The Simplest Math Problem No One Can Solve - Collatz Conjecture

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  • 게시일 2021. 07. 29.
  • The Collatz Conjecture is the simplest math problem no one can solve - it is easy enough for almost anyone to understand but notoriously difficult to solve. This video is sponsored by Brilliant. The first 200 people to sign up via brilliant.org/veritasium get 20% off a yearly subscription.
    Special thanks to Prof. Alex Kontorovich for introducing us to this topic, filming the interview, and consulting on the script and earlier drafts of this video.
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    References:
    Lagarias, J. C. (2006). The 3x+ 1 problem: An annotated bibliography, II (2000-2009). arXiv preprint math/0608208. - ve42.co/Lagarias2006
    Lagarias, J. C. (2003). The 3x+ 1 problem: An annotated bibliography (1963-1999). The ultimate challenge: the 3x, 1, 267-341. - ve42.co/Lagarias2003
    Tao, T (2020). The Notorious Collatz Conjecture - ve42.co/Tao2020
    A. Kontorovich and Y. Sinai, Structure Theorem for (d,g,h)-Maps, Bulletin of the Brazilian Mathematical Society, New Series 33(2), 2002, pp. 213-224.
    A. Kontorovich and S. Miller Benford's Law, values of L-functions and the 3x+1 Problem, Acta Arithmetica 120 (2005), 269-297.
    A. Kontorovich and J. Lagarias Stochastic Models for the 3x + 1 and 5x + 1 Problems, in "The Ultimate Challenge: The 3x+1 Problem," AMS 2010.
    Tao, T. (2019). Almost all orbits of the Collatz map attain almost bounded values. arXiv preprint arXiv:1909.03562. - ve42.co/Tao2019
    Conway, J. H. (1987). Fractran: A simple universal programming language for arithmetic. In Open problems in Communication and Computation (pp. 4-26). Springer, New York, NY. - ve42.co/Conway1987
    The Manim Community Developers. (2021). Manim - Mathematical Animation Framework (Version v0.13.1) [Computer software]. www.manim.community/
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    Special thanks to Patreon supporters: Alvaro Naranjo, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Dumky, Mike Tung, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Ismail Öncü Usta, Paul Peijzel, Crated Comments, Anna, Mac Malkawi, Michael Schneider, Oleksii Leonov, Jim Osmun, Tyson McDowell, Ludovic Robillard, Jim buckmaster, fanime96, Juan Benet, Ruslan Khroma, Robert Blum, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Vincent, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Alfred Wallace, Arjun Chakroborty, Joar Wandborg, Clayton Greenwell, Pindex, Michael Krugman, Cy 'kkm' K'Nelson, Sam Lutfi, Ron Neal
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    Written by Derek Muller, Alex Kontorovich and Petr Lebedev
    Animation by Ivy Tello, Jonny Hyman, Jesús Enrique Rascón and Mike Radjabov
    Filmed by Derek Muller and Emily Zhang
    Edited by Derek Muller
    SFX by Shaun Clifford
    Additional video supplied by Getty Images
    Produced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev and Emily Zhang
    3d Coral by Vasilis Triantafyllou and Niklas Rosenstein - ve42.co/3DCoral
    Coral visualisation by Algoritmarte - ve42.co/Coral

댓글 • 77K

  • @MrScientific
    @MrScientific 2 년 전 +33059

    Nice work Soviets. You got me.

  • @kotokrabs
    @kotokrabs 2 년 전 +2458

    13:55 - my face when started watching this video
    18:05 - my face in process of watching

    • @nubraofficial2345
      @nubraofficial2345 2 년 전 +42

      Ooh 16 likes. I bet it will be 2K before 24 hours.

    • @Ssss-ve6ym
      @Ssss-ve6ym 2 년 전 +40

      😂🤣 I don't know why I clicked on this video but im glad I did because I saw this comment

    • @makelelemakelele
      @makelelemakelele 2 년 전 +14

      I can't stop laughing at this =D

    • @aleaf.
      @aleaf. 2 년 전 +11

      here before this blows up lol

    • @Ssss-ve6ym
      @Ssss-ve6ym 2 년 전 +2

      @@aleaf. same

  • @joemyk
    @joemyk 3 개월 전 +661

    3:17 I like how the 4-2-1 sequence animation is accompanied with a melody whose notes match the distance between numbers.

    • @jackelewish1568
      @jackelewish1568 2 개월 전 +4

      But it doesn't. To my ears the interval is the same between 4 and 2, as it is between 2 and 1. It should drop a whole step and then a half-step. But maybe my ears aren't as good as they used to be. Anyone here with perfect pitch or really good relative pitch that can either confirm OP or confirm me?

    • @joemyk
      @joemyk 2 개월 전 +27

      ​@@jackelewish1568I actually have a perfect pitch. The notes are B, A and G#.

    • @jackelewish1568
      @jackelewish1568 2 개월 전 +6

      @@joemyk cool! Thanks!

    • @timber72
      @timber72 개월 전 +2

      @@joemyk The interval between B and A is a full step, with a half step between A and G#. Not 4-2-1 but 2-1-.5.

    • @sciencespider9957
      @sciencespider9957 개월 전 +1

      They don’t match the distance, but they do match what it’s divided by,, (4/2=2, 2/2=1), 2 each time,

  • @shmuelman
    @shmuelman 개월 전 +88

    Certainly one of the finest mathematical videos on KRplus.

  • @k.pacificnw02134
    @k.pacificnw02134 2 년 전 +48238

    Everyone here: "...but just a maaaaybe I'll be the one to solve it."

    • @TheGreekGodOfWallStreet
      @TheGreekGodOfWallStreet 2 년 전 +4125

      "I could write a computer program to try and solve it". Because I'm sure nobody has tried that before 😪

    • @evilkillerwhale7078
      @evilkillerwhale7078 2 년 전 +1211

      You can actually instantly solve for half of all numbers. If all numbers up to an odd N works, (n+1)/2

    • @jrbros2371
      @jrbros2371 2 년 전 +255

      I too thought i could solve it :D

    • @systim30
      @systim30 2 년 전 +481

      What is there to solve? There is nothing to solve

    • @jrbros2371
      @jrbros2371 2 년 전 +318

      @@rabiebabies7812 0 is not positive but it forms a loop. Its also not negative but no number ends up at zero so it is independent loop of itself

  • @marcokapusta3843
    @marcokapusta3843 2 년 전 +23188

    This math problem is actually like my trading portfolio, I can start with any number but end at $ 1

    • @JeffMTX
      @JeffMTX 2 년 전 +373

      you too? :)

    • @luca6819
      @luca6819 2 년 전 +583

      I tried to remove the eyelash on the display 🤭

    • @davidbesant
      @davidbesant 2 년 전 +253

      There's that damn eyelash on my screen again!

    • @RetroFuel
      @RetroFuel 2 년 전 +48

      @@luca6819 .same lol

    • @Hoshino_Channel
      @Hoshino_Channel 2 년 전 +152

      @@luca6819 You're using youtube in lightmode? ;o

  • @user-ik4so3yp2e
    @user-ik4so3yp2e 16 일 전 +73

    I love how he makes us think that he is the world's greatest mathematician by showing us his picture when saying that, but then shows the other half of the picture.

  • @pabescgmail
    @pabescgmail 2 개월 전 +69

    When negative numbers have 3 different loops, it makes me wonder if I change not only the seed sign but the operand. And turned out that if I apply 3n-1 for negatives (likewise changing the sign of the objectvie function on the concavity on linear programming), the graphical representation is a mirrored one of the positives. This way the whole set can apply the same rules for positives on 3n+1 including a single loop (-4, -2, -1)

    • @devangbajpai8608
      @devangbajpai8608 2 개월 전 +2

      If we try the polynomial 3x + 1 for negatives then we will be stuck in a loop of -7 or -1 everytime for any negative integer. Try this too!

    • @pabescgmail
      @pabescgmail 개월 전

      Yes, there are 4 different loops if negatives are used.

    • @eon2330
      @eon2330 개월 전 +2

      The +1 is the key tbh. If you go into non whole numbers any .25 .5 or .75 will loop as an odd number infinitely. Because 1 doesn't make it positive and non of these numbers rise a above 1 ever. they keep a 5 at the end. So it only works on numbers because we have no define of 0 as even OR odd, or both, and dividing it is weird, but also because adding 1 is what DEFINES changing from odd to even.

    • @DaPoloJay
      @DaPoloJay 개월 전 +2

      @@eon2330 That’s what I was thinking if you start the equation from 0 3x0=0 which is still nothing until u add 1 now we’re positive but u can’t get 2 from 1 so now the loop starts u will never get 0 again

    • @lanisilvious7098
      @lanisilvious7098 개월 전 +2

      ​​@@DaPoloJaywhy did you multiply and add to zero, it's not an odd number. Why do you not divide by 2? 0 divided by 2 is 0. . .and if a previous comment is correct that zero is neither even nor odd, you can't even start at all.

  • @Yihtc
    @Yihtc 2 년 전 +14644

    “Pick a number”
    Me:Fou-
    “Seven? Good choice”
    Me:but I-

    • @rachelx04
      @rachelx04 2 년 전 +384

      I said 4, I usually say 3 but I said 4 😂

    • @palindromia130
      @palindromia130 2 년 전 +364

      He said seven because seven is more likely to be chosen lmao

    • @ArcFenixDelacroix
      @ArcFenixDelacroix 2 년 전 +135

      I think Im the only one who chose 7

    • @vor0g
      @vor0g 2 년 전 +50

      Only reason I'm not liking is bc tbe lile count is at 69

    • @samirh2758
      @samirh2758 2 년 전 +119

      I didn't choose a number at all because no one can make me do math.

  • @jokes.on.u
    @jokes.on.u 2 년 전 +4218

    Teacher: Why did you not answer the questions on your test.
    Me: Because the Math is not ripe enough for me to answer these questions

  • @marcuswaterloo
    @marcuswaterloo 2 개월 전 +66

    Here because I have the Collatz Conjecture in a Brilliant coding question.
    I have found Brilliant the easiest to jump back into when I have time.
    Great loop back Veritasium.

    • @armin3057
      @armin3057 개월 전 +2

      "coding"
      im always bewildered when people say that.
      coding is just another notation, nothing more.

    • @jesse406
      @jesse406 개월 전

      @@armin3057 dork

    • @SeanGonzalezMDHEXT
      @SeanGonzalezMDHEXT 2 일 전

      ​@@armin3057 coding is a verb. It's an action. You code something which is to say you program it to behave in a certain way. What you're referring to is code itself, which is another form of notation. Regardless of the programming language, any mathematical function can be represented in code. What you're saying is out of place in response to this comment as it was not referring to the programming language, but the problem-solving aspect of writing code which in itself has nothing to do with notation.

  • @tyagohiee
    @tyagohiee 2 개월 전 +311

    I was once talking to my math teacher and i asked her "why was Bhaskara so annoying" and she told me "he wasn't, he simplified a lot of things into a single calculus", then my friend said "so mathematicians have to simplify math because humans find it too hard when humans themselves created it" and my teacher said "yes, the point of math is simplifying something we made dificult in the first place".
    That chat was all i thought about throughout this video.

    • @jasondelay2931
      @jasondelay2931 2 개월 전 +14

      Love this anecdote. Thank you.
      For the video, it only exist because somebody said “no, you need to divide by 2 if it’s an even number” why? “I don’t have a reason why but it makes it complicated so do it”

    • @fletch4231
      @fletch4231 개월 전 +5

      As someone who is basically math illiterate, this makes almost no sense… makes me ask why we even made math, how it works, how do things even get figured out like the mathematical theorems and stuff… my confusion in difficult math related thingies makes me want to actually understand it more than my school education 😂

    • @chuck1804
      @chuck1804 개월 전 +2

      @@fletch4231 My thoughts exactly. Invent problems and then try to solve them. As if we didn't have enough problems!

    • @None-Trick_Pony
      @None-Trick_Pony 개월 전 +12

      ​@@fletch4231I'm not very good with math myself, but its origins are very simple. It started as a system of tallies for counting things (typically livestock). That's likely why most counting systems have changes at 5 and/or 10-those are the number of digits on a hand and both hands, the simplest way to tally (cf. Roman V & X, Indo-Arabic 9 to 10, crossing four tally marks, etc.). You probably tally with your fingers subconciously. It evolved into counting more complex things, and you may even have needed to create units of measuring, for parcelling land, weighing grain, and measuring beer. On the note of beer, written language may have developed in the Near East as a medium of accounting, as evidenced by some very early cuneiform tablets mathematically tracking grains and even beer. It slowly got more and more complex as people realized that math is better at describing the universe than it has any right being. Ultimately, it was serendipity that it happened to be our best way of describing the universe, which is absurdly complex.
      TL;DR: Math started as a way of tallying and became more complex as its applications were discovered. Math is never purposefully obtuse-it's just our best medium of describing the universe. As the universe is absurdly complex, any system describing it must necessarily also be absurdly complex.

    • @dadogdoin1360
      @dadogdoin1360 개월 전

      @@jasondelay2931I mean exploring things like that might lead to good discoveries

  • @cosmicnomad8575
    @cosmicnomad8575 2 년 전 +26269

    I absolutely love how mathematicians always find the most random things to debate over!

  • @ghostphalanx
    @ghostphalanx 2 년 전 +7852

    Whoever created all those graph animations is an absolute master in after effects expressions

    • @pratanakangsadal521
      @pratanakangsadal521 2 년 전 +55

      Amen.

    • @gn4sty731
      @gn4sty731 2 년 전 +9

      BR?

    • @GamingWithTimmy0
      @GamingWithTimmy0 2 년 전 +19

      The thumbnail equals 1 cause 3x_ is 3x nothing so if I did that it would be 0 and if I plus the 1 it = 1

    • @GamingWithTimmy0
      @GamingWithTimmy0 2 년 전 +6

      Math

    • @cirque1783
      @cirque1783 2 년 전 +7

      BY "NO ONE" : He meant about Americans cause he himself is a american who dont knows anything about the outside world .

  • @salahsedarous7616
    @salahsedarous7616 2 개월 전 +11

    You can accelerate the conversion by allowing division by 3 beside 2. I noticed that in my own limited search. Fascinating stuff.

  • @someonegreat_
    @someonegreat_ 2 일 전 +3

    All of Veritasium's videos prove that if you find a subject boring or cumbersome it's your teacher's fault

  • @grimaffiliations3671
    @grimaffiliations3671 2 년 전 +3929

    Me: Where should we eat?
    Girlfriend: Mathematics is not yet ripe enough for such question

  • @Hanyamanusiabiasa
    @Hanyamanusiabiasa 2 년 전 +1888

    Me : "That's interesting puzzle, maybe I can solve it"
    Me 22 minutes later : "oh."

    • @Dizzy00001
      @Dizzy00001 2 년 전 +12

      Lol

    • @theultimatetime8029
      @theultimatetime8029 2 년 전 +40

      Same I was like I'm gonnna guess a random number and try to do it..but 2⁶⁰ is really a big numbers they tried

    • @mjzudba5268
      @mjzudba5268 2 년 전 +14

      @@theultimatetime8029 well, Derek (the narrator in the video) did say that 2 to the 60 is nothing compared to the other numbers tried in Polya's conjecture. The counterexample which disproved Polya's conjecture was 1.845 × 10^361, an immense number. Still, 2 to the 60 is BIG.

    • @theultimatetime8029
      @theultimatetime8029 2 년 전 +3

      @@mjzudba5268 yes ofcourse

    • @khuetranxuan8218
      @khuetranxuan8218 2 년 전 +1

      @@theultimatetime8029 try 70!,it's bigger or even 2^70!

  • @HemanthHR-fi5rq
    @HemanthHR-fi5rq 개월 전 +8

    I’m glad I found this channel. Amazing quality content ❤️🙌

  • @norsitoang7714
    @norsitoang7714 3 개월 전 +18

    Found a very cool pattern, I know it doesn't prove and solve anything, which is useless but here, any odd number(represented by Y) multiplied by 3 then added by 1 and divided by 2 will always equal to Y+[(Y-1)/2+1)]. For example "5" since its odd then do 3n+1 which equals 16 and divide it by 2 which gives us 8, and 8 is equals to 5+[(5-1)/2+1)].

    • @soulsand4287
      @soulsand4287 개월 전 +3

      I found another pattern of odd numbers. 1 takes a single 3x + 1 to get to a multiple of 4. 3 takes two to get to 4x (3, 10, 5, 8), 5 takes 1, 7 takes 3 (7, 22, 11, 34, 17, 52). Basically, an odd number (Y) will take log2(Y + 1) repetitions of 3x + 1, x/2 to get to an even number.

    • @soulsand4287
      @soulsand4287 개월 전 +2

      Actually, this solves it. Only infinity can go of to infinity. Even with that, (2^31) - 1, for example, will take 61 runs through the function to decrease.

    • @Sarstan
      @Sarstan 개월 전 +4

      5 + ((5 - 1) / 2 + 1) does not equal 8.
      I'm guessing you meant 5 + (((5 - 1) / 2) + 1). But yeah, that's kind of a neat way of compounding the two steps into one.

    • @aadichinmaysharma4000
      @aadichinmaysharma4000 개월 전 +1

      ​@@soulsand4287impressive! Do you gave any idea how to prove this though?

    • @soulsand4287
      @soulsand4287 개월 전

      ​@aadichinmaysharma4000 I don't think it's possible to prove. I definitely am not going to be the one to prove it.

  • @agentkp4574
    @agentkp4574 2 년 전 +3109

    Mathematicians: Dont waste your time on this problem
    20.7 million people: YES

  • @Naurik
    @Naurik 2 년 전 +2693

    Pretty much every subject in school is really interesting if I’m not forced to learn it

    • @EnriqueIIIlaberintico024
      @EnriqueIIIlaberintico024 2 년 전 +78

      History of the entire world, I guess convinces me.

    • @octaviovilchez3096
      @octaviovilchez3096 2 년 전 +54

      Pretty much every subject in university is really interesting if I"m not forced to learn it

    • @alexmangorove
      @alexmangorove 2 년 전 +69

      School in a form of forced education kills interests and produces stupider people. Coersion always makes things worse.

    • @seanallen8828
      @seanallen8828 2 년 전

      English, grammar

    • @benfulford3943
      @benfulford3943 2 년 전 +8

      Sorry to hear that you did not have good teachers. I was fortunate to go to a great school that had many good teachers that were able to teach stuff like this in interesting and engaging way. It was the teachers that failed you not the environment where you are 'forced to learn'.

  • @wtcodingproductions
    @wtcodingproductions 개월 전 +4

    I've created two simple C++ programs that solve the multiplication of binomials such as (3x + 1), and am looking to do more.
    Thank you for this unique & interesting concept. College Calculus major.

  • @austinvanderveer213
    @austinvanderveer213 2 개월 전 +10

    This reminds me of the Philosophy Wikipedia page, where if you click on the first link in any Wikipedia entry you'll eventually get to Philosophy.

  • @kugelblitz7946
    @kugelblitz7946 2 년 전 +2983

    i wrote this comment to appreciate that those graphs were not just random. There were exact and to the scale.

    • @itismethatguy
      @itismethatguy 2 년 전 +17

      Ikr

    • @Sintinium
      @Sintinium 2 년 전 +92

      Ikr I wonder how many days or months it took to build all of those. Unless he wrote a program for it then maybe a day or two

    • @EpicVideos2
      @EpicVideos2 2 년 전 +160

      @@Sintinium of course he wrote a program for it but I expect the developer probably spent at least 2 weeks on making it.

    • @AxxLAfriku
      @AxxLAfriku 2 년 전 +1

      You dislike the stuff that gets uploaded by my fingers clicking upload? Are you just a h8er boi? I say see you l8er boi. Don't watch the stuff that gets uploaded by my fingers clicking upload anymore. Your dislikes are damaging my good good GOOD reputation. I am a superstar, dear kd

    • @kugelblitz7946
      @kugelblitz7946 2 년 전 +2

      @@Sintinium I think he paid some small company to do that, a single person is unlikely to do that

  • @shadyceddy6509
    @shadyceddy6509 2 년 전 +22198

    Fun fact: We are not mathematicians but we got interested by this.

  • @DeadKarlisAlive
    @DeadKarlisAlive 개월 전 +6

    I’ve always wondered why mathematicians only look at the patterns of the ’hailstone integers’ with this problem.
    Maybe the pattern is found in the numbers that are skipped after doing the equation either with 1 number or after a million numbers

  • @azhagurajaallinall126
    @azhagurajaallinall126 개월 전 +6

    Nice video as far 2:00 i see
    I have these numbers thoughts since school,goes back to when i learned mathematics to do in mind calculations & once learned formulae,started applied,looked for patterns
    Though i never formally write those down (maybe in school times,but i lost them) often feel about these,
    Maybe,maybe i gotta write them down,like some pattern in maths,numbers,look how far they can go,how it can be constant at certain point,arises new etc,,.
    I often think it may goes huge for calculations(let alone brain thinking) so i doesn't write them down
    Now i feel like write them down (though anyone sees it in future,see its absurdity)
    Maybe it helps me do "logical thinking,calculations easy" before i go wild thinking constantly (keep thinking)😅
    Instead of avoiding,running over,gotta take care of it,grow myself,train enough to over power it (life hurdles,goals be like)
    Thank you so far (no time to see fully)
    Wish all be well 😃🌟✨🙌
    21.02.2024 01:31am ist
    (77k+ comments,871k+ likes,38,625,062+1views)

  • @isaacpalmer1195
    @isaacpalmer1195 2 년 전 +1537

    Mathway: “Am i a joke to you?”
    Photomath: “Answer the question.”

  • @javiersolis2993
    @javiersolis2993 2 년 전 +1833

    The animation is everything here.

  • @NexusMatematica
    @NexusMatematica 15 일 전 +2

    ❤ A matemática é realmente encantadora 😮😮🎉 estou apaixonada!!

  • @darrenleung3684
    @darrenleung3684 개월 전 +6

    Schools need more material like this to inspire kids

  • @Liur.
    @Liur. 2 년 전 +1523

    Mathematicians: *_cries in proofs_*
    Scientists: *_laughs in null hypotheses_*

    • @Liur.
      @Liur. 2 년 전 +105

      @@Sinaloabricks hypotheses is the plural 🙄

    • @er00ic
      @er00ic 2 년 전 +6

      @@Sinaloabricks Who says that we have only the one hypothesis?

    • @andrewcramer9200
      @andrewcramer9200 2 년 전 +17

      Statistician: *does both in bipolarity*

    • @paxhumana2015
      @paxhumana2015 2 년 전

      Is not mathematics merely just a part of science anyway?

    • @paxhumana2015
      @paxhumana2015 2 년 전 +1

      @@andrewcramer9200 Bipolar Person: "Finally, someone DOES understand me"!

  • @parkiel54
    @parkiel54 2 년 전 +4400

    Oh my god, this poor animator. That is a serious amount of dedication. Looks fantastic!

    • @CoreDeck
      @CoreDeck 2 년 전 +94

      i was just gonna say that! Amazing work by the editor.

    • @remenyo
      @remenyo 2 년 전 +71

      It seems like it is made by the same software that 3b1b uses.

    • @user-xf6ox6zx4w
      @user-xf6ox6zx4w 2 년 전 +7

      Amajing

    • @danielrasheedi
      @danielrasheedi 2 년 전

      @@remenyo what is it??

    • @MehtabSinghEdhan
      @MehtabSinghEdhan 2 년 전 +99

      i generated these graphs with python matplotlib, and then save the changing graphs for value of x, in an image sequence, then played them in premiere pro, voila..no animation needed for graphs and bar graphs 😁you can generate graphs with python

  • @silencecasserole
    @silencecasserole 개월 전 +1

    Choosing random numbers and applying the rules until you get caught in the loop is a great way to kill time in class, I do it all the time

  • @gaving.griffon2703
    @gaving.griffon2703 2 개월 전 +1

    So, here's my observations.
    2 to the power of any natural number will fit the conjecture. In addition, if we undo the opperation, we take (2^n)-1 and divide by 3, any output that is an odd, whole number will also fit the conjecture.
    My idea for solving it would be to see if there was a whole number that *didn't* fit the conjecture but that's just me.

  • @parvizsattorov2411
    @parvizsattorov2411 2 년 전 +3565

    Looks like a good formula for generating Mountains in a virtual environment.

    • @SparinglyIsDumb
      @SparinglyIsDumb 2 년 전 +31

      Ye

    • @kalucardable
      @kalucardable 2 년 전 +46

      that's how they make roller coaster rides

    • @mosab_faozi
      @mosab_faozi 2 년 전 +38

      Perlin noise: am I a joke to you?

    • @-morrow
      @-morrow 2 년 전 +11

      not really, mountains aren't created by random processes.

    • @bmwheel1263
      @bmwheel1263 2 년 전 +39

      If you use a decimal the number will go for ever as eg: 1.23 you would x3+1 =4.69 4.69x3+1 = 15.7 the decimal number will always be multiplied by 3 leavening you with a always odd decimal. If you start with an even decimal the decimal will keep getting divided by 2 until the decimal meets 1 then it’s will continue to rise. Adding a decimal is a way to bypass the number having to turn even every time you times the number by 3 and add 1. You are welcome for me solving it.

  • @leebydeeby
    @leebydeeby 2 년 전 +1241

    My calculus professor just introduced this conjecture to us last week, and ever since then I've been shamelessly addicted to just bringing up a random number generator for a starting point and wasting away the hours.

  • @thefirstsurvivor
    @thefirstsurvivor 3 개월 전 +2

    imagine the first number to disprove the conjecture is so ungodly huge will we never even have a notation to write it out

  • @CourtneyIsLovely
    @CourtneyIsLovely 개월 전 +5

    “Pick a number, any number”
    Uhh… 7?
    “7? Good choice!”

  • @jetstreamsam9580
    @jetstreamsam9580 2 년 전 +449

    The class: 3+5
    The homework: 3 times the square root of 4
    The exam:

    • @drawingtutorials7296
      @drawingtutorials7296 2 년 전 +4

      Exactly we go over short division then the exam is like (2a+1b)/10 the times by 10

    • @kassimasinia3314
      @kassimasinia3314 2 년 전 +2

      For real the homework and class work are like 3 x 2 and the test is like calculate the diameter of the sun and multiply it by the amount of water molecules are in a single bottle of water.

    • @Smdday._
      @Smdday._ 2 년 전 +2

      Homework equals 6🕺🏾

    • @HorrorGirl-tb2yo
      @HorrorGirl-tb2yo 2 년 전 +1

      @@Smdday._ Dang it! I was gonna say that!😂

    • @krayon1034
      @krayon1034 2 년 전

      The answer is six

  • @colebrew
    @colebrew 2 년 전 +655

    "Pick a number"
    -"Uh seven?"
    "Seven? Good choise!"
    -"WHAT THE-"

  • @zappbrannigan83
    @zappbrannigan83 3 개월 전 +1

    14:14 Looks like those graphs for polar coordinates/prime number that also blew my mind.

  • @devangbajpai8608
    @devangbajpai8608 2 개월 전 +2

    If we try the polynomial 3x + 1 for negatives then we will be stuck in a loop of -7 or -1 everytime for any negative integer. Try this too!

  • @changolord93
    @changolord93 2 년 전 +1208

    -showing his own face
    “One of the greatest mathematicians”
    Dudes pops out of nowhere
    “Mr. Tao”
    Lol you had me at the first half not gonna lie

    • @veramentestanco
      @veramentestanco 2 년 전 +20

      He had me too!
      Brilliant!

    • @anonamemous6865
      @anonamemous6865 2 년 전

      He had me too

    • @DrakyHRT
      @DrakyHRT 2 년 전 +1

      @samridh sood infinity is a number, any number, or all numbers should i say, and no, this is not the problem with this conjecture.

    • @irenegold3969
      @irenegold3969 2 년 전

      LOL

    • @lunatik4265
      @lunatik4265 2 년 전

      @samridh sood I think you´re on to something. The Fields Medal is in reach!

  • @FullMetalOptimusPrime
    @FullMetalOptimusPrime 2 년 전 +692

    Honestly maths should just grow up and solve its own problems

  • @AndresFirte
    @AndresFirte 개월 전 +4

    Judging from the comments, the Collatz Conjecture could probably have more distinct proofs than the pythagorean theorem! And all of them from engineers, programmers, computer scientists, and amateur physicists with no formal mathematics background! Wonderful!

    • @jmodified
      @jmodified 개월 전 +3

      Not so distinct though. At least 80% of the "proofs" are "Over a given number of steps, the odds of the sequence going down is higher than the odds of it going up". Most of the rest are "It has to hit a power of two eventually".

    • @AndresFirte
      @AndresFirte 개월 전 +1

      @@jmodified oh yeah, and let’s not forget the third kind: just look at the last digit, it works for 1,2,3,4, … 8,9. And since every number has those numbers as last digits, it must work for all of them too!

    • @jmodified
      @jmodified 개월 전 +2

      @@AndresFirte Yes, I forgot that one. I think those three cover at least 99%.

    • @XCC23
      @XCC23 개월 전 +1

      The video:
      "This seems like a really easy problem which is why a lot of mathematicians are curious about it, since it's actually insanely hard"
      Laymen watching this video:
      "Pfft, this seems like a really easy problem"
      Almost like that was why it was interesting in the first place

  • @Yextiny
    @Yextiny 2 년 전 +1108

    "This math is weird because of math. We can't do enough math to solve the math - there's just too much math!"

  • @danielwitham1791
    @danielwitham1791 2 년 전 +1091

    "use Benford's law for tax evasion"
    Got it

    • @ujjwal2473
      @ujjwal2473 2 년 전 +25

      next they'll invent another law for you to follow

    • @jackrobinson9403
      @jackrobinson9403 2 년 전 +37

      Ffs even when you break the law you gotta follow other laws, huh? ):

    • @von...
      @von... 2 년 전 +15

      @Soul Seeker appropriate name for someone who works at the IRS or on some other auditing team lmao

    • @von...
      @von... 2 년 전 +12

      @@jackrobinson9403 I guess "only break one law at a time" spans between the laws of our society & the laws of mathematics lmao
      don't try to divide by 0 while smoking weed kids

    • @shamsandharia123
      @shamsandharia123 2 년 전 +4

      Most tax verification algorithms are having the same function in the root file patch 🤞

  • @nikolaifalk803
    @nikolaifalk803 개월 전

    I was tought more maths from this video than any of my classes

  • @demensclay6419
    @demensclay6419 년 전 +2784

    A big shoutout ot the graphics department for making this 100% more understandable!

  • @CrimsonRegalia
    @CrimsonRegalia 2 년 전 +1370

    "What do you do for a living?"
    Mathematician: "I am studying 3x+1."

    • @anunknownperson4018
      @anunknownperson4018 2 년 전 +9

      havent watch the whole video but 3x+1 is impossible to solve bc it has infinite solutions??

    • @vector1213
      @vector1213 2 년 전 +1

      Big maffs

    • @fanaticjay3825
      @fanaticjay3825 2 년 전 +14

      no one
      not even no one
      me: 3x+1 equals 1 because 3x nothing is 0 amd + 1 is 1

    • @Floorlicker2000
      @Floorlicker2000 2 년 전 +4

      When I saw that picture I was like it’s obviously 4x
      I disagree

    • @HaaKaaf
      @HaaKaaf 2 년 전

      @@fanaticjay3825 bruh what

  • @thatfuzzypotato1877
    @thatfuzzypotato1877 2 개월 전 +1

    I would place my bet on if there IS an exception, it's a new loop not a number that shoots off to infinity (in which case that number in itself would have to be proven to shoot off to infinity and not get into some other insane loop at numbers too high to comprehend)

  • @user-qg1kp3yy8o
    @user-qg1kp3yy8o 20 일 전 +1

    In algebra, if a expression like 3x+1 does not have a Greatest Common Factor except 1, It's prime, so regardless you would get the same result?

  • @TheMusicalStylingsofBrentBunn

    Mad respect to the animators here. That must've been a lot of work.

  • @darthenx2585
    @darthenx2585 2 년 전 +1059

    The amount of graphic work that had to be done for this video is insane.

  • @frtzkng
    @frtzkng 2 개월 전 +1

    My first thought is, since all numbers which are a power of 2, so 2^n, end up as 1, wouldn't it be easier to rephrase the problem and try to prove (or disprove) that by applying 3n+1 if odd and n/2 if even, all primes eventually give a result that is 2^n?

  • @dewaard3301
    @dewaard3301 일 전

    I feel that the answer lies in a different representation of the natural numbers that kind of represent 'power of 2'-ness, and showing that that can never increase under the operations described.

  • @nimamaster6128
    @nimamaster6128 2 년 전 +944

    The fact that this is the basis to making an organic shaped coral mesmerized me.

  • @Ali-Mhsn
    @Ali-Mhsn 2 년 전 +1699

    I laughed when he said "one of the greatest mathematicians" and showed his his grinning into the camera

    • @jAYROCCS1x
      @jAYROCCS1x 2 년 전 +4

      ?

    • @John-el5sv
      @John-el5sv 2 년 전 +8

      @@jAYROCCS1x 12:36

    • @jAYROCCS1x
      @jAYROCCS1x 2 년 전 +8

      @@John-el5sv i see. thought he meant the guy frm the beginning.

    • @bill6687
      @bill6687 2 년 전 +17

      "The world's greatest mathematician: myself"

    • @PureMagma
      @PureMagma 2 년 전 +12

      Humble-bragging or else it's a better way to subvert expectations before revealing truth!
      Terry Tao looks like someone who would appreciate the joke. 😅

  • @abdullahbabakir3150
    @abdullahbabakir3150 개월 전 +2

    12:35 Wow, the world's greatest living mathematician

  • @ur_moms_favorite
    @ur_moms_favorite 개월 전 +1

    I did my number theory presentation over this problem because of this video

  • @Martdogg3000
    @Martdogg3000 2 년 전 +378

    I like the amount of people who didn't watch the video for even a moment, and are just here talking about how easy it is to solve 3x+1.

    • @HakunaMatata688
      @HakunaMatata688 2 년 전 +2

      You take my words from my mind :))

    • @ItsMe-gw4kb
      @ItsMe-gw4kb 2 년 전 +3

      I watched it up to 20:57, and had a couple of thoughts along the way.
      First off, I hit the loop quickly because my chosen number is 4.
      My thoughts were that this could be considered an exercise in looking at every possible angle of a situation, which both has practical applications, and seems likely to sharpen the analytical way of thinking -- or likely to be frustrating because there is no clear answer other than the loop, without finding an alternate path.
      A good brain exercise, no question.
      Second, while looking at the visual ways to consider this, since I'm an occasional artist, I thought mapping it would be a great way to create some drawings or paintings and either add to them, based on what I saw, or call them finished. Either way, it's great for stimulating the mind.
      And if anyone chose to read all this, it's also fun to think about.

    • @beauxsmith674
      @beauxsmith674 2 년 전 +4

      12

    • @hasselbecksucks
      @hasselbecksucks 2 년 전

      The video is 20 minutes. LoL. Of course they not going to watch it.

    • @GnarlsTheGreat
      @GnarlsTheGreat 2 년 전 +2

      It's 4

  • @whosnico4669
    @whosnico4669 2 년 전 +1325

    him: "pick a number, any number."
    me: "eight.."
    him: "seven? good choice!"

    • @sarahsanchez150
      @sarahsanchez150 2 년 전 +15

      5... 😭😭

    • @KratonWolf
      @KratonWolf 2 년 전 +50

      Me: 0.
      Him: ok, if it's odd, × 3 + 1, if even, ÷ 2
      Me: I think you just broke your calculator.

    • @savathunthewitchqueen8299
      @savathunthewitchqueen8299 2 년 전 +4

      @@KratonWolf yeah. 0 really isn’t even or odd, so your just stuck

    • @adcgdsin9320
      @adcgdsin9320 2 년 전 +24

      @@savathunthewitchqueen8299 and even if you do plug in zero to 3n+1, you go back to one.

    • @iteratedofficial
      @iteratedofficial 2 년 전 +2

      Ikr... I picked 4...

  • @oinvestigard
    @oinvestigard 20 일 전

    All these numbers are beautiful, but nothing, but this one is weird, but possibily valuable.

  • @SHADOWBANE369
    @SHADOWBANE369 개월 전 +1

    That we need we we need is math that makes us curious

  • @DasSkelett
    @DasSkelett 2 년 전 +1815

    Your "one of the world's greatest living mathematicians" joke totally killed me.

  • @walkastray007
    @walkastray007 2 년 전 +839

    A couple of days ago he had a poll on what colour would evens and odds would be if they had a colour. The poll decided blue as even and red as odd. In this video, he has the evens as blues and the odds as reds. I love how much he cares about his community and the little details.

    • @InsideOutAnus
      @InsideOutAnus 2 년 전 +18

      Good pickup!

    • @valval4145
      @valval4145 2 년 전 +2

      Wow I did the poll a few seconds before scrolling to the video and this comment, I was wondering what the poll was for

    • @NandR
      @NandR 2 년 전 +9

      Good catch. I like the social experiment that is in itself. That is such an arbitrary question that it should be close to 50/50. But it seems something is tilting us one way. Is it nature or society?

    • @valval4145
      @valval4145 2 년 전 +2

      @@NandR I was also thinking the same. Maybe people who prefer the color blue also prefer even numbers, or people who prefer the color red also prefer odds? Just a thought

    • @JS-jh4cy
      @JS-jh4cy 2 년 전 +1

      What about color blind people, there choices may be just a valid, pick any of the two, for maybe they are different shades of the same color??

  • @seroujghazarian6343

    I think the reason why this works is if we start with 1 and then apply the inverses of both rules and only leaving the integers, eventually, we can get all positive integers one way or another

  • @adw1z
    @adw1z 18 일 전

    For those wondering, Alex K. is the narrator and voice behind the Quanta Magazine’s stunning video on the Riemann Hypothesis. This is like a collab of dreams!

  • @RiderGeats
    @RiderGeats 2 년 전 +5329

    Imagine being a Math Teacher and you gave an entire class an activity
    1. Solve Collatz Conjecture 3x+1 (10 pts.)

    • @BrianHartman
      @BrianHartman 2 년 전 +311

      The issue isn't solving it but proving it. :)

    • @brokenwingbird2552
      @brokenwingbird2552 2 년 전 +188

      It's not a problem, it is a pattern. There is no solution. This is literally the formula for how all life grows, 124875 this sequence repeats infinitely, with alternating "branches" of 36363636 also repeating infinitely.

    • @peregrina7701
      @peregrina7701 2 년 전 +76

      I once had a professor set the proof of the Boltzmann equation on a midterm. That proof exists but for a nonmathematician/nonphysicist (I was studying materials science) it was a beast. The equation is s = k * ln (m). Looks simple doesn't it? That was twenty years ago and I'm still traumatized. Mad props to mathematicians.

    • @ItsSchwifty
      @ItsSchwifty 2 년 전 +32

      Smart in class: *Gets 10pts*

    • @davidyansky6605
      @davidyansky6605 2 년 전 +36

      He/She would be barred from further teaching due to academic cruelty beyond comprehension.

  • @haxexd2830
    @haxexd2830 2 년 전 +1333

    "Pick a number"
    "- Seven?"
    "Seven? Good choise!"
    "- Looks Back Carefully"

  • @residentenigma7141
    @residentenigma7141 14 일 전

    These people have too much time on their hands...
    And the power to them !

  • @user-vb3tm9tx8i
    @user-vb3tm9tx8i 9 일 전 +2

    what if there's a relationship between 3x+1 and cancer? perhaps there is a correlation between 3x+1 and biology or genetics that would help identify gene sequences which lead to cancer.

  • @cryofrostrs3856
    @cryofrostrs3856 2 년 전 +571

    I love on how people immediately pointed their fingers to the Soviets for an unsolvable problem

  • @xTANNA3
    @xTANNA3 2 년 전 +932

    Me: “tries to do it in negative”
    “Gets in a loop anyways”

    • @xTANNA3
      @xTANNA3 2 년 전 +34

      @UC-cuXojkaoATvG21be0s25w
      0 x 3 + 1 = 1
      And
      1 x 3 + 1 = 4
      then divide 4 by 2 it’s 2 then divide it again it’s 1
      And yeah we’re stuck no matter how you try it

    • @One-Trick-Pony2
      @One-Trick-Pony2 2 년 전 +8

      True

    • @Mango-rl2yg
      @Mango-rl2yg 2 년 전 +2

      This is really dumb 3x+1=3 because u plus the 0 with the 1 = 3x1
      I hate math and dont know anything about it but i still clicked on this vid

    • @frightenedsoul
      @frightenedsoul 2 년 전 +6

      @@Mango-rl2yg huh?

    • @annac.6863
      @annac.6863 2 년 전 +3

      @@Mango-rl2yg if you meant 3x+1 where x=0, the result would, indeed be zero. Anything times zero is zero, meaning 3•0=0
      From there, you add the one, giving you 1 as a result. My apologies if I misunderstood what you were trying to say!
      ❤️❤️❤️

  • @orsonewe3893
    @orsonewe3893 25 일 전 +1

    This is actually an interesting concept, the moment the number reaches a number that is a power of 2,it falls all the way down to the 4-2-1 loop.

    • @kittycat0143
      @kittycat0143 22 일 전

      This is why I believe this conjecture is true for all numbers. The probability is almost certain for a chain to hit a power of two somewhere. But I mean I haven't dealt with numbers quite that high yeeeeet.
      Maybe someone in the future will prove my thinking wrong

    • @orsonewe3893
      @orsonewe3893 21 일 전

      @@kittycat0143 there isn’t meant to be a number that doesn’t hit a power of 2 with this cycle, other than infinity, as we don’t know if it’s odd or even or even a number, but infinity is the only number that can follow this concept WITHOUT entering the 4,2,1 cycle

    • @kittycat0143
      @kittycat0143 20 일 전

      @@orsonewe3893 the problem is infinity will never exist as a definite number as we can just keep adding 0s at the end and making bigger numbers... therefore this conjecture will never be proven false but theres no possible way to test all natural numbers

    • @fos1451
      @fos1451 11 일 전

      @@kittycat0143the problem is really if the number itself hit a loop of itself. 5x+1 for example doesn’t always come back to 1, 13 is already a counter example that it will come back to itself

  • @Guywiththetypewriter
    @Guywiththetypewriter 28 일 전 +3

    Old video but heres recontextulistion thats pretty neat.
    Dividing by 2 bit shifts binary numbers to the right.
    The 4,2,1 pattern is
    100
    010
    001
    Hence, a hamming weight (number of non 0 bits in binary number ) of 1 will lead to the 4,2 ,1 pattern, no matter how large the number is. This is the same as the any number of 2^n observation but bear with me.
    Multiplying by 3 in binary is the same as adding the binary value of itself but bit shifted left by 1(and hence you have this beautiful thing where the bit shift left is the odd process, the bit shift right is the even process).
    E.g 101 (5) multiplied by 3 is
    0101 +
    1010
    1111
    An odd multiple 3 added to by 1 will always either leave the hamming number the same (if the least significant run of ones is size 1 : e.g 010001 + 1 = 010010
    Or
    Will reduce the hamming weight by n-1 where n is the size of rhe least significsnt run of 1s.
    E.g 011(hamming weight of 2) + 1 /
    = 100 (hamming weight of 1, hence 2-1 reduction has occured).
    New runs of 1's in a 3 multiplication will be isolated with size 1 max.
    Dividing an odd number by 2 will move the least significant run of ones to the least significant bit.
    This will trigger a termination eventually (with delays only guranteeing a larger reduction in hamming weight)
    ( not proven) any individual 1s end up in a run of ones before the +1 termination step.
    Hence, whilst hamming weight may increase temporarily, the overall pattern caused by the +1 termination and the limitation of of new 1 bits tending towards runs of ones, the overall hamming weight will reduce during iteration of the colletz conjecture processes.
    Hence, the hamming weight tends to 1... guranteeing the 4,2,1 loop.
    Its not quite a proof. But christ i feel like its close 😅

    • @clutchmatic
      @clutchmatic 25 일 전 +1

      I like this one. My version was to argue that despite how large the number gets, application of the process results in the number going back to previously checked numbers and everything goes down to 4-2-1, so the conjecture must be true for any natural number

    • @kinetik9197
      @kinetik9197 15 일 전

      how long did this take

    • @Guywiththetypewriter
      @Guywiththetypewriter 15 일 전

      @@kinetik9197 how u mean

  • @JeremySoo
    @JeremySoo 2 년 전 +1390

    Everyone: We can't solve this
    Mathematicians: It's the Soviets

  • @adityaagarwal6719
    @adityaagarwal6719 2 년 전 +797

    "Worlds Greatest living Mathematician"
    I see what you did there.

  • @Alexa-dt8fm
    @Alexa-dt8fm 2 개월 전

    Pascal triangle is an example of directed tree
    It is used to show how much fluctuation carbon shows in a spectrum in chemistry

    • @Alexa-dt8fm
      @Alexa-dt8fm 2 개월 전

      Or rather it predicts how many fluctuations carbon can shows in its bonding with hydrogen

  • @starforge5663
    @starforge5663 개월 전

    When it comes to the 3x+1 conjecture, what are we solving for? Sure we could try and prove it true or false but, what are we solving the conjecture for? What are we looking for in the equation?

  • @WeloTwelve
    @WeloTwelve 2 년 전 +309

    "Pick a number, any number"
    Me: 42
    "Picks 7 anyways"

  • @NurMars
    @NurMars 2 년 전 +1629

    "One of the world's greatest mathematicians... "
    *Proceeds to show himself*

  • @ryantownsend2730
    @ryantownsend2730 개월 전

    I fail to see how this is a math problem, but kudos for the work and the views

    • @XCC23
      @XCC23 개월 전

      Because math problems once you get beyond middle school (sometimes beyond high school) are much less about "calculate the length of this triangle side" and much more things like "prove that triangles with identical angles are similar (can be scaled and rotated to be identical to each other)

  • @Oquint_npe
    @Oquint_npe 2 개월 전

    I love how math can just fall apart

  • @lovepuma6625
    @lovepuma6625 2 년 전 +839

    ".....that not even the world's best mathematicians have been able to solve. "
    Me : "Alright, tell what it is, maybe i can solve it. "

    • @captaincool9636
      @captaincool9636 2 년 전 +18

      I think it's just 10

    • @MP-ut6eb
      @MP-ut6eb 2 년 전 +56

      @@captaincool9636 42. The answer is 42.

    • @NamidaCho
      @NamidaCho 2 년 전 +2

      @@MP-ut6eb no not at all

    • @gbsantana9679
      @gbsantana9679 2 년 전 +1

      @@MP-ut6eb no, you don't know the answer if the best mathematicians don't know it. You're not that guy buddy

    • @MP-ut6eb
      @MP-ut6eb 2 년 전 +18

      @@gbsantana9679 its meme my friend. Its a meme.

  • @volcarona.
    @volcarona. 2 년 전 +289

    I'm proud of myself for voluntarily watching a video about Math

  • @offsewingdragons9142
    @offsewingdragons9142 9 일 전 +1

    For anyone wondering, seven is an appealing number because its the only single digit integer that has two syllables.

  • @DylanFreda
    @DylanFreda 2 개월 전

    The shapes that the sequences make look like energy/spirit/ life/ neural connection spreading through the universe

  • @Drux.i
    @Drux.i 2 년 전 +1665

    I have never been someone who liked math during school, but for some reason I find it so completely interesting to learn about on my own time.

    • @ultraslanmc4619
      @ultraslanmc4619 2 년 전 +84

      cause you don’t have an exam and your future on it while watching this video, but at school,
      yes

    • @Drux.i
      @Drux.i 2 년 전 +41

      @@ultraslanmc4619 That's a very good point! No stress to learn it 😂

    • @odiltursunov6854
      @odiltursunov6854 2 년 전 +6

      Actually i liked it at school. But it annoys me at school

    • @thelocalnecromancer1224
      @thelocalnecromancer1224 2 년 전 +17

      Same. Things are so much more interesting when you learn them on your own than when you learn them at school.

    • @Serpentis666
      @Serpentis666 2 년 전 +6

      The yearn for understanding really seems to increase with age…

  • @sammcdonald4
    @sammcdonald4 2 년 전 +873

    Shows a picture of himself.
    “One of the world’s greatest mathematicians…Terry Tao”
    Then includes Terry. Lol

    • @GummieI
      @GummieI 2 년 전 +40

      Yeah that was so good

    • @syedfaisal9544
      @syedfaisal9544 2 년 전 +21

      😂, That's was funny , He's also good scientist tooo

    • @dreamer097
      @dreamer097 2 년 전 +18

      12:33

    • @Cube_Box
      @Cube_Box 2 년 전 +6

      @@dreamer097 thanks

    • @rgmjr
      @rgmjr 2 년 전 +3

      Haha. I came to look for this. Haha.

  • @richardfellows5041
    @richardfellows5041 18 일 전 +1

    Consider the following.
    1. there are an infinite number of 2^n numbers.
    2. Consider an algorithm that selects a random number and tests it against whether it is a 2^n number. And if so applies the second half of the 3n+1 problem, in which case it will always collapse to the 4 -2-1 sequence.
    3. What is the probability that the random number generator will never hit on one of the 2^n numbers.
    4. I contend that the probability is zero.

    • @jmodified
      @jmodified 15 일 전

      It's not a random process. Consider that 3x-1 has identical statistics but multiple loops.

  • @vgrants1717
    @vgrants1717 개월 전 +1

    In theory, all times that the # will go down to the 4,2,1 loop is when the number is 2^x. Using that as a starting point, you could find a trend in how long it takes the number to hit 2^x. Smaller even # have an advantage because the numbers from 2^x are more concentrated there.
    Another thing is that the +1 is the only thing that makes sure that you don’t get into a different loop. The blend of addition and multiplication creates an annoying “randomness”.

    • @fos1451
      @fos1451 11 일 전

      Without the +1 it will keep being an odd number

  • @jacqueshollands5630
    @jacqueshollands5630 3 개월 전

    Loved this video

  • @marissacasler9408
    @marissacasler9408 2 년 전 +395

    “Pick a number” me: seven “seven, good choice”

  • @ishanpujari2171
    @ishanpujari2171 2 년 전 +1281

    "It's a simple spell, but quite unbreakable" ~ Dr. Strange

  • @marshall3580
    @marshall3580 3 개월 전 +1

    Personally I am imagining this reverse as a binary tree. We’d start at 1 and then there is only ever two branches, if the previous number was odd or even. With an odd previous branch (let’s say left) only every existing if (y-1)/3 is a whole odd number and an even (right) branch always existing. This also means on this tree the right branch will grow exponentially (2^n) and the left branch will be smaller than it’s right most root.
    I would be curious if this shows any patterns. I doubt it does but it’s a fun way to picture. It would be cool to throw into a computer since they do binary extremely well and you can basically build a record with each level having only ever 2 times the nodes than the previous level with numbers that have already shown up not counting in the record. I mean this is basically the tree shown in the video but it would build faster since it’s starting from the ground up but doesn’t cover numbers in a linear order.
    Odds would only show up on left most branches since an odd must of come from an even and if you find an odd it proves all evens that are it times a power of 2 to exist. You then can use that infinite set of evens to find more odds. This can’t be used to prove the conjecture false or true but it can be used to quickly find number: that it is true for and maybe find new patterns. Although it’s far beyond me.

    • @XCC23
      @XCC23 3 개월 전

      Storing all of these becomes impossible very quickly.

  • @gokulraj6404
    @gokulraj6404 2 개월 전

    I would say that 3n+1 is trying to reach the number to the sequence of 2^n and the division of 2 is used to say "You are coming close to join my family ,but try with someone else".
    what do you think about. maybe binary representations could make it easier to understand.

  • @dabolife1
    @dabolife1 2 년 전 +44848

    Math problem no one can solve: Exists
    Me: Finally I'm not the only one who is bad at math.

    • @risav202
      @risav202 2 년 전 +1099

      Not able to do a math problem, doesn't make you bad at math.

    • @therealitygab6074
      @therealitygab6074 2 년 전 +360

      @@risav202 please explain. i dont agree

    • @segmentsAndCurves
      @segmentsAndCurves 2 년 전 +184

      @@risav202 Nah.

    • @mjzudba5268
      @mjzudba5268 2 년 전 +35

      I literally just saw you on Nas Daily...

    • @TheDarkDresser
      @TheDarkDresser 2 년 전 +81

      @@risav202
      I assume that you're not referring to math in general, just a specific math problem.
      Those of us with dyscalculia find even basic math challenging, to say the least.