Fascinating Videos that Use Math to Illustrate Reality

Kristen Solindas




Recently, I came across a video on YouTube that really caught my mind. 


It is a fascinating explanation of some of the ways everyday occurrences all fall into the same patterns, patterns we are unable to discern just by watching. It highlights an equation that simulates all kinds of things, like dripping water, animal populations, and "Dynamics of period-doubling bifurcation to chaos".

It connects the infamous Mandelbrot Set directly into this equation, and how that famous fractal is actually mirroring reality. It made sense to me, from a general perspective, even when the math was put on the back burner.

So I wonder, as I contemplate how far this rabbit hole goes, if this simple concept could ultimately explain the 'chaos' we see in the universe? If we take this concept to the Nth degree, would we be able to predict the future? Understand dark matter? Unlock the quantum level of understanding? Unify the fundamental forces (Grand Unification Theory)?

Likely not. But it is fun to conjecture. :)


This second video is one I watched a long while back, and when I saw it, I was blown away.


It illustrates the tendency for things to fall into the same pattern, similar to the video above, but this time, more the way humans think. 

It started off as a little thought exercise, detailing how words are distributed through our language, with "the" being the most used, "a" and "an" being almost as common, etc. 

But then it went further, and to the point of amazement, then an uncomfortable realization. Our minds are not as free flowing and dynamic as we believe, but are instead following a simple pattern structure. It made me question free will, or the illusion thereof. 

The 80/20 rule falls into this. So we use 20 percent of our living spaces 80 percent of the time. We wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time. etc.

But it doesn't stop there. This 80/20 rule, and indeed Zipf's Law to a degree, is seen throughout nature.

I encourage you to watch the videos and see for yourself, as they explain the concepts much better than I ever could. And then share your thoughts. Am I silly to be this blown away by these concepts? Or are they truly fascinating glimpses through the keyhole of reality?

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