Tech WondersPlay

Zone 20

Cipher Vault

Nine lessons of about three minutes each, every one with a live demo and a quick test.

  • Mind-Bending Math & Games×2
  • Codes, Cryptography & Blockchain×2
  • Energy, Heat & Motion
  • Inside the Computer
  • How Data Travels
  • Images, Screens & Games
  • Algorithms & Emergence
Play this zone
  1. 172Network MathematicsThe Friendship ParadoxYour friends probably have more friends than you do
  2. 173Electric VehiclesBraking Into the BatteryElectric cars recharge a little every time they slow down
  3. 174Game TheoryWinning at Rock-Paper-ScissorsHumans are bad at being random, and a machine can exploit it
  4. 175Binary ComputingThe Vote From Outer SpaceA cosmic ray may have added 4,096 votes in a Belgian election
  5. 176Network PerformanceFast Internet, Slow PagesBandwidth isn't speed; round trips add up
  6. 177Game PhysicsWhy Characters Fall Through WallsGames check for collisions in snapshots, and fast things slip between them
  7. 178Classical CryptographyThe Enigma Machine158 quintillion settings, changed every single day
  8. 179CodebreakingBreaking EnigmaIt fell to habits, guesses and a room full of machines
  9. 180AlgorithmsGreedy ChangeAlways giving the biggest coin usually works, until it doesn't