THE VIDEO SHELF · explaining science
Feynman: Magnets FUN TO IMAGINE 4 But see NEW UPDATED file at https://tinyurl.com/ycphc432
A clip from the BBC Fun to Imagine series in which Richard Feynman is asked how magnets work and explains why 'why' questions depend on a shared framework of understanding and cannot always be answered in layman's terms.
Why HN readers recommended it
Cited constantly when discussing explaining to non-experts, the limits of explanation and what a 'why' question really asks.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- Christopher Sykes
- Topic
- explaining science
- Format
- interview
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 3
- HN mentions in dataset
- 16
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2010–2017
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
Of anyone I've read or seen (in person or from videos), Feynman has the best fundamental grasp of meta-knowledge. By meta-knowledge, for lack of a better term, I mean understanding what it means to know something. mhartl has already posted this excellent video: [VIDEO] , …
DevX101 on Hacker News · 2010-11
In If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)For those who think this doesn't sound at least a little bit like Feynman, I highly recommend this video: [VIDEO]
mhartl on Hacker News · 2010-11
In If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)Sometimes it's not always possible to explain something in sufficient detail to someone who has no concept of what you are trying to explain. Feynman explains this really well when trying to answer a question about magnets: "Of course, it's an excellent question. But the …
jliechti1 on Hacker News · 2014-01
In Beware techies talking gobbledegook
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.