Classroom mode
Run it in class
How can many fireflies find a shared rhythm when nobody is giving orders?
Show of hands — before you project anything
Why is 'an all-18 avalanche twice in a row by 12 beats' a stronger test than saying the dots look organized?
- A Way more than you'd guess
- B About what you'd guess
- C Way less than you'd guess
Count the votes out loud. Hold them to it — then watch.
Project it (fullscreen)
Discussion prompts
- Why is 'an all-18 avalanche twice in a row by 12 beats' a stronger test than saying the dots look organized?
- What evidence would be needed to decide whether a different topology also reaches global synchrony?
- Which biological details are deliberately absent from the ideal model, and which omission would you test first?
Where it shows up in real life
- Synchronous firefly courtship displays in some species
- Audience applause that can form and lose a shared rhythm
- Coupled biological or mechanical oscillators whose timing affects one another
A prediction-first worksheet — no answer key.
zero prep · no login · any projector
Winding down at home? Family mode ·
Explore every question
How can many fireflies find a shared rhythm when nobody is giving orders?
Predict — what do you think will happen, and why?
Talk about it
- Why is 'an all-18 avalanche twice in a row by 12 beats' a stronger test than saying the dots look organized?
- What evidence would be needed to decide whether a different topology also reaches global synchrony?
- Which biological details are deliberately absent from the ideal model, and which omission would you test first?