HN's go-to recommendation for learning linear algebra intuition, repeatedly credited with making concepts click and complementing textbooks.
Topics › Mathematics & Theoretical CS
The best pure mathematics videos, according to Hacker News
96 videos about pure mathematics that Hacker News commenters keep pointing each other to, ranked by how many separate months they were recommended. Part of Mathematics & Theoretical CS.
HN's default recommendation for understanding the Fourier transform intuitively; many say it was the explanation that made it click.
A perennial HN recommendation for building intuition about exponential growth, cited whenever endless growth, energy or population come up.
A staple recommendation for anyone learning math, praised for visual intuition that makes memorized formulas make sense.
HN commenters repeatedly point people to it as the most accessible, developer-friendly introduction to geometric algebra and its use in graphics and physics.
HN commenters repeatedly name it as the friendliest entry point to category theory for working programmers.
HN repeatedly recommends the series as the best intuition-first, visual introduction to linear algebra and a benchmark for clear math explanation.
HN calls it the best video on geometric algebra, one that makes the subject click in about 40 minutes.
HN fans list it among their favorite 3Blue1Brown videos for showing how mathematical problem solving actually unfolds.
HN commenters rate the series as some of the best visual teaching on complex numbers and recommend it for building intuition.
HN repeatedly points people to it as the clearest visual intuition for determinants, often saying it finally made the concept click.
It is the standard pointer for a clear, visual explanation of what fractals are, and for correcting the idea that fractal means self-similar.
Recommended as an accurate, entertaining on-ramp to set theory and infinity, worth pausing and rewatching.
HN recommends it as the go-to intuitive visualization of high-dimensional geometry, relevant to machine learning, optimization and sphere packing.
Recommended as the clearest mathematician's perspective on formal proof assistants and why mathematics should be formalized.
HN repeatedly names it the best, most intuitive explanation of eigenvalues, and a gateway to the whole linear algebra series.
HN recommends it as an accessible explanation of number categories and why almost all numbers are unknowable.
HN commenters recommend it for hearing Graham himself and for its clear introduction to up-arrow notation and enormous numbers.
HN commenters recommend it as the best visual explanation of quaternions and a good way to visualize higher dimensions.
Recommended as an easy-to-follow math history course that gives perspective on the subject.
HN treats it as the best entry point to geometric algebra and an intuitive route to understanding quaternions.
Recommended as a careful, honest treatment of the -1/12 claim, often preferred over flashier videos.
Strongly recommended for anyone working with vectors for its clear take on how they should be treated in types.
HN commenters cite it as a mind-changing introduction to exponential growth, though some note his peak oil predictions did not pan out.
Recommended as a favorite Grant Sanderson video and a visual introduction to p-adic numbers and sums like 1+2+4+...
HN praises its visualizations, its handling of the -1/12 result, and its ending, and often prefers it to other explanations of the topic.
Fans name it as a favorite 3Blue1Brown video, praising its detective-story treatment of the inscribed square and rectangle problem.
HN repeatedly recommends this series as a clear, step-by-step way to really understand Kalman filtering.
Frequently recommended as the clearest explanation of prime spirals and the Ulam spiral.
HN treats it as one of the best intros to the math of 3D graphics and a staple answer to how to learn graphics programming.
HN recommends it as the most accessible introduction to what lies beyond infinity.
Treated as the classic lecture on why people misjudge exponential growth, and pulled out in threads on compound growth, epidemics, crypto and resource limits.
HN commenters call it a favourite Veritasium video, praised for how a simple equation reveals surprisingly complex patterns.
HN recommends Herb Gross as an unusually clear teacher whose explanations make calculus click for people who struggled elsewhere.
Recommended to people asking how to self-learn math as a quick bird's-eye overview of the field.
HN points to it as a funny, convincing take on number bases whenever dozenal or base 6 comes up.
Recommended as the visual explanation that makes Fourier series and transforms click, even for laypeople.
HN points to it in notation debates as a clean visual demonstration that exponents, logs and roots are three views of one relationship.
HN calls it illuminating for explaining why phi is the most irrational number, relevant to hashing, spirals and phyllotaxis.
HN people recommend Su's lectures for building real analysis intuition, citing his phenomenal teaching style.
Recommended as the best visual introduction to Hilbert curves, which come up in indexing, image layout and dimensionality mapping.
Strongly recommended as a mind-bending, approachable explanation of aperiodic patterns, even enjoyable with kids.
HN commenters link it whenever the question of how the Earth's size was first measured comes up, calling it a wonderful explanation.
HN recommends it as a well-visualized, story-driven history of complex numbers, suitable for beginners; some quibble with its framing of algebra and geometry.
Cited as the more accessible companion to the paper, and as the most interesting treatment of AD via compiling to categories.
HN commenters point to it as a quick, visual way to understand Euler's identity.
Recommended as an enjoyable, accessible talk for building intuition about higher dimensions.
HN recommends it as the simplest, most approachable introduction to quaternions, useful for people working in games and robotics.
Praised as a beautiful, understandable proof and a favorite among 3Blue1Brown videos.
Recommended as the mind-melting intro to unimaginably large numbers.
HN points to it as the in-depth rebuttal to the Numberphile video that explains why the 'proof' is wrong yet the result is meaningful.
HN recommends it as the clearest explanation of the patterns behind modular multiplication diagrams and times table art.
HN recommends it as a short, accessible layperson explanation of the real-versus-complex quantum theory debate.
HN recommends it as the clearest intuitive introduction to thinking about a fourth dimension.
HN recommends it as an accessible, well-visualized entry point to Hackenbush, surreal numbers and their link to Nim.
HN commenters recommend it to see how a top mathematician approaches an unfamiliar problem through experiments and curiosity.
Recommended whenever the Mandelbrot set comes up, as a neat and surprising result.
Recommended as a mind-opening, visual explanation of why Euler's formula is true.
Recommended as the source for counterintuitive high-dimensional geometry and described as an eye opener.
Recommended as a moderately formal, clear introduction to finite fields, useful beyond AES.
Recommended as a clear, visual explanation of continued fractions and why phi is hardest to approximate by fractions.
Pointed to when non-Euclidean geometry or games in hyperbolic space come up, along with the creator's well-liked devlog.
HN users recommend it as a good discrete math course for programmers, praising Leighton's relatable stories that motivate new concepts.
Recommended as a thought-provoking lecture from a Fields medalist on the foundations of mathematics and formal proof verification.
Cited in floating-point threads as the main introduction to posits and unums as an alternative to IEEE floats.
Pointed to as a fun, light introduction to topology and to answer the human-holes question.
HN recommends it as an accessible, gentle introduction that makes category theory feel approachable and shows its analogy-making power.
HN commenters point to it as an interesting lecture related to psychedelics, brain geometry and hyperbolic space, with a good intro to hyperbolic geometry.
Recommended as a more approachable introduction to category theory than the more formal lecture series people often start with.
Praised for its visualizations and pedagogy in threads about physics and differential geometry.
HN recommends Boyd's lectures as a fantastic, often funny follow-up to linear algebra and as a step in machine learning study paths.
HN uses it as the standard reference for the -1/12 meme, with commenters split between enjoying it and calling it a cheat.
Recommended as an accessible explanation of how Rubik's cube solving relates to group theory.
HN refers to it for Weinstein's views on advanced math and physics and academia's problems, though some find him a bit kooky.
HN recommends it as a concise, quick explanation of the OEIS pattern when threads touch the integer sequence encyclopedia.
Recommended whenever the counterintuitive geometry of high-dimensional spheres comes up, including in vector embedding discussions.
The reference people reach for when debating how math differs from physics.
Recommended in hexagon-grid threads as a fun but informative overview, and sometimes dropped as a light joke.
HN commenters recommend it as a thoughtful and nuanced take on the philosophy of mathematics.
HN points to it whenever highly divisible numbers matter, such as sharding, base 12, time units and music.
HN likes it for Cliff Stoll's infectious passion for topology, and it gets linked in threads about him and about Mobius strips.
HN recommends it as the explanation that makes complex exponentials click, especially for understanding the Fourier transform.
Cited as the origin of the prime-number portrait trend and as an example of drawings made with primes.
Mentioned as a favorite 3Blue1Brown video and a related watch in threads about deep mathematical structure.
Pointed to as a well-done introduction to constructive mathematics when it comes up in logic and proof assistant threads.
Cited as an accessible explanation of why some simple shapes lack neat exact formulas.
It is cited as an authoritative take on category theory for programmers and API design.
HN cites it as a view of Simons as a humble, pragmatic person, with the caveat that the host's questions are weak.
HN cites it when discussing how math should be learned and taught, and why physics isn't built from axioms.
Linked in threads on sums of cubes and Diophantine equations as an accessible introduction.
Used as a joke reference to illustrate frustration with confusing mathematical jargon.
Cited for Sussman's argument that programs make ideas precise in a way standard math notation does not.
Cited mainly as the available video of Weinstein's gauge-theory-of-economics ideas, sometimes skeptically.
Linked when someone needs a quick accessible source for the claim that every voting method has flaws.
Linked as a classic visualization when sphere eversion or counterintuitive mathematics comes up.
Cited as the go-to example of hyperbolic geometry made intuitive through VR.
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