I beg to differ. Of course we deserve him! How will the world turn into a better place, without role models like him? Influencing the people to the better who need it the most?
Not really. I asked a lot of my teachers questions. During grade 4+ I asked my math teachers many questions, and they'd mostly answer with, "I don't know", or with half-assed answers, except my grade 8 teacher. He went beyond his duties and answer my questions in full detail.
He had the best parents, or mom it would seem, when a teacher didn't care for his telescope she went with him to someone that did. Good teachers also help, but with parents like that you find the right teachers.
@@KarlFFF ; Both parents. He says his dad was "a wonderful man." Go to 7:20 on the Neon Knots and Borromean Beer Rings video (ua-cam.com/video/BDEo5XpZcXo/v-deo.html). He talks so enthusiastically about how great a dad he had. Bring tissues.
This podcast episode is undoubtedly contains some of my favorite stories I've ever heard. As a college student looking into an unknown future, getting some 'advise' or even just knowing what it can be like is priceless. Thank you very much for making this.
I read The Cuckoo's Egg in high-school and I've been waiting for this interview ever since Cliff first appeared on Numberphile. Cliff isn't just a cool guy to me, he's been an example of the kind of man I want to become. Your enthusiasm, your love of life, everything has been such an inspiration to me. Thank you for this Brady
This is so beautiful. We should appreciate the teachers who inspire us (wherever they come into our lives.) An inspiring teacher is a gift to the world but too often they are ground down into just producing compliant little worker drones with little in the way of curiosity or interest in the world about them. Hurrah for people like Cliff who have never forgotten the three most important words in any language: what? How? Why?
This is the best podcast yet, the world would be a much better place if we had a few more Cliffs in it! It is his enthusiasm that always gets me, and always come across in his videos and now this podcast.
I loved this. I could listen to his excitedly told stories for hours. I loved "The Cuckoo's Egg" when I read it in the early 90s and now I make a nice living in computer security. Cliff and his story was a big part of the inspiration for that. Thanks Cliff and Brady!
Very inspirational. I definitely can't say for myself that I've given effort into creating things in my adult life, but as a teen, I did create quite a few things. As a child, I was engrossed in computers and mathematics. I marveled at learning new things about numbers, and how you could use them. My grade 8 math teacher, Mr Guillou(? I think its how its spelled) was very knowledgeable. He taught me way beyond than what the curriculum offered. He'd make weekly challenges for everyone in school, but making the last week of the month an impossible challenge. I'd solve them all, some learned from the extra teachings, some requiring research online. He also ran our schools extra curricular program, the Web Page Club. I'd design websites around video games, with gameshark cheat codes... still online on geocities lol. Though, when I'd get home, I'd combine these two, creating small web apps, which really didn't exist at the time. Scientific calculators, cryptographic converters, and even a text based game, all of which are still online :). I wanted to do more than just web apps, so I self taught myself programming languages. I already had a pretty good understanding since I knew html, and my godfather taught me qbasic as a child. Though, I never used qbasic really, I just remembered about syntax. I taught myself java, c, c#, c++, just many things. But regrettably, I didn't do anything with them. All I did was recreate what I've already done, and tried making new things with it, but I just hit road blocks. After a few months passed, I was playing online video games on the computer. I was pretty bad at them, like.. really bad. Lose all matches in starcraft, halo, you name it. So I thought to myself, remembering about c and c++, that you could hook onto applications, and modify them. I used this to create better accessibility, better controls, than what the game provided. An example, I am visually impaired. In Halo, it is really hard for me to see players from a distance, so I'd make an application that hooked into Halo, and it'd make the opponents textures a solid neon color. This made it waaaay easier to see them, and I'd start having fun again. I found a use for that knowledge, and I created something. I was excited, and showed my friends, and they called me a "cheater". I asked them why, and then they told me I made a hack. Never heard of hacks before, so I did some research, and then I found my niche that interested me. Hacking was fun, but I didn't like what others (everyone else) were doing with hacking. This innocent little piece of software I made was used to help with my vision, while everyone else was using hacks to instantly kill there opponent, have infinite ammo, spawn vehicles and weapons. Though, there wasn't a community for what I made, so I joined anyway. Posted my helpful hacks among the things I didn't like. For about a year I did that, and I was getting bored. I started to wonder how others were hacking their game, and looked at their applications code. Maybe learn something else that I didn't know. Learned a lot actually, but then I came across some weird code. This code was storing key presses, and only during a specific window, the login window. Yay keyloggers lol. These hacks were even released by admins and mods. I spilled the beans in General chat, and I was banned. Good riddance lol I stopped hacking at that point. Completely lost interest. Nearing my mid-30's, and I haven't done that for more than half my life ago. I haven't really touched programming ever since then. Or even created anything from other means. I just absorb knowledge from this channel, and others, and if something grabs my interest heavily, I'll research it. But I don't do anything with it, I just know a lot. The very idea of creating something was lost a long time ago. I don't even know where to begin when trying to create something new. At least I like to think I'm smart, just not creative :)
okay, so inspiring teachers. It's a sad story a little but for me it is math teachers as well Class 1-8 I had the same teacher for maths and he was a specialist - I was the best student in the subject so I got to do and win this national competition "Känguru". In the years 9-11 I had 8 different teachers for the subject and finally for year 13 the final one(which taught me how to film interesting videos by chance.... so I look different on Brady videos ever since). One of them only was with us for like 2 months by the name of Wachowiak. he was from a different school and already retired, but he is an enthusiast and he shared his passion for mathematics with us. Much to the dislike of the rest of our class who would rather sit down and learn what they need for the exams at the end of the year and therefore foreced him out. The worst part is that he had prepared a whole block(2 lessons every day for 4 weeks) in physics(mechanics if I recall correctly) but was kicked out just the week before that was about to begin, so that block was taught by a maths teacher for lower classes (5-8 mainly) who was new at our school and had difficulties with the language. It was the worst way to learn anything and nobody in our class learned a thing in physics because we skipped physics completely in year 10,11 and 13. He got replaced by an even worse choice, a private coach for university students... that also ended a few months later. But Wachowiak reignited my passion for mathematics and I still like the topic today. Back then times were just easier and a 15year old kid wasn't occupied with the world enough to start and finish a project. On my way to school today, the sun wasn't up already and I noticed two very bright dots in the sky, much brighter then a star and they weren't visible anymore due to the blue sky. But it was Venus at -4.3 just 40 minutes before sunset and the other dot was Jupiter at -1.2 that is what my phone told me as I whipped out my Heavans Above app, as I suspected it to be an ISS pass(while it wasn't even moving). It really stunned me and had me remember the first time I saw Saturn with the ring around it through a scope and was baffled to this day. Photographic plates like they used in the 1870-1930 for photographs and much longer in astronomy interest me, they are ISO of 1,2,3 depending on your mood kinda. I found a guy online who still makes them and surprisingly a public darkroom in the next city started to import them so I got one pack of 10 for 35€ the next day to use with my grandpas old(possibly from his grandfather) plate camera, I am just short on the subjects to shoot and developer yet, but it is one of the "projects" I pursue.
Oh noe I feel like I can relate a little too much on the Frist story already. As UA-cam comments are basically my diary tht help me to sleep more often then they should, I will listen to this podcast in detail and leave an in depth comment. But not right now, it's late.
lol , im not wasting my time or missing out on reality by enjoying my favourite parts of it . games stimulate both the self and the communities around them .
I am interested in knowing whether those teachers would entertain any other kid caught up in boring things in life. I might be wrong but the teachers I have seen are interested only in kids who approach them. I have never seen a teacher taking the initiative to get kids out of the bubble they live in.
I think it's a little one-dimensional to just flat out "disagree". This is a fantastically complex topic of discussion that explores individuals' values and personal definitions of purpose in life. I know this comment is almost a year old, but I'd genuinely be interested to hear what pushes you to say this. Learning about something so personalized from people that likely have different views than yourself can be educational and enjoyable.
If there's one person who's willing and able to challenge their biases and admit fault, it's this guy. I love Cliff but that did make me raise an eyebrow. Hopefully someone has chatted with about that since the podcast debuted.
I really like these podcasts, but the music that abbreviates the dialogue is pointless. This isn't the radio. I would like these much better if it was not there. It almost ruins the podcast. Please consider breaking the standards for podcasts by getting rid of those annoying musical interludes.
Yep. That’s, what all teachers should be like 😌. Unfortunately, like with all jobs, most people get so routined and numbed to it that they just don’t give a damn. We actually have a word for this phenomenon, in Finnish. We call it: _”Leipiintyminen”,_ or: _”Leipääntyminen”._ 😔
I can only imagine having had teachers like Cliff, or a mom that encouraged my interests the way his did enough to take me to museums. We were poor, too, so that isn't an excuse. Makes me wonder what I could have done with my life. So now I'm trying to be that Mom I should have had, adding to my son's deficient curriculum, taking him to museums and most of the NPS properties during the summer. Encouraging his interests and allowing him to try... And HE is the one who introduced me to Brady's channels. He hasn't found THAT teacher yet, but if he has great role models like Cliff I think he's gonna be fine.
As an aspiring teacher, that first story brought me to tears. The world needs more teachers like that. Teachers who care more about cultivating and inspiring curiosity than a prescribed curriculum. Stories like these make it all worth it.
I got my parents a klein bottle from cliff for their wedding anniversary. Their wedding rings are mobius rings, so a klein bottle was the perfect gift!
Cliff Stoll is like Bob Ross to me. When they talk or do something, they put such passion and honesty in it that as a spectator/listener there is just no way to not enjoy them. People like Cliff can make me forget that I'm in a sad phase by just being themselves, and for that I want to say thanks
I'm crying a little, I feel like everyone has that one special teacher in their life and this story really pulls at the heartstrings. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A CHANNEL ABOUT MATH D:
I could listen to Cliff for hours! His curiosity and passion to learn is unparalleled, and his storytelling is fantastic. A hopeful high schooler, KK6FXF Amateur Radio General.
I recently bought a Klein bottle from Mr Stoll and got a chance to exchange a few words with him. A warm-hearted genius that could inspire us all to delve a little bit deeper into science and simple human kindness.
Can we all just acknowledge the fact that despite all the opposition he has faced, from an incompetent Science teacher to an arrogant and officious grad school Astronomy professor, to reluctant FBI-/CIA-/NSA-agents, to a walking Capitalist stereotype of a book agent, to a greedy, untrustworthy bong-maker, to ridiculing blog-posters, Cliff has never lost his optimism and enthusiasm and love of Science 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻?
That was good. I've got to say, there were teachers who tried to mentor me, but I was hard to mentor. I didn't know what to do with advice. Following it, not following it, nothing seemed to work. I didn't really get math or science. I thought I did. People still think I do. I get a lot of it. But what people then, including myself, didn't understand was I'm not a math or science person. I'm a humanities person. I do math and science but I turn it into humanities first. Without even thinking about it. And that's in addition to my not really knowing how to deal with advice and not really knowing when I've hit the edge of what I know.. So Mr. Stoll had great mentors. He was also, I expect, a damn good mentee. And that's not a skill to sniff at.
The two books given to Cliff to read was: RJ Bray and RE Loughhead - Sunspots Angelo Secchi - Le Soleil: Exposé des Principales Découvertes Modernes (The Sun: Presentation of the Major Modern Discoveries)
43:00 Ironically, rock-stars are way less important, than many less-known celebrities. Cliff, for example, helped, with his investigation, develop modern cyber-security; whereas the most tangible imprint most rock-stars have left for the society, is braindead youth. 😅
always an interesting guy with interesting stories and toys. ever since highschool I still don't know what for matrix math is. I've always loved programming and science, have used algebra and geometry for different things, but have yet to come across something needing a matrix. maybe the saddest thing is, I have yet to have someone enter my life who enjoys learning as I do.
I have to agree with Cliff about celebrity. I don’t give a damn about celebrity, either. I hate being the center of attention. I actually did an online test, and it turned out that I am 20/20-introvert. No surprises, there. I am an observer, not the center of attention. 👍🏻
Gonna need some more episodes with Cliff :D i do strongly disagree on the points he makes on games and social media though, for one thing, the ability to waste time was not introduced by computers or the internet, and both gaming and social media has brought a ton of people together and exposed them to new ideas and ways to think about stuff..
52:00 I can confirm that. Even today, it’s damn near impossible to get through a course without the teacher having to ask the students for help with the technology. 😅
I was also an astronomy student at the Univ of Az, also a student of Elizabeth Roemer, and I worked 2 years at the 61" telescope on Mt Bigelow. I had no idea Cliff was an astronomer -- I thought he was a mathematician! Sad to hear that grad school turned him off to astronomy. I never got to grad school and never even graduated college. I got a job offer as a staff scientist at Steward Observatory and of course I jumped on that! Best choice I ever made. PhD astronomers spend 70% of their time writing grant proposals, 29% of their time working with students, and maybe 1% of their time doing their own work. Not for me! Thanks, Cliff, for the interesting and inspiring interview! If he ever wants to get back into the astronomy game, please have him contact me! I'm doing some interesting work involving data collection and STEM (or STEAM) projects.
This doesn't quite feel like a podcast, there are too many cuts in it. Let the guest get on with it and ramble, it's nice to be reminded that incredibly smart people still think along similar lines to everyone else. That being said it's still great to listen to, thanks much!
I'm a game developer. Playing video games inspires me to make interesting games of my own. It also connects me to my online friends, gives us something to talk about and share.
That is a beautiful, beautiful story. 🙂 Unfortunately, most of my early math class experience was very different. We went through the material in the book, of course, but I honestly don't think any of the teachers really "got it." They were just teaching what they were told to teach. No one ever connected it with anything. Take numeric bases, for instance. I was exposed to that every year for probably six or seven years in grade school. And every time it came up I had to struggle through it all over again, because no one ever too the time to actually explain what positional notation was all about. It's one of the simplest ideas you can possibly imagine, but only if you are shown the core idea, and I never was. Eventually the light dawned, of course, but I was a lot older than I should have been when that finally happened, and it mostly happened through my own efforts. When I went to graduate school, I was already focused on learning more about physics later on, after I finished school. So I deliberately loaded up on math courses. However, I didn't know everything I should have loaded up on - I focused on what I'll call "continuous math." Calculus, differential equations, tensors, etc. etc. And that went well. But later when I started trying to learn new things, I realized that "discrete math" was a LOT more important in physics than I'd realized. And I didn't know it. So I had to learn all the stuff I now know about that part of math on my own. At this point I'm 61, so I've had quite a lot of time to recover from that oversight, but I would say that probably 75-80 percent of the "discrete" math I know I have learned on my own. The best approach I've found is to use "popular" material online (mostly UA-cam videos like Numberphile, Mathologer, etc.) to "expose myself" to things. Gets the wheels spinning and lets me become aware that an idea is "out there." Then I'll go find "real" university lecture courses online and use those to really nail the stuff down.
Brady, Bravo... Bravo! This entire thing is gold. I didn't think it was possible to like Cliff Stoll more than I already did but you teased out wonderful stories I had never heard before. Nice work
This guy, his stories.... They make me think a lot about my life. It may seem childish, since I'm barely 18, but I always loved science. My mom fed me with interesting answers much more complex than I could understand, but it was fun. I am no genius, far from it, but I have a strong inclination toward those intellectual things. They make me very happy. But.... At some point, I got used to being lazy, to not asking the why of everything and I lost so many opportunities like the one Cliff had with the astronomer. I know I can still get myself something going, to begin studying very hard and actually "catch up" and do something amazing, but still... My first instinct is to put the blame on not being motivated by others enough, but I'm learning to stop that. I know it is my fault and some people presented me with opportunities that I did not fully develop. Somehow I was taught that I was smart and that made me not need to work hard for anything. Looking back.... I can see that almost had no notion of the actual amount of work that goes into being someone like cliff, or any intellectual. I had no idea how much it paid off and I forgot the fun of being immersed in these awesome stuff. Anyways... It's my fault, I should have tried harder but damn, I was ignorant. I don't know, I wish I had stories of how I built a telescope in my backyard or that I used to disassemble clocks, something like that. But I don't. Maybe it would reinforce that I am a very smart person and give me some motivation now that I just got into college and noticed how far behind I was, and how arrogant I've been to think I was at all such a elevated person I needed to worry about nothing. Again, I don't even have a reason to write this, maybe I hope some wise person just stumbles upon my mess of a brain and tells me something great, but honestly this is just my way of talking about this with "someone". I don't really have anyone to talk to about this that may tell me where to go, but I guess... Writing it makes my head clearer and I can go back to my textbooks and keep trying. Hopefully I can stop being lazy sometime in the near future. If you read this, I'm sorry for wasting your time lol.
This is such a wonderful and inspirational story! I resonate so much with his childlike excitement of finding out new and curious things about the universe (real and mathematical). That eventually led me to gaining a first class honours degree in mathematics in what seems like a mix of love, awe and pure accident. I love to share my passion with my pupils and others, and can only hope to inspire others in the same way as Cliff and his teachers. Life is about finding such enthusiasm!
![[UA] Eternal Fire проти NAVI | EPL Season 20 Malta](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/chvlsDygrZM/mqdefault.jpg)
Not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need.
I'd like to think that it's the hero WE deserve (as the numberphile community)
I’d like to think of him as the hero we love
i was literally thinking this sentence right as it loaded
I beg to differ. Of course we deserve him! How will the world turn into a better place, without role models like him? Influencing the people to the better who need it the most?
@@FreddyZeNerd Yes 😁!
Cliff Stoll: Mathematician, Astronomer, Physicist, Dad, Husband, Lover of Life, Role Model, and Inspiration.
... and system admin, writer and teacher.
....and someone who helped put speed bumps on the street in oakland california
Just shows that it is pointless to box yourself.
You forgot enemy of the hackers lol, perhaps the father of modern cybersecurity?
@@ayushsinha1813 Yep. You’d probably have to use an unlistably infinite number of labels.
This man had all the greatest teachers.
Or maybe he just paid attention and asked questions. aids in teaching.
Not really. I asked a lot of my teachers questions. During grade 4+ I asked my math teachers many questions, and they'd mostly answer with, "I don't know", or with half-assed answers, except my grade 8 teacher. He went beyond his duties and answer my questions in full detail.
He had the best parents, or mom it would seem, when a teacher didn't care for his telescope she went with him to someone that did. Good teachers also help, but with parents like that you find the right teachers.
@@KarlFFF ; Both parents. He says his dad was "a wonderful man." Go to 7:20 on the Neon Knots and Borromean Beer Rings video (ua-cam.com/video/BDEo5XpZcXo/v-deo.html). He talks so enthusiastically about how great a dad he had. Bring tissues.
This man IS the greatest teacher
This podcast episode is undoubtedly contains some of my favorite stories I've ever heard. As a college student looking into an unknown future, getting some 'advise' or even just knowing what it can be like is priceless. Thank you very much for making this.
hi big youtuber i have never heard of before
I read The Cuckoo's Egg in high-school and I've been waiting for this interview ever since Cliff first appeared on Numberphile. Cliff isn't just a cool guy to me, he's been an example of the kind of man I want to become. Your enthusiasm, your love of life, everything has been such an inspiration to me. Thank you for this Brady
I'm actually crying. Cliff I hope to be like you one day! To be a master of mathematics and have so many incredible stories to tell!
Nonagon Infinity opens the door (to matrices, vector manipulations and manifolds!)
This is so beautiful. We should appreciate the teachers who inspire us (wherever they come into our lives.) An inspiring teacher is a gift to the world but too often they are ground down into just producing compliant little worker drones with little in the way of curiosity or interest in the world about them.
Hurrah for people like Cliff who have never forgotten the three most important words in any language: what? How? Why?
This is the best podcast yet, the world would be a much better place if we had a few more Cliffs in it! It is his enthusiasm that always gets me, and always come across in his videos and now this podcast.
Thank you
Cliff Stoll, the famous author and system admin
This is a wonderfully inspiring podcast, both humbling and empowering. He's a great storyteller. I'm getting emotional here.
thank you for saying such nice things.
I loved this. I could listen to his excitedly told stories for hours. I loved "The Cuckoo's Egg" when I read it in the early 90s and now I make a nice living in computer security. Cliff and his story was a big part of the inspiration for that. Thanks Cliff and Brady!
That's great to hear - and glad you enjoyed it.
And yes, I too teared up at the story about his teacher.
This is probably the best podcast i've ever heard.
you shouldn't really hide these gems away on np2, the podcasts deserve their own channel
As a Fordham Alum, I lost my mind that cliff started talking about Br Guy, SJ. Amazing
”Clifford” is really a fitting name for someone, who’s interested in manifolds embedded in 4D-space. You know, ”Clifford torus”, and all that. 😅
My partner once spent a couple of hours with Cliff talking about quilting and knitting. Definitely an interesting fellow.
Sounds like that would have been a good podcast episode
@@numberphile2 Probably -- though it happened long before podcasts. Or iPods. I think it was around 1998 or so.
I have been binge watching Cliff Stohl videos lately and I’ve never been happier :)
53:33 I can't believe I've actually let Cliff down. What has become of me.
Make more videos with this man
Very inspirational. I definitely can't say for myself that I've given effort into creating things in my adult life, but as a teen, I did create quite a few things. As a child, I was engrossed in computers and mathematics. I marveled at learning new things about numbers, and how you could use them.
My grade 8 math teacher, Mr Guillou(? I think its how its spelled) was very knowledgeable. He taught me way beyond than what the curriculum offered. He'd make weekly challenges for everyone in school, but making the last week of the month an impossible challenge. I'd solve them all, some learned from the extra teachings, some requiring research online. He also ran our schools extra curricular program, the Web Page Club. I'd design websites around video games, with gameshark cheat codes... still online on geocities lol.
Though, when I'd get home, I'd combine these two, creating small web apps, which really didn't exist at the time. Scientific calculators, cryptographic converters, and even a text based game, all of which are still online :). I wanted to do more than just web apps, so I self taught myself programming languages. I already had a pretty good understanding since I knew html, and my godfather taught me qbasic as a child. Though, I never used qbasic really, I just remembered about syntax. I taught myself java, c, c#, c++, just many things.
But regrettably, I didn't do anything with them. All I did was recreate what I've already done, and tried making new things with it, but I just hit road blocks. After a few months passed, I was playing online video games on the computer. I was pretty bad at them, like.. really bad. Lose all matches in starcraft, halo, you name it. So I thought to myself, remembering about c and c++, that you could hook onto applications, and modify them. I used this to create better accessibility, better controls, than what the game provided.
An example, I am visually impaired. In Halo, it is really hard for me to see players from a distance, so I'd make an application that hooked into Halo, and it'd make the opponents textures a solid neon color. This made it waaaay easier to see them, and I'd start having fun again. I found a use for that knowledge, and I created something. I was excited, and showed my friends, and they called me a "cheater". I asked them why, and then they told me I made a hack. Never heard of hacks before, so I did some research, and then I found my niche that interested me.
Hacking was fun, but I didn't like what others (everyone else) were doing with hacking. This innocent little piece of software I made was used to help with my vision, while everyone else was using hacks to instantly kill there opponent, have infinite ammo, spawn vehicles and weapons. Though, there wasn't a community for what I made, so I joined anyway. Posted my helpful hacks among the things I didn't like.
For about a year I did that, and I was getting bored. I started to wonder how others were hacking their game, and looked at their applications code. Maybe learn something else that I didn't know. Learned a lot actually, but then I came across some weird code. This code was storing key presses, and only during a specific window, the login window. Yay keyloggers lol. These hacks were even released by admins and mods. I spilled the beans in General chat, and I was banned. Good riddance lol
I stopped hacking at that point. Completely lost interest. Nearing my mid-30's, and I haven't done that for more than half my life ago. I haven't really touched programming ever since then. Or even created anything from other means. I just absorb knowledge from this channel, and others, and if something grabs my interest heavily, I'll research it. But I don't do anything with it, I just know a lot. The very idea of creating something was lost a long time ago. I don't even know where to begin when trying to create something new.
At least I like to think I'm smart, just not creative :)
I loved this one. I got emotional more than once.
Please keep making podcasts, they are all soooooo good!!!
26:16 - "The Logical Song."
Thank you so much for this inspirational video
Glad you liked it
There's a numberphile podcast? Que
yes and it's great
* playing Surviving Mars * 53:32 I feel called out... Then again, the amount of potential I have is... idk.
I am so envious of this man...i feel stupid and lazy
Thank you. Teaching is something person should make part of there life.
I wish I had the passion for something like Cliff.
Why wouldn't you film this?
Cliff Stoll Dances About Architecture!
Wonderful. Blubbed for the first 1/3 of that xxx
okay, so inspiring teachers. It's a sad story a little but for me it is math teachers as well Class 1-8 I had the same teacher for maths and he was a specialist - I was the best student in the subject so I got to do and win this national competition "Känguru". In the years 9-11 I had 8 different teachers for the subject and finally for year 13 the final one(which taught me how to film interesting videos by chance.... so I look different on Brady videos ever since). One of them only was with us for like 2 months by the name of Wachowiak. he was from a different school and already retired, but he is an enthusiast and he shared his passion for mathematics with us. Much to the dislike of the rest of our class who would rather sit down and learn what they need for the exams at the end of the year and therefore foreced him out. The worst part is that he had prepared a whole block(2 lessons every day for 4 weeks) in physics(mechanics if I recall correctly) but was kicked out just the week before that was about to begin, so that block was taught by a maths teacher for lower classes (5-8 mainly) who was new at our school and had difficulties with the language. It was the worst way to learn anything and nobody in our class learned a thing in physics because we skipped physics completely in year 10,11 and 13. He got replaced by an even worse choice, a private coach for university students... that also ended a few months later.
But Wachowiak reignited my passion for mathematics and I still like the topic today.
Back then times were just easier and a 15year old kid wasn't occupied with the world enough to start and finish a project. On my way to school today, the sun wasn't up already and I noticed two very bright dots in the sky, much brighter then a star and they weren't visible anymore due to the blue sky. But it was Venus at -4.3 just 40 minutes before sunset and the other dot was Jupiter at -1.2 that is what my phone told me as I whipped out my Heavans Above app, as I suspected it to be an ISS pass(while it wasn't even moving). It really stunned me and had me remember the first time I saw Saturn with the ring around it through a scope and was baffled to this day.
Photographic plates like they used in the 1870-1930 for photographs and much longer in astronomy interest me, they are ISO of 1,2,3 depending on your mood kinda. I found a guy online who still makes them and surprisingly a public darkroom in the next city started to import them so I got one pack of 10 for 35€ the next day to use with my grandpas old(possibly from his grandfather) plate camera, I am just short on the subjects to shoot and developer yet, but it is one of the "projects" I pursue.
Oh noe I feel like I can relate a little too much on the Frist story already.
As UA-cam comments are basically my diary tht help me to sleep more often then they should, I will listen to this podcast in detail and leave an in depth comment. But not right now, it's late.
lol , im not wasting my time or missing out on reality by enjoying my favourite parts of it . games stimulate both the self and the communities around them .
(51:10) um, I bought cliff’s book over the internet as an eBook
I am interested in knowing whether those teachers would entertain any other kid caught up in boring things in life. I might be wrong but the teachers I have seen are interested only in kids who approach them. I have never seen a teacher taking the initiative to get kids out of the bubble they live in.
42:58
I disagree with Stoll on "wasting time".
I think it's a little one-dimensional to just flat out "disagree". This is a fantastically complex topic of discussion that explores individuals' values and personal definitions of purpose in life. I know this comment is almost a year old, but I'd genuinely be interested to hear what pushes you to say this. Learning about something so personalized from people that likely have different views than yourself can be educational and enjoyable.
I was with you up until @45:23
If there's one person who's willing and able to challenge their biases and admit fault, it's this guy. I love Cliff but that did make me raise an eyebrow. Hopefully someone has chatted with about that since the podcast debuted.
Excited Cliff = Rex from Toy Story?
OH YES.
FINALLY!
I really like these podcasts, but the music that abbreviates the dialogue is pointless. This isn't the radio. I would like these much better if it was not there. It almost ruins the podcast. Please consider breaking the standards for podcasts by getting rid of those annoying musical interludes.
This is absolutely beautiful. Cliff Stoll is the pure joy this world needs.
An entire hour of Cliff Stoll. And here I thought Christmas was in December.
Right? We need more of him and less cat videos on UA-cam.
Exactly.
Currently, it is December!!!
@@noahniederklein8081 Same now, 3 years later. Currently, it’s the midnight between December 24th and 25th 🎄.
That first story moved me to tears. Can't say I expected that from a Numberphile podcast.
Me too. I came down here to find this :D
Same ;-;
Same
gosh darn it, got me as well
It really shows how valuable good mentors are
"im not telling you this for any test at all, I'm telling you this because you asked a good question" wonderful teacher
Yep. That’s, what all teachers should be like 😌. Unfortunately, like with all jobs, most people get so routined and numbed to it that they just don’t give a damn. We actually have a word for this phenomenon, in Finnish. We call it: _”Leipiintyminen”,_ or: _”Leipääntyminen”._ 😔
The "ten thousand Klein Bottles under my house" video is my way to introduce people into the Numberphile channel
that was the first numberphile video i saw
Ten thousand sounded like a LOT so I checked and it's 1000
@@tiberiu_nicolae Yep. I was sure it was 1000. Still, quite a lot 😅.
I can only imagine having had teachers like Cliff, or a mom that encouraged my interests the way his did enough to take me to museums. We were poor, too, so that isn't an excuse. Makes me wonder what I could have done with my life.
So now I'm trying to be that Mom I should have had, adding to my son's deficient curriculum, taking him to museums and most of the NPS properties during the summer. Encouraging his interests and allowing him to try...
And HE is the one who introduced me to Brady's channels. He hasn't found THAT teacher yet, but if he has great role models like Cliff I think he's gonna be fine.
M McCoy You're an awesome mom!
your child is lucky :D
Clear skies for you ma'am, hope all the best for you
koreaboo
As an aspiring teacher, that first story brought me to tears.
The world needs more teachers like that.
Teachers who care more about cultivating and inspiring curiosity than a prescribed curriculum.
Stories like these make it all worth it.
he could sit still for that long, woow... :D
I got my parents a klein bottle from cliff for their wedding anniversary. Their wedding rings are mobius rings, so a klein bottle was the perfect gift!
that seems uncomfortable
One of the most interesting guys ever.
A teacher can deeply impact someone's life
indeed they can
@@numberphile2 so does a youtube channel, thank you numberphile
It took a while before I realized it's Jupiter we are watching.
yeah we are all too caught up in cliff’s storytelling
(currently at 12:20) I've probably cried to stories less than 10 times in my life, but this did it to me.
One hour of pure gold, thank you so much for this!
you're welcome
Cliff Stoll is like Bob Ross to me. When they talk or do something, they put such passion and honesty in it that as a spectator/listener there is just no way to not enjoy them.
People like Cliff can make me forget that I'm in a sad phase by just being themselves, and for that I want to say thanks
what phase are you in now?
I'm crying a little, I feel like everyone has that one special teacher in their life and this story really pulls at the heartstrings. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A CHANNEL ABOUT MATH D:
Thanks god, I was not the only one shedding a tear
Listening to this, I definitively GAINED 1 hour in my life!
Wish I could give more than one thumb up…
… wait: I could share it with others!
I could listen to Cliff for hours! His curiosity and passion to learn is unparalleled, and his storytelling is fantastic. A hopeful high schooler, KK6FXF Amateur Radio General.
I recently bought a Klein bottle from Mr Stoll and got a chance to exchange a few words with him. A warm-hearted genius that could inspire us all to delve a little bit deeper into science and simple human kindness.
Same here... He sent some cool photos from his garden :D
Can we all just acknowledge the fact that despite all the opposition he has faced, from an incompetent Science teacher to an arrogant and officious grad school Astronomy professor, to reluctant FBI-/CIA-/NSA-agents, to a walking Capitalist stereotype of a book agent, to a greedy, untrustworthy bong-maker, to ridiculing blog-posters, Cliff has never lost his optimism and enthusiasm and love of Science 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻?
That was good.
I've got to say, there were teachers who tried to mentor me, but I was hard to mentor. I didn't know what to do with advice. Following it, not following it, nothing seemed to work. I didn't really get math or science. I thought I did. People still think I do. I get a lot of it. But what people then, including myself, didn't understand was I'm not a math or science person. I'm a humanities person. I do math and science but I turn it into humanities first. Without even thinking about it. And that's in addition to my not really knowing how to deal with advice and not really knowing when I've hit the edge of what I know..
So Mr. Stoll had great mentors. He was also, I expect, a damn good mentee. And that's not a skill to sniff at.
I can't get enough of Cliff's enthusiasm. It makes whatever he is talking about interesting.
wow that first story was amazing!
I like the imagine the intro was done live and cliff just sits there with his twine mic awkwardly
The two books given to Cliff to read was:
RJ Bray and RE Loughhead - Sunspots
Angelo Secchi
- Le Soleil: Exposé des Principales Découvertes Modernes (The Sun: Presentation of the Major Modern Discoveries)
Every parent and every teacher should listen to this. Even if they have no idea who Cliff Stoll is. The first half alone could change so many lives.
43:00 Ironically, rock-stars are way less important, than many less-known celebrities. Cliff, for example, helped, with his investigation, develop modern cyber-security; whereas the most tangible imprint most rock-stars have left for the society, is braindead youth. 😅
I'm in *awe* of this incredible guy! He is talented, okay... But he is also so humble and down to earth and unbelievably likeable!
always an interesting guy with interesting stories and toys. ever since highschool I still don't know what for matrix math is. I've always loved programming and science, have used algebra and geometry for different things, but have yet to come across something needing a matrix. maybe the saddest thing is, I have yet to have someone enter my life who enjoys learning as I do.
I have to agree with Cliff about celebrity. I don’t give a damn about celebrity, either. I hate being the center of attention. I actually did an online test, and it turned out that I am 20/20-introvert. No surprises, there. I am an observer, not the center of attention. 👍🏻
Gonna need some more episodes with Cliff :D
i do strongly disagree on the points he makes on games and social media though, for one thing, the ability to waste time was not introduced by computers or the internet, and both gaming and social media has brought a ton of people together and exposed them to new ideas and ways to think about stuff..
31:30 I’m sure that, today, the telescopes would be automated to do that. Also; is it just me, or does this ”Arduino” sound like a Pokémon-name? 😅
52:00 I can confirm that. Even today, it’s damn near impossible to get through a course without the teacher having to ask the students for help with the technology. 😅
Thank you for this amazing podcast! I really enjoyed it listening!
Thank you
I'm only 20 minutes in and it's been two stories about incredible teachers
5:50 That’s, of course, a self-contradictory statement, akin to: ”This proposition is false.”.
If the bong-maker had invested in better weed, he might have had some vision of, what a Klein bottle is, and, how to make one 😅.
I was also an astronomy student at the Univ of Az, also a student of Elizabeth Roemer, and I worked 2 years at the 61" telescope on Mt Bigelow. I had no idea Cliff was an astronomer -- I thought he was a mathematician! Sad to hear that grad school turned him off to astronomy. I never got to grad school and never even graduated college. I got a job offer as a staff scientist at Steward Observatory and of course I jumped on that! Best choice I ever made. PhD astronomers spend 70% of their time writing grant proposals, 29% of their time working with students, and maybe 1% of their time doing their own work. Not for me!
Thanks, Cliff, for the interesting and inspiring interview! If he ever wants to get back into the astronomy game, please have him contact me! I'm doing some interesting work involving data collection and STEM (or STEAM) projects.
Cliff Stoll is the coolest grandpa ever.
I hope he writes a paper on astronomy .
I have one of the Klein Bottles from his site. it's a great art object
This doesn't quite feel like a podcast, there are too many cuts in it. Let the guest get on with it and ramble, it's nice to be reminded that incredibly smart people still think along similar lines to everyone else. That being said it's still great to listen to, thanks much!
I'm a game developer. Playing video games inspires me to make interesting games of my own. It also connects me to my online friends, gives us something to talk about and share.
Cliff Stoll...
I want you like teacher
even if I'm french
Amazong episode, really enjoyed it! Love this guy, love you too! Looking forward to matt parker episode. Cheers
You should video record your podcasts like Joe Rogan does.
57:30 So, they kept hit lists, in 1802 😮?
What a wonderful human being
That is a beautiful, beautiful story. 🙂
Unfortunately, most of my early math class experience was very different. We went through the material in the book, of course, but I honestly don't think any of the teachers really "got it." They were just teaching what they were told to teach. No one ever connected it with anything. Take numeric bases, for instance. I was exposed to that every year for probably six or seven years in grade school. And every time it came up I had to struggle through it all over again, because no one ever too the time to actually explain what positional notation was all about. It's one of the simplest ideas you can possibly imagine, but only if you are shown the core idea, and I never was. Eventually the light dawned, of course, but I was a lot older than I should have been when that finally happened, and it mostly happened through my own efforts.
When I went to graduate school, I was already focused on learning more about physics later on, after I finished school. So I deliberately loaded up on math courses. However, I didn't know everything I should have loaded up on - I focused on what I'll call "continuous math." Calculus, differential equations, tensors, etc. etc. And that went well. But later when I started trying to learn new things, I realized that "discrete math" was a LOT more important in physics than I'd realized. And I didn't know it. So I had to learn all the stuff I now know about that part of math on my own. At this point I'm 61, so I've had quite a lot of time to recover from that oversight, but I would say that probably 75-80 percent of the "discrete" math I know I have learned on my own.
The best approach I've found is to use "popular" material online (mostly UA-cam videos like Numberphile, Mathologer, etc.) to "expose myself" to things. Gets the wheels spinning and lets me become aware that an idea is "out there." Then I'll go find "real" university lecture courses online and use those to really nail the stuff down.
Brady, Bravo... Bravo! This entire thing is gold. I didn't think it was possible to like Cliff Stoll more than I already did but you teased out wonderful stories I had never heard before. Nice work
Cliff Stoll: the fun was always in watching the stars and not being one.
This guy, his stories.... They make me think a lot about my life. It may seem childish, since I'm barely 18, but I always loved science. My mom fed me with interesting answers much more complex than I could understand, but it was fun. I am no genius, far from it, but I have a strong inclination toward those intellectual things. They make me very happy. But.... At some point, I got used to being lazy, to not asking the why of everything and I lost so many opportunities like the one Cliff had with the astronomer. I know I can still get myself something going, to begin studying very hard and actually "catch up" and do something amazing, but still... My first instinct is to put the blame on not being motivated by others enough, but I'm learning to stop that. I know it is my fault and some people presented me with opportunities that I did not fully develop. Somehow I was taught that I was smart and that made me not need to work hard for anything. Looking back.... I can see that almost had no notion of the actual amount of work that goes into being someone like cliff, or any intellectual. I had no idea how much it paid off and I forgot the fun of being immersed in these awesome stuff. Anyways... It's my fault, I should have tried harder but damn, I was ignorant. I don't know, I wish I had stories of how I built a telescope in my backyard or that I used to disassemble clocks, something like that. But I don't. Maybe it would reinforce that I am a very smart person and give me some motivation now that I just got into college and noticed how far behind I was, and how arrogant I've been to think I was at all such a elevated person I needed to worry about nothing. Again, I don't even have a reason to write this, maybe I hope some wise person just stumbles upon my mess of a brain and tells me something great, but honestly this is just my way of talking about this with "someone". I don't really have anyone to talk to about this that may tell me where to go, but I guess... Writing it makes my head clearer and I can go back to my textbooks and keep trying. Hopefully I can stop being lazy sometime in the near future. If you read this, I'm sorry for wasting your time lol.
This is such a wonderful and inspirational story! I resonate so much with his childlike excitement of finding out new and curious things about the universe (real and mathematical). That eventually led me to gaining a first class honours degree in mathematics in what seems like a mix of love, awe and pure accident. I love to share my passion with my pupils and others, and can only hope to inspire others in the same way as Cliff and his teachers. Life is about finding such enthusiasm!
Really glad you enjoyed it.
Will the Numberphile podcasts be available on streaming platforms as spotify or deezer ??
This guy is the best type of crazy.
If I see "Cliff Stoll" I hit like immediately. The man is an absolute treasure.
Once again I’m blown away by Cliff Stoll. Now I’m thinking that I have to look up Ms. Carlo my 9th grade English teacher who gave my love of language.