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All the Numbers - Numberphile

Numberphile · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Recreational & visual mathPure mathematicsComputability & complexity theory

What it is

Matt Parker talks Numberphile through the different kinds of numbers: algebraic, transcendental, computable, normal, and beyond. It shows how few numbers we can actually name or describe.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends it as an accessible explanation of number categories and why almost all numbers are unknowable.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2019, last 2025

What HN commenters said

  1. “Numberphile has an excellent video on the numbers we know about”

    Covers known numbers and the quest to define normal numbers

    ccvannorman, 2019-08 · Strong recommendation · in “Is e Normal?”

  2. “numberphile (math YouTube series) describing some related concepts here.”

    Explains related concepts about most numbers being unknown

    StrangeDoctor, 2019-03 · Recommendation · in “Calculating a record-breaking 31.4T digits of Pi with GCP”

  3. “here's a video that explains from the basics what kinds of numbers exist”

    Explains from basics what kinds of numbers exist

    mjlee, 2019-03 · Recommendation · in “Famous Transcendental Numbers”

  4. “Numberphile has a video explaining the relationship between the number categories”

    Explains relationships between number categories including Chaitin's Constant

    KboPAacDA3, 2020-01 · Recommendation · in “Chaitin's Constant”

  5. “I found Matt Parker's video to be a good way to visualize the fact”

    Visualizes that we know essentially 0% of numbers

    deepspace, 2020-08 · Recommendation · in “How real are real numbers? (2004)”

  6. “This video parallels the article, going further.”

    Parallels the article and goes further on unknown numbers

    gcanyon, 2025-02 · Recommendation · in “The number line freaks me out (2016)”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: transcendental numbers, normal numbers, computability, chaitin's constant, matt parker

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