All the Numbers - Numberphile
All the Numbers - Numberphile on HackerTube: recommended by 6 Hacker News commenters across 6 separate months, 2019–2025.
Matt Parker talks Numberphile through the different kinds of numbers: algebraic, transcendental, computable, normal, and beyond. It shows how few numbers we can actually name or describe.
What HN commenters said
12 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
ccvannormanAug 2019Strongly recommends
It's fascinating how little we know about everyday numbers like pi and e, it's widely assumed that they are normal but there is no proof for this (and it's extremely difficult to do so). In fact we believe the fast majority of numbers are transcendental and normal but we only actually know of a single normal number, and it is a manufactured number. Numberphile has an excellent video on the numbers we know about and the quest to find / define normal numbers: ▶ this video
in “Is e Normal?” · View on HN
gcanyonOct 2025Recommends
You might appreciate this video where Matt Parker lays out the various classes of numbers and concludes by describing the normal numbers as being the overwhelmingly vast proportion of numbers and laments "we mathematicians think we know what's what, but so far we have found none of the numbers." ▶ this video
in “The Unknotting Number Is Not Additive” · View on HN
gcanyonFeb 2025Recommends
This video parallels the article, going further. I love the tag line, "We know none of the numbers." ▶ this video
in “The number line freaks me out (2016)” · View on HN
deepspaceAug 2020Recommends
I found Matt Parker's video to be a good way to visualize the fact that we 'know' essentailly 0% of numbers: ▶ this video
in “How real are real numbers? (2004)” · View on HN
KboPAacDA3Jan 2020Recommends
Numberphile has a video explaining the relationship between the number categories, and includes a brief discussion of where Chaitin's Constant belongs. ▶ this video
in “Chaitin's Constant” · View on HN
StrangeDoctorMar 2019Recommends
That's actually most numbers, but we don't know any yet. ▶ this video numberphile (math YouTube series) describing some related concepts here.
in “Calculating a record-breaking 31.4T digits of Pi with GCP” · View on HN
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mjleeMar 2019Recommends
It feels like every time there's a mathematics post on the front page I post a video by Matt Parker. This time, here's a video that explains from the basics what kinds of numbers exist: ▶ this video
in “Famous Transcendental Numbers” · View on HN
globular-toastFeb 2025Cites it
I wonder if this was the inspiration for this numberphile video? ▶ this video The video does go further than the article.
in “The number line freaks me out (2016)” · View on HN
ccvannormanFeb 2025Cites it
corollary: Numberphile (with Matt Parker of Stand Up Maths) - "All the Numbers". Most are incomputable, of course :) [0] ▶ this video
in “What can be computed? A practical guide to the theory of computation (2018) [pdf]” · View on HN
ArnavionSep 2024Cites it
Such numbers are called "normal numbers". Pi likely is one based on all the digits we've computed for it, but we don't have any way to prove a given number like pi is normal or not. Relevant Numberphile video: ▶ this video
in “Memorizing the first 100 perfect squares (2022)” · View on HN
BeldinJan 2023Cites it
See also this Numberphile video on numbers, including algebraic, computable, transcendental, and talking about numbers beyond those. ▶ this video
in “An intutive counterexample to the axiom of choice” · View on HN
jerfAug 2019Cites it
It's worse than you make it sound, though: ▶ this video In short, it isn't just that we have more computables than non-computables; there are categories of numbers like "normal" that nominally contain "all the numbers" but we can barely even name a handful.
in “Calculus Is Deeply Irrational” · View on HN