Category Archives: Video

New Video: The History of Christmas Music

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

I had a weird question for Christmas this year. How many “standard” Christmas songs are there? You know, the ones we sing over and over every year. I went through a bunch of playlists and compiled a master list, and … Continue reading →

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Long Words Bonus #2: Titin

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Last time, I talked about the protein tryptophan synthase A and how its “full chemical name” may be the longest “English” word ever professionally published in a book. (And I corrected the spelling of it.) But that “word” was just … Continue reading →

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Long Words Bonus #1: Tryptophan Synthase

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Quick, what’s the longest word in the English language? If you watched my recent video, you’ll know that in descriptivist terms, that is, how people actually use language in practice, it’s a tie between transinstitutionalization and superincomprehenibleness (both 25 letters). … Continue reading →

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New Video: What Is the Longest Word in English?

Posted on August 30, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

The answer is probably not what you think. There are plenty of examples of “longest words” in various dictionaries, but most of them are curiosities that no one uses in real life. I’m looking for the longest words that are … Continue reading →

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New Video: Radix Economy

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

This is my entry for the 2nd Summer of Math Exposition contest. Radix economy is often billed as a measure of which number base is most “efficient,” but its answer that base-3 is the best suggests there’s probably something else … Continue reading →

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New Video: Exoplanets Review January 2022

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

So, I decided to attempt a new video series where I talk about the latest research in the field of exoplanets. I was inspired by the Raptor Chatter channel’s “Paleontology in Review” videos, and I thought there was a niche … Continue reading →

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New Video: What Does Negative Mass Mean? Part 1

Posted on August 21, 2021 by Alex R. Howe

Grant Sanderson, of the excellent 3Blue1Brown math YouTube channel, has set up a contest for new creators to make math videos, called the Summer of Math Exposition. Well, this isn’t my first math video, but in the spirit of the … Continue reading →

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New Video: The Recamán Sequence

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Alex R. Howe

The Recamán sequence, or more properly Recamán’s sequence, is one of the more unusual sequences to make the rounds in the internet math community. The way it works is that the first term in the sequence is 1. Then, for … Continue reading →

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New Video: Multiplication Tables Visualized

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Alex R. Howe

Actually, I posted this video a couple weeks ago, but between my podcast and professional stuff, I haven’t gotten around to reposting it here. I’m trying to catch up on actual blog posts I have planned, so I thought I … Continue reading →

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New Video: MegaFavNumbers

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Alex R. Howe

Yesterday, a bunch of Math (or Maths) YouTubers like Numberphile, 3Blue1Brown, and many others started the #MegaFavNumbers project, where mathematicians talk about their favorite numbers that are larger than 1,000,000. Well, I’m not a mathematician by trade, but I do … Continue reading →

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