[0:02] BRADY HARAN: A pretend
conversation.
[0:03] Like, you know when you watch
TV and the weather presenter
[0:05] and the news presenter have
that fake chat at the end?
[0:07] JAMES GRIME: Oh, OK.
[0:08] [INAUDIBLE].
[0:09] BRADY HARAN: Yeah, OK.
[0:10] Interesting.
[0:11] That's an interesting
equation you were
[0:12] telling me about earlier.
[0:14] JAMES GRIME: It was?
[0:15] BRADY HARAN: OK.
[0:16] Hello everyone.
[0:17] The camera's there.
[0:18] We mustn't look at ourselves.
[0:19] Hello everyone.
[0:20] I'm Brady from "Numberphile",
and this is Dr. James Grime.
[0:25] JAMES GRIME: Hello.
[0:26] BRADY HARAN: James is in loads
of "Numberphile" videos.
[0:29] He's the most frequent guest.
[0:31] JAMES GRIME: Can't
get rid of me.
[0:32] BRADY HARAN: Can't
get rid of you.
[0:33] JAMES GRIME: Bad penny.
[0:34] BRADY HARAN: One of our most
popular guests as well.
[0:36] And I know a lot of people
were really interested
[0:38] to hear from him.
[0:39] We've been filming upstairs at
"Numberphile" HQ, making about
[0:43] five or six videos, we did?
[0:44] JAMES GRIME: Yes,
I think we did.
[0:46] BRADY HARAN: About five or six
videos that we've recorded,
[0:48] which will be appearing on
"Numberphile" in the weeks and
[0:50] months to come.
[0:51] But while James was here, as I
told many of you yesterday, I
[0:55] thought I would take advantage
of the fact he was here on
[0:58] Valentine's Day.
[0:59] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, isn't it a
bit odd that we're spending
[1:01] Valentine's Day together?
[1:04] BRADY HARAN: Yeah, it was an
unfortunate scheduling.
[1:07] It was the only day
you were free.
[1:08] JAMES GRIME: What do you
mean unfortunate?
[1:09] And what do you mean it's
the only day I'm free?
[1:11] BRADY HARAN: That wasn't
[INAUDIBLE].
[1:13] JAMES GRIME: This is
going downhill.
[1:14] BRADY HARAN: Let's stop
that altogether.
[1:16] Let's talk to James about the
things you want to talk about.
[1:19] A bunch of people posted
questions yesterday.
[1:22] So I'm going to ask a few of
them, so those people have a
[1:25] chance to be involved, in
case they're not here.
[1:27] And obviously you can post
questions yourselves now.
[1:29] We'll be following it, and I'll
try and get some of them
[1:31] to James as well.
[1:33] The first thing I thought we
should deal with is, I know a
[1:35] lot of people may be aware--
some people may not be aware--
[1:39] that James has his own
YouTube channel.
[1:41] He's been doing this
far longer than
[1:42] "Numberphile" has existed.
[1:43] It's called singingbanana.
[1:45] JAMES GRIME: Course it is.
[1:46] BRADY HARAN: I don't want to
talk about it too much,
[1:48] because I would rather you all
watched my channels than
[1:50] James' channel.
[1:51] But a lot of you asked
about it, so I'm not
[1:54] going to ignore it.
[1:54] And it's full of excellent
stuff.
[1:56] There were three things that
came up most frequently.
[1:59] The first thing people want to
know is why your channel's
[2:02] called singingbanana.
[2:04] And then can you also tell us a
bit about the future of it?
[2:07] Because obviously, with all your
commitments, it's a bit
[2:09] more sporadic in
its uploading.
[2:11] What's happening with it?
[2:12] What's the status of it?
[2:13] And lastly, a lot of people have
asked, as you do that and
[2:16] I do my things on YouTube, how
did we come to meet via?
[2:20] And so can you tell
people about it?
[2:21] I mean, I know the answer to
that question, but if you can
[2:24] tell people those
three things.
[2:25] JAMES GRIME: OK.
[2:26] So I do have my own YouTube
channel, singingbanana.
[2:29] Of course it is.
[2:29] Why wouldn't it be called
singingbanana?
[2:31] No, singingbanana is my online
name, and it has been since I
[2:35] was like 17.
[2:37] So--
[2:38] oh, by the way, if you search
singingbanana, if you find
[2:40] another singingbanana online,
don't harass them, because it
[2:43] might not be me.
[2:44] I know there's some other people
who have decided those
[2:46] two words together
would be fun.
[2:49] But it's my online name.
[2:50] So my channel wasn't meant to
be anything more than my
[2:54] personal YouTube channel.
[2:56] So that's why it's called
singingbanana.
[2:59] I've been doing it for five
years now, in March.
[3:02] It will be my fifth year,
measuring from
[3:05] my first maths video.
[3:07] What were the other questions
I was asked?
[3:09] BRADY HARAN: You were asked
about your future for it.
[3:11] What's the situation
about that?
[3:12] Because you obviously have a
lot of things on the go.
[3:14] JAMES GRIME: So I do it
in my spare time.
[3:16] I don't want people thinking
that I do this for a living.
[3:20] So the YouTube stuff--
[3:22] BRADY HARAN: As opposed to me.
[3:22] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, exactly.
[3:23] Exactly right.
[3:24] So my YouTube stuff is
in my free time.
[3:28] And the more I do public talks
and the more traveling I do,
[3:33] and the more "Numberphile" I do,
unfortunately it affects
[3:38] my singingbanana schedule,
which is a shame.
[3:41] And I don't like that either.
[3:42] And I want to do as many
as I can, as I can.
[3:46] What was the other question?
[3:47] There was one other.
[3:48] BRADY HARAN: How you
were doing that.
[3:49] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE].
[3:50] BRADY HARAN: Yeah, how did you
come to be involved with
[3:51] "Numberphile"?
[3:52] JAMES GRIME: Well, I know, in
the first case, I was a fan of
[3:54] periodic videos.
[3:56] So I saw what you were doing for
chemistry, and I wanted to
[4:00] do something like
that for maths.
[4:03] I tried to sort of do it
on singingbanana, in
[4:05] my own small way.
[4:07] And if you go back to an old
singingbanana video, there's
[4:11] even on where I recommend
channels.
[4:13] And I recommend "Periodic
Videos." And I actually say,
[4:17] Brady's doing for chemistry what
I want to do for maths.
[4:20] So that's actually there.
[4:23] And so--
[4:23] BRADY HARAN: Now I'm doing
for maths what you
[4:25] want to do for maths.
[4:25] JAMES GRIME: Right.
[4:26] BRADY HARAN: With you.
[4:26] JAMES GRIME: Well,
yeah, exactly.
[4:27] This is brilliant.
[4:29] And I was a big fan of your
"Bibledex" channel as well,
[4:35] which was about each book of
the Bible, because that's
[4:37] something I don't know about.
[4:39] Chemistry, physics,
I kind of know.
[4:41] And that's something
that I didn't know
[4:43] anything about at all.
[4:44] So I was fascinated
by those videos,
[4:47] like an ordinary viewer.
[4:50] And I sent you a couple of nice
messages, I think, saying
[4:52] I'm loving this channel.
[4:53] BRADY HARAN: Yeah.
[4:54] JAMES GRIME: And if you ever
think of doing maths,
[4:56] ask me about it.
[4:58] And so that opportunity
came up, and you did.
[5:01] BRADY HARAN: I did.
[5:01] JAMES GRIME: You asked
me about it.
[5:02] BRADY HARAN: I did.
[5:03] We went to the pub, didn't we?
[5:05] And I said, I'm gonna
do a maths channel.
[5:06] What do you think?
[5:07] And you were on board.
[5:09] Worst thing you ever did.
[5:10] You can't get rid of me now.
[5:11] JAMES GRIME: No, or the
other way around.
[5:13] BRADY HARAN: Well, no.
[5:14] We're very glad to have
you in our videos.
[5:16] A few other questions.
[5:17] There are loads coming
in, so we'll try and
[5:19] get to some of those.
[5:20] Someone asked, are we both
redheads, or is there strange
[5:23] lighting in the room?
[5:24] JAMES GRIME: Look, this
is not ginger.
[5:26] This is brown.
[5:28] Look at my eyebrow.
[5:28] This is brown with blonde parts
in it, that it just
[5:32] comes out a little big rusty.
[5:34] Yeah it's--
[5:35] BRADY HARAN: Someone else
has asked where
[5:37] your accent is from.
[5:39] JAMES GRIME: My accent is
Nottingham, because I'm from
[5:41] Nottingham originally.
[5:42] BRADY HARAN: [INAUDIBLE], for
those who don't know, I'm
[5:45] based in Nottingham.
[5:45] That's where I work
on "Numberphile".
[5:47] James actually lives
in Cambridge now.
[5:49] JAMES GRIME: Yes.
[5:50] BRADY HARAN: But you are in
Nottingham today [INAUDIBLE].
[5:51] JAMES GRIME: I am born
and bred Nottingham.
[5:54] And I left when I was 17.
[5:58] But I am.
[5:59] This is a midlands accent.
[6:00] It's a fairly neutral accent,
maybe on the slightly northern
[6:05] side of things.
[6:06] BRADY HARAN: And if anyone's
really confused, because I
[6:08] said I live in Nottingham, I am
from Australia originally.
[6:10] I don't have a Nottingham
accent.
[6:12] We had quite a few questions.
[6:14] People asked a lot about
your background.
[6:16] But in particular, quite a few
people have asked about what
[6:19] you did for your PhD.
[6:21] You obviously have a PhD.
[6:22] Can you tell us a little bit
about your research, what your
[6:24] hardcore math was?
[6:25] JAMES GRIME: Right.
[6:25] So my PhD, if I start off in
broad terms, it was about
[6:30] something called group theory.
[6:32] Group theory is part of maths,
which is about symmetry.
[6:35] So it's the maths of symmetry.
[6:36] So if you imagine a square, like
that, and if I rotate the
[6:40] square a quarter-turn, you
get a square again.
[6:43] So that's like ordinary
symmetry.
[6:45] If you flipped the square,
you get a square again.
[6:49] If I rotate the square four
quarter-turns, I get back to
[6:53] where I started, so
things like that.
[6:55] That's the symmetry
of a square.
[6:57] But mathematically speaking,
symmetry covers a lot of sins.
[7:02] Symmetry means, there's
something we care about that
[7:04] we want to stay the same.
[7:06] So it might be a shape.
[7:07] It might be volume or
length or angle.
[7:11] There's something we
care about that we
[7:12] want to stay the same.
[7:13] That's group theory.
[7:14] And my PhD was about
group theory.
[7:17] And it was about turning groups,
which is an abstract
[7:20] thing, into matrices, which
is a concrete thing.
[7:24] And it's about making a bridge
between those worlds.
[7:27] There you go.
[7:28] That's a start.
[7:28] That's the start of my PhD.
[7:30] And we could go much
deeper than that.
[7:33] BRADY HARAN: Well, we might come
back to it depending on
[7:35] what everyone asks about.
[7:37] I'll ask you a couple
other things from
[7:38] yesterday, and loads of--
[7:40] what were your favorite
school subjects?
[7:42] Were you into mathematics
at school?
[7:44] JAMES GRIME: So at school,
I tell you what,
[7:47] when I did my A-levels--
[7:48] so that's when you do, 17 to
18 years old, you start to
[7:52] pick A-levels in the UK.
[7:56] I picked maths, physics,
and chemistry.
[8:00] Now, maths and physics I picked
because I'm lazy.
[8:03] Those are the subjects that
were easiest for me to do.
[8:07] Actually, I wasn't
gonna do maths.
[8:09] My maths teacher
made me do it.
[8:11] He said, you are doing maths.
[8:12] I said, I don't want
to do maths.
[8:14] He said, you are doing maths.
[8:16] So I picked maths, physics,
chemistry.
[8:20] Chemistry was the one I found
hardest but fascinating.
[8:23] I was absolutely fascinated
with chemistry.
[8:26] 90% of my time was spent
trying to keep up with
[8:29] chemistry, because it was the
one I found hardest to do.
[8:32] And then 10% of my time was
doing maths and physics,
[8:35] because it came naturally
to me.
[8:37] So the answer is, I'm
slightly lazy.
[8:40] I picked the subject that came
most naturally to me.
[8:44] But then I continued to do it.
[8:45] And at university, that's when
I really started to see the
[8:50] beauty of mathematics, because
real mathematics that I care
[8:53] about is about proof.
[8:55] And that's what you get
to do at university.
[8:57] That's when you start to be
really creative about
[9:00] mathematics.
[9:02] That's why I continue
to do it.
[9:04] It's the proof.
[9:05] Proof is [INAUDIBLE].
[9:06] BRADY HARAN: Well, funny you
should say that, because a
[9:08] question that's just come in
recently is, what mathematical
[9:12] proof is most surprising
to you, or maybe just
[9:15] interesting?
[9:15] Can you talk about a proof that
is worth talking about?
[9:19] We did a video about a proof
today, didn't we?
[9:22] But maybe we can keep
that one a secret.
[9:24] JAMES GRIME: OK, so I'm
gonna have to keep up
[9:26] with the site then.
[9:28] What mathematical proof?
[9:29] There are some things that
are counter-intuitive.
[9:32] And so those are fascinating,
the ones
[9:34] that you don't expect.
[9:35] Now, those are fascinating
because those are peculiar.
[9:39] Maths is intuitive.
[9:41] And I want people to
understand that.
[9:43] Maths is an intuitive subject.
[9:45] What you believe to be
true, more often than
[9:48] not, actually is true.
[9:49] And that's how maths work.
[9:51] Mathematicians are not just
working through the steps.
[9:55] They are actually
making creative
[9:57] leaps, creative jumps.
[9:58] This is how it should work.
[10:00] This is how it should
be, so now I have to
[10:02] prove that it is.
[10:04] So you're using your intuition
to guide you.
[10:08] So the majority of maths is
intuitive in that sense.
[10:13] So when you get the
counter-intuitive ones, that's
[10:16] why mathematicians like
talking about them.
[10:19] I don't want to give people
the wrong idea that that's
[10:21] what maths is.
[10:22] But then you get problems like
the Monty Hall problem, which
[10:27] is a game show where you
have three doors.
[10:30] You have to pick the car, and
then the game show host
[10:33] reveals one of the doors.
[10:34] You've got two doors left.
[10:36] And if you change your mind,
you're twice as likely to win.
[10:39] And that's very
[10:42] counter-intuitive, very bizarre.
[10:44] And then you can prove
that that is true.
[10:48] Mathematicians like to talk
about those strange ones.
[10:50] BRADY HARAN: I do want to do
that for "Numberphile", but
[10:52] it's one of those things
that's been
[10:53] done so many times.
[10:54] I want to do it in a new way,
and I haven't decided how
[10:57] we're gonna do it yet.
[10:57] JAMES GRIME: It's famous, and
it's famous for a reason,
[11:00] because it's good.
[11:01] And you actually learn
something.
[11:03] When you start to see the proof,
you actually learn
[11:04] something from that.
[11:07] BRADY HARAN: You talked before
about A-levels in school.
[11:09] Someone's asked here what grades
you got in A-levels.
[11:12] Where were your high
school maths like?
[11:14] JAMES GRIME: Well, you know
what it's going to be.
[11:16] You know it's gonna be A's.
[11:17] Yes, I got A's at A-level.
[11:20] In my day-- where's my pipe?
[11:22] In my day, we didn't have
A-stars or A-levels, so I had
[11:25] A's for A-levels.
[11:26] BRADY HARAN: OK, and
a few people have
[11:28] asked about your IQ.
[11:29] Have you ever had an IQ test?
[11:32] JAMES GRIME: I have, yes.
[11:33] BRADY HARAN: What'd you get?
[11:34] What's your number?
[11:36] JAMES GRIME: So IQ, OK,
I will do this.
[11:40] However, IQ is not a good
measure of intelligence.
[11:43] And I'm--
[11:44] BRADY HARAN: Oh, you bombed.
[11:45] Yeah, you bombed out.
[11:45] JAMES GRIME: I'm not
a big fan of it.
[11:47] My IQ, when I was 16, when
I had it tested, was 155.
[11:52] BRADY HARAN: That's really
high, isn't it?
[11:53] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[11:54] It would put me in the
top something, yes.
[11:56] BRADY HARAN: 155.
[11:57] JAMES GRIME: And I don't care,
because I'm still an idiot.
[12:01] BRADY HARAN: If my IQ was 155,
I'd have it tattooed on my
[12:04] forehead, but anyway.
[12:05] JAMES GRIME: I never want
to mention that again.
[12:07] BRADY HARAN: OK.
[12:09] I'll ask you a few random ones,
just because I like
[12:11] questions like this.
[12:12] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, go on.
[12:12] BRADY HARAN: Someone asked,
do you have a favorite
[12:14] mathematical symbol?
[12:16] And is there a mathematical
symbol you'd like to change
[12:18] for some reason?
[12:18] I don't know what the reason
would be, but maybe because
[12:20] it's hard to wrote, or it's
a pain in the backside
[12:23] [INAUDIBLE].
[12:25] JAMES GRIME: OK, infinity's
a cool symbol.
[12:28] I mean, I might just
leave it at that.
[12:31] And it has an implication
of going forever, like a
[12:35] [INAUDIBLE].
[12:35] So there's an intuitive sense
of what it means.
[12:42] It's a well-chosen symbol.
[12:43] I like that one.
[12:45] Ones I don't like?
[12:48] Because, in mathematics, we use
Greek letters a lot, lots
[12:51] of Greek letters that
I can't write--
[12:53] all the Greek viewers now will
mock me, but there are some
[12:57] Greek letters I just don't
know how to write them.
[12:59] BRADY HARAN: On "Sixty Symbols,"
we have a lot of
[13:01] Greek letters come up, and
that's a real pain, trying to
[13:03] find them and work with them.
[13:04] So I feel your pain.
[13:05] JAMES GRIME: I apologize
to Greek viewers.
[13:07] BRADY HARAN: Wow.
[13:08] And you've got a 155 IQ.
[13:10] So if you can't do them, what
chance do the rest of us got?
[13:12] Is there a practical use
for Graham's number?
[13:15] JAMES GRIME: Oh, right.
[13:16] So Graham's number, this famous
massively number, it
[13:23] came out of a practical
problem.
[13:25] It was a mathematical
problem, but it did
[13:27] come out of a problem.
[13:29] So I guess it is born
of a problem.
[13:32] And the problem was about
taking a graph.
[13:35] A graph is a network
of dots and lines
[13:38] that you join together.
[13:39] You take a graph, and how many
ways can you color a graph?
[13:44] And it was born out of
a problem like that.
[13:48] And networks and graphs have
very practical uses, in things
[13:52] like on the internet and how
you join things together,
[13:56] networks together.
[13:58] So I guess it does have a
practical use, very much so.
[14:02] BRADY HARAN: It's not like some
guy just made up this
[14:04] crazy number and then said,
now what can I use it for?
[14:06] JAMES GRIME: Exactly right,
exactly right.
[14:08] I mean, of course you could do
that by just adding one,
[14:10] adding two.
[14:11] Yeah.
[14:11] No, it's famous because
it has a real use.
[14:15] And at that point, it was the
biggest number that had ever
[14:18] been used in a genuine
mathematical proof.
[14:23] BRADY HARAN: At this point,
because I'm gonna have a quick
[14:25] read of some of the questions,
and because it is Valentine's
[14:27] Day, you brought something
along with you.
[14:30] We have made a video about these
numbers in this before,
[14:33] featuring James.
[14:34] It was one of our earlier
videos, so go and have a look.
[14:36] And I'll put it in the video
description later.
[14:38] But these are really nice.
[14:39] Maybe you should show these.
[14:40] Hold them up to the camera,
and you have
[14:41] a chat about them.
[14:42] JAMES GRIME: OK, so what I've
got here, these are my
[14:46] amicable number.
[14:48] Can you see that?
[14:49] Let's see if I can get
that to focus.
[14:51] There we go.
[14:52] These are my amicable number
broken-heart chains.
[14:55] So that's 220 on that one.
[14:58] Can we get a focus?
[14:59] 284 on that one.
[15:02] And so the factors of 220 add
up to 284, while the factors
[15:08] of 284 add up to 220.
[15:12] So they come as a pair.
[15:14] And in the past, these would
symbolize mutual friendship,
[15:20] perfect harmony, and love.
[15:22] And so for Valentine's Day,
they are really sweet.
[15:29] It's a kind of a nerdy thing.
[15:30] But it's a really sweet thing.
[15:33] So we had these made, 220 and
284 key rings that join up.
[15:38] So you can keep one and give
the other half to your true
[15:41] love, I guess.
[15:44] BRADY HARAN: Can one
obtain these?
[15:47] JAMES GRIME: Shall I, shall I?
[15:48] Yes, you can obtain these.
[15:50] BRADY HARAN: I have no
commercial interest in this
[15:52] whatsoever.
[15:52] But if people would want to
know if they can get them.
[15:54] JAMES GRIME: And I'm
shy doing it.
[15:56] But Matt Parker and myself--
now, Matt Parker is another
[16:00] "Numberphile" speaker.
[16:02] Matt Parker and myself, we're
friends in real life as well.
[16:05] So we set up a little company,
little business thing, where
[16:10] we were sending these "Amicable
Number" key rings,
[16:14] and other things as well, a
couple of maths things that we
[16:16] came up with that we thought
would be fun and other nerdy
[16:19] people might like.
[16:20] And it's called Maths Gear.
[16:23] If I hold this up,
there you go.
[16:25] BRADY HARAN: You brought that
just because that's
[16:26] what that was in.
[16:26] You didn't bring it to--
[16:27] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, that's
the packaging.
[16:29] So Math Gear and
mathsgear.com.
[16:32] And yeah, we sell little bits.
[16:35] We're not trying to--
[16:36] BRADY HARAN: [INAUDIBLE].
[16:36] JAMES GRIME: We're not trying
to be rich by this.
[16:38] BRADY HARAN: If we were trying
to sell those for Valentine's
[16:39] Day, this is probably the worst
possible time to do it,
[16:41] because it's too late.
[16:43] You've got a year to get in your
hearts for next year's
[16:47] Valentine's Day.
[16:47] How's that for poorly
timed advertising?
[16:50] Cool.
[16:51] We got loads of questions
coming in.
[16:54] What do you enjoy doing apart
from mathematics?
[16:57] JAMES GRIME: OK, so my hobbies,
These days, of course
[16:59] I spend so much time traveling
and giving talks, it's
[17:03] difficult to do my
hobbies now.
[17:06] If you follow my Twitter, I
often talk about films and
[17:10] things, because I'm just
sitting around in train
[17:12] stations watching films.
[17:14] So I'm a big film fan.
[17:17] I used to do a lot of dancing.
[17:18] I used to do ballroom dancing,
jive dancing, so I can dance a
[17:22] little bit.
[17:23] I used to do that.
[17:23] But it's difficult to
do it these days.
[17:26] And juggling is my big hobby.
[17:28] I'm a juggler.
[17:29] So I juggle clubs and balls
and knives and fire
[17:35] and rings and uni--
[17:37] I ride a unicycle.
[17:39] And it's one of my things.
[17:41] BRADY HARAN: Fair enough.
[17:43] Obviously someone knew that,
because one of the questions I
[17:46] was asked to ask you was, is
there a theoretical limit to
[17:50] the maximum number of balls
one can juggle?
[17:52] So they obviously knew you were
a juggler, or that's an
[17:54] amazing coincidence.
[17:56] JAMES GRIME: So theoretical
limit, there should be really
[17:58] no theoretical limit if, say,
we had a program of a stick
[18:03] man juggling balls.
[18:05] And his hands can be
as fast as light.
[18:08] And I think there are
programs like that.
[18:10] And so there'd be no theoretical
limit, because
[18:12] he'd throw them higher.
[18:14] But there is a physical limit.
[18:16] So the record for juggling
balls, I think it's 13.
[18:20] It might be 11.
[18:23] Clubs, then, is a little
bit lower.
[18:25] So that would be 11,
or maybe it's nine.
[18:27] BRADY HARAN: I thought it might
be higher than that.
[18:29] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, clubs, I
think, so it's a little bit--
[18:31] BRADY HARAN: But the balls, I
thought, might be higher.
[18:32] JAMES GRIME: Oh, yeah,
you thought the
[18:33] balls might up higher.
[18:35] Yeah, I think it might be 13.
[18:37] I could be wrong about that.
[18:39] But it's not as high as you
think it would be, because of
[18:43] the physical problem of it.
[18:45] And then, as a friend
of mine said--
[18:49] I have to credit my friend here,
a friend of mine called
[18:52] Colin Wright.
[18:53] He's a mathematician and
a juggler as well.
[18:55] And he says that the world
record for juggling chainsaws
[18:58] is three, because, yeah, given
chainsaws, you're gonna juggle
[19:04] three of them.
[19:05] BRADY HARAN: OK.
[19:06] While we're quickly doing a few
personal things about you,
[19:09] because people obviously have
an interest, I was asked to
[19:13] ask you your favorite song.
[19:15] JAMES GRIME: Favorite song is
"I Want You Back" by the
[19:20] Jackson Five.
[19:21] I'm a little bit camp.
[19:23] Sometimes I'm a little
bit camp.
[19:25] BRADY HARAN: You said
it, you said it.
[19:26] JAMES GRIME: Sometimes I am.
[19:27] BRADY HARAN: Do you have
a favorite shape?
[19:29] JAMES GRIME: Favorite shape.
[19:32] Not really, not really.
[19:34] For the sake of an answer,
let's say the circle.
[19:37] Because it's the limit,
isn't it, of your
[19:40] triangles and your squares?
[19:42] BRADY HARAN: Do you have a
favorite "Doctor Who" alien?
[19:47] I'm not asking these
questions.
[19:48] This is you guys.
[19:52] JAMES GRIME: I can tell you that
my students used to call
[19:57] me The Master.
[19:58] And The Master is Doctor
Who's enemy.
[20:02] The Master is a time lord in
"Doctor Who." And he's Doctor
[20:05] Who's enemy.
[20:06] And they used to call me The
Master because when my hair is
[20:09] short and I'm wearing my black
suit, as I like to wear a
[20:12] black suit, I look like-- or
they thought I look like--
[20:16] John Simm from "Doctor Who,"
who plays The Master.
[20:20] So when I discovered that they
were doing this, I was quite
[20:25] amused by that.
[20:26] And I came in the next lecture,
and I tested my
[20:29] microphone by tapping it--
[20:31] [RAPS ON TABLE]
[20:33] JAMES GRIME: And the "Doctor
Who" fans will
[20:35] know what that means.
[20:36] I got someone to squeal.
[20:37] I got a squeal from
my students.
[20:41] Tick.
[20:42] BRADY HARAN: And you got a
completely blank look from me.
[20:44] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, you don't
know [INAUDIBLE].
[20:45] BRADY HARAN: I don't know what
you're talking about.
[20:46] Do you have a favorite
mathematician?
[20:49] JAMES GRIME: A favorite
mathematician?
[20:50] OK, all right.
[20:53] On my office wall, there are
three photographs of
[20:56] mathematicians.
[20:59] There's a picture of a man
called Alfred Young, who was
[21:02] the father of what I study
in particular.
[21:05] And many people won't
have heard of him.
[21:06] He lived about 100 years ago.
[21:10] There's a picture
of Tom Lehrer.
[21:12] Tom Lehrer was a mathematician
and a satirist in
[21:15] the 1960s, a comedian.
[21:17] He used to do satirical songs.
[21:20] And I love him.
[21:21] I think he's great.
[21:22] The fact that he's a
mathematician is just a bonus.
[21:26] He's brilliant.
[21:26] And I've got a picture of
him, because I love him.
[21:29] And the third picture is a
picture of Johnny Ball.
[21:31] And Johnny Ball was a-- he
had a TV show about maths
[21:37] when I was a kid.
[21:38] So he was enthusiastic, and he
was a maths communicator.
[21:42] And he loved maths, and he
jumped up and down, and he
[21:46] wanted to show you maths.
[21:47] And he inspired me to continue
to do maths and show an
[21:54] interest in maths when I would
not have had exposure to that
[21:59] sort of thing before.
[22:01] And you may be able to see that
he's my inspiration and
[22:06] why I do what I do now.
[22:07] And you may even be
able to see that.
[22:11] BRADY HARAN: So many people have
asked to see you juggle
[22:15] that we're going to
have to do it.
[22:16] I've only got some cricket
balls and baseballs here.
[22:19] So what do you want?
[22:19] Two baseballs and
a cricket ball?
[22:20] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, sure.
[22:24] Have to keep them low as well.
[22:25] BRADY HARAN: You will.
[22:27] There you go.
[22:27] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE].
[22:29] Right.
[22:30] So I'll get my excuses in now.
[22:32] BRADY HARAN: If you do
it, I will do it.
[22:34] JAMES GRIME: Oh,
can you do it?
[22:37] So that's your simple stuff.
[22:38] But you know, you can go--
[22:39] BRADY HARAN: Oh yeah.
[22:40] JAMES GRIME: And stuff
like that.
[22:41] [INAUDIBLE].
[22:44] You're up.
[22:44] Get off to it.
[22:45] BRADY HARAN: I'm impressed.
[22:48] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE].
[22:49] There you go.
[22:49] BRADY HARAN: All right,
here I go.
[22:54] JAMES GRIME: Hey.
[22:55] BRADY HARAN: There we go.
[22:56] You want to see one
on the outside?
[22:57] JAMES GRIME: Whoa, whoa.
[22:58] Yeah, I'm nervous when
you throw the
[23:00] cricket ball in my direction.
[23:02] BRADY HARAN: It's completely
under control.
[23:04] We'll have to get you doing some
more of your elaborate
[23:06] juggling for a video.
[23:07] We'll find an excuse sometime.
[23:08] JAMES GRIME: We'll
see about that.
[23:10] BRADY HARAN: Let's get
back in our position
[23:13] after that little interlude.
[23:14] Favorite number?
[23:16] JAMES GRIME: Favorite number.
[23:16] Of course everyone asks your
favorite number, and I don't
[23:19] really have a favorite number.
[23:21] BRADY HARAN: What if I said,
choose a number or I will
[23:23] throw this cricket
ball at you?
[23:23] JAMES GRIME: OK, in that case,
I will choose the number one.
[23:28] Where would we be without
the number one?
[23:31] BRADY HARAN: Fair enough.
[23:32] The next question was, do you
have a favorite number
[23:33] between 1 and 100?
[23:34] So you've also covered
that, so well done.
[23:36] JAMES GRIME: Tick.
[23:36] BRADY HARAN: I'll cross
that off the list.
[23:39] Do you want to quickly
just tell people what
[23:42] your current job is?
[23:42] A lot of people will have seen
me made a "Numberphile" video
[23:45] with you in which you were
showcasing the Enigma machine.
[23:49] And that is a big part of your
job as well, your real job.
[23:51] So maybe you want to tell people
what your real-life job
[23:53] is these days.
[23:53] I'll get you to come in.
[23:54] JAMES GRIME: Yeah,
a bit closer.
[23:55] BRADY HARAN: Go ahead.
[23:56] JAMES GRIME: So my real job.
[23:58] So my day job is, I travel the
UK and I travel the world, and
[24:03] I give public talks
about maths.
[24:05] And I'm trying to inspire, I'm
trying to motivate people.
[24:09] And I might talk to children,
and I might talk to adults.
[24:13] And it might be in schools,
and it might be in
[24:15] universities.
[24:15] It might be in festivals.
[24:18] Enigma is the one I like
to talk about most.
[24:21] So we have that machine
on loan to us.
[24:26] And it's one of the most
inspiring and fascinating and
[24:29] brilliant stories that
I love to tell.
[24:33] And that's the majority
of my time.
[24:35] I do that a lot.
[24:38] BRADY HARAN: You have am Enigma
machine that's been
[24:40] lent to you or to the--
[24:42] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, the
machine I show off
[24:44] belongs to Simon Singh.
[24:46] And Simon Singh is an author
of popular science books.
[24:50] And he lent it to Cambridge
University, who lent it, in
[24:54] turn, to me so that I can
show it off and tell
[24:57] people about it.
[24:59] BRADY HARAN: Do you
like games?
[25:00] Do you play games?
[25:01] JAMES GRIME: I'm guessing
you mean, like,
[25:02] online computer games.
[25:04] BRADY HARAN: I don't know.
[25:06] Let's open it to everything.
[25:07] First of all, do you play
computer games?
[25:10] JAMES GRIME: Computer games, I
play occasionally something.
[25:14] I'm a casual gamer.
[25:16] I play the 10 minutes of games,
so, like, your "Angry
[25:19] Birds." And I've got an Atari
that you plug into your TV.
[25:24] And I play "Space Invaders."
[25:25] BRADY HARAN: A proper
old-school Atari?
[25:27] JAMES GRIME: Well, it's
one of those, they
[25:28] put it inside a joystick.
[25:29] So you plug it straight
to the TV.
[25:31] BRADY HARAN: Cool.
[25:31] JAMES GRIME: And it's got "Super
Mario" on it and "Space
[25:35] Invaders" and "Galaga." I like
"Galaga." I'm a demon on
[25:39] "Galaga." You can't beat
me at "Galaga."
[25:40] BRADY HARAN: And do
you play any--
[25:43] what I call them,
real-life games?
[25:45] JAMES GRIME: Real-life games.
[25:47] Real-life games.
[25:48] BRADY HARAN: I don't know
what you call those.
[25:49] I don't know.
[25:50] JAMES GRIME: What?
[25:50] What are you saying, tag?
[25:51] BRADY HARAN: Non-electrical
games?
[25:53] Do you play--
[25:54] you know what I'm asking.
[25:56] Answer the question.
[25:59] JAMES GRIME: Oh, like,
"Monopoly." There we go.
[26:02] That's all I can think
of board games.
[26:04] Oh, role-playing games,
things like that.
[26:06] OK, so I'm not really
in that world.
[26:08] So I guess not.
[26:10] Role-playing, board games, I
have friends that do that.
[26:14] I'm not really into it.
[26:14] BRADY HARAN: Any sports
or anything you like?
[26:16] JAMES GRIME: Any sports?
[26:17] Nah.
[26:18] BRADY HARAN: There's a
game you told me you
[26:20] play all the time.
[26:22] JAMES GRIME: If you
count, yeah.
[26:23] I play sport if you count bar
billiards as a sport.
[26:26] BRADY HARAN: You're obsessed
with bar billiards.
[26:27] You always talk to
me about it.
[26:29] JAMES GRIME: I am obsessed.
[26:29] BRADY HARAN: You want to
make a video about it.
[26:30] JAMES GRIME: I do.
[26:31] I would love to make a video
about bar billiards.
[26:33] Bar billiards is an
awesome game.
[26:35] BRADY HARAN: What is
bar billiards, for
[26:35] those who don't know?
[26:36] JAMES GRIME: Bar billiards, so
billiards, you know, so you've
[26:39] got cues and a table
and billiard balls.
[26:42] And so snooker is a sort of
billiards game, and pool.
[26:45] But bar billiards is, you
got a couple of balls.
[26:50] You have to get them
into the holes.
[26:52] The holes are in the table.
[26:53] They're not pockets
at the sides.
[26:54] They're in the table.
[26:55] You get points.
[26:56] So you score as many
points as you can.
[26:59] And you have to score
as many points as
[27:01] you can in 30 minutes.
[27:02] And it's awesome.
[27:04] It's brilliant.
[27:05] BRADY HARAN: People have asked
if you play chess, and if you
[27:08] have a preference for
chess or draughts.
[27:10] JAMES GRIME: Oh, I guess
chess, really.
[27:12] But I do play chess.
[27:14] Not that brilliant at it.
[27:16] I used to play chess
with my dad a lot.
[27:18] It was a nice thing
we used to do.
[27:19] We used to have a chess board
in the living room.
[27:23] And we had a counter that
was white on one side,
[27:25] black on the other.
[27:26] So you'd play a move
and then walk away.
[27:29] Then the next, we'd come in
and go, oh, I see, oh, OK.
[27:33] We rigged it up.
[27:35] I really enjoyed doing that.
[27:37] BRADY HARAN: People have asked
whether or not you read the
[27:40] comments and the chats and
things underneath videos.
[27:43] You're obviously in lots
of video, your own and
[27:45] "Numberphile".
[27:45] Do you read comments?
[27:47] JAMES GRIME: I read all the
comments on my own channel,
[27:50] the comments and the
messages I get.
[27:53] And I'm not always able
to answer them all.
[27:55] Even if I did, I mean, I
just don't have time
[27:58] to answer them all.
[27:59] I'm sorry.
[28:00] And then on the "Numberphile"
ones, I check, yes.
[28:04] So yes.
[28:07] I was considering denying
it, because it kind of
[28:09] makes me less cool.
[28:10] But no, I check.
[28:10] I don't check them
obsessively.
[28:17] Yeah, what are you pointing
out, Brady?
[28:20] BRADY HARAN: There is someone
commenting, using your face
[28:23] and the name James
Grime on YouTube.
[28:25] And we should point out,
that is not James.
[28:27] That is just some--
[28:28] well, I won't use unsuitable
words.
[28:30] But that's someone who is--
[28:31] JAMES GRIME: It's not me.
[28:32] BRADY HARAN: --who is
being creative.
[28:33] And that's not James.
[28:34] And I personally don't think
people should be doing that.
[28:38] But who am I?
[28:38] I'm just some guy,
so there you go.
[28:41] Someone asked a question a bit
earlier that I did like.
[28:43] And that is, when your life is
so much mathematics, do you
[28:48] find yourself just doing,
without even meaning to, like,
[28:52] counting the number of times you
chewed that sandwich, and
[28:56] looking at a shape or a house
and thinking about dimensions
[28:59] and equations?
[29:01] JAMES GRIME: No, not really.
[29:03] I mean, we talked about
those-- vampires and
[29:06] arithmomania and things like
that, and counting
[29:08] the number of steps.
[29:09] And that's a real condition.
[29:10] There are people who do that.
[29:11] I don't think mathematicians, as
a rule, have arithmomania.
[29:16] I certainly do not.
[29:18] But maybe you're asking, maybe
in broader terms, do I look at
[29:21] the world and see
it as equations
[29:24] and things like that?
[29:25] And do you know, no,
I probably do not.
[29:30] BRADY HARAN: I mean, I'm not
going so much for the personal
[29:31] questions, because you know,
away from "Numberphile",
[29:34] you're your own man, but I do
have to ask, what pajamas do
[29:37] you wear to bed?
[29:40] JAMES GRIME: OK.
[29:42] BRADY HARAN: Just because I
didn't expect that question.
[29:43] Most of the questions
I can expect, but--
[29:46] JAMES GRIME: Oh, right.
[29:47] OK, well, I guess--
[29:51] I'm considering lying.
[29:52] But I'll just tell you
the real answer.
[29:53] Shall I?
[29:54] BRADY HARAN: Because they're,
like, Spider-Man or something.
[29:56] That would be so cool.
[29:57] JAMES GRIME: No.
[29:58] I just wear the t-shirt that
I'm wearing during the day.
[30:02] And then--
[30:03] BRADY HARAN: I've never
seen you in a t-shirt.
[30:04] You're always wearing a shirt.
[30:05] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE].
[30:05] BRADY HARAN: Oh yeah, OK.
[30:06] Fair enough.
[30:08] A lot of people have asked, do
you have a preference for base
[30:12] 12, base 16, or decimal?
[30:15] JAMES GRIME: Base 12,
base 16, or decimal?
[30:19] Do you know what?
[30:20] Preference, I'm quite convinced
[30:23] by the base 12 people.
[30:26] I like their arguments.
[30:28] They're not grand--
[30:31] you know, it doesn't change
mathematics in a grand way or
[30:34] in a fundamental way.
[30:35] But the day-to-day use of it, I
do actually agree with them.
[30:41] I wish we did have base 12.
[30:44] Time would still be the same,
but weights and measures
[30:49] should go back to
being base 12.
[30:51] And it'd be brilliant.
[30:52] BRADY HARAN: If you're
quite new to
[30:53] "Numberphile", we did a--
[30:55] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, we did.
[30:55] BRADY HARAN: --base 12 video
with James, talking about the
[30:58] pros and cons of
using base 12.
[31:00] And again, well worth
a look after this.
[31:02] And I'll put a link in the
video subscription.
[31:04] JAMES GRIME: Sure.
[31:05] Because I like them, I'm going
to give those guys a plug.
[31:08] That was the-- was
it [INAUDIBLE]
[31:10] society of America?
[31:11] And they have a Twitter
account as well.
[31:13] Now you have to watch
them on Twitter.
[31:15] And every day, they give you
a little base 12 fact.
[31:19] And I really enjoy those.
[31:21] BRADY HARAN: Well, they do one
every day, don't they?
[31:23] JAMES GRIME: Yeah,
pretty much.
[31:23] BRADY HARAN: They should
do one every,
[31:24] like, 12th day or something.
[31:26] JAMES GRIME: Every 12 hours?
[31:27] BRADY HARAN: Oh yeah, that's
a better idea.
[31:29] Yeah.
[31:30] OK, do you have a favorite
branch of mathematics?
[31:33] And maybe you could quickly
run through it, because I
[31:36] think it's really interesting.
[31:37] And it's not something we've
talked about in "Numberphile".
[31:40] How is mathematics broken into
groups at that academic level?
[31:45] Like, in chemistry, we have
organic and inorganic, and
[31:47] physical and things like that.
[31:49] How do you break maths up?
[31:50] And then what do you like?
[31:52] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[31:52] So maths is broken up in the
same way as chemistry is.
[31:56] So maths is broken up into--
[31:59] well, we've got pure maths.
[32:00] Let's start with pure maths.
[32:01] And that's what I do.
[32:02] I'm a pure mathematician,
pure maths.
[32:04] And then that's broken up into
algebra and analysis.
[32:08] Now, I do algebra.
[32:10] And from my point, I think
algebra is about looking at
[32:12] the big picture.
[32:13] It's about large mathematical
objects, whereas analysis is
[32:18] about the details.
[32:19] So it looks at the real number,
and it looks at those
[32:21] in details.
[32:22] And I'm more about algebra
than analysis.
[32:25] There's statistics, which I'm
a big fan of statistics,
[32:30] probability statistics.
[32:32] And then there's mathematical
physics, and things of that
[32:35] nature, which I don't really
do mathematical physics.
[32:40] BRADY HARAN: OK, I'm
cool with that.
[32:44] There's been a bit asked.
[32:45] And you probably are a good
person to ask about this,
[32:47] because you spend so
much time going to
[32:50] schools and meeting students.
[32:52] And we've done a few videos-- on
"Sixty Symbols," I think it
[32:56] was, that I did some videos,
about education and how
[33:00] mathematics has this reputation
that sort of
[33:04] permeates society,
of maths is hard.
[33:06] It's almost a joke, isn't it?
[33:08] That, oh no, I've got maths,
maths is hard?
[33:10] And it puts people off.
[33:12] There's a real stigma
attached to it.
[33:14] What do you think about the
state of maths education and
[33:18] the reputation of mathematics
at that level of people who
[33:22] are just kind of at crucial
parts of their lives.
[33:24] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[33:24] So this idea about maths is
hard, that's certainly a
[33:29] cultural problem.
[33:31] So it's not true in other places
and in other countries.
[33:34] And things like, you know, it's
a boys' subjects or it's
[33:36] a girls' subject, this
is a cultural thing.
[33:40] And there's absolutely
no reason for that.
[33:43] But there is that reputation.
[33:45] I don't want to speak
out of turn.
[33:47] I'm not a maths teacher.
[33:49] I'm not a teacher.
[33:50] I don't want to speak
for those.
[33:53] I am what I am.
[33:55] I'm an academic who, sometimes
I work with children.
[33:59] And I enjoy doing so.
[34:01] So I don't want to speak
out of turn.
[34:04] But there are things that can
be done, and I know there a
[34:08] lot of people who care about
maths education, who know that
[34:12] there are things that
can be done.
[34:14] They know what could be
done, and they are
[34:16] trying to do that.
[34:18] And in a small part, I'm trying
to do that, too, by
[34:23] showing how maths can
be inspiration
[34:26] and motivate people.
[34:29] I have my part as well.
[34:32] But there are better people who
understand the problems
[34:35] better than I do.
[34:37] And I don't want to
speak out of turn.
[34:41] BRADY HARAN: A few quick ones.
[34:43] Pi or tau?
[34:47] JAMES GRIME: Do you know what?
[34:50] "Numberphile" has slightly
convinced me, because before
[34:52] your "Numberphile" pi and tau
one, the one with Professor
[34:58] Moriarty in it--
[34:59] BRADY HARAN: Yes,
Phil Moriarty.
[35:00] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[35:02] I was gonna say, I
was thinking pi.
[35:04] Pi's fine.
[35:05] I mean, there is absolutely no
reason to change to tau.
[35:11] It makes sense as it is.
[35:14] And Professor Moriarty said one
thing that convinced me.
[35:18] It was, tau is a full turn, and
then you get a quarter of
[35:23] a turn, a half-turn, three
fourths of a turn.
[35:26] Tau is a turn that--
[35:29] yeah, that convinced me-- for
the first time, really.
[35:31] I was pretty ambivalent
about it.
[35:35] But we'll give that to
Professor Moriarty.
[35:37] BRADY HARAN: What a great
advertisement for the video.
[35:39] I hope you'll all go and
watch it afterwards.
[35:40] And I'll put the link below.
[35:41] And Professor Moriarty would
be over the moon with your
[35:44] endorsement.
[35:44] How many digits can
you recite pi to?
[35:46] I'm not putting you
on the spot.
[35:47] Someone just--
[35:48] JAMES GRIME: Oh, to the
calculator length, I guess.
[35:51] 3.141592654.
[35:57] Something like that.
[35:57] BRADY HARAN: Oh, I don't know.
[35:58] I don't know, so [INAUDIBLE].
[35:58] JAMES GRIME: Something
along those lines.
[35:59] BRADY HARAN: I'm sure we'll hear
about it if you got any
[36:00] of those wrong.
[36:02] Favorite food?
[36:04] JAMES GRIME: Favorite food?
[36:04] I like Chinese.
[36:06] BRADY HARAN: Oh yeah,
I like Chinese.
[36:07] There's a really good Chinese
on the corner.
[36:10] JAMES GRIME: Yeah?
[36:11] BRADY HARAN: There is.
[36:11] Oh, but you're going back to
Cambridge, aren't you?
[36:13] But if you want to stay for a
Chinese with-- you know, we'll
[36:16] sort you out.
[36:16] It's up to you.
[36:18] Favorite color?
[36:20] JAMES GRIME: Nothing in
particular, nothing.
[36:23] Yellow.
[36:23] I like yellow.
[36:25] BRADY HARAN: Why?
[36:25] JAMES GRIME: It's a bright,
colorful color.
[36:28] And I like the bright.
[36:31] I have a short attention
span, and I like
[36:33] bright shiny things.
[36:34] Yellow sunshine yes.
[36:36] BRADY HARAN: OK.
[36:38] Can you solve a Rubik's Cube?
[36:40] JAMES GRIME: Yes.
[36:40] BRADY HARAN: And how quickly?
[36:42] JAMES GRIME: Yes, but badly.
[36:43] BRADY HARAN: You know,
I've got one.
[36:44] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, I can
solve one in about four
[36:46] minutes, I'm afraid.
[36:47] I'm not clever.
[36:48] BRADY HARAN: We're not gonna
make you do it on the spot.
[36:50] JAMES GRIME: No, no.
[36:51] I know the beginner's method.
[36:52] And it takes me a long time.
[36:55] But I learned to solve the
Rubik's Cube not as a kid.
[36:59] I learned to solve it because
I use it as a prop, as a
[37:05] visual aid to teach group
theory, which
[37:07] is my area of maths.
[37:09] And the Rubik's Cube is an
application of group theory.
[37:13] So I'm learned it as a prop.
[37:17] And I'm not very good at it.
[37:19] BRADY HARAN: This is an
interesting question.
[37:22] Answer carefully.
[37:23] Favorite YouTube?
[37:25] What YouTube channels
do you watch?
[37:26] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE].
[37:27] BRADY HARAN: That's interesting
[37:27] to hear about, yeah.
[37:29] JAMES GRIME: Do you want me to
do the science ones or the
[37:31] non-science ones?
[37:33] BRADY HARAN: Go.
[37:34] The question just says,
favorite YouTuber.
[37:36] So you go ahead.
[37:38] JAMES GRIME: All right,
let's see.
[37:39] So Brady aside then.
[37:42] BRADY HARAN: No, no, no.
[37:43] No no no.
[37:45] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE]
[37:46] videos.
[37:46] BRADY HARAN: You can just say
all my channels as one and
[37:48] forget about it.
[37:48] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[37:49] And "Bibledex" and things
that I loved.
[37:53] The maths channels--
[37:54] and I hope they'll like this.
[37:56] Of course we know Vihart
is a brilliant channel.
[38:00] BRADY HARAN: Yes.
[38:00] JAMES GRIME: And then there's
things like Khan Academy.
[38:03] A couple of my favorites
that are less
[38:05] well-known is Ty Yann.
[38:07] He's a maths teacher
in Seoul, in Korea.
[38:10] And he does mathematical
prisms and things.
[38:12] Ty Yann, T-Y Y-A-N-N, Ty Yann.
[38:16] And then Dr. James Stan--
[38:19] Tanton sorry.
[38:20] I always get his S mixed up.
[38:23] Dr. James Tanton, I think he
lives in Australia now.
[38:28] And he has some fascinating,
brilliant videos.
[38:31] I love him.
[38:33] And people will be less
aware of him.
[38:36] And then if you talk about
non-science and maths, I have
[38:41] lots of favorite ones, some of
them that are less well-known.
[38:44] BRADY HARAN: We're about
to run [INAUDIBLE]
[38:45] JAMES GRIME: I'm gonna say
hello to my friends.
[38:47] BRADY HARAN: Hang on.
[38:48] I've got a power cable.
[38:49] We're about to run
out of power.
[38:51] JAMES GRIME: I've been
talking too much.
[38:52] BRADY HARAN: No, no, no.
[38:53] Do you know what?
[38:54] It was my fault.
[38:54] When we started, I said
oh, I must make sure I
[38:56] plug the power in.
[38:57] And then I didn't.
[38:58] We just got the [INAUDIBLE].
[38:59] JAMES GRIME: All right,
we'll change angle.
[39:01] BRADY HARAN: This is putting
a little bit
[39:02] more prominence on--
[39:03] JAMES GRIME: Hello.
[39:03] BRADY HARAN: --me.
[39:04] Yeah.
[39:05] JAMES GRIME: A couple
of friends I want to
[39:07] say hello to at You--
[39:08] I am a YouTuber, so
I do have friends.
[39:11] Mismag822, the magician,
hello.
[39:14] Ericsurf6 hello.
[39:16] And other favorite
channels I have--
[39:20] CommunityChannel Natalie.
[39:21] Nat right?
[39:23] I am absolutely in
love with Nat.
[39:26] OK.
[39:27] BRADY HARAN: Well, now
you brought it up.
[39:28] I wasn't gonna bring it up.
[39:29] But you say you're in
love with someone.
[39:30] There have been loads of
questions about your
[39:34] availability or otherwise.
[39:36] I'm just saying, there's been
loads of questions.
[39:37] You can say what you want.
[39:39] JAMES GRIME: Are they offers?
[39:40] Or are they just questions?
[39:42] BRADY HARAN: I wouldn't
say they'd be offers.
[39:44] I don't know if it's just a kind
of a curiosity with other
[39:48] intent or not.
[39:50] But I'm just saying, there's
been lots of questions.
[39:52] And I'm not saying anything.
[39:54] JAMES GRIME: Well,
then I'll just--
[39:55] yeah, here I am.
[39:56] This is me.
[39:58] BRADY HARAN: Have you ever
been to the Eiffel Tower?
[40:00] I guess that they're asking
that because of the Eiffel
[40:02] Tower picture behind.
[40:02] This is actually my
office, of course.
[40:04] So that would have
nothing to do--
[40:05] JAMES GRIME: So yeah, you
should ask Brady that.
[40:06] And I haven't been to
the Eiffel Tower.
[40:08] BRADY HARAN: You've never been
to the Eiffel Tower?
[40:09] JAMES GRIME: No, I haven't
been to Paris.
[40:13] Look at this case.
[40:14] BRADY HARAN: It's very close.
[40:15] JAMES GRIME: Look at his face.
[40:16] BRADY HARAN: It's very
close to here.
[40:17] I mean, I grew up in Australia
and I went
[40:18] to the Eiffel Tower.
[40:22] Well, that's a good question
to ask you next then.
[40:24] Favorite country to visit?
[40:25] Because obviously you have
been to other countries.
[40:27] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[40:27] BRADY HARAN: Even if you haven't
been to France, which
[40:29] is like a stone's throw away.
[40:32] JAMES GRIME: Favorite country.
[40:33] Two of my favorite countries,
I like Austria, and I like
[40:38] Scandinavia Sweden Denmark.
[40:40] I lived in Denmark for
about eight months.
[40:43] BRADY HARAN: I didn't
know that.
[40:44] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[40:46] [INAUDIBLE].
[40:50] That's for the Danish viewers.
[40:52] BRADY HARAN: Same from me.
[40:54] A lot of people, actually--
[40:55] I know these
what's-your-favorite things
[40:57] are a little bit boring.
[40:58] But we get asked them a lot, so
I should ask them, I guess.
[41:01] A lot of people have asked about
your favorite TV show.
[41:04] JAMES GRIME: Ooh, favorite
TV show.
[41:06] BRADY HARAN: And they've also
asked what you think about
[41:08] some TV shows that involve
numbers, like things like
[41:11] "Numb3rs."
[41:12] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, like
"Numb3rs." I've actually got
[41:14] "Numb3rs" on DVD.
[41:15] I've got the box set, because
I travel a lot.
[41:18] So I get box sets and
I watch a lot of
[41:21] programs as I'm traveling.
[41:22] And I've got "Numb3rs."
I've actually seen the
[41:25] first couple of series.
[41:26] I'm told the first couple of
series is the best, and it
[41:30] goes downhill.
[41:31] So I've got that to
look forward to.
[41:33] And I liked what they did.
[41:35] So they were showing
mathematicians not as these
[41:40] people who can't communicate,
who are anti-social, and all
[41:43] those horrible cliches
for mathematicians.
[41:47] They were showing a
mathematician who was
[41:51] brilliant and perfectly
sociable, and how his maths
[41:55] could help--
[41:57] in the shows-- help
them solve crimes.
[41:58] And the maths was good maths.
[42:00] It's all genuine maths.
[42:02] And it had mathematicians help
them come up with ideas and
[42:06] check it's good.
[42:08] BRADY HARAN: So it's got a
bit of a thumbs up then?
[42:10] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, I like
"Numb3rs." Well, what I've
[42:12] seen so far.
[42:15] BRADY HARAN: If I can
interrupt slightly.
[42:17] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[42:18] BRADY HARAN: Someone has asked,
while I'm with you,
[42:22] possibly having a Chinese and
not with Mrs. "Numberphile" on
[42:26] Valentine's Day--
[42:27] and this is a fair point.
[42:29] And you have mentioned some of
your favorite YouTubers, so
[42:31] this is a chance for me
to get a message out.
[42:34] If you would like to subscribe
to a channel and make Mrs.
[42:37] "Numberphile" very happy,
subscribe to Kylie Caravan.
[42:41] Kylie K-Y-L-I-E Caravan,
C-A-R-A--
[42:46] you know how to spell
"caravan."
[42:47] Go and subscribe to her, and
then there'll be this big--
[42:51] it's a brand-new channel.
[42:52] And I'm helping the video,
so it's got that touch
[42:56] of class about it.
[42:57] But if there's a sudden spike
in subscribers on there
[43:00] because of all you guys, that
will be Valentine's present
[43:04] taken care of.
[43:04] Kylie Caravan.
[43:06] Getting back to the man.
[43:08] By the way, James has been
ridiculously sick for the last
[43:12] week and a half.
[43:12] That's the reason he wasn't
able to take part in our--
[43:15] JAMES GRIME: This is a
good point to cough.
[43:16] BRADY HARAN: --biggest prime--
[43:16] OK.
[43:16] JAMES GRIME: [COUGHS]
[43:17] BRADY HARAN: That's why he
didn't take part in our
[43:19] biggest prime number video.
[43:20] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[43:20] I was really annoyed.
[43:21] BRADY HARAN: And it's amazing
that he's even come here today
[43:23] to help out [INAUDIBLE].
[43:25] You've been really struggling
during filming, and this is--
[43:27] obviously the web cam has just
brought you to life.
[43:29] So kudos to you for
doing this.
[43:31] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, that's
Dr. Theater, isn't it?
[43:34] But I was ill.
[43:35] And I was really disappointed
not to be in the prime number
[43:37] video last week, because
I really did want
[43:40] to be in that one.
[43:41] BRADY HARAN: Oh, I like that.
[43:42] Do you prefer even
or odd numbers?
[43:44] JAMES GRIME: That's
a good question.
[43:48] Even the fact that I said
that was a good
[43:50] question is a bit nerdy.
[43:53] Do you know what?
[43:54] Off instinct, even numbers.
[43:56] What does that say about me?
[43:58] BRADY HARAN: You like
even numbers.
[44:00] JAMES GRIME: I like order.
[44:02] That's what it says about
me, isn't it?
[44:03] BRADY HARAN: Yeah, I probably
would've thought you'd say
[44:04] even, because your favorite
color was yellow.
[44:06] You're more the kind of the
happy, nice-- you're not an
[44:09] edgy odd-number kind of guy.
[44:11] JAMES GRIME: Off-kilter
sort of person, no.
[44:12] BRADY HARAN: Yeah.
[44:14] Someone has asked, do you
have your own channel?
[44:16] For those who didn't see the
very start, and for those who
[44:18] don't already watch James' other
channel, it's called
[44:21] singingbanana.
[44:22] And he's been doing that for
about five years now.
[44:24] And it's an ex--
[44:26] watch my videos first, but if
you want to see James' own
[44:30] channel and him doing a few of
his own things, you can go on
[44:32] to singingbanana.
[44:33] JAMES GRIME: It's home-made.
[44:34] BRADY HARAN: As long as you've
also subscribed to Kylie
[44:36] Caravan, of course, because
it's Valentine's Day.
[44:38] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, reduce your
expectations, because it's a
[44:40] home-made channel.
[44:42] BRADY HARAN: Yours is more,
yeah-- it's more, yeah
[44:44] [INAUDIBLE].
[44:44] JAMES GRIME: And it's
like, old-school
[44:46] YouTube, I like to think.
[44:49] I'm just a YouTuber.
[44:51] I am one of you.
[44:55] BRADY HARAN: There's another
question that's come up a
[44:57] couple of times.
[44:57] And it's a question for you, but
it's also maybe the birth
[44:59] of a future video I've been
thinking about anyway, and
[45:02] I've been waning to talk
to people about anyway.
[45:04] Some people have asked what math
or mathematics jokes or
[45:09] one-liners and that you
like and don't like.
[45:11] And I know you love
corny jokes.
[45:12] But I was thinking we should do
a mathematics joke video.
[45:16] So if you've got any maths jokes
that you like or don't
[45:18] like, put them in
the description.
[45:20] JAMES GRIME: Send
them to Brady.
[45:21] BRADY HARAN: Put them
in the description.
[45:22] JAMES GRIME: He loves them.
[45:23] BRADY HARAN: No, but I think
they'd make a good video.
[45:25] But I know you like
a corny joke.
[45:28] And you must know a few.
[45:29] Are there any?
[45:32] JAMES GRIME: Take epsilon
less than zero.
[45:35] There you go, that's one for
the math [INAUDIBLE].
[45:37] BRADY HARAN: What did you say?
[45:38] JAMES GRIME: Take epsilon
less than zero.
[45:41] That is killing.
[45:43] In all the maths departments
across the world, that is
[45:48] slaying them.
[45:48] BRADY HARAN: Really, really?
[45:50] JAMES GRIME: They
are loving that.
[45:51] That is going down a storm.
[45:52] BRADY HARAN: Let's have
a look at the current.
[45:54] James, are you really
singingbanana?
[45:56] Is that--
[45:56] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[45:58] BRADY HARAN: [INAUDIBLE].
[45:58] JAMES GRIME: Well, yeah.
[45:59] I am the singingbanana
channel.
[46:00] I am singingbanana.
[46:01] You see a comment by
singingbanana, that's me.
[46:05] I'm not a singing
banana myself.
[46:07] I'm just his agent.
[46:08] BRADY HARAN: Why do
mathematicians always confuse
[46:11] Halloween and Christmas?
[46:12] Is that a maths joke?
[46:13] JAMES GRIME: Yes, because
Oct31 equals Dec25.
[46:19] BRADY HARAN: That's good.
[46:20] That's the kind of
stuff I like.
[46:21] JAMES GRIME: That's the level
you're working at.
[46:23] BRADY HARAN: That's actually
good, thought.
[46:25] I also don't mind the, you know,
because seven ate nine
[46:28] type jokes.
[46:29] I like those corny ones, too.
[46:30] But that I quite liked.
[46:35] Do you watch Dara O'Brien's
"School of Hard Sums?" Which
[46:40] I've never seen.
[46:41] JAMES GRIME: Yeah, I've seen
a couple of those shows.
[46:42] I've not seen them all.
[46:43] I've seen a couple
of those shows.
[46:44] Dara O Briain is a comedian
in the UK.
[46:46] He's Irish and South.
[46:48] And he actually did a maths
degree in [INAUDIBLE]
[46:52] mathematical physics.
[46:53] So he's from a mathematical
background.
[46:55] He's got a TV show in the UK
called "School of Hard Sums."
[47:00] It's mixing maths with comedy.
[47:02] It's also with Marcus du Sautoy,
who's a mathematician.
[47:05] He's great as well.
[47:07] I've actually helped them out,
a couple of weeks ago.
[47:09] They wanted to do something
about Enigma
[47:11] machines and codes.
[47:13] So I went down and
helped them out.
[47:15] I'm not on tele.
[47:16] They didn't want me on tele.
[47:18] They didn't want
this on the TV.
[47:21] BRADY HARAN: No.
[47:21] I phoned them up and actually
sabotaged you, because I'm
[47:24] trying to get you on an
exclusivity deal for
[47:26] "Numberphile".
[47:27] JAMES GRIME: I'll shake
my fist at you.
[47:30] But I did help them out.
[47:32] The Enigma machine, when that
is aired-- and I don't know
[47:35] when that's gonna be.
[47:36] The Enigma machine is the one I
look after, which belongs to
[47:40] Simon Singh.
[47:40] And the stuff that Marcus says
is the kind of stuff that I
[47:44] fed him as well.
[47:46] So hello to Marcus and Dara.
[47:49] BRADY HARAN: I don't think
they watch "Numberphile",
[47:51] personally.
[47:52] JAMES GRIME: You might
be surprised.
[47:53] BRADY HARAN: Really?
[47:54] I know their producers
do, to steal ideas.
[47:56] But I don't think their--
[47:57] JAMES GRIME: You may
be surprised.
[47:58] Yeah, their producers do.
[48:01] Marcus said, get James
in because he
[48:04] has an Enigma machine.
[48:05] And the producer contacted me.
[48:07] They said, hello.
[48:09] Marcus told us to say hello.
[48:11] And she knew who I was.
[48:12] I said, I do this thing
called "Numberphile".
[48:14] And she watches.
[48:16] She didn't quite connect my
name to me, but yeah, she
[48:20] watches too.
[48:20] So hi.
[48:22] BRADY HARAN: A question.
[48:23] Just because this has been
asked so many times, I
[48:25] probably should ask it.
[48:25] A lot of people wanna know
if you play "Minecraft."
[48:29] JAMES GRIME: I think
I've heard of it.
[48:31] So obviously I don't play
"Minecraft." Sorry, I don't.
[48:35] BRADY HARAN: It's all right.
[48:35] We're all friends here.
[48:37] Someone says-- this is
a good question.
[48:39] Are you creative?
[48:41] JAMES GRIME: Right, I see.
[48:43] Do you know what?
[48:44] That's kind of leading me down
a road where there's a speech
[48:47] down this road, about maths
being creative.
[48:50] BRADY HARAN: Go on then.
[48:51] JAMES GRIME: No.
[48:52] Maybe I'll just [INAUDIBLE].
[48:53] Maybe I'll make it simple
and just say--
[48:55] BRADY HARAN: Yeah, go on.
[48:55] JAMES GRIME: From my point
of view, maths
[48:57] is a creative subject.
[48:58] I mean, creating new
mathematics, mathematics
[49:02] that's never been done before,
original, new mathematics, is
[49:06] a creative process.
[49:07] You don't do that
by just being a
[49:09] robot, by being a machine.
[49:11] I truly believe that.
[49:13] And that's something I want
to show people as well.
[49:16] BRADY HARAN: Tell
me about how a
[49:18] mathematician is creative then.
[49:20] JAMES GRIME: Right.
[49:20] So when I discover something,
yeah, I
[49:22] discover something new.
[49:23] So let's say I want to
prove something.
[49:26] First of all, I have to come
up with a conjecture.
[49:30] And that's a leap
of intuition.
[49:32] BRADY HARAN: Is that
like a hypothesis?
[49:33] JAMES GRIME: Yes, a hypothesis,
exactly.
[49:34] So that's a leap of intuition.
[49:36] That's somewhere I
want to get to.
[49:38] And that's a creative,
intuitive thing.
[49:40] But then to prove it, I'm
assuming that other people
[49:45] have not yet been able
to solve it.
[49:47] So you're solving problems
that other
[49:49] people could not solve.
[49:51] And that's amazing.
[49:53] That's brilliant.
[49:54] And to solve it, you might take
something from over here,
[49:57] you take an idea from over
there, and then you put these
[50:00] things together.
[50:01] You put them together in a new
way, in a way that's never
[50:04] been done before.
[50:05] And you create something.
[50:07] You create something new,
something that's never been
[50:10] done before.
[50:12] BRADY HARAN: Cool.
[50:12] JAMES GRIME: Yeah.
[50:13] And then that's true forever.
[50:14] And that's one of the amazing
things about it as well.
[50:17] BRADY HARAN: Someone wants to
know how long this stream is
[50:19] going to be.
[50:20] They could watch it all day.
[50:22] JAMES GRIME: That's
up to you, Brady.
[50:23] BRADY HARAN: Well,
I don't know.
[50:24] You do have a train to catch.
[50:26] JAMES GRIME: I do
have a train.
[50:26] BRADY HARAN: Unless
you're gonna stay
[50:27] around for that Chinese.
[50:28] But we won't be able to go
for too much longer.
[50:30] JAMES GRIME: No, not too
much longer, maybe
[50:31] five minutes longer.
[50:32] BRADY HARAN: Yeah.
[50:33] Let's have a look.
[50:36] Do you prefer hot
or cold weather?
[50:38] JAMES GRIME: Cold weather.
[50:39] There you go.
[50:40] BRADY HARAN: I prefer
cold weather, too.
[50:42] JAMES GRIME: There's a
surprise; I had an
[50:43] answer for that one.
[50:43] Cold weather.
[50:46] BRADY HARAN: Do you
like sushi?
[50:48] JAMES GRIME: I don't think
I've ever tried it.
[50:50] I'm sorry.
[50:51] BRADY HARAN: You've
never had sushi?
[50:53] JAMES GRIME: Don't
think I have.
[50:54] BRADY HARAN: You've never had
sushi, and you've never been
[50:55] to the Eiffel Tower.
[50:56] JAMES GRIME: I've never
had sushi at the
[50:58] Eiffel Tower either.
[50:59] BRADY HARAN: That's what
you should, though.
[51:00] That would be awesome.
[51:03] Is there going to be
a Grime conjecture?
[51:06] JAMES GRIME: Grime conjecture.
[51:07] There's a Grime corollary.
[51:09] BRADY HARAN: Is that another
Grime, or is that yours?
[51:11] JAMES GRIME: No, that's me.
[51:11] BRADY HARAN: What's
the Grime corr--
[51:14] what is it?
[51:16] JAMES GRIME: It's only
a little bit of fun.
[51:17] It's only a little thing.
[51:19] But there was a episode of
"Futurama" where they were
[51:21] swapping brains.
[51:23] Have you seen it?
[51:24] BRADY HARAN: I haven't, no.
[51:25] JAMES GRIME: All right, so they
had this brain-swapping
[51:26] machine, so they could swap
brains, swap minds.
[51:29] But they couldn't
swap them back.
[51:30] Once they're swapped, couldn't
be swapped back.
[51:32] BRADY HARAN: One-time deal.
[51:32] JAMES GRIME: So they were
all swapping brains.
[51:35] And they were all mixed up.
[51:37] And they go, oh, no, how
are we going to get
[51:39] back to where we were?
[51:41] Because you can't just
reverse the steps.
[51:43] And so--
[51:44] and this is brilliant.
[51:45] The guy who wrote the
episode was a maths
[51:48] graduate himself, Keeler.
[51:50] He was called Keeler.
[51:51] And he actually wrote a theorem
so that you could do
[51:57] this in general.
[51:58] And it's in the episode.
[52:00] Someone shot on a blackboard
in the cartoon how to
[52:05] do it in real life.
[52:07] And I made a little-- and
it's true, and it works.
[52:09] And I made a little conjecture
about it.
[52:11] Well, in that example that was
in "Futurama," you could have
[52:15] actually done it
in fewer moves.
[52:19] BRADY HARAN: It sounds like
a "Numberphile" video.
[52:20] JAMES GRIME: It's a
little fun thing.
[52:22] BRADY HARAN: That sounds
like it could be a
[52:23] "Numberphile" video.
[52:24] Tell you what, we better
things wrap things.
[52:26] JAMES GRIME: All right.
[52:27] BRADY HARAN: But we'll read
through all the comments and
[52:31] things that you've
written later on.
[52:32] And I'll certainly go
in and have a chat
[52:35] when I get the chance.
[52:35] It's not always easy to reply to
comments in these different
[52:38] comment sections.
[52:39] But I think we'll find
a way to do it.
[52:40] And James may or may
not as well.
[52:43] His username is singingbanana.
[52:46] And don't forget this, this
other idiot, who's using
[52:51] James' picture and calling
himself James Grime and
[52:53] writing here.
[52:54] And if you see him, do
whatever you can.
[52:58] What do you call it?
[52:59] Flame him, or thumb him down.
[53:00] JAMES GRIME: Thumbs down.
[53:01] BRADY HARAN: Make sure everyone
knows that that guy
[53:03] is a bit of an impostor.
[53:05] Yeah, I don't know.
[53:06] JAMES GRIME: Hang on, don't
set the angry mob on him.
[53:08] BRADY HARAN: No, no, no.
[53:09] Yeah sorry.
[53:10] Don't be angry.
[53:11] But don't let other people think
it's James, because--
[53:14] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE].
[53:15] BRADY HARAN: Because it's not.
[53:16] James is singingbanana,
as you know.
[53:18] And don't forget to subscribe
to Kylie Caravan and make my
[53:21] Valentine's Day much easier.
[53:25] Thank you.
[53:25] JAMES GRIME: Glad to help.
[53:26] BRADY HARAN: Thank you, James,
for coming along.
[53:30] And as I said, we filmed a bunch
of "Numberphile" videos
[53:33] earlier as well.
[53:34] So you're gonna be seeing
plenty of James.
[53:36] Even though I'm not going to be
seeing much of James over
[53:38] the next month or two--
[53:39] JAMES GRIME: [INAUDIBLE].
[53:40] BRADY HARAN: --you will
still be seeing him on
[53:41] "Numberphile".
[53:42] I'm not seeing him
because he's just
[53:44] really busy with work.
[53:45] But we'll catch him again in
the middle of the year.
[53:47] But you will keep seeing
him on "Numberphile".
[53:50] And it was good fun.
[53:52] I actually really enj--
did you enjoy it?
[53:53] JAMES GRIME: Yeah,
it was good fun.
[53:54] You know, I'm my own favorite
subject, so I could have done
[53:58] that till the cows come home.
[54:00] But I think now's a good
time to wrap it up.
[54:02] BRADY HARAN: Cool.
[54:03] And we'll hope to more of these
kind of things, both
[54:06] with James and with others,
and with multiple people,
[54:08] because it's good fun.
[54:10] It's really good fun talking
to you guys in real time.
[54:11] So cheers, everyone.
[54:13] JAMES GRIME: Thanks
for watching.
[54:13] BRADY HARAN: See you later.