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#hackenbush#combinatorialgametheory#surrealnumbers

HACKENBUSH: a window to a new world of math

Owen Maitzen

7.6K subscribers • 1 video on Hallway

YouTube
  • Recommended by 3 people: 3 on Hacker News.
  • Presented by Owen Maitzen

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

562K views5 years ago3 recommendations

Computer scienceComputation and complexityMath for programmers

Owen Maitzen introduces Hackenbush, a combinatorial game, and explains how its mathematical analysis leads to the discovery of surreal numbers.

A playful venture into the vast and mysterious forests of combinatorial game theory. This one simple game will change the way you look at numbers forever! Hackenbush is easy to pick up, but exploring its strategy leads us down a fantastical mathematical rabbit hole, through which can be found the roots of our familiar number system, intricately entangled with a host of new and exotic numeric species lurking alongside them. Script, narrations, animations, and soundtrack were all done by me. Special thanks to my friends @whirligig231, @derpky, @emileserper, @flavoredsaucer, and @walgrey_tweets for concurrent feedback on all aspects of the video during its production. Made with Manim Community: manim.community/ My music channel: youtube.omaitzen.com/ Intro Starting at the Roots Branching Out Tabulating Trees Into the Weeds Going Green Binary Beanstalks Positive Petals But What Are Numbers? Hacking the Infinite Sisyphus' Garden Sweltering Switches Down the Rabbit Hole Conclusion

Why it's here

3 people recommend this

What people say. Recommended as an exceptionally clear and beautifully animated introduction to combinatorial game theory and surreal numbers.

lblumeon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Transfinite NIM (the game, not the programming language)”

Nim is, in fact, a proper subset of Hackenbush, a game extensively studied by Conway. I found the following video extremely useful and well-visualized: link to this video

rini17on Hacker News • Recommends

On “Indefinite and Fictitious Numbers”

All numbers are fictitious :) Though, I think "games" built on surreal numbers are akin to these. link An accessible intro: link to this video

nthingtohideon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Numbers Are Leaves”

HACKENBUSH: a window to a new world of math link to this video Thanks for the blogpost, I think you will like this above SOME3 entry. Owen Maitzen committed suicide which is mentioned in the following video. The Endless Universe of "Bean and Nothingness" link