Math in the Simpsons: Homer's theorem

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  • Опубліковано 3 вер 2015
  • After putting on some glasses he found in a toilet Homer feels very smart and declares: "The sum of the square root of any two sides of an iscosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side." Well, sounds like Pythagoras theorem but it's not. The Mathologer sets out to track down this mystery theorem to its lair and dissects the hell out of it.
    Enjoy :)

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,9 тис.

  • @rossthebesiegebuilder3563
    @rossthebesiegebuilder3563 8 років тому +9687

    I was more worried about him putting on those toilet glasses without washing them first.

    • @Squirrel_314
      @Squirrel_314 8 років тому +373

      I like to think they have him go to the sink to put them on as a tease. "Oh good, he's at least going to rinse them." Then you remember this is the man who once was craving beer so much he licked the dirt under the bleachers at a baseball stadium.

    • @allanrichardson1468
      @allanrichardson1468 8 років тому +265

      Cartoon germs don't cause infections unless the plot calls for it.

    • @joko49perez
      @joko49perez 7 років тому +24

      Ross Plavsic wow, you look really similar to him

    • @jamesking2439
      @jamesking2439 6 років тому +2

      I love your videos.

    • @rishabhkumar8192
      @rishabhkumar8192 5 років тому +3

      I won't even touch it.

  • @shottysteve
    @shottysteve 4 роки тому +5859

    Woahhhh so the simpsons was just referencing the wizard of oz. that’s a deep joke

    • @internetsummoner
      @internetsummoner 4 роки тому +56

      shottysteve and the wizard of oz was just the result of the writers

    • @TantiPraenuntiaFabam
      @TantiPraenuntiaFabam 4 роки тому +8

      Wow only 2 likes on a verified comment

    • @lunarleaf
      @lunarleaf 3 роки тому +17

      make a new video already

    • @lunarleaf
      @lunarleaf 3 роки тому +9

      make a new video already

    • @guywhosaguy4451
      @guywhosaguy4451 3 роки тому +10

      make a new video already

  • @sortehuse
    @sortehuse 3 роки тому +933

    Scarecrow doesn't get a brain, he just get a diploma.I think that the reason.

    • @just_is
      @just_is 3 роки тому +2

      XD
      He said he got a brain :) 2:55

    • @sortehuse
      @sortehuse 3 роки тому +39

      ​@@just_is He has a brain, he had one all along, but he didn't get a new brain :-)

    • @fredcasdensworld
      @fredcasdensworld 3 роки тому +29

      Scarecrow is just like every other person with a college diploma :)

    • @aidenaune7008
      @aidenaune7008 3 роки тому +4

      even back then they knew how useless college was.

    • @redbuck1385
      @redbuck1385 2 роки тому +12

      @@aidenaune7008 college in America is a class gate to limit upward mobility.

  • @marscaleb
    @marscaleb 5 років тому +1046

    Oh man, I got that Homer's line was an homage to Wizard of Oz, and I could get that Homer got the Pythagorean theorem wrong, but I never noticed that the original line in Wizard of Oz was wrong!

    • @MattMcIrvin
      @MattMcIrvin 3 роки тому +29

      But Scarecrow is a Doctor of Thinkology!

    • @fangere
      @fangere 3 роки тому +111

      I know this is a year old...
      One of main themes in Oz is that magic can't solve your problems. The wizard actually doesn't do anything in the world (allegory for false promises of politicians) and the work is left to the outsider Dorothy.
      Scarecrow thinks he's been fixed, but he was already "fixed," he just didn't know it.

    • @PercivalBlakeney
      @PercivalBlakeney 3 роки тому +8

      @fangere
      That's beautiful.
      Thank you.
      🥰

    • @RobertWilkinsonJKekMaloy
      @RobertWilkinsonJKekMaloy 2 роки тому +4

      @@MattMcIrvin so scarecrow works in the liberal arts?

    • @yahccs1
      @yahccs1 2 роки тому

      I don't remember noticing that either! The lines go by so quickly it's hard to notice exactly which words they are using or have time to think about it!

  • @ExatedWarrior
    @ExatedWarrior 8 років тому +3892

    It should be called the placebo theorem as all the instances we see it are the individuals thinking they're smarter.

    • @UltraLuigi2401
      @UltraLuigi2401 6 років тому +178

      Well one of them was practicing lines for the scarecrow, so technically it's right there.

    • @ImDemonAlchemist
      @ImDemonAlchemist 6 років тому +54

      Aaron Reamer
      That's not what a placebo is.

    • @taz3915
      @taz3915 5 років тому +144

      @@ImDemonAlchemist The definition of a placebo is "A medicine or procedure prescribed for the psychological benefit to the patient rather than for any physiological effect."
      You could say that homer receiving the glasses or the scarecrow receiving his "brain" making them think they are smarter when in fact they are not as a placebo effect.

    • @awulfy9052
      @awulfy9052 5 років тому +76

      This guy is a perfect example of the Dunning Kruger effect...

    • @brokenwave6125
      @brokenwave6125 5 років тому +37

      @@awulfy9052 Exactly. Its the Dunning Kruger effect, not a placebo effect.

  • @josephjackson1956
    @josephjackson1956 4 роки тому +1999

    Are you just pointing to a white wall and memorizing what to say?

    • @seancooper4058
      @seancooper4058 4 роки тому +300

      He's holding a remote so I imagine that when he looks towards the camera, he's looking at a screen with a sort of slideshow on it

    • @itzmistz
      @itzmistz 4 роки тому +159

      There's a projector that projects the slides onto the wall. The clean slides are superimposed in post.

    • @PhazedAU
      @PhazedAU 4 роки тому +43

      @@itzmistz no, it's not. it's a green screen, he has a monitor to the side where he looks at a teleprompter or notes or a slideshow, and the edit is placed over later. no projector

    • @itzmistz
      @itzmistz 4 роки тому +64

      @@PhazedAU You wouldn't be able to see shadow on the 'green screen'. Also look at 1:37, the text is clearly on his hand from the projector

    • @itzmistz
      @itzmistz 4 роки тому +11

      To be honest, it could be a combination of both. I do see a bit of green

  • @MatematicaTel
    @MatematicaTel 3 роки тому +963

    I share this video with my students. Veeery goooood!!

    • @irioncampello6055
      @irioncampello6055 3 роки тому +11

      Estava pensando exatamente isso. Quando eu estava no ensino fundamental/médio não conseguia visualizar as equações dessa forma, era tudo muito abstrato, depois desse vídeo consegui compreender algumas coisas da época da escola.

    • @ADrunkCrayfish
      @ADrunkCrayfish 3 роки тому +9

      Spanish spanish Spanish spanish, whatever the dude above me said.

    • @MatematicaTel
      @MatematicaTel 3 роки тому +52

      @@ADrunkCrayfish It´s portuguese, dude.

    • @cozmic8288
      @cozmic8288 3 роки тому +8

      @@ADrunkCrayfish that ain’t Spanish

    • @wilton999
      @wilton999 3 роки тому +1

      @@irioncampello6055 Well, I certainly em read it in Spanish, and am portugueses speaking! 😂

  • @obi6822
    @obi6822 3 роки тому +774

    Minkowski metric in spacetime satisfies a reverse triangle inequality

    • @calvinsawyer1961
      @calvinsawyer1961 3 роки тому +57

      Can I bear your children?

    • @obi6822
      @obi6822 3 роки тому +40

      @@calvinsawyer1961 Yeah no prob LOL

    • @calvinsawyer1961
      @calvinsawyer1961 3 роки тому +25

      @@obi6822 I'm a dude so I'd have to father ur children actually which would defeat the purpose

    • @obi6822
      @obi6822 3 роки тому +21

      @@calvinsawyer1961 I assumed so. I am a dude too btw hahaha

    • @calvinsawyer1961
      @calvinsawyer1961 3 роки тому +19

      @@obi6822 if I was a woman I'd bear your children. How bout that?

  • @VicioONEMORETIME
    @VicioONEMORETIME 7 років тому +3785

    This triangles could exist in a cilinder

    • @bengoodwin2141
      @bengoodwin2141 5 років тому +137

      Vicio ONE MORE TIME!!!! Better the inside of a sphere

    • @misael8200
      @misael8200 5 років тому +66

      These* :v

    • @TimpBizkit
      @TimpBizkit 5 років тому +120

      I suppose if you take a cylinder at least 4 but less than 6 units in circumference and wrap the big side around and join it with the two shorter sides. I'd hesitate to call it a triangle though. It would be more like a letter C with the gap joined by a little v at right angles.

    • @johnsherfey3675
      @johnsherfey3675 5 років тому +6

      What I thought

    • @aidanneal5688
      @aidanneal5688 5 років тому +26

      @@misael8200 you're not going to talk about the cylinder?

  • @ThePerro
    @ThePerro 3 роки тому +107

    This line is also referenced in an episode of Hey Arnold, where Arnold’s grandpa goes back to elementary school to get his grade school diploma. Funny thing is Dan Castellaneta (who voices Homer) also voiced Arnold’s grandpa, whom recites this line to the principal in order to secure his diploma.

  • @sinan720
    @sinan720 5 років тому +949

    David^2 - S^2 = Cohen^2 gives us a hint: the "D" from David stands for Donut, the S stands for Sign and the C stands for Colossal donut. When homer points at the colossal donut, we can see all of these 3 points (donut, sign, colosal donut) in one frame. If we connect these 3 points we get a triangle where a is the height of the sign including the colosal donut. You can also measure the angle of homers arms (alpha): 10, and the credits give us the number 24m as the length of b. We can now calculate the length of the hypothenose c: 24/cos(10) which is 24.3. Now we can calculate a: sin(10)*24.8 which is about ~4m. This means that the man holding the colosal donut plus the colosal donut is 4 meters high. They are about the same size so we can divide by 2 to get the size of the colosal donut: 2 meters!!!

    • @Graveskull
      @Graveskull 5 років тому +47

      SinOfficial this is like the kind of comment i sometimes make but this is way better! Good job at figuring that out!!

    • @gabemerritt3139
      @gabemerritt3139 5 років тому +67

      I accept this as fact

    • @happynessblaster2365
      @happynessblaster2365 5 років тому +23

      Why can’t I be smart like this. DOH!!

    • @prezadent1
      @prezadent1 5 років тому +55

      if you had used tau instead of pi in your calculation, you wouldn't have had to divide by 2 at the end.

    • @peloslash
      @peloslash 5 років тому +7

      @@prezadent1 homygod

  • @gavinhobbs6325
    @gavinhobbs6325 5 років тому +481

    Hold on: If b=0, then we have a line. Then, solve for a using the first equation, and you get (a)^(1/2) = - a^(1/2), so a=0. Thus, you are left with a point. That's the joke! They have a point! :)

    • @RudolfJelin
      @RudolfJelin 5 років тому +47

      This is THE answer.

    • @DanielRodriguez-br6ih
      @DanielRodriguez-br6ih 5 років тому +7

      Sorry, I don't speak Egyptian. Can you translate?

    • @myenglishisbadpleasecorrec5446
      @myenglishisbadpleasecorrec5446 2 роки тому +2

      LOOOL

    • @sadkritx6200
      @sadkritx6200 Рік тому +2

      Hold on, I don't think it'll work like that. We got b=0 for the second equation, so we can't use that in the first equation. These are not a set of equations, rather a matter of either/or . Also yeah ik this is meant as a joke lol :⁠-⁠)

  • @ZoeSimza
    @ZoeSimza 5 років тому +283

    Maths are interesting to begin with but immediately becomes ten times more enjoyable when explained by someone with a German accent.

    • @user-sj2vg8hb5q
      @user-sj2vg8hb5q 5 років тому

      He is not German bitchface

    • @ZoeSimza
      @ZoeSimza 5 років тому +11

      @@user-sj2vg8hb5q Austrian? Swiss?

    • @knotting8
      @knotting8 4 роки тому +19

      Right here Right now yes, he is German. If you don’t think so, just google him “Burkard Polster”

    • @rohangeorge712
      @rohangeorge712 2 роки тому

      @@user-sj2vg8hb5q wth he is are u sutpid

  • @cosmicdarkmatter1128
    @cosmicdarkmatter1128 5 років тому +908

    Actually, Homer's mistake was.....
    …he didn't wash the glasses before putting them on his face.

  • @KantoKairyu
    @KantoKairyu 5 років тому +43

    The simple fact that this guy so sincerely loves both math and the Simpsons makes me like him immensely.

  • @Bill_Woo
    @Bill_Woo 5 років тому +9

    Awesome job providing the clips, ALL of them, including the Scarecrow.

  • @seab4144
    @seab4144 7 років тому +1035

    8:13 one of the co-producer's name is "David² + S² = Cohen²"

    • @stoneskull
      @stoneskull 7 років тому +20

      well spotted!

    • @OmgitzEcchi
      @OmgitzEcchi 7 років тому +2

      Nice!

    • @kodymongold
      @kodymongold 7 років тому +56

      Haha I made it harder than it was and I thought it was the right triangle made to scale the small donut to the colossal donut XD Good job!

    • @sadhlife
      @sadhlife 5 років тому +16

      it was shown at 8:39 anyway

    • @dananskidolf
      @dananskidolf 5 років тому +11

      That actually says '2+' on each power, which is actually probably better read as a contradiction of Fermat's last theorem, and if I remember my Simpsons correctly, is not the last such contradiction in the episode :) check the equations in the background when Homer is in the 3rd dimension...

  • @HerraTohtori
    @HerraTohtori 8 років тому +780

    What about a triangle on the surface of... a doughnut?

    • @Mathologer
      @Mathologer  8 років тому +119

      +HerraTohtori Well, with more complex surfaces you first have to make up your mind what exactly you mean by a triangle. I've left a few comments earlier on in which I talk about this. Maybe have a look :)

    • @ozzymandius666
      @ozzymandius666 8 років тому +39

      +Mathologer A closed curve made of 3 geodesics. Yes it can be done on a torus.

    • @allanrichardson1468
      @allanrichardson1468 8 років тому +12

      I was thinking that would make sense considering Homer's favorite junk food! As for the math to prove it, I'll leave that to folks with more time and math training than me. If true, maybe Wizard of Oz screenplay writers (or Baum himself, if those exact words are found in the book) had donuts on the mind and/or knew something about tori.

    • @sugarypuma509
      @sugarypuma509 7 років тому +16

      it is a torus

    • @pleaseenteraname4824
      @pleaseenteraname4824 7 років тому +35

      They already did it!
      Season 10, Episode 22 "They saved Lisa's brain"
      Stephen Hawking: "Your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing, Homer. I may have to steal it"
      (Dun dun duuuunn)

  • @Ebizzill
    @Ebizzill 3 роки тому +25

    remember, he's got a crayon stuck in his brain.

  • @NeoDerGrose
    @NeoDerGrose 5 років тому +8

    It works on a sphere when you ignore the any sides part. You can create a triangle were two of the sides equal a quarter of the circumference of the sphere and the other one spans around the equator. The angels between the equator line and the other two are always 90°, therefor the triangle is iscosceles. The third side can now vary from 0 to the circumference of the sphere. So if you subtract the other two sides (which equal half of the circumference) you still got the possibility to have half of the circumference left. Since in this example a equals b 2*(square root of a * square root b) equals 4*a. Since a equals a quarter of the circumference you get the solution when c spans the whole circumference. It doesn't look like a triangle but technically it is a triangle on a sphere I guess.

  • @tissuewizardiv5982
    @tissuewizardiv5982 8 років тому +56

    I just want to say that I really enjoy this channel. It's difficult to find interesting videos about cool bits of mathematics, and so far I have found 2 channels that deliver this: numberphile and mathologer. Keep doing what you're doing!

    • @SuperBananini
      @SuperBananini 8 років тому +4

      I totaly agree!!!

    • @FelipeV3444
      @FelipeV3444 6 років тому +13

      You're missing 3blue1brown, especially if you're already somewhat advanced in your maths education. But even if you're not, there's plenty of cool stuff on that channel too, definetely check it out.
      (i know the comment is old af, but if you haven't seen it since then, GO FUCKING DO IT :p)

    • @abirsadhu5538
      @abirsadhu5538 3 роки тому

      @@FelipeV3444 actually i was going to comment this... Lol😂

  • @10mimu
    @10mimu 7 років тому +298

    Any Lorenz geometry model usually works without triangle inequalities. Not sure now, but maybe homer's theorem holds true for minkowski space? Where triangle inequality is reversed?

    • @Mathologer
      @Mathologer  7 років тому +89

      Good idea :)

    • @Solenye
      @Solenye 7 років тому +29

      Human Effigy no Minkowski's, but it works on a sphere in Minkowski space

    • @BlueEyes-WhiteDrag0n
      @BlueEyes-WhiteDrag0n 5 років тому +31

      i didn't get a word of this, but Mathologer replied means this wasn't bs
      so liked the comment

  • @arturoaguilar6002
    @arturoaguilar6002 2 роки тому +9

    He even tested the Scarecrow Theorem in non-Euclidean geometry! I didn’t see that coming.

  • @soup5344
    @soup5344 2 роки тому +15

    A man in the lightmode void talks about the mistakes Homer Simpson makes while looking at an omnipresent context and visual providing object that reacts to both his words and the content it showed previously.

    • @esajpsasipes2822
      @esajpsasipes2822 Рік тому

      i'd say it's a well planned powerpoint presentation

  • @altargull
    @altargull 8 років тому +23

    Love these. My favourite bit of Simpsons math was when Homer had to count himself to be sure he was just one man.

  • @dixonbuttes
    @dixonbuttes 8 років тому +3

    Subscribed! relating math to the Simpsons/futurama is a great motivator to get me through my homework! Thank you

  • @amossalvestro1363
    @amossalvestro1363 2 роки тому +1

    Ive never seen your channel but i found this very intriguing! Keep up the good work! 👍😁

  • @saranshbharti3875
    @saranshbharti3875 2 роки тому +10

    On a sphere, it is kind of possible to have a+b

    • @agranero6
      @agranero6 Рік тому

      In spherical geometry opposite points on the sphere are considered equivalent: this is because it changes the 5th postulate to say that parallel lines do not exist: lines can only be maximum circles (circles made by a place cutting the center of the sphere). All lines are perpendicular and cross at ONE point: so they consider the opposite points as one single point. So some of those points on your bigger side are part of the original triangle and the others are excedent like a side prolonged even ending on the same points. The distance in Riemannian geometry is given by the SMALLER maximum circle because a metric can not be a multivalued function and the metric by definition must obey the triangular inequality (or the hell will go loose and several contradictions arise because the metric should capture the intuitive notion of distance as being additive, and being symmetrical (in a loose sense that I am too lazy to explain). So your construction is not a triangle is a triangle with line segments added (my explanation is a little convoluted because I am lazy, maybe later I explain better).

    • @JezzaWest
      @JezzaWest Рік тому

      @@agranero6 no they aren't

  • @Hecatonicosachoron
    @Hecatonicosachoron 8 років тому +80

    There are examples in which an instance of that formula, sqrt(s)=sqrt(x)+sqrt(y) may be found.
    The triangle inequality is reversed in Minkowski space, so that's a candidate.
    Secondly, it might be possible to find instances of that on some surfaces, such as a variant of the pseudosphere or some other surface of revolution of some cusp-containing curve.
    Finally, something similar to it can be found in particular Lp spaces. For example, a space with a norm |s|^p = |x|^p + |y|^p will have something akin to the required formula for, say, p=1/2
    What I find very intriguing about the last option is that circles, when drawn on a euclidean plane, will look like Lamé curves (with the power parameter being 1/2).
    In short it can be done in spaces with a quasi-norm.

    • @Mathologer
      @Mathologer  8 років тому +35

      Definitely the best answer so far :) (Minkowski space has been suggested before)

    • @Goldmos1
      @Goldmos1 8 років тому +6

      I don't understand but this sound really brilliant. What kind of math this is?

    • @Hecatonicosachoron
      @Hecatonicosachoron 8 років тому +6

      Goldmos1
      It's geometry and vector spaces.

    • @josephcote6120
      @josephcote6120 5 років тому +2

      Late to the party, I know. But my point is that sqrt(a) has TWO values.
      sqrt(b) + sqrt(a) = sqrt(a) might not work, but sqrt(b) - sqrt(a) = sqrt(a) could easily be true, as well as -sqrt(b) + sqrt(a) = sqrt(a)

    • @abstractapproach634
      @abstractapproach634 5 років тому

      @@Goldmos1 topology I believe, I'm taking my first course in it now (MATH 525). I'm in my final year as an undergraduate and the stuff in the post seemed like stuff I could probably start to grasp. And I'm in North America, you can learn any mathenatics you want. You just have to be passionate and eyeballs deep in student loans! (The later may be optional if your really gifted or driven, but scholarships are few and self study is difficult)

  • @coolipopy
    @coolipopy 8 років тому +107

    I don't know about math, but in physics, if you use a spacetime graph, the hypotenuse is the shortest side

    • @johngalmann9579
      @johngalmann9579 8 років тому +11

      +Jasper Tan thats a minkowski space (split-complex plane), but i don't think it works there either, not for all triangles at least.....

    • @AlecBrady
      @AlecBrady 8 років тому +7

      +John Galmann It does as long as all the lines are timeline - and that gives rise to the so-called twin "paradox" (not a paradox at all, of course, just the result of the triangle inequality in a Minkowski space).

    • @saeedbaig4249
      @saeedbaig4249 5 років тому +15

      So when Homer said that, he was obviously referring to lines in Minowski spacetime.
      Home Simpson secret genius confirmed.

    • @irrelevant_noob
      @irrelevant_noob 5 років тому +2

      Jasper Tan citation needed... That silly formula for the Minkowski metric doesn't make much mathematical sense, especially considering that the distance between two distinct simultaneous events is an imaginary number(?!)... Even assuming that is the case, imaginary numbers aren't comparable, so the hypotenuse is neither shorter nor longer. :-\

    • @ttttt_
      @ttttt_ 5 років тому +4

      @@irrelevant_noob Of course you can order imaginary numbers; you can't order complex numbers.

  • @priestof1
    @priestof1 5 років тому +6

    it's been a long time since I used any high level of math. mostly basic stuff, Pythagorean theorem always comes in handy, and geometry in general. I do grow increasingly fascinated with Eratosthenes. This guy was simply amazing. Kind of sad, put in all those endless hours of head splitting work, worry, study, panic, study more, obsess, and in the end I have to periodically give myself math test so I don't forget all of it. everything today is charts, computers, and more charts. I remember i started my job and could figure everything with mobil calculator, pencil, and paper. Co-workers were jealous I believe and said why figure it out like that it's in the tables. One professor I had said - I feel sorry for you if technology ever crashes. At The time I didn't care The exams were so damn long and hard that without a calculator I would have had a nervous breakdown trying to crunch it all before I ran out of time. Now I understand though. The most important stuff you will need in life is college algebra and geometry maybe some trig but probably not. However when you have that knowledge it feels good. In a job interview I got asked a math problem and immediately pointed out the flaw in the question and offered a math solution to solve it. The other mathlete in the room laughed and of course no job for me. However, it felt damn good.

  • @dominusfons4455
    @dominusfons4455 5 років тому +12

    The theorem could work if the triangle was placed in a spherical cube where it’s centroid is at the vertex of the spherical cube plane.

  • @thegesor7729
    @thegesor7729 7 років тому +32

    8:12 found pythagorus in the credits
    David^2 S^2 = Cohen^2

  • @DrRawley
    @DrRawley 8 років тому +291

    That part of Wizard of Oz always (well at least after middle school) pissed me off .

    • @Qermaq
      @Qermaq 8 років тому +98

      +DrRawley I think the point of it was as an in-joke: the Wizard never gave nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't already have, and all.

    • @DrRawley
      @DrRawley 8 років тому +16

      Qermaq I know :( That part pissed me off too. It's all a lie.

    • @Qermaq
      @Qermaq 8 років тому +6

      +DrRawley But WE know it is. That makes us richer. :)

    • @DrRawley
      @DrRawley 8 років тому +14

      The wizard was a dick.

    • @Qermaq
      @Qermaq 8 років тому +4

      +DrRawley Seen Wicked?

  • @Grundini91
    @Grundini91 5 років тому +2

    If I remember correctly if you know the length of two sides of any triangle (a and b) the third side (c) has to be:
    a-b < c

  • @frickinfrick8488
    @frickinfrick8488 3 роки тому

    I like that you’re talking to the camera guy, its fun having you two bounce math off each other instead of just one guy talking into the void

  • @danieldyszkant3245
    @danieldyszkant3245 7 років тому +28

    David²+S²=Cohen²

  • @boumbh
    @boumbh 8 років тому +74

    Frame by frame from 8:14, you quickly get 3 and 4 dots on the donuts, 5 teeths in Homer’s mouth... That’s the first pythagorean triple!

    • @boumbh
      @boumbh 8 років тому +8

      +The Einhaender I’m afraid that’s it... 8:20 He said "it’s a tough one" and "there is a *hint* in the credit". Then at 8:38, they give the credit hint. I can’t believe the solution is this obvious. If it was all, they would say, the *solution* is in the credit, or something a bit more allusive I guess... David S Cohen is the math guy he must have done something clever in the sequence, not just adding a few squares in the credit... ;-)
      My comment was totally desperate, I know it can’t be about the dots on the donuts. I searched for triangles that could have some obvious ratios, I couldn’t find any right triangle! Or maybe some circle with a crossed diameter, no chance... I’m afraid I’ll just be disappointed in the end. In ... Anyways, the show is great.

    • @shivamchauhan19
      @shivamchauhan19 8 років тому +8

      +boumbh The funny thing is that DAVID^24+S^24=COHEN^24 is not possible according to Fermat's last theorem

    • @leonardo21101996
      @leonardo21101996 8 років тому +6

      +Aishwarye Chauhan Actually, it just says that if it is true, then DAVID, S and COHEN cannot all be positive integers.

    • @leonardo21101996
      @leonardo21101996 8 років тому

      Fennec Besixdouze Oh, there is a corollary or something, right? I was thinking on Fermat's original proposition, and I forgot about generalizations.

    • @shivamchauhan19
      @shivamchauhan19 8 років тому

      leonardo21101996 exactly. I missed the whole been integer part haha

  • @fabianramirez3222
    @fabianramirez3222 3 роки тому +2

    Realized the same, but I though it was a translation error. Didn't know there was a whole video about.
    UA-cam always surprise me.

  • @helpme9385
    @helpme9385 3 роки тому

    How did you manage to get me so hooked on watching this
    I don't even pay attention in class XD

  • @RedHairdo
    @RedHairdo 7 років тому +3

    This is such a great channel.

  • @jomiga1999
    @jomiga1999 8 років тому +242

    OMG Crystal math lmao

  • @1p4142136
    @1p4142136 4 роки тому +6

    I think Futurama has more Math in it then the Simpsons one of its creators holds a PhD in Math & Physics.

  • @JDBodine
    @JDBodine 5 років тому

    I enjoy your videos, even though I rarely understand what you’re talking about. I’m hoping to learn something.

  • @Kugelschrei
    @Kugelschrei 7 років тому +18

    That dude is super chill and the math looked like legit math so I guess this added value to my day

  • @Super_Mario128
    @Super_Mario128 8 років тому +9

    "pah, the way people act around here, you'd think the roads were paved with gold"
    "they are"

  • @ghghhhjjhgh1748
    @ghghhhjjhgh1748 5 років тому

    Seen a bunch of your content but seeing you giggle like that when saying "wronger" made me subscribe

  • @scottaseigel5715
    @scottaseigel5715 2 роки тому +1

    Well done finding the Scarecrow origin of this!

  • @skininja1
    @skininja1 8 років тому +6

    If the triangle is inside of the sphere, the two shortest lines can split from the longest line right before it makes the full radios. it would be a weird shape. but it would have three corners and it would give the two short sides a opportunity to be infinitely shorter then the longest line. Also works for the outside of the triangle ofcourse :)

    • @skininja1
      @skininja1 8 років тому

      not radios, But diameter.

  • @abdieljimenez8330
    @abdieljimenez8330 6 років тому +4

    Simon Singh has a great book on the Mathematics in the Simpson's. Many of the writers held STEM degrees.

  • @the1exnay
    @the1exnay 4 роки тому

    On a sphere you can get it so a+b

  • @Gurmudgin
    @Gurmudgin 3 роки тому

    I stumbled into this on my recommendations. I don't know what the hell this channel is but by the thrice damned I'm going to subscribe. The algorithms brought me here for a reason probably I think.

  • @unnilnonium
    @unnilnonium 5 років тому +14

    But A+B < C does work on a sphere. You just have to go the long way around the sphere. So the Mercator projection would look like ____________/\______________Edit: I'm sure you've gotten this a thousand times. I tried to find a similar comment, but if it's not in Top Comments....

    • @MrMeecles
      @MrMeecles 3 роки тому

      Not sure if I'm being an idiot and I would like more insight on this but wouldn't that Mercator projection make a hemisphere with a triangle missing instead of a triangle since the inside angles would exceed 180 degrees

  • @drgilbertourroz
    @drgilbertourroz 5 років тому +13

    The Wizard of Oz's scarecrow got Homer Simpson's brain!

    • @SeanJTharpe
      @SeanJTharpe 5 років тому

      ... or the scarecrow is Homer Simpson's REAL dad!

    • @marccolten9801
      @marccolten9801 4 роки тому +1

      @@SeanJTharpe He's nothing but hay and cloth. I doubt he's got genitals.

  • @apanapane
    @apanapane 5 років тому

    I love this channel.

  • @thoughtheglass
    @thoughtheglass 5 років тому

    you can make a triangle where a+b

  • @X1Daring2
    @X1Daring2 5 років тому +107

    Omg that poor scare crow xD

  • @j-raynorris6193
    @j-raynorris6193 5 років тому +4

    His laugh is adorable. Love it!))

  • @vulture4117
    @vulture4117 3 роки тому +1

    A world where a+b can be less than c can be gotten by taking that sphere diagram of yours, and having c go the LONG way around the circle instead of the short way. Boom, a+b

  • @hupekyser
    @hupekyser 2 роки тому +1

    There's the time homer solves fermat's last theorem. But they used an edge case where the answer is incorrect in decimals that a regular calculator doesn't show

  • @NZB101010
    @NZB101010 8 років тому +19

    I think I have an easier proof for the isocele triangles that 2*sqrt(a) =/= sqrt(b).
    You can construct an other isoceles triangle with the equal sides which are still a and the remaining size which would be b' =/= b.
    Assuming the theorem mentionned is true, you have that sqrt(a) = sqrt( b )/2 = sqrt( b' )/2 which is a contradiction.

  • @Myuutsuu85
    @Myuutsuu85 2 роки тому +3

    If I had learned math this way in school, I think I would less suck at it today. Still I am learning things here.

  • @ffggddss
    @ffggddss 6 років тому +1

    At around 7 minutes, trying to make the Mutilated Pythagorean Theorem (MPT) work on a spherical triangle - the triangle you show won't satisfy it, but there are spherical triangles that do. If you put the apex at a pole, and _c_ along the equator, then _a_ and _b_ are ¼-great-circle arcs ( _a_ = _b_ = ½πR), and _c_ can be any length in the open interval, 0 < _c_ < 2πR.
    E.g., if R = 2/π, then _a_ = _b_ = 1, 0 < _c_ < 4. If you could make _c_ the entire equator, you'd have _(a,b,c)_ = (1,1,4), which satisfies the MPT; that is, for sides taken in the order _a,b,c_ ; √a + √b = √c.
    If you make _a_ = _b_ a little shorter than 1 and at slightly different "longitudes", then they can be adjusted so that the great circle joining them the long way, will be _c_ = _4a_ = _4b_ , and the MPT will hold.
    [Interesting to note: the MPT is homogeneous of degree ½, so it scales by any constant factor without changing.]

  • @TheMaskedRacoon1
    @TheMaskedRacoon1 5 років тому +2

    Maybe it's a triangle on a cone. Varying 3D cones have different degrees, like cones that have 10 degrees or 37 degrees even 50 degrees. So the isosceles triangle is on a cone, where the remaining side cuts through the cone exactly and the first two same sides indicate the degrees of the cone. So maybe it's an "isosceles cone", and the formula is actually a way to measure the circumference of the bottom of the cone. It looks triangular from a certain angle, until you realize that it's 3D! So it's possible that it's the formula to calculate the circumference of the bottom of the cone. From there, maybe the cone height and even the cone volume can be calculated. And it we know the weight of the cone, we can use the formula "D=m/v" to calculate the cone density and then put it through the density experiment to see if it floats on oil or sinks in honey or floats on water or maybe floating in alcohol or lamp oil or sinking in galinstan liquid metal alloy. Or maybe it's a pac man cone. An incomplete cone with two sides that meet up in the bottom forming a pac man shape at the bottom of the pac man cone.

  • @hudson11235
    @hudson11235 5 років тому +6

    There is no metric space where this equality could happen. In particular it is not true for any space with metric (Riemannian manifold: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemannian_manifold), the sphere included. In such a strange world we would have a distance function which is does not satisfy the triangular inequality ...

  • @Jelle_NL
    @Jelle_NL 8 років тому +32

    In one of the episodes in which Homer tried to become an inventor there is a reference to Ferma's last theorem :).

    • @Mathologer
      @Mathologer  8 років тому +18

      +Jelle (NL) Ah, yes, that's a nice one. There are actually two occurrences of "counterexamples" to Fermat's last theorem in the Simpsons. The one you mention is the second one. The first one pops up in Homer^3 (Homer cubed) where Homer stumbles into a 3d world. Very neat stuff. There is also one mention of Fermat's little theorem in the Futurama Simpsons crossover episode.

    • @ykl1277
      @ykl1277 8 років тому +6

      +Mathologer keep the counterexamples in quotation marks. As per the numberphile video those are only close to a solution, not exact. (even the parity of the sum is wrong).
      P.S. just to make sure no one thanks Ferma's last theorem is debunked.

  • @jamesmurphy4829
    @jamesmurphy4829 5 років тому

    The video no one really ever needed but it's always good to educate the masses.

  • @MuffinKingStudios
    @MuffinKingStudios 2 роки тому +2

    Very impressive you could sync up your gestures to the on screen animations so perfectly. Timing and position were on point! How did you do that editing magic?

    • @Houshalter
      @Houshalter Рік тому

      Maybe he has a projector displaying the slides

  • @piticea
    @piticea 8 років тому +14

    The homer theorem would work in hyperbolic space in some cases i think

    • @dannygjk
      @dannygjk 8 років тому +1

      +Carol Vitez Yeah that's what I was speculating.

    • @dalmationblack
      @dalmationblack 8 років тому

      +Carol Vitez wouldn't it work on a torus?

    • @Freakschwimmer
      @Freakschwimmer 8 років тому

      +dalmation black
      yes it would I think :)

    • @techtrashing
      @techtrashing 8 років тому +11

      Your theory of a Donut shaped universe intrigues me.

    • @ksortakhkraxthar5019
      @ksortakhkraxthar5019 5 років тому +2

      @techtrashing: Play some old Super Nintendo RPGs that feature a world map. The world map will usually loop from "west" to "east" and "south" to "north", thus forming a donut shaped world.

  • @returnexitsuccess
    @returnexitsuccess 8 років тому +9

    You can't violate the triangle inequality, a+b>c, with some weird surface because no matter what surface and metric you're using, by definition the metric has to satisfy the triangle inequality. The only way is if you choose the sides of the triangle to be something other than geodesics (shortest paths), in which case you don't really have a triangle, just some 3 vertex shape.

    • @returnexitsuccess
      @returnexitsuccess 8 років тому +3

      I didn't say straight line, I said geodesic, which exist in any space, not just the plane.

  • @CosmiaNebula
    @CosmiaNebula 7 років тому

    For triangle inequality to fail, the space would not be a metric space. Minkowski space has pseudo Euclidean metric so it might work there.
    Or, stretch the definition of triangle so it does not have to be three points with the shortest paths between them, but any geodesic is allowed. Then there are such triangles on the sphere, by taking the greater arc instead of the lesser arc for the longest side.

  • @kwanarchive
    @kwanarchive Рік тому

    Completely unrelated, but it makes you appreciate the prosthetic work on scarecrow way back when.

  • @easymathematik
    @easymathematik 5 років тому +5

    "Homer knows isosceles triangles? It's ridiculous." Hahaha. :)

  • @Glatier
    @Glatier 5 років тому +4

    The Pythagorean Theorem but it's the opposite day

  • @stephaneduhamel7706
    @stephaneduhamel7706 3 роки тому +1

    a+b

  • @Nigel_B
    @Nigel_B 8 місяців тому +1

    Bart's "vitamins" include 'Crystal Math' and 'Brozac'

  • @ZDR-BoyZ
    @ZDR-BoyZ 3 роки тому +3

    It could work with complex numbers where i*i=-1, then:
    a*i + b*i +2sqrt(a*b*i*i) = a*i + b*i - 2sqrt(a*b) = c*i
    might lead to some solutions.
    p.s. oh... its 5 years old - saw 5th of september and didnt noticed the year :D

  • @RockBrentwood
    @RockBrentwood 3 роки тому +12

    7:00 The answer is *never* on any Riemannian manifold ... if "length" is defined as *geodesic distance* ... because the geodesic is the *shortest distance* between two points, which forces the triangle inequality. Now, on a *pseudo-Riemannian* manifold (even flat, like Minkowski space), that's another story.
    This leads naturally to a question for you: do the flight distances of New York, Miami, Chicago and Houston fit in *any* Euclidean geometry, if they are treated as straight lines? If not, then what's the minimum curvature they must have before they do? What about other sets of 4 cities on the Earth, like London, Tokyo, New York and Johannesburg? Which geometries will 4 cities fit on, as a function of how much curvature their flight paths are endowed with? (Yes, some cases require a 2+1 dimensional Minkowski Geometry).
    What about 5 or 6 cities? And since the Earth is *not* a sphere, what happens if you try to fit 6 cities, as a function of the curvature you give all the flight paths, assuming they're all given the same curvature? How much information can be said about the dimensions of the Earth - as well as the cities' *latitudes and relative longitudes* - on the assumption that the 6 cities fit on a ellipsoid? Try it with { New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle}, as well as {London, New York, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro}.

    • @williamzame3708
      @williamzame3708 2 роки тому

      Sorry - geodesics are NOT necessarily the shortest routes between any two points. Geodesics are only LOCALLY the shortest routes between two oints.

  • @abrahemsamander3967
    @abrahemsamander3967 5 років тому

    I don’t know why this video popped up but I liked it. Very informative.

  • @AlexM1983DHUN
    @AlexM1983DHUN 2 роки тому +1

    If we modify it just a little bit, so it says: c = sqrt(a) + sqrt(b) then some triangles do satisfy this, like a = 1, b= 2, c = 1+sqrt(2), but this is no longer Homer's triangle. Though, who knows. maybe the Scarecrow-Simpson triangle needs complex dimensions. I haven't tried that. :D

  • @IBBX22I
    @IBBX22I 5 років тому +3

    When your literature teacher interprets a passage in a book

  • @erikhendrych4075
    @erikhendrych4075 5 років тому +10

    It is quite wrong ... but ... it can get even wronger 🤣🤣🤣

  • @mihhi
    @mihhi 7 років тому +1

    Wow this really takes me back to my High School days. Haven't used formulars and done advanced mathematics since then. Being a social scientist, it's fun to dive into that way of thinking though, it's so different and straightforward.

    • @slook7094
      @slook7094 5 років тому +1

      You still have to use math as a social science, but it's all statistics and basic algebra for graphs.

  • @daithiocinnsealach1982
    @daithiocinnsealach1982 4 роки тому +1

    I wonder if the point was that the scare crow didn't really get a brain. He just had to think he did. The líon just had to think he had courage and the tin man had to think he got a heart. Which is kind of an interesting angle from when I was a kid and I literally thought they had somehow actually received these things.

  • @themalcontent100
    @themalcontent100 5 років тому +11

    3:05 He got a brain just not a very good one.

  • @Secre.SwallowtailYT
    @Secre.SwallowtailYT 7 років тому +126

    in the wizard of oz part, he really got a brain, the brain let him think logically, regardless of his answer being correct or not.

    • @Swaggerpede
      @Swaggerpede 7 років тому +3

      Hm, that statement doesn't make too much sense. I mean aren't you contradicting yourself? Logic would imply correctness, no?if he's not correct then that's Logic not working?

    • @NoumenalSoup
      @NoumenalSoup 7 років тому +74

      Logic does not imply correctness.

    • @aidanmaley9826
      @aidanmaley9826 7 років тому +7

      Im Dixie
      Stating random incorrect facts from nowhere is the opposite of logic, no?

    • @NoumenalSoup
      @NoumenalSoup 7 років тому +11

      No, that is not the opposite of logic. hth

    • @philosophpascal
      @philosophpascal 6 років тому +6

      he did not seem to think in the slightest. he was smarter than any animal before (he could speak!), and the wizard changed nothing.

  • @sandrakranzwinther3286
    @sandrakranzwinther3286 5 років тому

    Love your giggle. Math is interesting and fun 😍

  • @roguedm6523
    @roguedm6523 5 років тому +1

    Alright recommended videos. You win this one.

  • @coprographia
    @coprographia 5 років тому +13

    Isn’t the gag that the Scarecrow got a diploma, not an actual brain?

    • @3seven5seven1nine9
      @3seven5seven1nine9 5 років тому +1

      Someone's putting quite a lot of faith in the writers

  • @mercybellafiore3677
    @mercybellafiore3677 8 років тому +33

    I know this is old but I'm going to take a crack at these Pythagorean clips.
    In the first clip, David S. Cohen's name is written as "David^2+S.^2 = Cohen^2", quite clever ;)
    Of course, the second time around, A^2+B^2 = C^2 is just on the "MATH BOOK"

    • @Femaiden
      @Femaiden 8 років тому +6

      I know this is a dumb question...I guess I'm just not nerdy enough, but I don't get the joke. how is "David squared plus S squared = Cohen squared" clever? Is there some hidden meaning? Is there some sort of language wordplay thing going on there? I understand the pythagorean theorem, I understand the reference, but I don't get the joke.

    • @MonsterUpTheStairs
      @MonsterUpTheStairs 8 років тому +2

      +FeMaiden Maybe it's clever because no one ever looks at the credits so it was at least harder to find than the other example.

    • @Femaiden
      @Femaiden 8 років тому +1

      oh yeah, I looked back and I see the joke...it was just wordplay like on the halloween episodes they do that with the credits like "James Hell Brooks" instead of "James L Brooks"
      I just thought maybe it was some sort of like...higher mathematics joke like a reference to a famous equation or something.

    • @timwestchester9557
      @timwestchester9557 8 років тому +1

      I did the calculations thinking that David^2+S.^2 = Cohen^2 would correlate numerically, if, for example, each letter associated with a number value (A=1, B=2, C=3)... but I didn't find anything. Someone can check my math, but I got DAVID (4+1+22+9+14)=40^2= 1400 Plus S (19)=19^2=361, so together 1961 equals COHEN (3+15+8+5+14)=45^2=2025. So, all together, 1961=2025 which obviously doesn't add up.

    • @jeikobukooruman2602
      @jeikobukooruman2602 7 років тому +1

      Tim Westchester 1400+361=1761, not 1961.

  • @guptakritigya
    @guptakritigya 5 років тому

    Finally a short mathologer vid

  • @geraldfrost4710
    @geraldfrost4710 3 роки тому +1

    The only time this equation works is if all the terms are zero. So he has a point.

  • @alZiiHardstylez
    @alZiiHardstylez 4 роки тому +7

    That's such a math teacher reaction to a bit such as 'crystal math'.

    • @anymaths
      @anymaths 4 роки тому +1

      watch my maths videos to learn something.

  • @Null_Experis
    @Null_Experis 5 років тому +5

    You didn't account for Non-Euclidean Geometry!
    Ia Cthulhu Fhtagn!

    • @matthewegan5281
      @matthewegan5281 5 років тому

      he did tho, spherical geometry ain't euclidian ya cook!

    • @Null_Experis
      @Null_Experis 5 років тому

      ????????????
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_geometry#Relation_to_Euclid%27s_postulates

  • @FuzzyNutz-pg9qy
    @FuzzyNutz-pg9qy 4 роки тому

    I learned more about triangles from this video than I did in real life

  • @emeralf9228
    @emeralf9228 3 роки тому +2

    this man's laugh is so pure

  • @luigifails
    @luigifails 7 років тому +4

    Videos like this make me feel dumb, I wish I was smarter....

    • @Mathologer
      @Mathologer  7 років тому +4

      Just keep watching these sort of videos and you'll understand more and more as time goes by :)

    • @richanderson1275
      @richanderson1275 3 роки тому +1

      Did it work yet?

  • @gnarwhal7562
    @gnarwhal7562 6 років тому +3

    Wow, never knew that was a Wizard of Oz reference lol

  • @michaelbauers8800
    @michaelbauers8800 6 років тому

    Fantastic. I never realized how messed up the scarecrow's theorem was.

  • @gastonnina1902
    @gastonnina1902 10 місяців тому +1

    Maybe intended, maybe sheer luck, but the first frozen scene: 1 mirror + 2 sinks = 3 stalls (left) + 5 stalls (right) = 8 tiles in lenght