In this video, Michael Stevens from Vsauce discusses the concept of randomness with his co-host Derek Muller. They start by exploring the randomness of a coin toss and the inherent patterns in such processes. They mention that even though coin flips and dice rolls may seem random, they are only so due to our ignorance of the initial conditions. They also talk about researchers who have created robots that can precisely control a flip to get the desired result.
Stevens and Muller delve into the idea of randomness in the context of quantum mechanics, discussing how it describes properties as probabilities rather than certain outcomes. They mention experiments with entangled particles and the violation of Bell's inequalities, suggesting that the outcome of a quantum event is determined only when it is observed.
They also touch on the changing use of the word "random" in modern society, where seemingly unrelated events are often described as random. They note that even though a party may seem random at first glance, the guests were likely invited based on some pre-determined criteria.
In the end, they conclude that true randomness is an elusive concept, but it's what makes our universe fascinating. They encourage viewers to explore more about this concept on their other channel, Veritasium.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Australian 50-cent coin is one of the largest coins currently in circulation.
2. Coin flips and rolling dice are not intrinsically random, but rather appear random due to our ignorance of the initial conditions.
3. Researchers have built coin-flipping robots that can precisely control a flip to get the desired result 100% of the time.
4. YouTube URLs are unique and can be considered random, but sometimes they can contain words or patterns by chance.
5. The word "random" originally meant "running" or "at great speed" in the 1300s, and later described things with no definite purpose.
6. The mathematical definition of "random" emerged in the 1800s.
7. In the 1970s, the use of the word "random" to mean "strange" or "unpredictable" became popular.
8. Dice, even precision dice, are only quality-controlled within a few micrometers.
9. The shape of a coin's edge and its center of gravity can affect the outcome of a coin flip.
10. The US nickel is more likely to land on its side than heads or tails, while the 1-euro coin lands heads up more often than not.
11. The US penny lands tails up more often than not.
12. Atmospheric noise is used by the website random.org to generate random numbers.
13. Quantum mechanics describes the properties of quantum systems as probabilities, rather than definite outcomes.
14. Experiments with entangled particles have shown violations of Bell's inequalities, suggesting that the universe is fundamentally random.
15. The likelihood of a particle's behavior is determined when it is measured, rather than beforehand.