00000
      00001
      00000
      10101

  • @NotHexaaaa
    @NotHexaaaa 3 роки тому +7

    2:16 Fun Fact: This puzzle can be visualized in Minecraft using Water since they share the same mechanics. Goal would be to make the hole filled with all source blocks.

  • @nextnormal8472
    @nextnormal8472 5 років тому +1346

    Ah, math that i dont understand.
    Perfect.

  • @yoyoman_blue6485
    @yoyoman_blue6485 5 років тому +208

    "Is this possible to infect all of the students?"
    "Answer: *NO"*
    Coronavirus: Hold my Chinese..

    • @collindrummer8116
      @collindrummer8116 5 років тому +2

      Holy crap that was funny how did no one like

    • @VahinSharma
      @VahinSharma 5 років тому +6

      @@collindrummer8116 cuz they're chinese

    • @glumbortango7182
      @glumbortango7182 5 років тому +6

      @@collindrummer8116 because this video is months old and this got commented only a day ago?

  • @garyhill68
    @garyhill68 5 років тому +433

    Only be a robber in states with an even number of cities!
    Life hack...

    • @bruce4139
      @bruce4139 5 років тому

      What?

    • @Mr48two
      @Mr48two 5 років тому

      But what if the robber followed the police into that void?

    • @bruce4139
      @bruce4139 5 років тому

      @@Mr48two if that happened he would still be caught because if he touches the red then the police is on either neutral or and it will be your move or he will have to turn back and get cornered

    • @viktorvondoom9119
      @viktorvondoom9119 5 років тому

      Imagine someone getting caught and not being able to understand why they caught him... "But the math checks out!" Would be another case to study the Dunning-Kruger effect

    • @wgray8231
      @wgray8231 5 років тому +2

      gotcha i.imgur.com/RYDDp16.png

  • @RandomGuy-pe7zs
    @RandomGuy-pe7zs 2 роки тому +3

    WHAAATTT THEEE *BEEP*
    It's my first video on this channel and how come I not realise till 7:49, its Zach

  • @childofivy
    @childofivy 5 років тому +579

    I CAN DO THE CONNECT THE 9 DOTS IN 1 LINE!!!
    *Uses a crayon without the wrapper and uses the side*

    • @efisgpr
      @efisgpr 5 років тому +37

      A line has no width in geometry.

    • @Buttermommy
      @Buttermommy 5 років тому +32

      @@windows_sky r/ihavereddit

    • @avamatthews1459
      @avamatthews1459 5 років тому +55

      Y’all eat your crayons with or without the wrapper?

    • @aaronrocha7065
      @aaronrocha7065 5 років тому +2

      @@avamatthews1459 you monster

    • @daddyofallcontent9955
      @daddyofallcontent9955 5 років тому +2

      @@avamatthews1459 imagine eating the crayons 1 and 1

  • @fj2921
    @fj2921 2 роки тому +119

    The problem of the infected students could be viewed as Minecraft water sources spreading. It's really the same concept.

  • @lavalaph
    @lavalaph 5 років тому +64

    The infected students thing is basically the same as filling up a hole in Minecraft such that the entire hole is filled with source blocks

    • @alexwang982
      @alexwang982 5 років тому +2

      still_lava115 ya you need water source on diagonal, iirc

    • @nickcline3792
      @nickcline3792 2 роки тому

      functionally identical if you assume water cannot be picked back up and you only have 4 water buckets

  • @rubikvoncube3583
    @rubikvoncube3583 4 роки тому +7

    2:27
    *MINECRAFT WATER PHYSICS WANTS TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION*

  • @WLY2718
    @WLY2718 5 років тому +5

    My favourite UA-cam channel, you completely change the way I view mathematics and it’s applications

  • @MrBelles104
    @MrBelles104 3 роки тому

    12:50 you can draw this without retracing or making your pencil leave the paper by tilting the pencil to where it won 't draw but is still on the paper.

  • @nikolayzapryanoff1032
    @nikolayzapryanoff1032 5 років тому +7

    As always, awesome video, man! I usually save your videos to watch them right after I wake up. Helps me wake up with the perspective I want for the day.

  • @sageknot7537
    @sageknot7537 3 роки тому +11

    For the students infected one, I'm surprised he didn't mention that the students have to be in a continuous diagonal line for maximum infection. And that the students form the edge of the square/rectangle, so it's impossible for the infection to move outward

    • @BryanLu0
      @BryanLu0 2 роки тому +3

      Labelling rows with letter and columns with numbers, place infected students at a1 c1 e1 e3 and e5. This would create an L shape and the rest of the students would be infected spreading from the corner

    • @ambiverter
      @ambiverter Рік тому

      @@BryanLu0 Good find!

    • @schwingedeshaehers
      @schwingedeshaehers Рік тому

      It don't have to be diagonal for maximum efficiency

    • @schwingedeshaehers
      @schwingedeshaehers Рік тому +1

      ​@@BryanLu0even other "shapes" work
      00100
      00000
      10101
      00000
      00100
      Works too
      But I think the l shape, is the on, that Takes the longes time to reach every cell

  • @alvinpalmgren3442
    @alvinpalmgren3442 5 років тому +15

    For anyone wondering how the V-E+F=2 works, here's a short explanation:
    When there's only 1 vertex, there is obviously no edges and the only face is the outer section, so V-E+F=1-0+1=2. If you add another vertex a new edge is also created, so the sum doesn't change. You can keep adding new vertices like this, and as long as you don't connect any old ones V-E is always going to stay the same (and since you're not creating any new faces F is not going to change either).
    If you connect two existing vertices, though, *only* an edge is going to be created - thus V-E is going to decrease by one. Meanwhile, a face is inevitably going to be created, and the total sum is going to remain two.

  • @galatic-wyvern2993
    @galatic-wyvern2993 Рік тому +1

    6:00
    there is an easier proor.
    It is impossible to infect a student unless you have an infected student in their row or column.
    so... you need however many rows or columns there are.

  • @Awseswa
    @Awseswa 5 років тому +4

    I subbed three years ago when I decided to go into engineering and didn't know what to major in (ended up choosing electrical). Glad I stayed subbed because your videos are becoming more and more interesting. Happy to see that you have gained so many subscribers because you seriously have such high content quality.

    • @zachstar
      @zachstar  5 років тому +1

      Thank you for the comment and glad you've stuck around!

  • @rineft7737
    @rineft7737 2 роки тому +1

    I learned more stuff about math then i did in my entire year in algrebra 1

  • @_DarkKnight2301_
    @_DarkKnight2301_ 5 років тому +11

    At 14:56 you could also just teleport right away and start from the outside point and weave your way around. Both ways work because you're starting at an odd numbered node.

    • @zachstar
      @zachstar  5 років тому +5

      Yep! I actually saw that after having the animations done but didn’t want to change it lol

    • @_DarkKnight2301_
      @_DarkKnight2301_ 5 років тому +1

      @@zachstar Lmao. It's all good. Always interesting to see new ways to view and approach a problem. Even ones where it's not complicated, but ideas can vary. Also, I would've done the same thing too lol. Love your videos. Keep up the good work, but dont overwork yourself.

    • @baertorv
      @baertorv 5 років тому +1

      The reasoning behind why it's possible with the teleport hole, is that it just makes the two "nodes" the same (since you can travel between them without restrictions), so you can just add their degree and get 14, which is even. Then you just start in one of the odd nodes :).

    • @qwazy01
      @qwazy01 4 роки тому

      So at 14:38 is the puzzle solvable? Or do the odd nodes need to be adjacent to either each other or the worm hole?

  • @giorgi4ever
    @giorgi4ever 2 роки тому +2

    3:12 simple as that for anyone who understands minecraft water

  • @Meari20
    @Meari20 5 років тому +10

    This topic turned out to be very interesting, although it did not seem to me at first. Thank!

  • @Kelvoraax
    @Kelvoraax 3 роки тому +1

    The infected Students problem seems very reminiscent of Conway’s Game of Life

  • @georgepaul6240
    @georgepaul6240 5 років тому +124

    Is it possible? apparently sometimes it is and sometimes it isnt...
    Who could have known
    Great video btw

  • @abyssalgodsword
    @abyssalgodsword 4 роки тому +4

    This came up in my recommended and the infected problem felt too real, very informative though good work!

  • @cycklist
    @cycklist 5 років тому +14

    Superb! Enjoyed that.

  • @worldsokayestdrummer7700
    @worldsokayestdrummer7700 4 роки тому

    14:44 You could just go through the hole to go outside and have that be your new “starting point” lol

  • @AbhishekAnshuuu
    @AbhishekAnshuuu 5 років тому +40

    This channel surprisingly gives me feels like the Vsauce used to do.

    • @Naijiri.
      @Naijiri. 5 років тому +3

      all hail vsauce

    • @kouimette
      @kouimette 5 років тому +1

      Watch Ted Ed

    • @KenKelvinN
      @KenKelvinN 4 роки тому +1

      I'm pretty sure that I saw an video with these exactly same problems in one of the Michael's channels.

    • @AbhishekAnshuuu
      @AbhishekAnshuuu 4 роки тому

      @@KenKelvinN he has spread his contents over so many channels and its so hard to pinpoint this in his contents.

  • @negin1812
    @negin1812 4 роки тому +1

    Anyone who plays chess can solve this puzzle 8:56 easily, we have the same concept in our game. Sometimes enemy king (let's call it black) is in the worse position, but you can't pushem away or change the situation on a board with your king, because black repeats your moves and don't let your king walk in. This triangle in the right bottom is the key, in chess we call that triangulation, when black can repeatedly do only 2 moves to repeat the position, but you can do 3 and so make the black go away. Surprised that knowledge of chess helped me with some math problem, chess actually is a great game to sharpen your mind because quite often you've got to solve such puzzles on a board to win. Great video btw, it took me several hours to watch it and solve everything

  • @FinetalPies
    @FinetalPies 5 років тому +16

    lol the chasing the thief problem is so obvious to anyone who's played roguelikes

    • @LlamaLopez
      @LlamaLopez 5 років тому

      Exactly what I was thinking lol

  • @sudarshandas4270
    @sudarshandas4270 3 роки тому +1

    10:11 this is a concept in the game of chess actually named as Zugzwang

  • @HeataveGaming
    @HeataveGaming 5 років тому +7

    11:00 we litterally learned this in my a level further maths class today

  • @silentoccasion4359
    @silentoccasion4359 4 роки тому +3

    For the first problem, you can connect all dots in 3 lines. Just connect all the columns then tilt the lines and expand. The line will then intercept at some point

  • @thesmallestbeast1152
    @thesmallestbeast1152 4 роки тому +50

    No, no, they just close the schools at that point. Believe me, we know.
    -The Future

    • @TheOfficialVSTORM
      @TheOfficialVSTORM 4 роки тому

      Let's get 20 dislikes too, so it's also signed 2020.

  • @mrchof4875
    @mrchof4875 4 роки тому +2

    It has probably already been said, but something like the problem about the thief actually happens a lot in chess. When you reach the latest stages of the game with very few pieces (kings and pawns), you can find yourself in positions that would benefit one side or another depending on who has to move next. So the strategy involved is to "lose a tempo/move" by triangling with your king (using 3 moves to come back to the same spot, instead of 2) so you get the same position handing the turn to the other player and therefore forcing him to let you some space on the board. It's kind of hard to portrait really, but it is not that of an advanced tip you learn in chess, but still it made me instantly find the solution for this problem

  • @PlasmaLink64
    @PlasmaLink64 Рік тому +2

    I came up with a slightly different method for the infected students. I noted that in order to completely span the length of a side, you need at least n/2 + 1/2 students, arranged in a X O X O X straight line. (I think for Even n, it's n/2 + 1, X O X O X X).
    You need to do this for horizontal, and vertical, otherwise the infection won't be able to reach every row/column. While you can share an infected student between the two lines (e.x. lines are top row and leftmost column, sharing the top left corner infected student), that still leaves n/2 + 1/2 + n/2 - 1/2 = n. For evens, it works out to n+1.
    So, it's not possible to infect all students with fewer than n infections.

  • @Deufurth
    @Deufurth 3 роки тому +1

    Another way to prove the infected students involves looking at efficiency.
    The most efficient use of two tiles would be the max amount of squares two sources can infect. If you look at all possible arrangements of two sources, then the most efficient path would be the two squares connected by a corner, as this leads to two new infected. The new infections will always be generated inwards.
    This means that for efficiency, you would need to start at any corner, and work your way to the other. Since there will never be an infection on the sides that do not lead to a corner with another infected, there can never be spread in that direction, meaning that the most efficient amount of starting tiles (the smallest amount tiles to fill in the square), must be n.

  • @UODZU-P
    @UODZU-P 5 років тому +20

    when you intuitively know the proof around 4:00 because its the same as minecraft water physics

  • @Pomodorosan
    @Pomodorosan Рік тому +1

    3:20 the infection can never grow outward towards the edge without there being an initial infection, so you must have infected nodes on the edges, then work from there

  • @gawys28
    @gawys28 5 років тому +6

    2:22 Ah the good old minecraft pool problem
    There's a more intuitive way to resolve it though

    • @gawys28
      @gawys28 5 років тому +1

      The same goes with the thief problem

  • @KayOScode
    @KayOScode Рік тому

    For the cop and robber one, I saw that bottom corner and realized I could catch him there, but gave up when i couldn’t think of a way to force him there, I didnt quite think of that

  • @-sturmfalke-
    @-sturmfalke- 4 роки тому +13

    The first one was a challenge our math teacher once gave us.
    Me, not knowing the point of the riddle, just connected three points downwards, and then FOLDED the paper, so that the line actually connected all nine. I just thought of controlling space to get what I want, because I didn't got it right.
    Big Brain or dumb failure of the rules? He said its good.
    Sorry for the bad sentences, I usually don't speak english very often.

    • @qwazy01
      @qwazy01 4 роки тому

      I guess you were allowed to lift the pencil off the paper then

    • @jakej2680
      @jakej2680 4 роки тому +1

      You could also solve it by backtracking the pencil along existing line segments. You're not taking the pencil off of the paper and are not creating additional line segments, merely re-tracing existing segments.

    • @-sturmfalke-
      @-sturmfalke- 3 роки тому

      @Tom Petitdidier Thank you for your help!

  • @vafkamat
    @vafkamat 4 роки тому

    love this video - good work Zach

  • @orlemley5789
    @orlemley5789 4 роки тому +3

    When watching the part at 4:10 i just kept thinking about infinite water sources in minecraft

  • @llamayama3759
    @llamayama3759 3 роки тому

    Anyone else have their mind blown at 5 am by the robber problem at about 10:00

  • @evanbutler1396
    @evanbutler1396 5 років тому +11

    So he said no pun intended for the opening problem, but that's literally where "thinking outside the box" came from.

    • @Ten_Thousand_Locusts
      @Ten_Thousand_Locusts 3 роки тому

      No it's not

    • @evanbutler1396
      @evanbutler1396 3 роки тому

      @@Ten_Thousand_Locusts mate, yes it is.

    • @Ten_Thousand_Locusts
      @Ten_Thousand_Locusts 3 роки тому

      @@evanbutler1396 it's literally not

    • @evanbutler1396
      @evanbutler1396 3 роки тому

      @@Ten_Thousand_Locusts then what is the origin? I've presented a point, all you've said is I'm wrong without presenting any evidence to the contrary.

    • @Ten_Thousand_Locusts
      @Ten_Thousand_Locusts 3 роки тому

      @@evanbutler1396 burden of proof isn't on me dumbass, you're the one making ridiculous statements out here not me.

  • @natalala_xo
    @natalala_xo 5 років тому +1

    Funny thing is in my mother tongue no one explained it to me as clear as you did :) I might even start to like maths now - thank you so much!

  • @sarasotauptoseattle
    @sarasotauptoseattle 3 роки тому +6

    I believe the "9 dot game" is where the term "think outside the box" actually comes from, so you were actually right on point.

  • @NoNotNow
    @NoNotNow Рік тому +1

    we did this in school, i found the answer in a matter of seconds

  • @telotawa
    @telotawa 5 років тому +31

    2:08 everyone who knows how water spreads in minecraft has an intuitive understanding of this problem

    • @LL-pl2ek
      @LL-pl2ek 5 років тому +2

      I dont have Minecraft

    • @weskerposting
      @weskerposting 4 роки тому

      L L uncultured

    • @wewladstbh
      @wewladstbh 4 роки тому

      @@LL-pl2ek it's 25 dollars poor boy!!!! get outta here workin class bitch!!!!

    • @LL-pl2ek
      @LL-pl2ek 4 роки тому

      @@wewladstbh
      Did you think baby me could?

    • @wewladstbh
      @wewladstbh 4 роки тому

      @@LL-pl2ek I didn't realise I was in contact with an infant! My apologies!

  • @quirkycubing5630
    @quirkycubing5630 4 роки тому

    This channel is awesome! I'm considering a career in statistics, and this channel is just feeding that idea. I love this channel!!!

  • @NStripleseven
    @NStripleseven 2 роки тому +4

    2:42 See also: Minecraft water source generation

  • @nutsi3
    @nutsi3 Рік тому +1

    11:07 me: **grabs another pencil**

  • @Braycoe
    @Braycoe 5 років тому +5

    3:35 beaver flu: a rare variant of bird flu that lasts forever
    *uh oh*

  • @tothm129
    @tothm129 5 років тому

    these type of videos are usually frustrating but i actually learned something

  • @socks2423
    @socks2423 3 роки тому +3

    the problem at 5:18 (infected students) felt realy easy to me. I could just tell how it would work for some reason. Then I realized, it is the same as water spreading mechanics in minecraft.

    • @mkks4559
      @mkks4559 Рік тому +1

      I knew solving it felt familiar. Making aquariums in Minecraft is useful.

  • @firedropcutie
    @firedropcutie 4 роки тому +2

    Did anyone else notice the infected student puzzle is basically just minecraft water source creation?

  • @tankigamingwithrichardrock9930
    @tankigamingwithrichardrock9930 5 років тому +5

    9:48 is like triangulation of the king in chess

  • @SlyRocko
    @SlyRocko Рік тому

    1:53 This problem actually has a pretty interesting application in Minecraft:
    Water blocks technically have two different states: Source water blocks that can be collected, and rushing water blocks that cannot.
    Rushing water can be converted to source water using the same exact rules shown, and it is also proven there that the absolute minimum source water blocks needed to fill a pool of nxn size has to be n blocks.

  • @alialmezel2929
    @alialmezel2929 5 років тому +4

    3:42 ... one of the instructors last name is " Van Dijk " !

  • @NjeriNdonga
    @NjeriNdonga 4 роки тому +1

    It's past midnight. I should be sleeping. But first, let's solve problems I will never encounter.

  • @ArnavBarbaad
    @ArnavBarbaad 4 роки тому +3

    You were just 5 months too early with the classroom example. It is now our reality.

  • @zfloyd1627
    @zfloyd1627 4 роки тому +1

    I love how you changed the music when Euler's characteristic was revealed.

  • @rayanzz1410
    @rayanzz1410 5 років тому +7

    I thought this video would be about an unlock pattern, lol

  • @aMEZAingDom
    @aMEZAingDom 2 роки тому

    Zach on the house problem: “this would be difficult to brute force
    Me who gets it first try: “yes, this is big brain time”

  • @Avarioth
    @Avarioth 5 років тому +9

    My mother once had me try to solve the 1st puzzle on this list and while it did take me like 20 minutes (I refused to give up!), the phrase "thinking outside the box" occurred to me as I was taking a bathroom break (lol), so I asked my mother if the dots were restrictive. As in, was I ONLY allowed to draw directly from dot to dot. She said no, I didn't have to... after which it pretty much solved itself xP. But yeah, that even occurring to me did take a long time...

  • @Aashishkebab
    @Aashishkebab 2 роки тому

    I love how you have a mix of math videos and parody.

  • @SpaceDragon00
    @SpaceDragon00 5 років тому +6

    There is actually a much simpler solution to the room problem as discussed in the video that I tried to work out while the video was paused. The rooms in the video can be put in two categories: Rooms with an odd number of doors and rooms with an even number of doors. Now, considerwhat would happen when you tried to 'complete' one of these rooms in isolation. Within each room, you MUST alternate between leaving the room and entering the room, because you cannot leave a room two times in a row. Now, consider the even-numbered room. There are two starting positions: inside and outside. Because you must always enter after you leave, or leave after you enter, you are either left inside the room if you started inside, or outside the room if you started outside. Now, however, consider the odd numbered room. If you start inside, your final move must always be to leave, and if you start outside, your final move must always be to enter, so this means that you always have to start inside the odd numbered room and outside the even numbered room if you don't want to get stuck inside each room. However, the problem contains 3 rooms with an odd number of doors, so the problem is impossible because you can only complete 2 odd-numbered rooms before getting stuck indefinitely, completing one by starting inside it and escaping and completing the other last by getting stuck inside. The hole fixes the problem because it allows you to 'transform' 2 odd-numbered rooms into even numbered rooms, while also allowing you to start outside those even-numbered rooms as to prevent getting stuck.

    • @BryanLu0
      @BryanLu0 2 роки тому +1

      This is exactly the same logic as in the video. There can only be 2 odd numbered rooms, but the problem has 4. (Remember the outside counts as 1)

  • @loafes1352
    @loafes1352 4 роки тому

    The problem at 8:43 reminded me of the opposition in chess and how often you need to triangulate the king in alot of pawn endgames

  • @triniasta
    @triniasta 4 роки тому +5

    0:20 There can be thicc line wich connect all dots xD

  • @oberonpanopticon
    @oberonpanopticon Рік тому

    I found this guy’s comedy channel before this one, so now I can’t stop thinking about that whenever I hear his voice

  • @firebreathmint3912
    @firebreathmint3912 3 роки тому +3

    Who else first watched his skits and now finds it weird that this man is being smart? Lol.

  • @СтроительФриз-р2ж
    @СтроительФриз-р2ж 5 років тому +1

    The way i see the box problem is this (sorry for my english)
    Disease can spread only in a boundaries of your X-es, like if you could draw a rectangle in the box that includes all the X-es, disease cannot spread more than that, and so with 4 X-es you can cover maximum 4x4 square, and its not enough for spreading disease to all

  • @ApO20
    @ApO20 5 років тому +3

    10:40
    Going by the rules you said, yes you can.

    • @danielpowell4104
      @danielpowell4104 5 років тому

      Yeah I thought so as well

    • @alvaro5827
      @alvaro5827 5 років тому

      How could you do that?

    • @F2p7YshCn9
      @F2p7YshCn9 5 років тому

      @Alvaro Garcia change the shape of the rooms so that there's only one room with 5 doors.

  • @deept3215
    @deept3215 5 років тому

    When you add the hole in the house problem you are merging the 2 nodes, basically adding up the numbers on them. Thus you remove 2 odd vertices adding an even one and the graph is traversable.

  • @l3nn4rt24
    @l3nn4rt24 5 років тому +5

    Yeah :D her ist the first english speaking person who pronounces Euler correctly :DDD 16:30

    • @KTF055
      @KTF055 5 років тому +1

      and I was watching the node-stuff asking myself the whole time: will he mention Euler at some point... wasn't disappointed but had to wait quite a while...

  • @mysteriousshadow5205
    @mysteriousshadow5205 4 роки тому

    I have could like to say that you have improved my way of my thinking

  • @iicy8871
    @iicy8871 3 роки тому +6

    I’m sorry, but… What did I just learn?

  • @samj1027
    @samj1027 3 роки тому

    as a computer science major this is giving me so much painful flashbacks to regular expressions and algorithmic math then having to write proofs for them