Grey Matters: Videos

Memorizing Pi to 100 Digits

2011-02-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is a quick tutorial on how to memorize hundreds of digits of Pi, as originally taught in Arthur Benjamin's book, Secrets of Mental Math.

Before beginning, you should be familiar with both the Link System and Major/Peg System, as this video kind of glosses over them.

Here are the sentences used to remember the first 100 digits of Pi:

My turtle Pancho will, my love, pick up my new mover Ginger.
My movie monkey plays in a favorite bucket.
Ship my ~~monkey~~puppy Michael to Sullivan's backrubber.
A really open music video cheers Jenny F. Jones.
Have a baby fish knife so Marvin will marinate the goose chick.

To take these systems even farther, and to learn them in AND out of order, check out my 400 Digits of Pi tutorial in the Mental Gym.

Video Format:
YouTube

Welcome Scam School Viewers!

2010-09-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Note to Scam School viewers: Welcome! This is just the video portion of my site. Check out the main Grey Matters blog by clicking here.

In the September 15th episdoe of Scam School, as shown above, Brian Brushwood gives a link to this site as part of the credits!

Thank you for the special mention, Brian! It's especially generous considering that so many other people sent it in.

I talk about this episode in more detail in my post, Scam School Meets Grey Matters...Again!.

Video Format: YouTube

Grey Matters Internet TV!

2008-12-21T12:50:00.000-08:00

(Mirrored from the Grey Matters Blog)

Grey Matters now has an internet TV channel available on Miro!

Miro, if you're not familiar with it, is a freeware program that acts as a sort of DVR for internet videos, and that can handle almost any video format you throw at it. Besides using it to watch videos you already have saved to your hard drive, you can search several video sources at once, and download those to watch at your leisure. Yes, Miro even makes it easy to download YouTube videos to your hard drive!

In a similar manner to a DVR, the videos will ordinarily be deleted from your hard drive after a specified amount of time. The default is 6 days, but you can specify storage times from 3 hours to 1 month. Of course, if you find a favorite, you can easily tell Miro to keep it on your hard drive permanently. Miro will both manage your hard drive space (you can tell it to keep a certain amount of hard drive space free) and organize your video collection.

Another way to discover videos about your interests is Miro channels. These are akin to TV channels, but can be created by anyone on just about any topic! Using Miro to organize these channel can be a great way to keep your favorite podcasts manageable. A Miro channel is basically a specialized type of RSS feed, and they're available for free.

Now, I've tried to keep Grey Matters Videos going, but a blog is proving to be the wrong medium to keep the videos organized. Creating the Grey Matters Miro Channel is a far better medium for what I want to do with Grey Matters Videos.

To take advantage of this new video channel, first download, install and run Miro. If you're just getting it up and running for the first time, you may want to watch the pre-installed Using Miro channel to become familiar with it. To add the Grey Matters Miro Channel, copy the following address:

http://members.cox.net/econalc/files/gmvideosmiro.rss

Next, go to Miro, and from the Channels menu, select Add Channel..., then paste the above address into the box and click OK. As it's brand new, there are only 9 videos from around the web at the moment, including the Martin Gardner documentary I discussed in my previous post. Note that even though it isn't hosted at a site such as YouTube, Miro can still find it, download it and organize it with no additional trouble.

Since it's easier to add a video to a Miro channel than to create a blog entry around it, this video collection will grow over time. I won't be adding all of the videos from Grey Matters Videos, but I will leave that blog up so you can find any past favorites. The purpose of the Grey Matters Miro Channel, however, will be the resource for all the future videos I add.

Charles Gauci

2008-07-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, Charles Gauci is already back on Grey Matters Videos! This time, he's performing a memorization feat of a shuffled deck of cards. Not only is the memorization of the first part of the deck impressive, but so is the finish!

Video Format:
YouTube

Jonathan Levit

2008-06-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Back in December 2007, Jonathan Levit performed at Hollywood's famed Magic Castle. One of the highlights of his performance was this incredible recall of a current magazine he'd memorized! Not only is the ability to recall the details of the magazine incredible, but the engaging and entertaining performance really makes this a piece to behold.

Video Format:
YouTube

Charles Gauci

2008-06-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Australian performer Charles Gauci here performs a magic square routine he calls Super Sudoku. First, he has people call out various 3-digit numbers, which are placed in a diagonal. These are then totaled, and Mr. Gauci then quickly fills out the remaining squares so as to give that same total in many different directions!

Video Format:
YouTube

OneManSho

2008-03-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

Here's an unusual and amazing feat of memorization by OneManSho! At first, it simply sounds like he's singing an opera in Latin or Italian. Even if you're not into opera, keep watching it! About the middle, you'll realize how familiar the song is, and how impressive a memorization feat this truly is!

OneManSho also performed this same feat with another song, but there are stronger visual clues in this video as to which song he's singing.

This idea has been done before, such as in Weird Al's Amish Paradise video (watch from 2:51 to 3:09), as well as the classic Swedish bookstore scene from Top Secret! (here it is the original way, if you're curious). However, OneManSho is doing it while making sense and without lip-synching!

Video Format:
YouTube

David Öttinger

2008-02-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

In our running Wetten, dass ... ? marathon, our next feature is 11-year-old David Öttinger. David is blindfolded, and when given the name of a country somewhere in the world, he can name every country that borders the named country!

If you want to learn this feat yourself, try practicing with Sporcle's geography games.

Video Format:
YouTube

Florian Osmani

2008-02-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

In our final Wetten, dass ... ? clip for the day, Florian Osmani performs the classic Day of the Week For Any Date feat. 8-year-old Florian bets that he can name the day of the week for any date from October 15, 1582 to December 31, 3499. If you've learned and practiced this feat, see if you can get the dates without looking at the video!

Video Format:
YouTube

Boris Konrad

2008-02-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting challenge from Wetten, dass ... ?. Before going on the air, Boris Konrad memorized 5 unsolved Sudoku puzzles. In the clip itself, he is shown 100 solved Sudoku puzzles, and has 4 minutes to identify at least 4 of the 5 puzzles he memorized! Can he do it?

Video Format:
YouTube

Fabrice Becker

2008-02-12T15:45:00.000-08:00

Here's young Fabrice Becker, performing on Wetten, dass ... ?. Fabrice has memorized each of the pieces from twelve 600-piece puzzles, and bets that, shown any piece from anyone of the puzzles, he can identify that puzzle by its number!

Video Format:
Windows Media

Xaver Neuhäusler

2008-02-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

When searching for information about the Knight's Tour last year, I ran across this ChessBase column and learned about young Xaver Neuhäusler and his appearance on a German TV show called Wetten, dass ... ? (German for Betting, that ... ?), where he performed a blindfolded Knight's Tour!

Back in may of last year, I actually linked to numerous videos from the show Wetten, dass ... ?, which have since been removed. Fortunately, many of these have been posted on various video sites around the internet. This and the next few entries will be some of the lost files from this German TV show.

Video Format:
YouTube

Arthur Benjamin on TED

2007-12-16T22:51:00.000-08:00

Perennial Grey Matters favorite Arthur Benjamin is back! This performance is similar to what he does at his Magic Castle appearances, where you can see him from December 17 to 23. Here, you'll see him square 2-digit, 3-digit and 4-digit numbers faster than a calculator, divines several missing digits, gives the day of the week for any given date, and finishes by squaring a 5-digit number and letting you see the process!

You can find other videos featuring Dr. Benjamin here, here and here. If you would like to learn more about the art of mathemagic, the Grey Matters Store has an entire mathemagic section, and even features Dr. Benjamin's book, Secrets of Mental Math.

Video Format:
TED

Susan Percy

2007-12-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

In this video, UK memory expert Susan Percy teaches you how to quickly memorize the order of a shuffled deck of cards. At the video link, you can also scroll down and go over the steps in more detail, as well.

Video Format:
VideoJug

Bob Gray

2007-09-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

In this video, memory lecturer Bob Gray performs some amazing feats. First, he writes forwards and backwards simultaneously, followed immediately by writing forward and backwards upside-down simultaneously! You can see more of his amazing work at the audio and video section of his site.

Video Format:
YouTube

Garth Sundem

2007-08-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

After publishing Geek Logik, author Garth Sundem appeared on Good Morning America, to promote it. They took several people who were dealing with major life questions, and applied Garth's equations to their lives. The insights are quite interesting.

Video Format:
YouTube

The Phantom Tollbooth

2007-08-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is the complete classic 1970 movie, The Phantom Tollbooth, in 2 parts. As you might guess from the Grey Matters site, the original book and this movie were a big influence on me.

It's simultaneously fun and makes a number of excellent points. Watch the entire movie while it is still available.

Video Format:
Vimeo

Computerman

2007-08-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

This unknown gentleman from Ghana, identified only as “Computerman”, can recall the day of the week for any date given!

This is a classic memory feat that can be learned with enough practice. Check out my calendar blog posts, as well as my calendar videos for more information on this feat.

Video Format:
Google Video

LEGOs vs. Rubik's Cube

2007-07-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a LEGO Mindstorms robot that can scan and solve a randomly-scrambled Rubik's Cube! Check out the full story here.

Video Format:
YouTube

Will Smith

2007-06-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Check out Will Smith solving a Rubik's Cube in only 55 seconds! He learned how to do this for the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. He was taught by Tyson Mao, who has been featured on this site here and here.

Video Format:
dailymotion

BBC: How To Improve Your Memory

2007-06-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

The BBC recently produced an excellent documentary called How To Improve Your Memory. It is shown above in 12 parts. Enjoy!

Update: It's no longer available on YouTube, but can still be seen on clip.vn in 5 parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

2006 USA World Memory Championships

2007-05-10T16:18:00.001-07:00

The footage above is from the 2006 USA National Memory Championships, covered by HDNet (Originally in HD, which is why some titles are cut off). The above player shows all 6 parts of the coverage, which covers the 6 finalists of the championship.

Video Format:
YouTube

Blindfolded 5-Cube Solving

2007-05-10T16:08:00.001-07:00

In all the Rubik's Cube videos I've posted, I've never seen anything like this. In this video, this amazing guy memorizes 5 scrambled cubes, and proceeds to solve all 5 blindfolded in under 6 minutes!

Video Format:
YouTube

Alberto Dell'Isola

2007-04-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Alberto Dell'Isola, who was the first South American to compete in the World Memory Championship, appears on a Brazilian TV show called Caldeirão do Huck (Huck's Cauldron) showing off his amazing memory.

In this clip, he performs two classic feats of memory. First, he recalls an entire 128-page magazine, and concludes by performing the classic day of the week for any date feat!

Video Format:
YouTube

Abigail Cohen

2007-04-12T13:54:00.001-07:00

Check out 5-year-old Abigail Cohen playing Simon (Flash required) like a master!

Video Format:
YouTube

TimwiTerby

2007-04-11T12:24:00.001-07:00

Planarity is a simple game, but difficult to master. You're given an arrangement of dots in a circle. Each dot is connected to 2, 3 or 4 other dots via lines, and as you move the dots, the lines stay attached to the dots. The object is to arrange the dots so that none of the lines cross. Try it for yourself to see how challenging this can be.

Once you've tried it for yourself, play the video above, in which “TimwiTerby” not only solves a level 18 puzzle, but does so by arranging them in perfect rows!

If that isn't impressive enough, check out the level 19 video, in which the final arrangement is a series of concentric circles!

Video Format:
YouTube

Dominic O'Brien

2007-04-09T13:01:00.001-07:00

Here's Dominic O'Brien teaching a simple method for remembering numbers. After watching this video just once, see if you can recall the full number.

His much-sought-after book, How To Develop A Perfect Memory, is available as an e-book in Lybrary.com's Memory & Mnemonics section.

Video Format:
YouTube

Multiplying Two 3-Digit Numbers

2007-04-07T10:56:00.001-07:00

Here is a great technique for multiplying two 3-digit numbers! Practice with 2-digit numbers as taught in the video, and work your way up.

It's not completely done in your head, but since you can write down the digits as you go, it can appear that way. It looks especially good if you can remember the numbers you carry, instead of writing them down.

Video Format:
YouTube

Rob Paulsen

2007-04-06T17:47:00.001-07:00

Animaniacs fans will definitely remember Yakko Sings the Nations of the World. It's one thing to do it in a recording studio with the words in front of you. However, the voice behind Yakko, Rob Paulsen, can sing the entire song from memory, as well!

Video Format:
YouTube

Full Video Index

2007-04-06T10:57:00.001-07:00

While I post videos of amazing feats here with descriptions, I also like to maintain a full index of the original links on their respective sites. They are listed in pulldown menus below, divided up by format. Each individual video is listed alphabetically by the performer's last name, screenname or title.

Originally, these links were hosted in the sidebar, but it has become too large and unwieldy to update this on almost every page of the Grey Matters site.

Instead of the index itself, you will now see "Full Video Index" in the sidebar, which will be linked to this post. Also, as new videos are added, this post will be updated.

DailyMotion:

Flash:

Google Video:

MetaCafe:

MySpace:

QuickTime:

RealPlayer:

Revver:

SlideShare:

VideoJug:

Windows Media:

YouTube:

James Martin

2007-04-06T10:24:00.001-07:00

James Martin was a contestant on the British TV game show Countdown.

In the numbers round of this March 1997 episode, the contestants are given the random numbers 25, 50, 75, 100, 3 and 6, and must use only those numbers in a formula to get as close as possible to the randomly-generated total of 952. Contestant James Martin not only gets a total of 952, but does so in an amazing way!

If you haven't already watched the video, try and figure out for yourself how close you can get to 952.

James Martin has to be one of the most memorable game show contestants since Michael Larson.

Video Format:
YouTube

Scott Hagwood

2007-03-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

While 60 Minutes was covering Daniel Tammet, 20/20 focused on Scott Hagwood at the Memory Olympics. There's also a great segment in the interview about the kids from Samuel Gompers High School, in the South Bronx, who are being taught memory technique by their history teacher, Ramon Matthews, and are competing at the Memory Olympics.

Video Format:
YouTube

Daniel Tammet

2007-03-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, Daniel Tammet is back! The above video is from his documentary Born On A Blue Day.

If you'd like to find out even more about him, check out the 60 Minutes report on Daniel Tammet.

Update (4/6/07): The 60 minutes segment has now been posted as Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube.

Video Formats:
MetaCafe
Yahoo! Video
YouTube

Rich Golden

2007-03-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

To kick off our celebration of Pi Day, we have Rich Golden reciting 500 digits of Pi from memory! This is more digits of Pi than I've ever seen before on YouTube.

If you're really into celebrating Pi Day, check out more Pi videos here.

Video Format:
YouTube

Michael Tipper

2007-03-14T08:48:00.001-07:00

Michael Tipper has just posted clips from his memory lecture, including some great tips for remembering names!

If you're interested in more of his work, check out his Memory Improvement and Learning Information.

Video Format:
YouTube

Kim Peek

2007-02-20T09:49:00.001-08:00

The Athanasius Kircher Society, a society inspired by “the wondrous, the curious, the singular, the esoteric, and the sometimes hazy frontier between the plausible and the implausible,” held its inaugural meeting on January 17, 2007. For those of us who missed it, however, highlights and full clips of each presentation are now available.

Among the featured guests was Kim Peek and his father Fran. Kim Peek was the savant who inspired the movie Rain Man. Kim and Fran discuss the nature and history of Kim's savantism, and then Kim proceeds to masterfully answer trivia questions posed by the audience!

Video Format:
YouTube

Arthur Benjamin

2007-02-11T09:57:00.001-08:00

Arthur Benjamin, who has been on Grey Matters Videos here and here, is shown here creating a magic square. This is one of the more entertaining presentations of magic squares I've seen, especially with the back-and-forth rhythm when it's created.

This performance was done as part of the promotion for his new book, Secrets of Mental Math.

Video Format:
Revver

Isaac Duffy

2007-02-08T19:42:00.000-08:00

Here's 7-year-old Isaac Duffy, solving the Rubik's Cube in less than three and a half minutes!

Video Format:
YouTube

Nishant Kasibhatla

2007-02-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

From the show Shabaash India, we have Nishant Kasibhatla, who memorizes a 100-digit number created by the audience, with only 4 minutes of study!

If the last name sounds familiar, it's because he works with Anant Kasibhatla of Memory Vision.

This clip is both in Hindi and English, so it shouldn't be too hard to follow for native speakers of either language.

Video Format:
YouTube

George Tait

2007-01-31T15:05:00.000-08:00

This video clip shows George Tait performing the Knight's Tour, with a mind-reading twist. He starts by having Patrick Miller, the chess expert in the clip, think of a number from 1 to 64. George then proceeds to perform the Knight's Tour, finishing on the thought-of square!

This= clip is actually just one segment of episode 1 of Mind Tapped, his half-hour special series. You can see episodes 2 and 3 on George Tait's media page.

Video Format:
YouTube

Tim's Memorization Course

2007-01-18T20:36:00.001-08:00

“Tim”, also known as “Jediairmech” is not just demonstrating a memory feat, but teaching a memorization course. In these videos, you'll learn how to remember numbers using the Peg System. In the Mental Gym's Memory Basics section, you can learn more about the Peg System, as well as other memory techniques.

From the response to the first videos, it looks as though he is planning to make more Memorization Course videos, so I'll keep this playlist updated the new lessons are posted.

Video Format:
YouTube

iiSwanSongii

2007-01-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

“iiSwanSongii” has memorized the McDonald's Menu Song that was released in 1989, and recites it with her baby. Hmmm...you don't suppose Richard Troop is the father, do you?

Video Format:
YouTube

Dan Dzoan

2007-01-16T16:25:00.001-08:00

World records don't always stand for a long time. Dan Dzoan, on January 13, 2007, beat Ryan Patricio's record for one-handed Rubik's Cube solving by more than 2 seconds!

Video Format:
YouTube

Scott Flansburg

2007-01-16T12:42:00.001-08:00

Back when infomercials were in their infancy, there was an infomercial "series" called Amazing Discoveries, hosted by Mike Levey, also known as "The Sweater Man". The series featured a wide variety of products, including such Grey Matters Videos favorites such as Harry Lorayne and Arthur Benjamin.

The footage above is the first 10 minutes of the Amazing Discoveries ad that featured Scott Flansburg's mental math course.

Video Format:
YouTube

UCMAS

2007-01-16T12:13:00.001-08:00

UCMAS stands for Universal Concept of Mental Artithmetic System, and is a name for both the system itself and the Malaysian company which promotes the system. This CBS report demonstrates the amazing results that have been acheived with this system!

Video Format:
YouTube

Mike Byster

2007-01-12T10:16:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned over on Grey Matters early last month, 20/20 did a story on Mike Byster. This 20/20 segment has now been posted over on YouTube. This segment features several lightning calculation and memory feats.

Some more amazing math and memory feats can also be seen in the MikesMath Web Trailer.

Video Formats:
Google Video
YouTube

Extraordinary People: The Boy with the Incredible Brain

2007-01-11T17:04:00.001-08:00

I've written about Daniel Tammet before, but the clips included were only excerpts from the documentary, Extraordinary People: The Boy with the Incredible Brain. Finally, thanks to Google Video, I am able to bring you the documentary in full!

Video Format:
Google Video

Derren Brown

2006-12-31T14:45:00.001-08:00

Other than the Knight's Tour videos I've featured here and here, chess hasn't made much of an appearance on this blog.

Derren Brown, who has been featured once or twice before here, helps to remedy the situation. In the above video, he challenges 9 champion chess players simultaneously, and actually wins most of the games! He also predicts (mostly) the number of pieces that will be left on the board, too. Stick through to the end, and he'll actually explain part of the feat, as well.

In another Derren Brown video, he performs some amazing feats of memory with playing cards, as well. Be warned that there is some brief profanity in this video, however.

Video Format:
YouTube

lewisthemusician

2006-12-31T14:13:00.001-08:00

This memorizer, known as “lewisthemusician”, recites Pi to 56 digits!

Video Format:
YouTube

Maadhu Krishnan

2006-12-28T12:38:00.001-08:00

Young Maadhu Krishnan is only in preschool, yet he knows the capitals of all 50 states from memory!

Video Format:
YouTube

Tatiana Cooley, Scott Hagwood & Rajan Mahadevan

2006-12-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

This clip from the Discovery Channel features Tatiana Cooley, Scott Hagwood and Rajan Mahadevan, all of whom are top performers in the USA Memory Champoionships.

This clip is interesting, as it doesn't just focus on the memory feats themselves, but the methods behind the feats, as well.

Video Format:
YouTube

Andi Bell

2006-12-13T12:26:00.000-08:00

Back in 2003, the BBC featured a series of documentaries titled The Human Mind. In the first episode, Get Smart, they featured memory champion Andi Bell memorizing 10 decks of cards in 20 minutes, to the point where he can recall where each card is in each deck!

Video Format:
YouTube

Ari Gorman

2006-12-13T12:11:00.000-08:00

Meet Ari Gorman, who has a most unusual talent. He can speak, and even sing, backwards!

Video Format:
YouTube

Michel Gondry

2006-12-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

I've posted numerous Rubik's Cube videos before, preferring to post only the more impressive feats, such as solving it blindfolded, while juggling or behind the back.

Michel Gondry, however, puts the most unusual spin I've seen on the Rubik's Cube so far, by solving it with his feet!

Video Format:
YouTube

Making Millions The Easy Way

2006-12-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

So, did the title grab your attention? It's the title of this BBC video documentary, which is available free, courtesy of the BBC and Google Video. The video is 47 minutes and 46 seconds long, making it the longest video ever posted on Grey Matters Videos, so you may want to set aside some time to watch it.

The documentary concerns the MIT Blackjack team, and how they came together and eventually were able to win millions from Las Vegas casinos. There is also some great background on the history of card counting, including a talk with Edward Thorp, who is regarded as the father of card counting.

It can be a little too dramatic at times, but it's definitely worth watching in its entirety.

Video Format:
Google Video

Squaring Numbers In Your Head

2006-12-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

9999 Squared In Your Head! - video powered by Metacafe

This is a great approach to squaring large numbers mentally. Once you understand the concept of a reference number (referred to as a base number in the video), it's not hard to do mentally. You can practice with numbers up to 125 over at mathpath, too.

If you would like to learn to go the other direction, over at the Grey Matters Mental Gym, I can teach you how to extract cube roots, square roots and even fifth roots!

Video Format:
MetaCafe

David Mitchell

2006-12-02T10:14:00.000-08:00

OK, he's not quite at “Thrond”'s level yet, but David Mitchell already has the U.S. Presidents memorized, which is quite remarkable for his age!

Video Format:
YouTube

Thrond

2006-12-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

In “Thrond's” previous entry, he recites an impressive amount of memorized data. In his newest video, to which Ryan (his real name) alerted me in the comments of the earlier entry, he bests his previous feat. In addition to reciting all the books of the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments), all the books in the Book of Mormon, all 50 US States, the alphabet in reverse, and all 43 United States Presidents, he throws in every movie that has won the Oscar for best picture, too!

In this video, the list is pronounced clearer and is shown on screen, making it easier to follow and watch.

Video Format:
YouTube

Dominic O'Brien

2006-11-30T22:14:00.000-08:00

Dominic O'Brien is a memory expert primarily known for winning the World Memory Championships 8 times. In this video (embedding disabled by request of submitter), he is given a list of 51 items by representatives from Guinness World Records, and is able to recall them, all while blindfolded!

His much-sought-after book, How To Develop A Perfect Memory, is available as an e-book from Lybrary.com.

Video Format:
YouTube

Memorizing Pi to Music

2006-11-23T19:36:00.000-08:00

There have been numerous versions of the song American Pie, rewritten to be about Pi instead. The one I've seen go the furthest in terms of Pi digits, though, is Alex C. Thompson's version. A few viewings, and you'll know Pi to 30 digits!

If you're more ambitious, you can try this page which will help you sing it up to 191 digits! The music from this page comes from Hard n Phirm's Pi video, which is also available on Google Video and MySpace.

Video Formats:
Google Video
MySpace
YouTube

Richard Wiseman

2006-11-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

Richard Wiseman, in an appearance at The Amazing Meeting 4 (TAM4), creates a magic square, starting even before the number is named by someone in the audience!

If you would like to see more videos of magic square performances, check out Jon Stetson, Scott Xavier and me.

Video Format:
YouTube

64=65?!?

2006-11-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

This geometric appearance of a graph paper square uses the same basic principle as the Winston Freer Tile Puzzle, to which I linked earlier.

If these puzzles have you really stumped, you can find some great explanations and discussions of them by starting at the A Faulty Dissection (Java required) article and demonstration, over on the Cut The Knot site.

Video Format:
YouTube

Easy Mental Multiplication Trick

2006-11-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

Easy Mental Multiplication Trick - video powered by Metacafe

Here's an interesting and easy mental multiplication trick that involves nothing more than drawing lines!

Update (11/17/06): It's now also available on YouTube.

Video Formats:
MetaCafe
YouTube

Thrond

2006-11-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

This has to be one of the most amazing memory feats ever featured on Grey Matters Videos! “Thrond”, in less than 60 seconds, recites all the books of the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments), all the books in the Book of Mormon, all 50 US States, the alphabet in reverse, and all 43 United States Presidents from memory!

Video Format:
YouTube

littlegoot

2006-11-15T15:14:00.000-08:00

“littlegoot” is a rarity. Like the recently-featured “Claire”, she's one of the few female Pi memorizers I've ever run across. “Littlegoot” is able to recite an astounding 100 digits from memory!

Video Format:
YouTube

Simply Outrageous Math

2006-11-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

The Simply Outrageous Math video, which is also available on Google Video, is a short tutorial on various techniques to make some formerly complex mathematical problems easy enough to do in your head. While there are some techniques you'll recognize from the recent entry on Vedic math, there are plenty of new ones, as well.

Video Formats:
Google Video
YouTube

Claire

2006-11-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

“Claire”, in response to Nick Blunt's “I Eat Math” video, shows off her knowledge of Pi by reciting 30 digits from memory!

Video Format:
YouTube

Vedic Math

2006-11-09T14:15:00.000-08:00

No, the above presentation isn't technically a video. It's a presentation from SlideShare. What YouTube is to videos, SlideShare is to PowerPoint and OpenOffice presentations. Yes, Mac users can create presentations as well, using Keynote, or the Mac versions of the above packages.

This particular presentation teaches you how to square numbers ending in 5 in your head, and then how to use the same technique to mentally multiply numbers that are equidistant from the multiples of 5. To step through the presentation, simply use the two middle arrow keys to step back and forth through the presentation at your own pace.

If you like this mental math technique, you can also learn to do instant subtraction, multiply by 11 through 19, and divide by 9 in your head, too!

Video Format:
SlideShare

Ted Cooke

2006-10-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

This ad for Ted Cooke's memory improvement services features Mr. Cooke reciting the first 100 digits of Pi from memory. More information on the services themselves can be found over at TedCooke.com.

At this writing, it seems as if the site is still being constructed. The only option currently available for contacting the author is through the blog comments. However, the offered services are well detailed.

Video Format:
YouTube

Boris Konrad

2006-10-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

Boris Konrad is back! He's made another appearance on the German show “Wetten, dass..?”.

On this appearance, Boris memorizes 5 unsolved Sudoku puzzles before going on the air. In the clip, he is shown 100 solved Sudoku puzzles, and is given only 4 minutes to identify at least 4 of the 5 memorized puzzles among them!

Video Formats:
RealPlayer
Windows Media

Derren Brown

2006-10-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

In the above video, Derren Brown demonstrates his photographic memory in a library. First, he recalls a particular selected word from the Oxford English dictionary, and then memorizes a randomly selected book to the point where he can recall the first sentence from each page.

He also demonstrates his amazing memory in another video, this time using it to win at blackjack. This blackjack footage was also mentioned in an earlier entry in RealPlayer format.

Video Format:
YouTube

Tyson Mao: Rubik's Cube Behind the Back!

2006-10-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned Tyson Mao before, when he solved a Rubik's Cube at a Giants game. He's back, and this time he's solving a Rubik's Cube behind his back!

He also mentions that he taught Will Smith how to solve a Rubik's Cube for the upcoming movie The Pursuit Of Happyness.

Video Format:
YouTube

Richard Troop

2006-10-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Back in the late 80s and the early 90s, McDonald's ran one ad in which every item on the menu at the time was sung. Richard Troop remembers and can sing this jingle almost two entire decades later!

Video Format:
YouTube

Gaurav Rajav

2006-10-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

Over at CBS 4's Video Library, you can find footage of Gaurav Rajav, whom I've mentioned over at the Grey Matters blog both here and here.

This particular footage aired just after his first failed attempt at breaking the North American record for reciting Pi from memory. As you'll see from the links above, however, he did later go on to break it less than 3 months later.

Video Format:
Flash

Michael Larson

2006-10-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

I've featured Michael Larson on here before, having to remove the entry when the video itself was removed. Michael Larson is the person who, in 1984, figured out and memorized the sequences of the lights on the "Press Your Luck" game show. This enabled him to both avoid losing turns and rack up over $110,000 in prizes! This feat is especially incredible considering that even the top champions on any game show went home with only around $40,000.

Naturally, CBS poured over the show to determine if he was somehow cheating. They did figure out that he memorized the board, but the CBS standards and practices committee ruled that he was only using legitimate information and must be paid. They also decided that the computer program running the board needed to be overhauled before the next show.

The video is at YouTube, and is broken into Part 1 and Part 2. You can also see the footage in a single part on Google Video.

Video Formats:
Google Video
YouTube

Anant Kasibhatla

2006-10-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

This video features Anant Kasibhatla of the Indian company Memory Vision giving a lecture on memory technique in Malaysia. You can learn a great deal about the link system in this video, even though it's less than 12 minutes long. Once he gives the list of items to remember towards the end and reviews it, stop the video briefly and see if you can recall all of it!

Video Format:
Google Video

Aleka

2006-09-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

9-month-old “Aleka” can recognize names for parts of the body already! Now, I can only assume that she's recognizing the patterns of the written words (as opposed to truly reading), but being able to do that, and being able to mentally connect that to parts of her body at only 9 months is still quite impressive.

Video Format:
YouTube

Weird Al Yankovic

2006-09-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

If you're thinking it's been too long since I've last posted a music video on Grey Matters Videos, you're about to get your wish.

“Weird Al” Yankovic has just released a new video, entitled “White and Nerdy”, which fits well with much of this site. The song is from his new album “Straight Outta Lynwood”. If you're having any trouble figuring out the lyrics, they're available online, courtesy of Lyric Wiki.

You can also find “White and Nerdy” on Google Video, too.

For those who may not be familiar with it, this is a parody of Cham's Ridin' Dirty.

Video Formats:
Google Video
YouTube

Winston Freer Tile Puzzle

2006-09-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

This fascinating puzzle was developed by a mathematician and magician named Winston Freer. What makes this so interesting is that neither the pieces nor the frame change shape or size in any way. It's hard to believe, but the devious method behind this routine is purely mathematical.

The particular version you're seeing in this puzzle is commercially available from WoodenCigars.com.

Video Format:
Windows Media

YouTube Videos on iTunes/iPod!

2006-09-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

If you've been enjoying the YouTube videos of mind feats here, or any other YouTube video for that matter, you probably have at least one or two favorites that you'd like to watch over and over again without going online and searching for them. If so, the answer is here!

Two free programs have been recently released that allow you to download YouTube videos, and automatically encode them for playing on both iTunes and your video iPod.

For the Mac users, there's PodTube, which requires the use of Safari to function, since it checks for the frontmost Safari window containing a YouTube video. The Windows version, called iTube, can use any browser, but you must copy and paste the URL (web address) into iTube.

Towers of Hanoi

2006-09-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Towers of Hanoi is a classic puzzle with three pegs (“towers”). One one tower are stacked 3 or more discs, and the object is to move all of those discs to either of the other pegs, stacked in the same order. There are two restrictions: 1) You may only move 1 disc at a time, and 2) you cannot place any disc on top of a disc that is smaller than itself. Before watching any of the videos, try it here (Javascript required, opens in a new window).

At this writing, you can find 3 different videos of people solving the Tower of Hanoi puzzle on YouTube. The above video, featuring 7 discs, is the first. The second video, featuring 6 square plates, is in Spanish. Finally, if you have 1 second more (literally), you can see the third video, done as a stop-motion video with 6 onion rings from Red Robin!

Video Format:
YouTube

Gerry McCambridge

2006-08-31T15:52:00.000-07:00

While the Knight's Tour is a classic feat, it's not easy to find videos of it being performed. In fact, at this writing, the only other Knight's Tour video I've ever run across is the one featuring Xaver Neuhausler.

Lior Manor, whose own Knight's Tour routine I recently reviewed, recently alerted me to the above footage of Gerry McCambridge performing the Knight's Tour from his NBC special. Thanks again, Lior!

Video Format:
YouTube

Stefan Pochmann: Megaminx

2006-08-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

If you thought the Rubik's Cube was tough, imagine trying to solve a similar puzzle with twice as many sides! Megaminx is exactly that - a puzzle with 12 sides. Stefan Pochmann, whom I've mentioned on this blog before, is able to solve this in less than a minute and a half, as shown in this MySpace video, which is also available in a Windows Media version.

According to Speedcubing.com's list of unofficial world records, Stefan also holds the unofficial world record for fastest Megaminx average time over 10 tries!

Video Formats:
MySpace
Windows Media

Jessica Fridrich

2006-08-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Jessica Fridrich has a very special place of honor among Rubik's Cube solvers. She is the creator of the “CFOP” method (Cross, First 2 Layers, Orient Last Layer, Permute Last Layer) of speedsolving the cube. CFOP is the single most popular method used by speedsolvers of the Rubik's Cube.

Above, you see Jessica solving the Cube in 15.98 seconds, and there is another video of her solving it in 16.74 seconds, as well. No, these videos are not sped up, but the method she uses sure make it seem that way!

Video Format:
YouTube

Toby Mao

2006-08-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Toby Mao, on August 6th, 2006, in San Francisco's Exploratorium, solved a scrambled Rubik's Cube in only 10.48 seconds! This beats Leyan Lo's previous world record of 11.13 seconds.

There's another video of Toby's world record solve available, as well. This second one shows the solving process close-up.

Video Format:
YouTube

J. B. Cañares

2006-08-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

J. B. Cañares demonstrates his ability to solve the Rubik's Cube in less than a minute with only one hand!

Video Format:
YouTube

C. J. Karr

2006-07-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the weirder ways I've ever seen of solving the Rubik's Cube. C. J. Karr solves his cube while riding a bicycle! The camera operator is on a bicycle, also, so the solving itself can become impossible to see at some points, but it does make for some interesting and dynamic shots.

Video Format:
YouTube

Ryan Thompson

2006-07-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

It looks like Tony Fisher may have some competition. Ryan Thompson has come up with Rubik's Cube-type puzzles in the shape of a cylinder, a hexagon and an octagon.

Video Format:
Google Video

En-xi Xie

2006-07-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

This young lady from China, En-xi Xie, at only 3 years and 3 months of age, is giving solvers like Chun Hoo Ulf Wong, Sunwoo Ban and even Yui Tomita a run for their money!

She can solve the 2x2x2 Rubik's Cube, too.

Update (7/27/06): Here's another video of En-xi Xie solving a 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube.

Video Format:
YouTube

Anonymous Pi Reciter

2006-07-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

This anonymous Pi reciter, known only as idelwood's brother has the first 40 digits of Pi memorized. He should be careful, as this young child knows almost as many!

Video Format:
YouTube

Anssi Vanhala

2006-07-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

While maybe not as fast as Ryan Patricio, Anssi Vanhala is still very fast at solving the Rubik's Cube with one hand. He only takes 25.17 seconds!

Update (7/18/06): You can also see Anssi Vanhala solve a Rubik's Cube with his feet in world record time!

Video Format:
Google Video

Ryan Patricio

2006-07-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here's Ryan Patricio, who currrently holds the world record for one-handed Rubik's Cube solving, at 20.09 seconds!

Update (8/31/06): This same video is now available on YouTube, as well.

Video Formats:
Google Video
YouTube

Chris Hardwick

2006-07-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

Chris Hardwick, whose blinfolded Rubik's Cube videos I've referenced here and here, has posted some more interesting videos.

In these videos, Chris is solving the cube one-handed. First, there's a 44.98 second one-handed solution, followed by a 29.09 second one-handed solution! This is even faster than the Dave Campbell video I posted just two days ago!

Judging by the number of one-handed Rubik's Cube solving videos on YouTube, this form of challenge is becoming more and more popular!

Video Format:
YouTube

Triangular Peg Solitaire

2006-07-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

Triangular Peg Solitaire is a simple, classic puzzle that still has the power to confound. If you're not familiar with it, or it doesn't seem that difficult, try it for yourself (Javascript required).

In the above video, you see “Kenny” solving the puzzle at a Cracker Barrel in Pennsylvania.

Update (1/16/07): “Toby” can also solve the Triangular Peg Solitaire puzzle. “Thea”, after a few false starts, manages to solve the puzzle, as well.

Video Format:
YouTube

Dave Campbell

2006-07-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

This is Dave Campbell. Dave, much like T. Wright and Macky, can solve the Rubik's Cube one-handed. However, Dave's one-handed solve is the fastest I've seen!

Video Format:
YouTube

Arthur Benjamin: Mathemagics

2006-07-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

In my previous entry concerning Dr. Arthur Benjamin, I mentioned that I'd like to find his Mathemagics lecture. It's now been posted over on YouTube!

The complete lecture itself teaches how to improve your mental calculation skills, and is very clearly taught. These videos also came with audio tapes and a workbook, which are referred to in the videos. It's not hard to make up your own sample problems, however.

The above video is only the first of 11 parts. Here's an index for the complete set of Mathemagic video clips:

Part 1: Introduction, Adding 2- and 3-digit numbers
Part 2: Adding 2- and 3-digit numbers, Calculating tips, Subtracting 2- and 3-digit numbers
Part 3: Subtracting 2- and 3-digit numbers
Part 4: Subtracting 2- and 3-digit numbers, Multiplying 2- and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers
Part 5: Multiplying 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers, Percentages, Division of 2- and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers
Part 6: Division of 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers
Part 7: Multiplying fractions
Part 8: Multiplying, Adding and subtracting fractions, Converting fractions to decimals
Part 9: Converting fractions to decimals, Estimation, Squaring
Part 10: Squaring, Algebra
Part 11: Algebra, Fibonacci addition trick

Towards the end, there are a few times you are referred to the workbook for a more detailed explanation. Here are some links on the web that can give you the required explanations:

Converting fractions to decimals
The 1089 trick
How did Dr. Benjamin predict the result of digit #11 divided by digit #10?

Video Format:
YouTube

Mukkai Krishnamoorthy

2006-07-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Professor Mukkai Krishnamoorthy performs an amazing and amusing feat in this video. He recites the first 139 digits of Pi while juggling!

Video Format:
Google Video

Ramon Campayo

2006-07-04T10:58:00.002-07:00

Ramon Campayo is a memory trainer from Spain who has broken many records. The above video is a news report in Spanish concerning some of his record-breaking feats. Thanks to KUTV in Salt Lake City, Utah, we also have news footage of Ramon Campayo in English.

On Mr. Campayo's site, there are also many videos available concerning his memory feats. Even if you don't speak Spanish, most of them are not hard to follow.

Update (8/31/06): You can now find a large selection of Ramon Campayo's videos on YouTube.

Video Formats:
Flash
Google Video
QuickTime
Windows Media
YouTube

Tyson Mao

2006-06-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

If Tyson Mao looks familiar, it's because you probably know him from the “reality” tv show Beauty and the Geek 2. In this clip, he lives up to his title by solving a Rubik's Cube in front of a stadium full of San Francisco Giants fans, in less time than it takes him to sing the chorus from Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

Video Format:
YouTube

Sunwoo Ban

2006-06-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

It looks like I need to add 5-year-old Sunwoo Ban to my list of amazing kids. At 5 years and 3 months, he could solve the Rubik's Cube in under two minutes!

Speaking of lists of amazing kids and Rubik's Cube, there is now an unofficial list of the youngest Rubik's Cube solvers available.

Video Format:
YouTube

Grey Matters: Videos

Memorizing Pi to 100 Digits

Welcome Scam School Viewers!

Grey Matters Internet TV!

Charles Gauci

Jonathan Levit

Charles Gauci

OneManSho

David Öttinger

Florian Osmani

Boris Konrad

Fabrice Becker

Xaver Neuhäusler

Arthur Benjamin on TED

Susan Percy

Bob Gray

Garth Sundem

The Phantom Tollbooth

Computerman

LEGOs vs. Rubik's Cube

Will Smith

BBC: How To Improve Your Memory

2006 USA World Memory Championships

Blindfolded 5-Cube Solving

Alberto Dell'Isola

Abigail Cohen

TimwiTerby

Dominic O'Brien

Multiplying Two 3-Digit Numbers

Rob Paulsen

Full Video Index

James Martin

Scott Hagwood

Daniel Tammet

Rich Golden

Michael Tipper

Kim Peek

Arthur Benjamin

Isaac Duffy

Nishant Kasibhatla

George Tait

Tim's Memorization Course

iiSwanSongii

Dan Dzoan

Scott Flansburg

UCMAS

Mike Byster

Extraordinary People: The Boy with the Incredible Brain

Derren Brown

lewisthemusician

Maadhu Krishnan

Tatiana Cooley, Scott Hagwood & Rajan Mahadevan

Andi Bell

Ari Gorman

Michel Gondry

Making Millions The Easy Way

Squaring Numbers In Your Head

David Mitchell

Thrond

Dominic O'Brien

Memorizing Pi to Music

Richard Wiseman

64=65?!?

Easy Mental Multiplication Trick

Thrond

littlegoot

Simply Outrageous Math

Claire

Vedic Math

Ted Cooke

Boris Konrad

Derren Brown

Tyson Mao: Rubik's Cube Behind the Back!

Richard Troop

Gaurav Rajav

Michael Larson

Anant Kasibhatla

Aleka

Weird Al Yankovic

Winston Freer Tile Puzzle

Computerman

TimwiTerby

iiSwanSongii

Thrond

Thrond

littlegoot

Claire

Aleka

Weird Al Yankovic