Donald in Mathmagic Land is a 27-minute Donald Duck featurette released on June 26, 1959. As Walt Disney said, "We have recently explained mathematics in a film and in that way excited public interest in this very important subject." (Wiki)
posted by twoleftfeet on Aug 9, 2011 - 49 comments

“I’m going to divide the universe into Planck-sized regions, and put a monkey in each one. You will ask what the monkey is made of, when nothing can be smaller than the Planck scale, and I will say that it is not made of anything – it is a single, fundamental monkey particle. One in every Planck sized region of space. These regions are very small - there will be nearly as many monkeys inside the space occupied by a single atom as there are atoms in the universe. And there will be monkeys in the spaces not occupied by atoms too. And they will type faster. How fast can a thing happen? Just as there is a shortest possible distance, there is a shortest possible time, and it’s called the Planck time." A look at the idea of an infinite number of monkeys at an infinite number of typewriters. [more inside]
posted by codacorolla on Feb 1, 2011 - 74 comments

"L'infinito": Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity. Infinity...
posted by Iridic on Nov 12, 2010 - 8 comments

Last Lights On - a zoom down into the Mandelbrot set to 6.066 e228 (2^760) [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Sep 3, 2010 - 29 comments

Want a forest but don't have the space? Get a tree and four mirrors and make your own Unlimited Urban Woods
posted by Baldons on Jul 21, 2010 - 58 comments

Sure, big numbers are fine. But infinity (in the set theoretic sense) is where the fun really starts. Developed almost entirely by one man in the late 19th century, set theory now forms the foundation of modern mathematics. Cantor showed that not all infinite sets are the same size. Notably, while there are just as many integers as rational numbers, there are more real numbers than integers. These results, along with others that soon followed like the axiom of choice, led to several fascinating consequences: [more inside]
posted by kmz on Mar 17, 2010 - 161 comments

Giordano Bruno: Philosopher, Heretic, Troll.
posted by homunculus on Oct 24, 2008 - 23 comments

If the universe is a hologram and the healthy human brain a valve of consciousness then where'd this mental infinity come from? Are we simply living the simulacrum? Or does Pi protect us all, forever, infinitely?
posted by 0bvious on Nov 22, 2005 - 39 comments

The Vision. The Longing. The Confusion. The Claim. One of my favorites from back in the day.
posted by pieoverdone on Dec 15, 2004 - 16 comments

Welcome to the Hotel Infinity! A narrative description of Cantor's ideas of infinity.
posted by Orange Goblin on Dec 7, 2003 - 9 comments

Find out how many radio stations in your area are owned by the same company. Here in Dallas Texas Clear Channel owns six. Then there's four other radio stations owned by Susquehanna Radio which used to be owned by AM/FM Incorporated but they merged with *guess who* Clear Channel last year. So it looks like Clear Channel either directly or indirectly controls almost a dozen radio stations in north Texas alone. How much control do they have over your airwaves? Ever wonder why radio stations all sound the same? Cuz they ARE the same!
posted by ZachsMind on May 5, 2001 - 24 comments