Math & systems explainers

📖 storybook Why do tiny things grow huge? growthmoneymathdoubling Discover

📖 storybook Why does WiFi slow down when busy? networksinternetsharing Discover

If everyone is driving fine and nobody crashes, how does a traffic jam appear out of nowhere? trafficfeedbacksystems Discover

📖 storybook Is a coin that just landed heads five times 'due' for tails? probabilityrandomnessluck Discover

If most buses run half-empty, what kind of bus does a random rider land on? averagesprobabilityeveryday Discover

Two gears, one big and one small — which spins faster, and can gears ever give you free speed? gearsratiosmachines Discover

How does a computer remember things even after you turn it off? memorycomputerselectricity Discover

What makes a swing go higher — a big push, or the right timing? rhythmpatternsfeedback Discover

Why does one line at the bank beat a separate line for each teller? queuesaveragessystems Discover

Why can a thermostat (or a body) hold steady, but a microphone near its speaker screams? feedbacksystemscontrol Discover

Why do fireflies (and clapping crowds) end up blinking all together with no leader? networksfeedbackpatterns Discover

Why does a tiny rule, repeated over and over, make a giant detailed pattern? patternsfractalsinfinity Discover

Why does a sandpile, dropped one grain at a time, suddenly avalanche — and you can't say which grain did it? systemsfeedbackpatterns Discover

In a room of 30 kids, what are the odds two of them share a birthday? probabilitypatternscounting Discover

Why does cutting one wire sometimes take down the whole internet, and sometimes nothing at all? networkssystemsresilience Discover

📖 storybook What does a line of reflection symmetry guarantee? symmetrypatternsshapes Discover

Can you really fit ALL the counting numbers into the spaces between 0 and 1? infinitycountinglogic Discover

If you guess on a 3-door game show, should you switch doors after a hint? probabilitylogicgames Discover

Why do gossip, viral videos, and rumors blow up fast at first, then suddenly stall? networksfeedbackspread Discover

Two friends build a secret number over a line a spy is listening to — how can they end up sharing a number the spy can't make? encryptionsecretslogic Discover

If everyone throws their hat in a pile and grabs one at random, will someone still get their own? probabilitycountingpatterns Discover

Why does one person staying home from a party tip it from packed to empty? systemsfeedbacksocial Discover

Can you tell if a long string of numbers is real randomness or a person faking it? randomnesspatternsprobability Discover

Why does adding a brand-new road sometimes make EVERYONE'S drive slower? networkssystemstraffic Discover

How do you split a cake so nobody feels cheated? fairnessstrategysharing Discover

Can you mix two photos so a stranger can't read them, but your friend can? encryptionsecretslogic Discover

Up close, what is a screen picture made of? screenscolorlighttechnology Discover

📖 storybook How does a phone shrink a huge photo small enough to send in a flash? compressionfilescomputerspixels Discover

📖 storybook What's the fastest way to find one name in a giant sorted list? searchingalgorithmscomputers Discover

📖 storybook How can a damaged message heal itself? informationerror correctioncodespatterns Discover

📖 storybook What does going first really buy in tic-tac-toe? gamesstrategyfairnesslogic Discover

📖 storybook How long is a coastline — and would two people ever measure the same number? fractalsmeasurementmapsmath Discover