Skewes' Massive Number - Numberphile

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  • Опубликовано: 22 окт 2015
  • Dr James Grime on the epic Skewes' Number.
    Lynda free trial (worth a look): www.lynda.com/numberphile
    More links & stuff in full description below ↓↓↓
    Prime numbers: bit.ly/primevids
    Graham's Number: bit.ly/GrahamsNumber
    A small bit we chopped from this video: • Skewes' Number (tiny b...
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    Videos by Brady Haran
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Комментарии • 1,5 тыс.

  • @pupnoomann7866
    @pupnoomann7866 8 лет назад +2914

    "1899 - 1988"
    This is great.

    • @jordanlagarde
      @jordanlagarde 8 лет назад +30

      +Horst Kevin von Goethe Makes me feel a little OCD, but that was the first thing I though of.

    • @peppybocan
      @peppybocan 8 лет назад +97

      +Jordan Lagarde yea... he could live from 1888 to 1999... that would be insane :D

    • @nekoblitz
      @nekoblitz 8 лет назад +115

      +Peter Bočan Nah. From 1111 to 2222.

    • @aka5
      @aka5 8 лет назад +39

      +LightningCat Craft Wouldn't he be dying a little young?

    • @quarkyquasar893
      @quarkyquasar893 8 лет назад +62

      +Akașșș You are correct 1111 years is a very little time to life :(

  • @pyromen321
    @pyromen321 8 лет назад +2979

    I love his enthusiasm so much!

    • @TheCornflake01
      @TheCornflake01 8 лет назад +13

      +pyromen321 me too!

    • @GottgleicherMaster
      @GottgleicherMaster 8 лет назад +20

      +Slaughter round i first thought pyromen is talking to himself :D

    • @user-dj1hy6zc6q
      @user-dj1hy6zc6q 8 лет назад +6

      +pyromen321
      Have you ever noticed how large his pupils are in every video? I think his enthusiasm is somewhat medicated.

    • @Lockirby2
      @Lockirby2 8 лет назад +4

      +Marc Tißler For half a second I thought pyromen was talking to "been there". *facepalm*

    • @iavv334
      @iavv334 8 лет назад +1

      +ty_ger Nah he just has dark eyes. Beautiful, dark eyes.

  • @anticorncob6
    @anticorncob6 8 лет назад +549

    I've never understood why people use log(x) with base e. ln(x) is shorter to write, and people won't mistake or get confused on whether log is with base e or base 10.

    • @alansmithee419
      @alansmithee419 4 года назад +44

      I didn't know people did that, and now that I do, I am sad. :(

    • @poisonoushallucinations3168
      @poisonoushallucinations3168 4 года назад +38

      Solution: Don’t use log(x). Just ln(x) for base e and lg(x) for base 10

    • @alansmithee419
      @alansmithee419 4 года назад +62

      @@poisonoushallucinations3168 well, we are supposed to only use ln(x) for e, log(x) for ten, and log-subsript n-(x) for base n, so we have a solution, but apparently not everyone follows the rule, leading to confusion. Like grammar, but maths!

    • @poisonoushallucinations3168
      @poisonoushallucinations3168 4 года назад +7

      alan smithee log(x) isn’t for 10 though. It’s been arbitrary for quite a while, with 10 and e being the more common bases. The newer notation lg(x) for base 10’s there to help to avoid confusion when using log(x) without specifying a base

    • @alansmithee419
      @alansmithee419 4 года назад

      @@poisonoushallucinations3168 well, you can take it up with the a level boards, I won't argue on their behalf.

  • @givemeyourfish
    @givemeyourfish 8 лет назад +1754

    I would love an "R rated" numberphile that assumes complete knowledge of Calculus or the like

    • @gordontaylor2815
      @gordontaylor2815 8 лет назад +92

      +Michael Marks I think that's what the Numberphile 2 channel is for.

    • @themcalmic148
      @themcalmic148 6 лет назад +10

      Michael Marks lol

    • @Zaros262
      @Zaros262 4 года назад +82

      "Numberphile: Adult Swim"

    • @AlexKing-tg9hl
      @AlexKing-tg9hl 4 года назад +14

      Michael Marks I would leave a like but I did bad in calc so

    • @mueezadam8438
      @mueezadam8438 4 года назад +10

      @Michael Marks I don’t know if I would be able to show that to my children, they’re too young!

  • @Ian07_
    @Ian07_ 7 лет назад +946

    10^10^10^34 has 10^10^34 digits.
    10^10^34 has 10^34 digits.
    I think "trillions and trillions of digits" is a bit of an understatement.

    • @chessandmathguy
      @chessandmathguy 6 лет назад +79

      Ian 07 off by 1, but close if you're rounding. 10^n has n+1 digits.

    • @anandsuralkar2947
      @anandsuralkar2947 5 лет назад +3

      True

    • @2s7a2m7
      @2s7a2m7 5 лет назад +5

      So it's a 1 followed by 3400 zeros (less than a trillion digits long)?

    • @pwootjuhs
      @pwootjuhs 5 лет назад +11

      2s7a2m7 the number you just described is how many digits there are in swewes' number

    • @sangramjitchakraborty7845
      @sangramjitchakraborty7845 5 лет назад +46

      2s7a2m7 dude 10^10^34 has 10^34 zeroes after it.. which alone is more than a trillion. 10^10^10^34 is mind numbingly larger than that..

  • @josephedmond3723
    @josephedmond3723 8 лет назад +439

    Skewes lived from 1899 to 1988. Thats interesting in itself

    • @tonybates7870
      @tonybates7870 8 лет назад +24

      No, it isn't.

    • @uuu12343
      @uuu12343 6 лет назад +22

      Tony Bates
      Matt Parker would fight you for that :^V

    • @Tomanna
      @Tomanna 6 лет назад +6

      Tony Bates you don't decide that

    • @kelli217
      @kelli217 6 лет назад +13

      So, if they'd had Numberphile in the 70s, they could have had Skewes himself talking about Skewes' number, just as they've had Graham talking about Graham's number.
      Don't get me wrong; Asimov would have been a great guest, but he wouldn't have been able to talk about it the same way as the mathematician himself.

    • @user-uu1nw1bl9j
      @user-uu1nw1bl9j 5 лет назад +2

      That's so not interesting. Unless the approximate birth of Christ and our arbitrary calendar that followed from it mean anything to you.

  • @ozzyboo1068
    @ozzyboo1068 5 лет назад +28

    Dr James talking about the 70's *"Numberphile"* is just amazing! He is very enthusiastic!

  • @juangreen8194
    @juangreen8194 8 лет назад +138

    Compared to Grahams number, that number and 1 are virtually the same.

    • @christopher9624
      @christopher9624 5 лет назад +30

      Compared to TREE (3), Graham's Number is practically 1
      Compared to loaders number, TREE (3) is practically 1
      Compared to typical busy beaver numbers, all of the above are practically 1

    • @blue9139
      @blue9139 5 лет назад +1

      Christopher
      Yea lol. RELEASE DAT OBVILION

    • @ZeHoSmusician
      @ZeHoSmusician 4 года назад +15

      This reminds me of one of Carl Sagan's quotes in Cosmos (Ep09):
      "In fact, a googolplex is precisely as far from infinity as is the number 1."

    • @anticorncob6
      @anticorncob6 4 года назад +10

      @@christopher9624 For every positive number n, there is a bigger number m for which n is practically 1.

    • @a.u.positronh3665
      @a.u.positronh3665 3 года назад +1

      @@blue9139 There is a function called M(n) I saw in numberphile' TREE(3) video. It i not Mersenne prime function, but it works like this:
      M(1) = Largest number one mathematician can define by working for a year in perfect harmony
      M(2) = Largest number two mathematician can define by working for a year in perfect harmony
      M(3) = Largest number tree mathematician can define by working for a year in perfect harmony
      ...
      Yes. It is extremely unexpectable and extremely big, bigger than ANY NUMBER ever defined. In the process of calculating the result, countless interesting notations will be made.

  • @KingCliveThe17th
    @KingCliveThe17th 8 лет назад +290

    They don't mention it in the video, but Skewes' result assumes the generalised Riemann hypothesis. Without that assumption, Skewe's upper bound is 10^10^10^963. Quite a big bigger.

    • @JaapZeldenrust
      @JaapZeldenrust 8 лет назад +29

      +Giggstow No, if the first instance of the inequality flipping was over 10^10^10^34, that would in fact disprove the generalised Riemann hypothesis. As the last part of the video shows, we already know that the inequality flips at a much smaller number than 10^10^10^34, but that's not proof of the Riemann hypothesis either, because it's inductive, and proof needs to be deductive.

    • @TheOnlyMeta
      @TheOnlyMeta 8 лет назад +3

      +Giggstow no, the implication is only one way

    • @PersonaRandomNumbers
      @PersonaRandomNumbers 8 лет назад +1

      +Luke Shirley Modus tollens would like a word with you.

    • @IAlreadyHaveAKey
      @IAlreadyHaveAKey 8 лет назад +12

      +pyropulse Nah mathematical induction is a form of deductive reasoning.

    • @TheOnlyMeta
      @TheOnlyMeta 8 лет назад

      Persona GRH is not the contrapositive of that statement.

  • @DrEvil-uw1ju
    @DrEvil-uw1ju 8 лет назад +42

    It's been a while since the last James Grime video he's my favourite. He's just so happy and optimistic and an incredible explainer.

  • @rrxqz
    @rrxqz 8 лет назад +212

    1:50 JUST DO IT!!! DONT LET YOUR DREAMS BE DREAMS!

    • @whoeveriam0iam14222
      @whoeveriam0iam14222 8 лет назад +13

      +RXQZ they really should.. but without the smoking.. it's not the actual 1970s anymore and smoking should not get advertised like that ever again

    • @simovihinen875
      @simovihinen875 8 лет назад +16

      +whoeveriam0iam14222
      Maybe after a googol googol googol years it SHOULD get advertised again? Stop extrapolating.

    • @turoni314
      @turoni314 8 лет назад

      +Simo Vihinen The universe might have stopped and started a few times again since then so yeah maybe it should be advertised then, who knows.

    • @Mr.Feckless
      @Mr.Feckless 8 лет назад

      +whoeveriam0iam14222 Come on man, don't you wanna be cool?

    • @Mr.Feckless
      @Mr.Feckless 8 лет назад

      ***** I asked you first.

  • @kayleighlehrman9566
    @kayleighlehrman9566 5 лет назад +83

    I'm much more interested in the "e^e^e^79" number shown in the excerpts of the paper

    • @stephenbeck7222
      @stephenbeck7222 4 года назад +40

      That number is the actual number Skewes found but writing it (or a close enough approximation) with 10’s as the bases is slightly easier to comprehend.

    • @findystonerush9339
      @findystonerush9339 3 года назад +1

      ARG!! you * _ * miuf!

  • @TheHoaxHotel
    @TheHoaxHotel 8 лет назад +54

    After this discovery, Skewes sketched up the first known rules for Flipadelphia.

  • @mattstirling6317
    @mattstirling6317 6 лет назад +12

    "AND IT APPEARS THAT THIS INEQUALITY HOLDS AND THEN .. it flips."

  • @ejesbd
    @ejesbd 8 лет назад +6

    I especially like the videos with Dr. James Grime. His genuine enthusiasm and passion for what he's talking about makes the topic very interesting!

  • @stefanilserbo2
    @stefanilserbo2 8 лет назад +347

    singingbanana in our hearth

    • @peppybocan
      @peppybocan 8 лет назад

      +stefanilserbo sing along with him :D ;)

    • @logmeinwtf
      @logmeinwtf 8 лет назад +1

      +stefanilserbo rest in peperoni

    • @error.418
      @error.418 8 лет назад +12

      +stefanilserbo In our hearth? Did you light him on fire?

    • @stefanilserbo2
      @stefanilserbo2 8 лет назад

      +Anonymous User I made a mathematical diagram of his body and then made a tattoo on my heart of his formula

    • @error.418
      @error.418 8 лет назад

      stefanilserbo You said hearth, not heart, in your original comment

  • @yichern4351
    @yichern4351 7 лет назад +685

    "Numbah"

    • @robmckennie4203
      @robmckennie4203 6 лет назад +39

      Peter Bergmann let me just clue you in, James is English, this is how words are supposed to sound

    • @mrnarason
      @mrnarason 5 лет назад +35

      Peter Bergmann The English butcher their own language.

    • @anandsuralkar2947
      @anandsuralkar2947 5 лет назад +6

      He talks weird though

    • @okie9025
      @okie9025 5 лет назад +8

      Well you wouldn't pronounce it NUMBEARR would you

    • @kingcrimson4133
      @kingcrimson4133 5 лет назад +12

      It's called an accent. The U.K has a lot of them. So does America.

  • @tbabubba32682
    @tbabubba32682 8 лет назад +446

    TREE(3) Please do a video on TREE(3).

    • @tub944
      @tub944 8 лет назад +34

      Yes please

    • @General12th
      @General12th 8 лет назад +31

      +J.R. Trevino I've been super curious about this. TREE(3) is apparently bigger than Graham's number.

    • @breathless792
      @breathless792 8 лет назад +13

      +Jordan Shank yes it is, apparently Grahams number in unnoticeable by comparison

    • @Er404ChannelNotFound
      @Er404ChannelNotFound 8 лет назад +4

      YES! YES! YES!

    • @ganondorfchampin
      @ganondorfchampin 7 лет назад +7

      Loader's number is nothing special, it's just the output of a computer program.

  • @ygalel
    @ygalel 3 года назад +2

    Wow. I can tell JUST by the tone of his voice how excited he was about Graham's number. I am so jealous.

  • @thom_wye
    @thom_wye 8 лет назад +33

    please do a 70's Numberphile episode.
    PLEEEASE!

  • @Tker1970
    @Tker1970 2 года назад +4

    I love how James can really make me grasp something that's way over my head-enough to understand-without making me feel like an idiot-even when he needs to use math that's far nehind my capability.

  • @Crunkmastaflexx
    @Crunkmastaflexx 8 лет назад +90

    Man Numberphile makes math seem like something sweet to study, too bad nothing like this is taught in college, not even in the fourth year.

    • @Thomas_Bergel
      @Thomas_Bergel 4 года назад +7

      Crunkmastaflexx
      I feel like numberphile is really dumbed down...

    • @ryansatoshi7932
      @ryansatoshi7932 4 года назад +1

      I... learned about Graham's Number, Skewes' and TREE at 5th grade...

    • @ryansatoshi7932
      @ryansatoshi7932 4 года назад

      I... learned about Graham's Number, Skewes' and TREE at 5th grade...

  • @TakeWalker
    @TakeWalker 8 лет назад +7

    The best part of this video is watching Dr. Grimes geek out over Ron Graham. :D

  • @ludovicosebastio4729
    @ludovicosebastio4729 8 лет назад +13

    Love Numberphile and Dr. Grime!

  • @spazmobot
    @spazmobot 8 лет назад +19

    Sooooo frigging good! I wanna see 70's Numberphile!!

  • @Eli-qu4bs
    @Eli-qu4bs 7 лет назад +5

    "We'd have massive ties and be constantly smoking" lol

  • @BillRicker
    @BillRicker 8 лет назад +2

    The animated sketches of Dr A -- and the 1970s typography are amazingly, disturbingly on-point.

  • @z-beeblebrox
    @z-beeblebrox 6 лет назад +1

    On reflection, a few years later, what I love about this number is that it's the upper bound of an approximation of an indirect observation of an inequality of an approximation for counting primes. Such beautiful indirectness

  • @lawrencecalablaster568
    @lawrencecalablaster568 8 лет назад +3

    James, this is awesome! I'd love to see 1970s Numberphile. I love huge numbers like these.

  • @Gargantupimp
    @Gargantupimp 4 года назад +2

    I wish I was as happy about anything in life as this man is about math.

  • @2gyi718
    @2gyi718 7 лет назад +2

    Sometimes,I watch number phile even though I don't get anything because seeing the guy getting excited and enthusiastic about explaining, is somewhat fun.

  • @fantiscious
    @fantiscious Год назад +2

    Bonus fact: 10^10^10^34 was found ASSUMING the Riemann Hypothesis was true. In 1955, Skewes found another number (10^10^10^964) that was without the use of the hypothesis.

  • @themanwiththepan
    @themanwiththepan 8 лет назад +73

    1970s style numberphile go

  • @verioffkin
    @verioffkin 8 лет назад +3

    Always a joy to see you, guys, even if there's absolutely no chance to understant a thing what this all about.

  • @SledgerFromTDS.
    @SledgerFromTDS. 3 года назад +2

    The Really, Humungous, Gigantic, Enormous, Massive Skewes Number

  • @Josh-qi4fq
    @Josh-qi4fq 8 лет назад

    So good to see James again!

  • @LaGuerre19
    @LaGuerre19 5 лет назад +6

    I know I just commented about this about 9 minutes ago, but it needs to be said again: *_JAMES GRIMES' ENTHUSIASM FOR MATHEMATICS IS JUST ABOUT THE PUREST THING ONLINE._*
    P.S. (takes a long drag on a cigarette) Smoking is baaaaaaad.

  • @Hakusan75
    @Hakusan75 8 лет назад +9

    I actually understood the formula he explained perfectly fine. The one where he said that "some of you won't be familiar with what I'm going to do." I feel like my studies have gone pretty well.

  • @AtomicHermit
    @AtomicHermit 7 лет назад +1

    And here you have somebody who was fortunate enough to have been tutored in mathematics over 30 years ago (and paid for it by reading and describing to him the Modesty Blaise cartoon every day) watching your beautifully done explanation and remembering Stanley's enthusiasm for mathematics. Well done.

  • @TheAustinTalbert
    @TheAustinTalbert 4 года назад +1

    I love how I don’t understand this but still watch it.

  • @efrataitel
    @efrataitel 8 лет назад +5

    We love James :)

  • @Ilander86
    @Ilander86 8 лет назад +6

    You must sell the 70s Numberphile T-shirt, now, you know!

  • @EmilianoHeyns
    @EmilianoHeyns 8 лет назад +1

    I just can't get enough of James talking about numbahs :)

  • @RetroGamingClashOfClans
    @RetroGamingClashOfClans 5 лет назад

    I love the videos with this man !!

  • @Tsskyx
    @Tsskyx 8 лет назад +104

    what about tree(3), are you also going to make a video about that?

    • @alexkarlsboro8497
      @alexkarlsboro8497 8 лет назад

      Are you the guy on the Redstoner server?

    • @alexkarlsboro8497
      @alexkarlsboro8497 8 лет назад

      Are you the guy on the Redstoner server?

    • @alexkarlsboro8497
      @alexkarlsboro8497 8 лет назад

      Are you the guy on the Redstoner server?

    • @raihanmuhammad5115
      @raihanmuhammad5115 8 лет назад +35

      is that a log joke then you should be ashamed of yourself

    • @Tsskyx
      @Tsskyx 8 лет назад +8

      +Raihan Muhammad no pun intended, I don't even see it.

  • @gui1521
    @gui1521 8 лет назад +136

    But is there a number where the two functions give the same value? It's quite unlikely but possible...

    • @josevillegas5243
      @josevillegas5243 8 лет назад +29

      +Flandre Scarlet I believe both estimation functions are undefined for x=1 and x=0

    • @ben1996123
      @ben1996123 8 лет назад +9

      +Flandre Scarlet yes but not at an integer value of x

    • @MrFeanaro9
      @MrFeanaro9 8 лет назад +19

      +Flandre Scarlet I may be wrong but since both functions are continuous for large numbers, the intermediate value theorem should be usable to show that there should be one specific number (exactly where the equality sign flips) that gives equal values for both functions. I imagine it would be a number with a long if not infinite tail of decimal places.
      In short, as x increases, the functions have to get closer and closer together before the equality sign flips, very briefly becoming equal as the flip happens.

    • @ben1996123
      @ben1996123 8 лет назад +40

      ***** pi(x) isnt continuous at primes but li(x) is almost certainly never an integer when x is an integer

    • @MrFeanaro9
      @MrFeanaro9 8 лет назад +1

      Thanks for the info :) Just to be clear I was referring to the approximation pi(x) = x/ln(x) which is continuous for x < 1. If there are points for which pi(x) < li(x) and for which pi(x) > li(x) then there has to be a real number in between where pi(x) = li(x) for a specific real x. That is what I assumed was being asked.

  • @OwenPrescott
    @OwenPrescott 8 лет назад +12

    That portrait illustration is... creepy.

    • @mbk_from_va
      @mbk_from_va 8 лет назад

      Numberphile, did you guys snatch up an animator from Daytrotter?

    • @christosvoskresye
      @christosvoskresye 8 лет назад

      +Owen Prescott You mean of 1970's Numberphile? I think it's cool. Or at least funny.

    • @Pouk3D
      @Pouk3D 8 лет назад

      +Owen Prescott I take issue with the guy having a weirdly red upper lip/ undernose area.

  • @Tubluer
    @Tubluer 8 лет назад

    I had no idea that the concept behind Skewe's number was so simple. So I just ignored it., thinking it would not be worth the effort to understand it. And you knocked it flat in ten minutes. Well done!

  • @StGroovy
    @StGroovy 8 лет назад +3

    Whew. That sure takes a load off my mind. I'm always nervous that my inequality sign will flip when I'm dealing with powers of a thousand.

  • @cortster12
    @cortster12 8 лет назад +13

    Wait, is this where the word 'skewed' came about in common speech as well, or is that a coincidence?

    • @MysteryHendrik
      @MysteryHendrik 8 лет назад +11

      It’s a coincidence.
      Source: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/skew

    • @bgezal
      @bgezal 8 лет назад +6

      +cortster12 It's because Skewes got skewered once during a lecture and did a big number on it.

  • @ceruchi2084
    @ceruchi2084 5 лет назад

    This is the Numberphile vid I've rewatched the most times. I always return to see the smoking '70s Grime, but then I remember what a cool concept is actually being discussed.

  • @mathman1923
    @mathman1923 8 лет назад

    love the paisley in the background at 5:46 and the 70's bit at the start

  • @fightocondria
    @fightocondria 8 лет назад +16

    Wait, wait, wait now. You skipped something important. You claim that we know a run of integers where this inequality is flipped, but we don't know the first time it flips. So that means we somehow know how many prime numbers there are under some numbers, but not under smaller numbers. This requires an explanation :p. Please explain.

    • @stephenbeck7222
      @stephenbeck7222 4 года назад

      I think the issue is that the way we calculate pi(x) for large x is by using li(x) and the known error formula which involves related functions of li(x). And calculating li(x) for large x is not an easy task. This approach was formulated by Reimann and is greatly connected to his zeta function, so much of the discussion of the solution to this problem revolves around assumption of the Reimann hypothesis.

    • @binashah3106
      @binashah3106 4 года назад +1

      would you reply me after 4 years

  • @markconrad9619
    @markconrad9619 8 лет назад +43

    Question is how many times does it flip within Graham's number??

    • @ikschrijflangenamen
      @ikschrijflangenamen 8 лет назад +59

      +Mark Lagunzad 42

    • @pulluptheroots
      @pulluptheroots 8 лет назад +2

      +Mark Lagunzad A fair few

    • @markconrad9619
      @markconrad9619 8 лет назад +5

      +ikschrijflangenamen haha i bet it's way way greater than 42

    • @Mp57navy
      @Mp57navy 8 лет назад +7

      +Rhizopuz Stolonifer no.

    • @H34L5
      @H34L5 8 лет назад +1

      +ikschrijflangenamen I would say 8

  • @gremmy_yt
    @gremmy_yt 8 лет назад

    This man has such passion. love watching him rant :-)

  • @NoriMori1992
    @NoriMori1992 8 лет назад +2

    It made me so excited that you talked about Isaac Asimov. He's my favourite person. You know that question "If you could spend an hour with one historical person who is no longer alive, who would it be and why?" I used to not know how to answer that question. But these days, I know it would be Isaac Asimov, without doubt.
    Knowing that he wrote about this number has made me realize that I need to read more of his non-fiction stuff, like his science articles. I started reading a book of his articles once, at my school library, and I loved it! But for the most part, I've only been reading his short stories and novels. Time to scour the internet for his science article anthologies!

  • @LetsTakeWalk
    @LetsTakeWalk 8 лет назад +7

    I'm googolplexed by it.

  • @car-keys
    @car-keys 7 лет назад +44

    Does this mean that there is some real number x where π(x) = Li(x)?

    • @brendanbeaver3804
      @brendanbeaver3804 7 лет назад +11

      The better way of saying what Greg said is that those functions aren't continuous, they're discrete, since you can only plug whole numbers into them. So no, there isn't necessarily a point where they cross.

    • @ahmedouerfelli4709
      @ahmedouerfelli4709 7 лет назад

      +Brendan Beaver Functions that are defined on discrete spaces are necessarily continuous.
      It's a basic topological concept, since every subset of a discrete topological space is open.

    • @hpekristiansen
      @hpekristiansen 7 лет назад +3

      A discrete function is by definition not continous.

    • @hpekristiansen
      @hpekristiansen 7 лет назад

      At the flip the functions will be close. Why do you think that they could not be equal there?

    • @user-px5tq1fg3u
      @user-px5tq1fg3u 7 лет назад

      +hpekristiansen because they might truly have very close values, but we cannot say the values would be exactly the same at a certain point merely because the signs flip, since we do not know if the functions are continuous. Check out the intermediate theorem.

  • @MrSupernova111
    @MrSupernova111 7 лет назад

    Very interesting! I really love your channel!

  • @jevicci
    @jevicci 8 лет назад

    This stuff gets sooo esoteric. Love it.

  • @peppybocan
    @peppybocan 8 лет назад +4

    Skewes lived from 1899 to 1988? That's skewed!

  • @CristiNeagu
    @CristiNeagu 8 лет назад +11

    I always thought ln(x) is the natural logarithm, in base e, and log(x) is the logarithm in base 10. Oh well, different notations again, i suppose.

    • @peter_babic
      @peter_babic 8 лет назад +1

      +Cristi Neagu calculators, i.e. common CASIO fx-991ES has it like you know it too. I do also know / use it like it.

    • @pfeifenheini
      @pfeifenheini 8 лет назад +2

      +Cristi Neagu Yeah the notations of logarithms are weird. ln(x) is usually the natural logarithm to base e, never seen something else. But then there is lg(x) which is either base 2 or 10, lb(x) and ld(x) usually base 2 and log(x) really depends on the context. Its often base 10, but it can be anything.

    • @NatsumiHinata
      @NatsumiHinata 8 лет назад +7

      +Cristi Neagu In advanced mathematics, natural logarithm is conventionally detonated as "log(x)", since there is absolutely no need to use logarithm in base 10. If you ever need to use log base 10 (which you will probably very rarely do in advanced mathematics), you may just write: (logx)/(log10) (this is due to base change formula).
      Conversely, In biology, astronomy, or engineering, natural log is almost absent and therefore log(x) will indeed refer to base 10 log.

    • @ulilulable
      @ulilulable 8 лет назад +1

      +KevinJRattman For exactly the same reason, we almost never wrote "log" in my engineering studies (since there's no need for logarithms in base 10), but used "ln" for almost everything. "log" would mostly be used for the extended, complex-valued, version of the natural logarithm.

    • @EpicB
      @EpicB 8 лет назад +1

      +Cristi Neagu In some contexts, ln(x) is denoted as log(x) where it's clear that the natural log is being used. For contexts where it's less clear, the notation ln(x) is used instead.

  • @Prasen1729
    @Prasen1729 3 года назад +1

    This is so amazing. I watch again and again. James is so wonderful as a teacher. He also says how it would be if Isaac Asimov talks about it on 70s Numeberphile. :-D He is superb this guy.

  • @olopower
    @olopower 8 лет назад

    Ive been watching numberphile for over an hour now and this episode finally made me say it... I dont understand anything but i want to watch more

  • @bob53135
    @bob53135 5 лет назад +6

    8:48 : The use of an "x" as the multiplication symbol bothers me. It's even more unforgivable as it's written with a serif font and doesn't even look like a simple cross anymore.

  •  8 лет назад +4

    Have they changed nomenclature? I learnt that, if we are writing numbers on base 10, log means log on base 10, not on base e as they use on the video.
    Log on base e is normally written as ln.

    • @ben1996123
      @ben1996123 8 лет назад +4

      +Víktor Bautista i Roca once you finish high school, log becomes natural log. no one uses log10

    • @RylanEdlin
      @RylanEdlin 8 лет назад

      That's a typical notation in high school. In university, they usually assume log is a natural log unless otherwise labeled.

    • @tabularasa0606
      @tabularasa0606 8 лет назад +2

      +Rylan Edlin Except on calculators.

    • @ib9rt
      @ib9rt 8 лет назад

      +ben1996123 In pure mathematics that may be true, but in science and engineering ln() is commonly used to denote natural log, where otherwise one would have to write either log (subscript) e or log (subscript) 10 to avoid ambiguity. (In science and engineering, clear, accurate communication is essential, and every item of nomenclature must be defined where used. In this arena some forms of shorthand notation have become universally adopted for the convenience of all concerned.)

    • @0xEA61E
      @0xEA61E 8 лет назад

      +Víktor Bautista i Roca log is the traditional way to write natural log. Base 10 logs are easier to teach, so you learn those first, and we just decided to switch the usage of log to log10 for education. Now it's kind of muddled and recommended that you specify somewhere which is which.

  • @bopakboom2819
    @bopakboom2819 Год назад

    i love watching this man

  • @HKAngne
    @HKAngne 8 лет назад

    James is downright Awesome! :D
    Makes it gripping, always..

  • @richardtowers6948
    @richardtowers6948 8 лет назад +3

    There's a little bit of fudging going on here. James only uses the integer result from the Li(x) function and says that Pi(x) appears to always be less than. Under those conditions the rule actually fails for Pi(13):
    Pi(x) = Int(Li(x)) (=6)
    However, while James says "always less than" he actually contradicts himself by writing "less than or equal". Is he trying to have his pie and eat it, I wonder? Either way the pie looks a little bit sloppy ;-)

  • @LaatiMafia
    @LaatiMafia 8 лет назад +59

    1 000 000 000 is a milliard ;)

    • @SparklyRazor
      @SparklyRazor 8 лет назад +18

      +Laatikkomafia In english big numbers aren't called the same as they are in your language (and mine as well). So he's not wrong, but I get how it can screw up your head.

    • @tabularasa0606
      @tabularasa0606 8 лет назад +33

      There's a Numberphile video about that.

    • @xGhostModex
      @xGhostModex 8 лет назад

      +tabularasa0606 do you have a link to that? or do you know the name?

    • @CC-wc2ro
      @CC-wc2ro 8 лет назад

      +Laatikkomafia billion

    • @ARP2wefightforyou
      @ARP2wefightforyou 8 лет назад +5

      +xGhostModex "how big is a trillion?" is the name.

  • @brenthooton3412
    @brenthooton3412 8 дней назад

    I started out being mildly curious about Skewes' Number, but this quickly turned to intensely wanting to see a 1970s Numberphile episode starring a chain-smoking James Grimes with a super-wide tie and epic sideburns

  • @Vacuon
    @Vacuon 2 года назад +1

    In my mind, ln(x) is log_e(x), lg(x) is log_2(x) and log(x) defaults to log_10(x)

  • @The_savvy_Lynx
    @The_savvy_Lynx 8 лет назад +3

    How could Stanley Skewes tell that the inequality flipped? I mean the Pi-Prime function has no closed form to this day, hence the notion for approximation right? So for recognizing the flip you would have to calculate and count all the primes of 10^10^10^34 by foot (or computer). But that doesn't sound like a task that could be done by computers yet, or at least by the computers of 50-100 years ago when he did this work. Do we have any genius here to resolve this question? ;)

    • @ben1996123
      @ben1996123 8 лет назад

      +Patrick Fame you dont need to know the values of pi(x) and li(x) to show that one is larger than the other

    • @The_savvy_Lynx
      @The_savvy_Lynx 8 лет назад

      Why not? How can you show one is bigger than the other without having actual values?

    • @ben1996123
      @ben1996123 8 лет назад +11

      Patrick Fame because analytic number theory is magic

    • @The_savvy_Lynx
      @The_savvy_Lynx 8 лет назад

      ben1996123
      Not sure if trolling or just not eager to be helpful. I would really like to know. As a computer scientist, analysis and co are not my prime fields of mathematics.

    • @ben1996123
      @ben1996123 8 лет назад +6

      Patrick Fame neither. i told you. analytic number theory. but don't expect to understand it unless you do a phd or something. the largest value of pi(x) known is only pi(10^26) which i think took about 15 cpu years and 128gb of ram to compute.

  • @Shadowflame919
    @Shadowflame919 8 лет назад +20

    The same guy made Tec-9 | Isaac and Awp | Asimov
    Isaac Asimov? coincidence?

  • @sunnysood8702
    @sunnysood8702 8 лет назад

    Very interesting video. Keep up the good work.

  • @Wublam
    @Wublam 8 лет назад +1

    I always wonder, does he have all the numbers written down somewhere on paper outside the camera or does he just know these numbers by heart? He seems like such nice guy! Great video as always!

  • @vanhouten64
    @vanhouten64 8 лет назад +26

    I can conceive an even greater number than Graham's Number. Vanhouten's Number = Graham's Number + 1.

    • @jatinbhende3205
      @jatinbhende3205 6 лет назад +1

      vanhouten64 and we also know its last digit......It's 8 :)

    • @flatearthdeth9165
      @flatearthdeth9165 6 лет назад

      Vanhouten's number plus 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

    • @robmckennie4203
      @robmckennie4203 6 лет назад

      Infinity+1!!! (Saying it loudly makes me more right)

    • @aeb4865
      @aeb4865 6 лет назад +3

      My number: The biggest number that will ever be found + 1. If you find a greater number than my number, it is still gonna be one bigger than yours. Checkmate.

    • @user-uu1nw1bl9j
      @user-uu1nw1bl9j 5 лет назад +2

      Everyone can conceive a greater number than any number, but we're talking numbers that have been used in mathematical proofs.

  • @matix676
    @matix676 7 лет назад +22

    So my number is 42^69^420^(number of views of this video)
    I use this number in my theory about estimated number of atoms in the universe. Cheers.

    •  7 лет назад +20

      the number of atoms in the universe is 10^80

    • @matix676
      @matix676 7 лет назад +2

      João Victor Pacífico Well, according to my theory its square root of my number so... You are wrong.

    • @TheReligiousAtheists
      @TheReligiousAtheists 6 лет назад +11

      João Victor Pacífico If you want to be a geek, at least be right. 10^80 is the APPROXIMATE number of atoms in the VISIBLE universe.

    • @armelstsrt
      @armelstsrt 6 лет назад +3

      João Victor Pacifico That's a pretty bold statement, it's actually just an approximation

    • @meta04
      @meta04 5 лет назад

      if this video has X views, 42^69^420^X ~ 10^(1.6*69^420^X) ~ 10^69^420^X (multiplying something larger than 10^10^100 by 1.6...) ~ 10^10^(1.85*420^X) ~ 10^10^(1.85*10^(2.6X)) ~ 10^10^10^(2.6X+0.25) ~ 10^10^10^(2.6X) ~ Skewes' number when this video has 13 views, and 10^10^(2.21*10^1985999) as of when this comment was posted.
      when this video had zero views you get 42^69^420^0 = 42^69^1 = 42^69 ~ 1.01*10^112

  • @mibo747
    @mibo747 4 года назад

    What a genius video and all series!!!

  • @Alfetto8
    @Alfetto8 7 лет назад

    I love that paper, so elegant and simple even a kid could understand that.

  • @ScareYi
    @ScareYi 8 лет назад +74

    I can make a bigger number
    10^10^10^35
    kapa

    • @flawlessgenius
      @flawlessgenius 7 лет назад +21

      noone cares if you cant use that number for a proof

    • @ScareYi
      @ScareYi 7 лет назад +14

      +flawlessgenius but you care enough to make a comment about not caring.

    • @flawlessgenius
      @flawlessgenius 7 лет назад +10

      +KillzGaming i care if you have a proof
      that would be really interesting if you have a use for a number that big

    • @ScareYi
      @ScareYi 7 лет назад

      +flawlessgenius boasting that this is a bigger number

    • @ganondorfchampin
      @ganondorfchampin 7 лет назад +16

      You can always just add one, absolutely no one cares if you can create a larger number as anyone can.

  • @Dr.HazharGhaderi
    @Dr.HazharGhaderi 8 лет назад

    Thanks for this really interesting episode :)

  • @cookiesop9487
    @cookiesop9487 7 лет назад

    Understood the formula. Felt so smart.

  • @veggiet2009
    @veggiet2009 8 лет назад +2

    It's official, Dr. Grimes needs a perm.

  • @N3bu14Gr4y
    @N3bu14Gr4y 4 года назад +1

    It's official you guys Skewe your numbers!

  • @jhosioja
    @jhosioja 7 лет назад

    Love how excited he gets about the idea of a 70s numberphile.

  • @fjrjdjjjcdjjdj7282
    @fjrjdjjjcdjjdj7282 5 лет назад

    Skewes was so happy during the Lynda ad

  • @SlidellRobotics
    @SlidellRobotics 4 года назад +1

    Big fan of Isaac Asimov; I definitely recall reading the essay JG is referring to. IA described it as the largest number usefully applied to a proof at that time.

  • @tomfieselmann5906
    @tomfieselmann5906 8 лет назад

    I don't always understand it all, but always interesting!!!

  • @LiteraIIy_Nobody
    @LiteraIIy_Nobody 29 дней назад +1

    Lets get this guy to skewes' number subscribers.

  • @stefanfincken4359
    @stefanfincken4359 6 лет назад

    Now I really want to see a 70's numberphile episode!

  • @dxmz_priv
    @dxmz_priv 7 лет назад +2

    I tried working this out...My brain was skwered

  • @PrajwalSamal99
    @PrajwalSamal99 8 лет назад

    Gauss did it it when he was 15 ! and I am already 16 and still at high school. I am hats off amazed and saddened at the same time.
    How can someone be so great! Is it there surrounding or their unique enthu or their natural intellect or is it something else?

    • @Reydriel
      @Reydriel 8 лет назад

      Natural intellect; he was very gifted :P

  • @AdamSpanel
    @AdamSpanel 8 лет назад

    Finally I finally get why physicists are testing the equivalence principle so much.

  • @gaurangagarwal3243
    @gaurangagarwal3243 5 лет назад

    Very nice cartoon of james on the thumbnail. I appreciate

  • @lukemceachern6783
    @lukemceachern6783 8 лет назад

    Sharkee also did a really interesting video on big numbers, talks about Skewes' Number, as well as some other ones.

  • @lhaviland8602
    @lhaviland8602 2 года назад +1

    Mathematicians: This inequality never flips
    The inequality: I'm about to do what's known as a pro gamer move.

  • @ferguscullen8451
    @ferguscullen8451 7 лет назад

    In case anyone else was confused round 8:00, no, I'm fairly sure the co-writer of How I Met Your Mother didn't co-write "A new bound for the smallest x with pi(x) < li(x)".

  • @Kapomafioso
    @Kapomafioso 7 лет назад

    6:22 UNTIL....oh...until (in very mysterious way)...that anticipation is killing me :O this is almost like a theatre!

  • @ZeHoSmusician
    @ZeHoSmusician 4 года назад +1

    3:50 Log(x) is normally x's logarithm--in base 10 in this case since no specific base was given (as far as I've been taught); ln(x) represents x's natural log and is in base e, of course...
    That or some conventions have really evolved in the last 20 years...