Recreational & Visual Math Videos Hacker News Recommends

course#1

Vectors | Chapter 1, Essence of linear algebra

3Blue1Brown

“the most welcoming and informative introduction to the topic I've ever seen”

17 HN recommenders · 2018–2026

explainer#13

But what is the Fourier Transform? A visual introduction.

3Blue1Brown

“this was the first thing that ever really made sense to me”

16 HN recommenders · 2018–2025

explainer#22

But what is a neural network? | Deep learning chapter 1

3Blue1Brown

“the visualisations and explanations of the math/concepts are so amazing”

16 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

explainer#27

The Beauty of Bézier Curves

Freya Holmér

“it's genuinely one of the best math/graphics/explainer videos ever made”

16 HN recommenders · 2021–2026

explainer#38

The Continuity of Splines

Freya Holmér

“is (IMHO) one of the best educational videos on a programming topic, full stop.”

10 HN recommenders · 2022–2026

interview#42

Jim Simons (full length interview) - Numberphile

Numberphile2

“the full length one is very good. it gives an understanding as to why simons has been so successful.”

11 HN recommenders · 2015–2024

explainer#81

But how does bitcoin actually work?

3Blue1Brown

“this video is the best explanation for how mining and blockchains work IMO”

15 HN recommenders · 2017–2024

demo#98

Conway's Game Of Life in APL

Dyalog

“Try watching this video; it will only take you 8 minutes”

11 HN recommenders · 2010–2024

course#185

The essence of calculus

3Blue1Brown

“When I discovered that video, all the formulas they tried to make me memorize started making a LOT more sense.”

10 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

interview#238

The man with 1,000 Klein Bottles UNDER his house - Numberphile

Numberphile

“Cliff is an amazing person. Just a joy!”

8 HN recommenders · 2015–2024

course#258

Essence of linear algebra preview

3Blue1Brown

“3Blue1Brown's youtube series I cannot recommend highly enough.”

11 HN recommenders · 2016–2018

explainer#269

A Swift Introduction to Geometric Algebra

sudgylacmoe

“If you want an inspiring (imho) overview of the power of geometric algebra, I thoroughly enjoyed the video”

7 HN recommenders · 2020–2024

explainer#275

The hardest problem on the hardest test

3Blue1Brown

“these videos give a sense of how someone might actually go about thinking through and solving these kinds of problems”

8 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

course#277

Imaginary Numbers Are Real [Part 1: Introduction]

Welch Labs

“The greatest audiovisual content on the topic I have ever seen”

7 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

explainer#343

The determinant | Chapter 6, Essence of linear algebra

3Blue1Brown

“I have warmed up to determinants ever since I saw 3Blue1Brown give a fairly intuitive explanation for them”

6 HN recommenders · 2019–2024

explainer#399

Math's Fundamental Flaw

Veritasium

“I found Veritaseum's video about it really clear and instructive”

7 HN recommenders · 2021–2024

explainer#416

Fractals are typically not self-similar

3Blue1Brown

“Here is are two very clear explanations of fractal dimension by the man himself, Grant from 3b1b.”

7 HN recommenders · 2017–2024

explainer#425

The Banach–Tarski Paradox

Vsauce

“This vsauce video is actually a really accurate (and entertaining!) introduction to set theory”

6 HN recommenders · 2015–2024

explainer#438

Thinking outside the 10-dimensional box

3Blue1Brown

“There's a great 3blue1brown video that demonstrates this unintuitive result in a relatively intuitive way”

6 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

explainer#475

Eigenvectors and eigenvalues | Chapter 14, Essence of linear algebra

3Blue1Brown

“By far the best explanation of eigenvalues is found on 3blue1brown”

6 HN recommenders · 2016–2025

demo#513

Life in life

Phillip Bradbury

“here's a famous and really clear sub-2 minutes representation of the scales involved”

6 HN recommenders · 2013–2025

explainer#530

All the Numbers - Numberphile

Numberphile

“here's a video that explains from the basics what kinds of numbers exist”

6 HN recommenders · 2019–2025

interview#550

How Big is Graham's Number? (feat Ron Graham)

Numberphile

“And here is the man himself describing it”

4 HN recommenders · 2014–2024

explainer#560

The more general uncertainty principle, regarding Fourier transforms

3Blue1Brown

“The clearest, most intuitive explanation of the Fourier Uncertainty Principle that I have come across is by Grant Sanderson of 3Blue1Brown.”

7 HN recommenders · 2019–2025

explainer#581

Visualizing the 4d numbers Quaternions

3Blue1Brown

“He does a great job of explaining quaternions though visual intuition.”

6 HN recommenders · 2018–2023

explainer#584

Do Chairs Exist?

Vsauce

“it's basically an entertaining, whirlwind tour of the philosophy of categorizing and labeling things”

6 HN recommenders · 2021–2025

talk#587

Why can't you multiply vectors?

Freya Holmér

“The absolute first video to watch should be the (ironically titled) Why can't you multiply vectors?”

9 HN recommenders · 2023–2025

explainer#594

Ramanujan: Making sense of 1+2+3+... = -1/12 and Co.

Mathologer

“If you have half an hour to spare, I highly recommend to watch”

3 HN recommenders · 2016–2024

lecture#627

Stanford Lecture: Don Knuth—"A Conjecture That Had To Be True" (2017)

Stanford Online

“it's always a pleasure for me to see Knuth's talks or read his work”

1 HN recommenders · 2017–2023

explainer#654

What does it feel like to invent math?

3Blue1Brown

“Great intro”

6 HN recommenders · 2016–2024

explainer#659

P vs. NP and the Computational Complexity Zoo

hackerdashery

“This 10 minute video is a great introduction to the P = NP problem and computational complexity theory if you have no context.”

4 HN recommenders · 2015–2026

explainer#675

Simulating an epidemic

3Blue1Brown

“3blue1brown's video on the topic is super digestible and informative [1].”

8 HN recommenders · 2020–2023

explainer#704

But what is the Riemann zeta function? Visualizing analytic continuation

3Blue1Brown

“I don't think it comes close to 3blue1brown's video on the same topic -”

6 HN recommenders · 2017–2023

explainer#734

Who cares about topology? (Old version)

3Blue1Brown

“A particular favourite is the one on the Inscribed Square Problem”

4 HN recommenders · 2017–2020

explainer#739

Why do prime numbers make these spirals? | Dirichlet’s theorem and pi approximations

3Blue1Brown

“Here is one of the most enlightening explanations for these kinds of spirals I have seen by 3blue1brown”

7 HN recommenders · 2019–2024

explainer#773

How To Count Past Infinity

Vsauce

“The most accessible resource I found was this VSauce video”

6 HN recommenders · 2016–2022

explainer#818

This equation will change how you see the world (the logistic map)

Veritasium

“But this is the one I think people on HN need to watch most”

4 HN recommenders · 2020–2023

explainer#873

Was YOUR vote counted? (feat. homomorphic encryption) - Numberphile

Numberphile

“Cryptographers are clever and have figured out a way to let you know your vote was counted without being able to prove it to a third party!”

5 HN recommenders · 2016–2024

explainer#904

The Map of Mathematics

Domain of Science

“I suggest this "Map of mathematics" as a starting point that gives you a reasonable birds-eye view of the field.”

4 HN recommenders · 2018–2022

explainer#962

a better way to count

jan Misali

“This video convinced me that base 6 would be even better for simple pen-and-paper math”

3 HN recommenders · 2018–2025

explainer#964

But what is a Fourier series? From heat flow to drawing with circles | DE4

3Blue1Brown

“Helped click that there is a perfect visual analogy to the deconstruction of complex audio to sine waves.”

4 HN recommenders · 2020–2025

explainer#969

Triangle of Power

3Blue1Brown

“My favorite new math notation is the triangle of power”

5 HN recommenders · 2016–2023

explainer#970

The Golden Ratio (why it is so irrational) - Numberphile

Numberphile

“a mind-rewiring video by numberphile concerning the golden ratio [0] made sense of all the spiral overlay art”

3 HN recommenders · 2018–2026

explainer#986

Bell's Theorem: The Quantum Venn Diagram Paradox

minutephysics

“did a two part collab that simplifies some of it down to a counting problem that'd be suitable for grade school.”

8 HN recommenders · 2019–2024

explainer#1003

Why is TV 29.97 frames per second?

Stand-up Maths

“definitely go and watch Matt Parker's legendary explanation of why NTSC runs at 29.97fps”

4 HN recommenders · 2016–2025

explainer#1006

Hilbert's Curve: Is infinite math useful?

3Blue1Brown

“This is a great video on the Hilbert curve”

4 HN recommenders · 2017–2024

explainer#1007

The Infinite Pattern That Never Repeats

Veritasium

“My kids and I geeked out over the Veritasium video on Penrose tiles”

4 HN recommenders · 2021–2023

explainer#1051

The Mathematics of Quantum Computers | Infinite Series

PBS Infinite Series

“perhaps the most accessible and yet accurate explanations of quantum computing I have found so far.”

4 HN recommenders · 2017–2023