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Transcript: What are the Chances?
(soft music plays)
An animated title against a sunny sky reads "TVOKids Power Hour of Learning."
In off, Laura says WELCOME TO
TVOKIDS
POWER HOUR OF LEARNING.
TODAY'S JUNIO LESSON:
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?
Spencer sits in a room full of objects. He is in his early thirties, with a short beard and brown hair. He wears glasses, a blue hoodie and headphones. He holds a puppet.
Spencer says HELLO AND GOOD AFTERNOON TO OUR
FRIENDS ACROSS ONTARIO
WATCHING TVOKIDS, AND FROM
AROUND THE WORLD,
WATCHING ONLINE.
WELCOME TO
TVOKIDS POWER HOUR.
MY NAME IS SPENCER DE MAN,
AND I TEACH IN HAMILTON
AT HUNTINGTON PARK
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
AND THIS IS MY BUDDY...
Rosco is a blue puppet with pink hair and a big purple nose. He wears a black, yellow and orange shirt.
With a deep voice, Rosco says "WAIT! WAIT, WAIT!
CAN-- CAN-- CAN I PLEASE
INTRODUCE MYSELF?"
Spencer says SURE, SURE, TAKE IT AWAY.
Rosco says "OKAY, OKAY, OKAY, HERE I GO.
"HI, HI, HI, MY FRIENDS.
"MY NAME IS ROSCO,
"AND-- AND-- AND-- AND I'M HERE
"WITH MR. DE MAN,
"TO HAVE LOTS OF FUN
WITH YOU TODAY!
"WE ARE GOING TO WATCH A SHOW
CALLED
MYSTERY FILES
"AND PLAY GAMES,
AND LEARN SOME MAGIC,
AND SO, SO, SO MANY
EXCITING THINGS!"
Spencer says THAT'S RIGHT, ROSCO!
TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LOTS
OF FUN WITH MATH.
Rosco yells "WHAT!? MATH?!
"BUT YOU TOLD ME WE WERE GOING
TO PLAY GAMES
AND MAGIC AND-- AND-- AND--."
Spencer says YES, ROSCO. ACTIVITIES LIKE
GAMES AND MAGIC TRICKS
NEED MATH, AND TODAY,
WE'RE GOING TO USE THEM
TO LEARN ABOUT PROBABILITY.
Rosco says "PROBABLY WHAT?"
Spencer says NO. NO, ROSCO, NOT "PROBABLY,"
"PROBABILITY."
PROBABILITY HELPS US FIGURE OUT
THE CHANCES THAT SOMETHING MAY
OR MAY NOT LIKELY HAPPEN.
LIKE, WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN
WHEN I FLIP THIS COIN?
Rosco says "OH, OH, OH, THAT'S EASY.
IT'S EITHER GOING
TO BE HEADS OR TAILS."
Spencer says OH, LET'S FIND OUT.
He flips the coin.
Rosco says "WHAT'D YOU GET?"
Spencer says IT'S TAILS.
Rosco says "OH, MAN! I WANTED HEADS!"
Spencer says WELL, WITH A COIN, THERE ARE TWO
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES.
WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN
IF I FLIPPED THE COIN
TEN TIMES IN A ROW?
Rosco says "OH, THAT'S EASY.
"IT WAS JUST TAILS,
SO NOW IT WILL BE HEADS,
"THEN TAILS, THEN HEADS, THEN
TAILS, THEN HEADS,
"THEN TAILS, THEN HEADS,
THEN TAILS, THEN HEADS,
THEN TAILS, THEN...
I THINK I DID THEM ALL."
Spencer says HMM...
MAYBE OUR FRIEND SHOULD TRY IT
AT HOME
AND SEE WHAT THEIR RESULTS ARE.
Rosco says "WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO?
"GRAB SOME PAPER, A PENCIL
AND A QUARTER,
AND FLIP IT TEN TIMES, AND WRITE
DOWN WHAT THEY GOT EACH TIME?"
Spencer says THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT
THEY SHOULD DO!
BUT THEY CAN USE ANY COIN, IT
DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A QUARTER.
AND WHILE THEY ARE GRABBING...
WHILE THEY ARE
GRABBING THEIR COIN,
PENCIL, AND A FEW
PIECES OF PAPER,
MAYBE THEY SHOULD ALSO TRY TO
FIND THREE DICE, SOME MARKERS
OR PENCIL CRAYONS, AND A RULER
FOR LATER IN THE SHOW.
BUT DON'T WORRY, IF YOU DON'T
HAVE SOME OF THOSE THINGS
NEARBY, YOU CAN
STILL FOLLOW ALONG
WITH WHAT WE DO HERE.
Rosco says "DO WE HAVE TO WAIT
FOR THEM?"
Spencer says YES, ROSCO, BUT WHILE WE WAIT,
LET'S WATCH THE BEGINNING OF
"THE MYSTERY OF GAMES,"
FROM TVOKIDS'
MYSTERY FILES.
Rosco says "AWESOME!"
A clip plays.
Kyla and E.B. hang in the basement.
Kyla reads the label on a drawer. She is in her teens. She has long dark straight hair and wears a floral dress over a green T-shirt.
E.B. is in his mid-teens with curly brown hair in an afro and he wears jeans and a striped T-shirt.
Kyla reads "EVERYTHING OLD..."
Kyla places the content of the drawer on the table.
E.B says ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE
WHAT CLUES HERMIONE LEFT.
WHAT'S THIS WEIRD BALL-THINGY?
AH, LOOK AT THAT!
THE LABEL SAYS "STUDIO DU CHATEAU."
Kyla says OHH! DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE GOING
TO GO VISIT A FRENCH CASTLE?
E.B says SADLY NO, 'CAUSE IT'S
A LOCAL NUMBER.
The number reads "555-0415."
Tilly is in her mid-forties. She has dark brown hair over her shoulders and wears a bright purple blouse.
Tilly says PUZZLING AND MYSTERIOUS.
THAT'S GREAT AUNT HERMIONE!
A portrait of aunt Hermione hangs on the wall. She is woman in her sixties with white hair and a hat.
E.B says MM-HMM.
Kyla says WHAT'S THIS?
SORT OF LOOKS LIKE
A CHESS PIECE.
Kyla holds a small horse piece.
E.B says YEAH. AND THIS...
OHH! KINDA LOOKS LIKE DICE.
Tilly says DEAR HERMIONE, WHAT WERE YOU
TRYING TO WRITE US
WITH THIS MYSTERY?
READY TO INVESTIGATE?
E.B. says OH, YES!
Kyla says LET'S DO THIS!
YES!
Music plays as the opening of the show rolls.
A song goes HISTORY IS FULL OF MYSTERIES
GREAT AUNT HERMIONE
COULD BE HEARD TO SAY
Aunt Hermione stands next to a knight's armour. She's in her fifties, with short white hair and wears glasses, beige trousers, a belted white short-sleeved shirt, an explorer's hat. She carries a cross-body bag.
The song goes YOU HAVE TO KNOW
WHAT CAME BEFORE
TO NAVIGATE THE WORLD TODAY
Clips show images of power lines, an abacus and a computer.
The song continues SHE WAS GOING TO WRITE A BOOK
CALLED "MYSTERY FILES."
TO TELL WHAT SHE UNCOVERED
BUT TIME RAN OUT
NEW ADVENTURES CAME FIRST
SO SHE LEFT HER SECRETS
UNDISCOVERED
She writes down notes on a notebook, holds a globe, travels by jeep, flies an airplane.
The song continues ALL SHE LEFT BEHIND
WAS A HOUSE FULL OF CLUES
BUT E.B. AND KYLA HAVE A PLAN
In the basement, a drawer in a chest opens and random objects come out.
The song continues THEY'RE GONNA SOLVE
EACH MYSTERY FILE
AND FINISH
WHAT HERMIONE BEGAN
THEY'LL SOLVE
E.B. and Kyla appear looking through Hermione's notes.
The song continues THE MYSTERY FILES
UNRAVEL ALL THE MYSTERIES
THEY'LL SOLVE
THE MYSTERY FILES
UPLOAD HIDDEN HISTORIES
THEY'LL SOLVE
THE MYSTERY FILES
E.B. and Kyla high-five.
The title of the show reads "The Mystery Files."
(music plays)
Walking down a hall, E.B. records a video and says I'M HERE AT A PLACE
CALLED STUDIO DU CHÂTEAU TO FIND
OUT ABOUT THIS WEIRD BALL.
THIS PLACE SURE ISN'T
A FRENCH CASTLE. I WONDER
WHAT THEY DO HERE.
WHOA!
E.B walks into a large studio set.
E.B says HEY, I'M E.B. NICE TO MEET YOU!
Ben is in his early thirties. He has brown hair and is clean-shaven. He's wearing a blue T-shirt and shorts.
Ben says HI E.B., I'M BEN.
NICE TO MEET YOU. WELCOME
TO STUDIO DU CHÂTEAU.
E.B says THANK YOU! THIS PLACE
IS, UH... PRETTY GREEN!
Ben says YEAH, WELL WE DO A LOT
OF DIFFERENT CAPTURES HERE FOR
MOVIES, TV SHOWS, VIDEO GAMES...
THAT SORT OF THING.
E.B says COOL! WELL,
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
Ben says I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS
IS. THIS IS A MOTION CAPTURE
MARKER. DO YOU KNOW
WHAT MOTION CAPTURE IS?
E.B says ISN'T THAT WHEN YOU
CAPTURE THE MOVEMENTS OF
A REAL PERSON SO THAT
VIDEOGAME'S MOVEMENTS ARE
MORE REALISTIC AND HUMAN-LIKE?
Ben says THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S EXACTLY
IT. AND WE'RE JUST SETTING UP
TO DO A MOTION CAPTURE SHOOT
RIGHT NOW. YOU WANT TO SEE?
E.B says NO WAY? YEAH!
Ben says YEAH? WANT TO DO IT YOURSELF?
E.B says CAN I ACTUALLY?
Ben says YEAH, YOU ACTUALLY CAN.
WE'VE GOT TO GET YOU SUITED UP
WITH A MOTION CAPTURE SUIT,
PUT A BUNCH OF MARKERS ON YOU,
BRING YOU BACK HERE AND
WE'LL SHOW YOU HOW IT WORKS.
E.B says OKAY.
Ben says OK. COOL. IT'S JUST THIS WAY.
E.B. puts on a black suit and cap.
E.B says I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT
AUNT HERMIONE WAS DOING WITH ONE
OF THESE MOTION CAPTURE MARKERS,
OR WHAT IT HAS TO DO WITH
"EVERYTHING OLD." BUT MAYBE
GETTING INTO THE ACTION
WILL HELP ME FIND OUT.
I'M READY! OH!
E.B. stands on a green room. He jumps and an animated version of himself does the same movement on a computer.
E.B. says HEY, LOOK AT THAT.
IT'S A PRETTY COOL SKELE... TON.
IT SEEMS A LITTLE FISHY
THAT THAT'S ME MOVING.
Ben says THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
E.B says OH, THAT'S SO COOL!
Ben says THAT MARKER THAT YOU FOUND,
ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER MARKERS
THAT THEY PUT ON THAT OUTFIT
THERE, IS WHAT ALLOWS US TO TAKE
THE MOTION THAT YOU'RE DOING AND
CAPTURE IT WITH THIS SOFTWARE.
E.B says NO WAY! THAT'S SO COOL.
ALRIGHT, SO MOTION CAPTURE
TO CAPTURE MY MOTION.
MAKES SENSE. SO,
WHERE'S THE CAMERA?
Ben says SO, ACTUALLY, THERE ARE
8 OF THEM. YOU SEE THOSE RED
CAMERAS UP ON THE TOP, THERE?
E.B says OH YEAH, I SEE THEM.
Ben says SO, EACH ONE OF THEM IS
SENDING MULTIPLE INFRARED BEAMS
THAT ARE BOUNCING OFF OF ALL
THOSE LITTLE MARKERS ON YOUR
BODY, AND THEN THE CAMERAS
ARE CAPTURING THE BOUNCE BACK
OF THAT INFRARED BEAM.
E.B. says AND THEN THAT'S TRANSFERRING
INTO THE COMPUTER, AND THEN
THAT'S DOING ALL THE WORK AND
THEN... BAM! I'M ON SCREEN.
Ben says YOU'VE GOT IT. CHANCES
ARE, IF YOU'VE SEEN A MOVIE OR
WATCHED A TV SHOW LATELY, THEY
USE EXACTLY THIS TECHNOLOGY TO
CAPTURE THE MOTION AND PUT IT
INTO THAT WORK. MOTION CAPTURE
IS USED EVERYWHERE.
E.B says THAT'S AWESOME.
YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE A DANCE!
E.B. moves his arms and hums.
Ben says DO IT.
(E.B. KEEPS HUMMING.)
THERE YOU GO!
E.B. does the moonwalk.
E.B says SPIN! OUH! DISCO!
THIS IS REALLY TIRING. OH YEAH.
DANCE. FLAILING THE ARMS.
(E.B. SIGHS.)
(APPLAUSE)
Now, E.B. records himself.
He says HERMIONE'S MYSTERY FILE
WAS LABELED "EVERYTHING OLD,"
SO MAYBE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO
WITH SUPER OLD VIDEO GAMES.
Next, Ben and E.B. sit talking.
E.B. says WHAT'S THE VERY FIRST GAME
TO EVER USE MOTION CAPTURE?
Ben says I'M PRETTY SURE THAT WAS
IN 1994,
RISE OF THE ROBOTS.
BEFORE THAT, IT WAS ALL DONE BY
HAND. BUT IN '94 THEY STARTED
THIS KIND OF TECHNOLOGY.
E.B says WHAT WERE GAMES LIKE
EVEN BEFORE MOTION CAPTURE?
Ben says WELL, ACTUALLY, I'VE GOT
ONE ON MY PHONE, HERE.
E.B says OH!
Ben says HAVE YOU HEARD OF PONG?
E.B says NO.
Ben says IT'S A VERY EARLY VIDEO GAME.
E.B says WHEN WAS IT MADE?
Ben says THIS GAME WAS MADE IN 1972.
E.B says REALLY?
Ben says NOW, PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE CELL
PHONES AND TABLETS BACK THEN.
THAT'S BEFORE I WAS BORN.
E.B. plays the game on Ben's phone.
Ben says THAT'S BEFORE I WAS BORN, TOO.
E.B says WELL, IF THEY DIDN'T
HAVE CELL PHONES OR TABLETS,
HOW DID THEY PLAY IT, THEN?
Ben says SO WHEN PONG WAS FIRST
MADE, YOU'D PLAY IT IN ON AN
ARCADE MACHINE, WHICH WAS LIKE
A STAND-UP MACHINE. YOU'D GO TO
A LAUNDRY MAT OR A VIDEO GAME
ARCADE. YOU'D PUT A QUARTER IN,
YOU'D PLAY THE GAME. THEN,
SOME YEARS LATER, IT WAS
PORTED TO HOME CONSOLES WHERE
YOU COULD ACTUALLY ATTACH IT
TO YOUR TELEVISION SET,
AND PLAY IT DIRECTLY AT HOME.
NOW, MANY YEARS LATER, HERE
WE HAVE IT ON OUR CELL PHONES.
E.B says AND NOW WE HAVE IT.
Ben says BACK THEN, THEY DIDN'T
HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CHARACTERS,
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT
FANCY 3D GRAPHICS AND MOTION
CAPTURE. IT'S LITERALLY JUST
A BALL BOUNCING BACK AND FORTH
ON THE SCREEN WITH 2 PADDLES...
ONE WHICH YOU CONTROL AND ONE
WHICH THE COMPUTER CONTROLS.
E.B. says YEAH. SO, PONG IS KIND OF
LIKE PING-PONG. SO, TECHNICALLY,
THE CREATORS OF THIS GAME TOOK
A GAME THAT ALREADY EXISTED
AND THEN MADE IT SOMETHING NEW.
A NEW DIGITAL VERSION.
A clip shows people playing ping-pong.
Ben says YEAH, SURE. I MEAN, VIDEO
GAME DEVELOPERS TAKE INSPIRATION
FROM THE REAL WORLD ALL THE
TIME. YOU'VE GOT SPORTS GAMES,
YOU'VE GOT CARD AND BOARD GAMES,
YOU'VE GOT ROLE-PLAYING LIVE
ACTION GAMES. THERE'S LOTS
OF DIFFERENT GAMES THAT EXIST
IN THE REAL WORLD AND ARE
TRANSLATED INTO VIDEO GAMES.
AND THOSE ARE THE GAMES
THAT WE PLAY EVERY DAY.
E.B says TRUE.
Aunt Tilly's computer beeps. The team has a conference call.
E.B. says HEY, YOU KNOW, I'M GETTING
PRETTY GOOD AT PONG.
Tilly says PUT YOUR PONG
ON PAUSE, PLAYER.
Kyla says I WANT TO GO
HEAD-TO-HEAD LATER, E.B.!
E.B says OH, YOU ARE ON!
Tilly says I GOT DEEPER INTO
THOSE OLD VIDEO GAMES BEN WAS
TALKING ABOUT. CHECK OUT SOME
OF THE ONES THAT WERE AROUND
EVEN BEFORE PONG.
ONE OF THE FIRST VIDEO GAMES
EVER WAS CALLED TENNIS FOR TWO,
CREATED IN 1958. IT RAN ON THIS
HUGE COMPUTER. THE BALL WAS JUST
A DOT. EACH PLAYER USED A KNOB
TO VOLLEY IT OVER THE NET.
E.B. says IT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE PONG.
Tilly says IT IS. BUT EVEN BEFORE
THAT, THERE WAS A COMPUTER
VERSION OF TIC-TAC-TOE CALLED
OXO. IT RAN ON AN EVEN BIGGER
COMPUTER CALLED EDSAC. AND
I MADE MY OWN VERSION, TIC-TAC-
TILLY. THAT WAY, EVEN WHEN I
LOSE, I WIN.
Tilly shows them the game she created on her computer screen.
Tilly continues ALSO, CHESS WAS THE
FIRST BOARD GAME TURNED INTO A
COMPUTER GAME, AROUND 1950. AND
YOU GUYS KNOW NINTENDO, RIGHT?
E.B. says YEAH. TOTALLY. OF COURSE.
NINTENDO, NINTENDO WII...
Kyla says SUPER MARIO BROS., ZELDA...
E.B says ALL THAT STUFF.
Tilly says WELL, I FOUND OUT THAT
THE COMPANY IS ACTUALLY MORE
THAN 120 YEARS OLD! NINTENDO
MADE PLAYING CARDS BACK THEN,
NOT VIDEO GAMES. HERE'S MY
FAVOURITE. I ALWAYS WANTED
MY FACE ON A PLAYING CARD.
Tilly clicks and shows a playing card that has her face. E.B. covers his eyes and shakes his head.
Kyla says SO WE KNOW THERE ARE
SOME REALLY OLD GAMES.
E.B. says YEAH. VIDEO GAMES WERE
MADE WAY BEFORE WE HAD XBOX,
PLAYSTATION, WII, HOME COMPUTERS
AND EVEN ARCADES.
Tilly says AND FROM WHAT WE'VE
DISCOVERED SO FAR, THOSE EARLY
VIDEO GAMES WERE ALL BASED
ON GAMES THAT ALREADY EXISTED!
Kyla says TRUE. LIKE CHESS!
MAYBE THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE OLD
CHESS PIECE CLUE! I'M ON MY WAY
TO MEET THE CHESS CHAMP NOW.
E.B says ALRIGHT. CHECKMATE YOU
LATER. GET IT, 'CAUSE IT'S
LIKE CHESS, AND YOU NEED TO
CHECKMATE... NO? OKAY, BYE.
The clip ends.
Rosco says "WOW! VIDEO GAMES AND LEARNING?
THIS IS AWESOME!"
Spencer says I KNOW, RIGHT?
AND I THINK IT'S
INTERESTING TO LEARN
THAT OUR FAVOURITE
VIDEO GAMES TODAY
ALL HAVE ROOTS IN REAL-WORLD
GAMES AND ACTIVITIES.
Rosco says "YEAH! I'VE BEEN PLAYING A LOT
"OF VIDEO GAMES LATELY,
BUT SOMETIMES,
"THE BIGGEST DISASTER STRIKES!"
Spencer says WELL, WHAT'S THAT, ROSCO?
Rosco says "WHEN THE BATTERIES RUN OUT!"
Spencer says OH, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A SIGN
THAT YOU NEED TO GET BACK
AND PLAY IN THE REAL WORLD
AGAIN, ROSCO.
Rosco says "I GUESS...
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?"
Spencer says WELL, WHY DON'T WE SEE
HOW OUR FRIENDS DID
WITH OUR COIN FLIP EXPERIMENT.
He pins the drawing of a bar graph on a black board.
He continues IT LOOKS LIKE OUR FRIEND TAWNYA
GOT FOUR HEADS AND SIX TAILS
WHEN SHE DID HER
EXPERIMENT AT HOME.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE ROGER
GOT SEVEN HEADS...
OH, THERE WE GO...
SEVEN HEADS AND THREE TAILS.
AND OUR FRIEND MARSHALL...
OH, LOOK, AND THEY BOTH
USED BAR GRAPHS!
THAT'S AWESOME!
AND MARSHALL HERE,
HE USED A LITTLE TALLY CHART
AND HE GOT... FIVE HEADS
AND FIVE TAILS.
THAT'S GREAT!
YOU ALL HAD SUCCESSFUL
PROBABILITY EXPERIMENTS!
Rosco says "UMM... WAIT. WAIT,
WAIT, WAIT. I--."
"I'M LOOKING AT THEIR ANSWERS,
"AND ONLY ONE LOOKS RIGHT TO ME.
"MARSHALL GOT EXACTLY FIVE HEADS
AND FIVE TAILS.
"HE IS RIGHT.
"BUT ROGER AND TAWNYA GOT
DIFFERENT ANSWERS!
THEY MUST BE WRONG."
Spencer says AHH... BUT YOU SEE, ROSCO,
THAT IS THE THING ABOUT
PROBABILITY.
IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN,
IT'S ABOUT HOW LIKELY
AND UNLIKELY
SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN.
Rosco says "OKAY...
UHH, I DON'T THINK
I QUITE GET IT, THOUGH."
Spencer says WELL, HOW ABOUT YOU
WATCH THIS LESSON
WITH OUR FRIENDS AT HOME,
AND SEE IF THAT HELPS?
Rosco says "OKAY!"
Spencer says TODAY, WE ARE LEARNING
ABOUT PROBABILITY.
He points to a written piece of paper pinned on the blackboard.
Spencer says PROBABILITY IS HOW LIKELY
OR UNLIKELY AN
OUTCOME WILL OCCUR.
NOW, WHEN WE FLIP
OUR COIN HERE,
WE CAN FIGURE OUT
THE PROBABILITY
BY USING A FRACTION.
WE CAN MAKE THE NUMERATOR,
OR THE TOP-- TOP NUMBER
THE DESIRED OUTCOME.
SO WITH OUR COIN HERE,
OUR DESIRED OUTCOME,
LET'S SAY, IS HEADS TODAY.
SO THAT MEANS THERE'S
JUST ONE DESIRED OUTCOME.
AND THEN OUR DENOMINATOR,
OR THE BOTTOM NUMBER,
THAT IS WHERE WE PUT ALL
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES.
SO AGAIN, WITH THE COIN,
IT WILL EITHER BE HEADS...
OOPS-- HEADS OR TAILS.
AND SO, THAT MEANS WE PUT A TWO
FOR THE BOTTOM NUMBER.
SO, WITH A COIN,
THE PROBABILITY,
OR THE CHANCES OF FLIPPING IT
AND COMING UP HEADS
IS ONE HALF,
OR 50 percent OF THE TIME.
NOW, WE CAN ALSO SHOW
THIS USING A DICE.
SO WHY DON'T I GET THAT UP NOW?
SO WE'RE GOING TO
TRY THIS WITH DICE NOW.
LET'S TAKE A QUICK
LOOK AT OUR DICE.
NOW THIS DICE, IT'S A CUBE,
AND IT HAS SIX SIDES
WITH THE NUMBERS ONE, TWO,
THREE, FOUR,
FIVE AND SIX ON IT.
NOW, LET'S SAY WE
WANT TO ROLL THE...
HMM, HIGHEST NUMBER.
THAT WOULD BE THE NUMBER SIX.
SO, OUR DESIRED OUTCOME OF SIX
WOULD BE JUST ONE,
'CAUSE THERE'S ONLY
ONE SIX ON THE DICE.
NOW, ALL THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
FOR OUR BOTTOM NUMBER HERE
WOULD BE ONE, TWO, THREE,
FOUR, FIVE AND SIX.
SO THAT IS SIX POSSIBLE
OUTCOMES.
SO, IT IS LIKELY THAT
WHEN I ROLL THIS DICE,
IT WILL COME UP AS SIX
ABOUT ONE EVERY SIX ROLLS.
NOW, WHAT IF THE DESIRED OUTCOME
WAS A DIFFERENT NUMBER?
LET'S SAY, UMM, THREE.
WELL, THERE'S STILL ONLY
ONE THREE ON THIS DICE.
AND THERE'S ALSO...
SO, WE STILL HAVE A ONE
FOR THE DESIRED OUTCOME.
AND AS WE SAW WITH THE SIX,
THERE ARE STILL SIX POSSIBLE
OUTCOMES,
SO AGAIN, THE PROBABILITY
IS ONE OVER SIX.
AND IT'LL ACTUALLY BE THE SAME
FOR EVERY SINGLE NUMBER
ON THE DICE.
Next, an empty graph appears on the board.
Spencer says NOW LET'S SEE HOW THINGS CHANGE
WHEN WE ADD ANOTHER DICE.
HERE'S A GRAPH SHOWING ALL THE
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
WHEN YOU ROLL TWO DICE.
WE HAVE, ON THE Y-AXIS,
THE ONE, TWO, THREE,
FOUR, FIVE AND SIX
THAT YOU CAN GET WITH DICE NUMBER 1,
AND ON THE X-AXIS, AGAIN,
ONE, TWO, THREE,
FOUR, FIVE AND SIX.
NOW, WHEN WE ROLL TWO DICE,
WE OFTEN ADD THE
TWO NUMBERS TOGETHER.
AND WE CAN DO THAT
ON THE CHART HERE
BY SEEING WHERE THE TWO NUMBERS
COME TOGETHER ON THE GRID.
SO HERE WE HAVE ONE PLUS ONE
IS TWO.
TWO PLUS ONE... THREE.
THREE PLUS ONE... FOUR.
THEN WE HAVE FIVE,
SIX AND SEVEN.
AND THEN WE CAN KEEP GOING
THROUGH,
SO WE HAVE TWO PLUS ONE
IS THREE,
AND THEN FOUR, FIVE, SIX,
SEVEN, EIGHT.
THREE PLUS ONE,
WE GO UP THIS WAY,
AND WE CAN SEE A BIT OF A
PATTERN COMING UP HERE TOO,
CAN'T WE? IT LOOKS
LIKE IT GOES FOUR,
FIVE, SIX, SEVEN,
EIGHT, NINE.
AND THEN WE HAVE-- IT LOOKS...
OH, TWO, THREE, FOUR...
AH, I GET THIS IS WILL BE
ONE PLUS FOUR. THAT IS FIVE!
EXCELLENT. FIVE, SIX,
SEVEN, EIGHT,
NINE, TEN.
Using a red market, he fills the chart.
Spencer says SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT,
NINE, TEN, ELEVEN.
AND LAST, WE HAVE SEVEN,
EIGHT, NINE,
TEN, ELEVEN,
AND WE HAVE A SIX AND A SIX,
THE HIGHEST ROLL IS TWELVE.
HEY, ROSCO, YOU'RE BACK!
Rosco says "YEAH, YEAH, I THINK I'M
STARTING TO GET IT NOW."
Spencer says GREAT! WELL, NOW OUR
CHART IS FILLED IN.
CAN WE USE THAT
TO FIND THE PRO...
AND WE CAN USE THAT TO FIND THE
PROBABILITIES FOR EACH ROLL.
WHAT NUMBER SHOULD WE
CHOOSE FIRST, ROSCO?
Rosco says "HMM... LET'S START
WITH NUMBER ONE!"
Spencer says HMM...
ROSCO, UHH, THERE'S NO ONE.
Rosco says "WHAT?! BUT-BUT-BUT, THERE'S...
THERE'S-- THERE'S ONES
ON THE DICE!
DID YOU MAKE A MISTAKE?"
Spencer says AHH, NO, I DON'T...
I DIDN'T MAKE A MISTAKE,
BUT LOOK AT THE CHART
A LITTLE CLOSER.
Rosco says "OHH, OHH, I'M SO SILLY.
"UMM-- UMM-- OF COURSE,
THERE'S TWO DICE,
SO THE SMALLEST NUMBER
HAS TO BE TWO."
Spencer says OKAY, SO LET'S THINK
ABOUT OUR PROBABILITY,
WHAT WOULD OUR TOP NUMBER
BE FOR THE ROLL OF TWO?
Rosco says "UMM, WELL,
"UMM, THERE'S ONLY...
ONE WAY TO ROLL A TWO."
Spencer says YEAH, I CAN SEE
THAT RIGHT THERE,
I'M PUTTING THIS
LITTLE MAGNET THERE.
Rosco says "AND-- AND-- AND-- HOW DO I
FIGURE OUT
THE BOTTOM NUMBER AGAIN?"
Spencer says WELL, WHAT WE CAN DO IS COUNT
EVERY SINGLE SQUARE
ON OUR GRID HERE,
AND THAT WOULD TELL US
ALL THE POSSIBLE ROLLS.
Rosco says "OHH. HEY, HEY, HEY, I KNOW...
"I KNOW THIS, I KNOW THIS.
"UMM, I CAN SEE THAT
IT IS SIX HIGH
"AND-- AND-- AND IT
GOES SIX ACROSS.
"SO I CAN FIGURE OUT
MANY SQUARES THERE ARE
"BY USING MULTIPLICATION!
"SO-- SO-- UMM-UM-UMM,
"SIX TIMES SIX IS,
"UHH, THIRTY... SIX!
"YEAH, YEAH! 36!
"UMM-UMM-UMM, AND...
"AND SO IT WOULD BE ONE OVER 36
THE CHANCES OF ROLLING A TWO!"
Spencer says EXACTLY!
AND WE CAN KEEP GOING ACROSS
AND SEE THE CHANCES FOR THE
DIFFERENT NUMBERS.
Rosco says "YEAH?"
Spencer says YEAH! SO FOR THREE,
THERE'S TWO THREES, SO WE KNOW
IT'S TWO OVER 36.
THERE ARE... THREE FOURS,
SO THAT WOULD BE THREE OVER 36.
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE,
FOR THE FIVES,
FOUR OVER 36.
FOR THE SIX, WE WOULD HAVE...
FIVE OVER 36.
Rosco says "OH, I'M STARTING TO GET THIS!
"SO SEVEN WOULD BE SIX OVER 36.
"AND EIGHT WOULD BE
SEVEN OVER 36.
AND NINE WOULD BE
EIGHT OVER 36."
Spencer says AH, AH! WAIT JUST
A SECOND, ROSCO.
LOOK AT THE CHART.
Rosco says "OHH! AGAIN, I NEED TO LOOK MORE
CLOSELY AT THINGS.
"UMM, YEAH, YEAH, I SEE NOW.
"EIGHT ACTUALLY HAS LESS THAN
SEVEN.
"AND THEN NI-- HEY, IT ALL GOES
DOWN AGAIN,
UNTIL THERE'S ONLY ONE CHANCE
FOR THE TWELVE!"
Spencer says YEAH. SO USING
A GRAPH LIKE THIS,
WE CAN FIGURE OUT AND
USE THOSE PROBABILITIES,
UMM, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ROLLS
MIGHT COME UP MORE OFTEN.
Rosco says "THAT'S AWESOME!
"WOW, THAT'S-- SO THAT'S...
"THAT'S THE ODDS
FOR EVERY DICE ROLL?
"WE SHOULD PLAY SOME GAMES.
I'LL WIN ALL THE TIME NOW!"
Spencer says BUT WILL YOU, ROSCO?
LET'S HAVE OUR FRIENDS AT HOME
DO ANOTHER PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENT. SO...
Rosco says "WELL, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?"
Spencer says WELL, THEY SHOULD
CREATE A TALLY CHART
WITH THE NUMBERS FROM ONE TO...
SORRY, TWO TO TWELVE
ACROSS THE TOP,
AND THEN YOU CAN ROLL
YOUR PAIR OF DICE 36 TIMES,
'CAUSE THAT'S HOW MANY DIFFERENT
POSSIBILITIES THERE ARE,
AND RECORD THE RESULTS YOU GET.
AND WE CAN FIND OUT IF THE
RESULTS MATCH THE GRAPH.
Rosco says "OHH! AND-- AND-- AND WHILE
THEY'RE DOING THAT,
CAN WE WATCH MORE OF
'THE MYSTERY OF GAMES'?"
Spencer says SURE, ROSCO! THAT SOUNDS LIKE
A GREAT IDEA!
A clip plays.
Kyla says I'M MEETING QIYU. SHE'S
THE REIGNING WORLD YOUTH CHESS
CHAMPION FOR GIRLS UNDER 14.
QIYU STARTED PLAYING WHEN
SHE WAS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD.
SHE TRAVELS TO TOURNAMENTS ALL
AROUND THE WORLD, AND SOMETIMES
SHE HAS TO PLAY FOR 5 HOURS
STRAIGHT AGAINST PLAYERS
WHO ARE MUCH OLDER THAN SHE IS.
AND SHE VERY OFTEN WINS.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HER ABILITY
TO CONCENTRATE ON STRATEGY.
A clip shows Qiyu playing chess against a middle-aged man.
Qiyu leans out a door and says COME ON IN, IT'S RAINING!
Kyla walks into Qiyu's house.
Kyla says WHOA, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
MY NAME'S KYLA,
NICE TO MEET YOU.
Qiyu has black hair in a ponytail and wears a black and white dotted dress.
Qiyu says NO PROBLEM. HI!
I'M QIYU. NICE TO MEET YOU TOO.
Kyla says THIS IS REALLY COOL!
A huge chess game sits on the floor.
Qiyu says OH, THANK YOU. IT'S NOT
USUALLY IN MY LIVING ROOM.
IT'S USUALLY OUT ON OUR LAWN,
BUT IT'S POURING.
Kyla says I WAS HOPING YOU COULD
HELP ME SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.
I HAVE THIS OLD CHESS PIECE,
AND I THINK IT MIGHT BE
CONNECTED TO VIDEO GAMES.
Qiyu says YEAH,
IT'S DEFINITELY A CHESS PIECE.
IT'S DEFINITELY A KNIGHT, TOO.
Kyla says DO YOU KNOW WHERE
IT COMES FROM, BECAUSE
IT SEEMS SUPER OLD.
Qiyu says WELL, I'M NOT SURE WHERE
THIS SPECIFIC PIECE COMES FROM,
BUT I DO KNOW THAT CHESS IS A
VERY OLD GAME. CHESS EVOLVED
FROM AN OLDER GAME CALLED
CHATURANGA. IT WAS PLAYED IN
INDIA ABOUT 1,500 YEARS AGO.
Kyla says 1,500 YEARS OLD!
NOW THAT'S OLD. I THINK CHESS
FITS RIGHT INTO HERMIONE'S
"EVERYTHING OLD" CATEGORY.
A series of pictures show old paintings of chess players.
Kyla says WHAT DO YOU THINK CHESS HAS TO
DO WITH OTHER KINDS OF GAMES,
LIKE VIDEO GAMES?
Qiyu says WELL, CHESS AND VIDEO
GAMES ARE BOTH STRATEGIC,
SO YOU KIND OF PLAY AGAINST
OTHER PEOPLE AND YOU HAVE TO
ANTICIPATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING
NEXT, AND WHAT THE OPPONENT
IS DOING NEXT.
SO THEY'RE BOTH STRATEGIC.
SO, DO YOU PLAY CHESS?
Kyla says YEAH, A BIT. I WAS IN
THE CHESS CLUB A FEW YEARS BACK.
Qiyu says OH, THAT'S REALLY GOOD!
Kyla says YEAH. NO BIG DEAL.
KYLA LAUGHS.
Qiyu says YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME?
Kyla says WORLD CHAMP?
SURE, WHY NOT?
They play the floor chess. They start moving pawns.
Kyla says DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PIECE?
Qiyu says I MEAN, I KIND OF LIKE
ALL THE PIECES. AND THEN THERE'S
THE KNIGHT. HE'S KIND OF, LIKE,
REALLY TRICKY. HE CAN JUMP OVER
OTHER PIECES. SO, KIND OF
UNEXPECTED. BUT I THINK MY
FAVOURITE WOULD BE THE QUEEN,
FOR SURE, BECAUSE SHE'S REALLY
MAJESTIC AND SHE'S POWERFUL,
AND SHE MOVES LIKE A BISHOP AND
ROOK COMBINED. SO SHE'S THE MOST
POWERFUL PIECE ON THE BOARD.
Kyla says IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE
CHESS PIECES ARE AN ARMY, AND
THE BOARD IS THEIR BATTLEFIELD.
Qiyu says YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
Kyla says CHESS AND THIS VIDEOGAME
I PLAY CALLED CIVILIZATION SEEM
REALLY SIMILAR. IN THE VIDEO
GAME YOU HAVE YOUR ARMY.
EVERYBODY HAS THEIR STRENGTHS
AND WEAKNESSES, AND YOU HAVE
TO PLAN YOUR MOVES TO DEFEAT
THE ENEMY. SAME KIND OF
STRATEGY GAME, RIGHT?
Qiyu says YEAH, VERY SIMILAR TO CHESS.
Kyla says I TRIED AND TRIED TO GET
QIYU'S KING IN CHECKMATE. BUT
SHE EVADED ME EASILY AND PUT MY
OWN KING IN JEOPARDY OF BEING
CAPTURED NUMEROUS TIMES.
A fast motion clip shows them playing chess.
Kyla continues BUT, JUST BECAUSE QIYU IS THE
WORLD CHESS CHAMPION DIDN'T
STOP ME FROM MAKING EXCUSES
ABOUT LOSING.
Qiyu says AND THAT'S CHECKMATE.
Kyla says SERIOUSLY?
Qiyu says YEAH.
Kyla says THE ISSUE IS DEFINITELY
THE BOARD. IT JUST THREW OFF
MY GAME. IT'S WAY TOO BIG.
Qiyu says OH, DEFINITELY! I'M SURE
ABOUT THAT. IF WE PLAYED ON
A REGULAR SIZED CHESSBOARD,
THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT?
Kyla says OH, YEAH.
Qiyu says YEAH?
Kyla says JUST A BIT.
Qiyu grabs her cell phone.
Kyla says OH, SORRY. DO YOU HAVE
TO DO SOMETHING?
Qiyu says OH NO, DON'T WORRY
ABOUT IT. I WAS JUST PLAYING
CHESS ONLINE. IT WAS
MY TURN TO MAKE A MOVE.
Kyla says WAIT A SECOND,
I THINK I'M ON TO SOMETHING.
Kyla phones Tilly.
Tilly says HEY, KYLA!
E.B says HEY.
E.B. connects to the call.
Kyla says HEY, YOU GUYS. I JUST
REALIZED SOMETHING. CHESS IS AN
OLD GAME BASED ON AN EVEN OLDER
GAME. AND NOW WE HAVE ONLINE
CHESS AND VIDEO GAMES LIKE
CIVILIZATION THAT ARE LIKE
A DIFFERENT FORM OF CHESS.
E.B says THAT'S COOL, BUT
WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO
WITH "EVERYTHING OLD."?
Tilly says OH, I CAN'T BELIEVE
THIS DIDN'T CLICK WITH ME
BEFORE! OH TILLY, REALLY! YOU
SHOULD LEARN TO FOCUS AND USE
YOUR ENERGY FOR GOOD INSTEAD OF
GETTING ALL DISTRACTED AND...
E.B says COME ON, TELL US!
Kyla says SPILL IT!
Tilly says IT'S A SAYING,
"EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN."
Kyla says BUT... OLD AND NEW?
IS THAT WHAT HERMIONE MEANT?
E.B. says IT'S STARTING TO MAKE
SENSE WITH OUR MYSTERY. ALL
GAMES GOT MODERNIZED WITH
MOTION CAPTURE, AND CHESS
GOT MODERNIZED WITH COMPUTER
VERSIONS. I BET I CAN MAKE AN
EVEN COOLER VERSION OF CHESS.
I'LL POST WHEN I'M DONE.
Tilly says HANG ON! WELL, HE'S
OFF. I'LL GET BACK TO YOU
ON THAT LAST CLUE, KYLA.
Kyla says STANDING BY.
The call ends.
E.B says YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE
TO HAVE A CHESS BOARD. DO YOU
GUYS HAVE A CHESS BOARD?
Ben says YEAH, I THINK WE COULD
PULL UP A CHESS ASSET HERE.
They look at a computer screen.
E.B says OH, IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!
Ben says WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PUT
ON IT, THOUGH? THAT'S THE THING.
E.B says OH...
Ben says SO WE'VE GOT, LIKE,
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
Ben shows a picture of a robot on a tablet.
E.B says OH, PERFECT.
Ben says YEAH?
E.B. says WE NEED TO NAME IT, THOUGH.
Ben says WALLY.
E.B says SURE, WHY NOT?
A young woman places blue tape on the green floor of the studio to create a chessboard.
Ben says START OVER ON THE LEFT,
THERE. WE'LL DO SOME MOVES.
E.B says I WANT THE ROBOT TO DO
A LITTLE HOP AND WHEN HE JUMPS,
A NICE FLAP IN THE AIR.
Ben says ALRIGHT. BUT THE FIRST
TIME, JUST ONE SQUARE. OKAY?
E.B says ALRIGHT. READY?
Ben says YEAH.
E.B. jumps and the animated robot imitates him.
E.B says HOW WAS THAT?
Ben says GOOD. NOW DO IT DIAGONALLY.
E.B says COOL. OKAY.
Ben says YEAH. COOL.
DO SOME CRAZY ATTACKS.
E.B says I'M READY.
HOW ABOUT A FLYING
DOUBLE ARM CHOP?
Ben says ALRIGHT.
E.B says FLYING DOUBLE ARM CHOP!
Ben says COOL. MAYBE WE COULD DO
THE JUMP SPIN IN ONE DIRECTION
AND THE DOUBLE ARM CHOP
IN THE OTHER.
E.B says OH, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. JUMP
SPIN! DOUBLE ARM FLYING CHOP!
Ben says THAT'LL DO.
E.B says EVEN IN A VIDEO GAME
VERSION, IF YOU KEEP THE SAME
RULES AS CHESS, YOU CAN GIVE
THE PIECES MORE PERSONALITY
AND COOL POWERS.
The clip ends.
Rosco says "WOW! CHESS IS SO COOL!"
"I WANT TO PRETEND I'M A KNIGHT,
AND JUMP OVER EVERYONE."
Spencer says YEAH, CHESS IS A GREAT GAME.
AND IT'S NOT TOO HARD TO LEARN,
BUT CAN TAKE YEARS OF PLAYING
AND PRACTICE TO BECOME
AN EXPERT PLAYER.
Rosco says "UM, UM, HOW MANY DICE TO YOU
NEED FOR CHESS?"
Spencer says ACTUALLY, ROSCO, CHESS DOESN'T
USE ANY DICE AT ALL.
IT'S NOT SO MUCH A GAME ABOUT
PROBABILITY,
IT'S A GAME WHERE YOU USE
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
TO TRICK YOUR OPPONENT INTO
LOSING PIECES.
Rosco says "OH, WOW THAT SOUNDS...
THAT SOUNDS SNEAKY."
Spencer says YEAH. IT CAN BE.
BUT SINCE YOU MENTIONED DICE,
WHY DON'T WE CHECK IN WITH SOME
OF OUR FRIENDS AND SEE
HOW THEIR TWO DICE PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENT WENT.
Rosco says "OKAY."
Spencer says SO, FIRST, LET'S LOOK AT HOW
MARSHALL DID.
He shows a chart on a small piece of paper.
Spencer says SO, WE SEE HIS RESULTS THERE.
THEY'RE KIND OF-- THEY KIND OF
ALIGN WITH IT HERE.
SO, LET'S JUST WRITE HIS RESULTS
INTO OUR CHART.
He copies the results on a bigger chart on the board.
Spencer says HE GOT NO TWOS AT ALL.
HE GOT THREE THREES,
FOUR FOURS, THREE FIVES,
SIX SIXES,
EIGHT SEVENS,
TWO-- OH, SORRY, FOUR EIGHTS,
TWO NINES, TWO TENS,
FOUR ELEVENS
AND ZERO TWELVES.
AND THEN, OUR FRIEND TAWNYA.
OH, OKAY, IT LOOKS LIKE
SHE GOT...
OH, SORRY, THERE'S TAWNYA'S
WORK, MY FRIENDS.
SHE GOT, ONE TWO, ONE THREE,
THREE FOURS,
FIVE FIVES,
THREE SIXES-- OH, DON'T WRITE
THE WRONG NUMBER THERE.
THREE SIXES, SIX SEVENS,
FOUR EIGHTS,
OH, JUST LIKE MARSHALL.
FIVE NINES, FOUR TENS,
TWO ELEVENS AND TWO TWELVES.
AND THEN, LAST WE HAVE
MY FRIEND ROGER.
AND WE'LL THROW HIS RESULTS INTO
THE CHART AS WELL.
HE GOT, THREE TWOS,
TWO THREES, THREE FOURS,
THREE FIVES, SIX SIXES,
FOUR SEVENS, FIVE EIGHTS,
FOUR NINES, FOUR TENS,
ZERO ELEVENS,
AND TWO TWELVES.
OH...
Rosco says "OH, OH, YOU'RE DROPPING STUFF,
YOU SHOULD PUT THAT BACK."
Spencer says OKAY, JUST A SECOND, ROSCO,
IT'S OKAY.
IT'S... IT'S TRICKY SOMETIMES.
Rosco says "OH, OKAY.
OKAY, OKAY, RIGHTY."
"OKAY, UM, UM, WOW.
"THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
"IT LOOKS LIKE SOME OF THE
NUMBERS CAME UP AS WE EXPECTED,
BUT OTHERS DON'T LOOK RIGHT."
"'CAUSE THERE SHOULD ONLY
BE UM, UM, UM,
"SIX SEVENS,
AND MARSHALL GOT EIGHT,
AND, AND, AND..
ROGER ONLY GOT FOUR."
"BUT WAIT.
IS THIS LIKE
THE COIN FLIP AGAIN?"
Spencer says EXACTLY, ROSCO.
JUST LIKE THE COIN PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENT,
WE MIGHT NOT GET THE RESULTS
THAT EXACTLY MATCH
THE LIKELY OUTCOMES.
Rosco says "YEAH! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH,
THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT.
"YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
"SO, THAT'S WHY ROGER GOT THREE
TWELVES,
EVEN THOUGH, WE WERE ONLY
EXPECTING HIM TO GET ONE."
Spencer says EXACTLY.
AND WITH PROBABILITY, THE MORE
TIMES WE DO AN EXPERIMENT,
THE CLOSER OUR RESULT WILL GET
TO WHAT WE EXPECT.
SO, IF WE ADD ALL OF THESE
NUMBERS TOGETHER,
WHAT WE SHOULD SEE IS THAT
THE NUMBERS AT THE SIDES
SHOULD BE THE SMALLEST AND IN
THE MIDDLE, THE LARGEST.
DO YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN I ADD THEM UP?
Rosco says "YEAH, FOR SURE!"
Spencer says OKAY, SO FOR OUR TWO, WE HAVE
ZERO PLUS ONE, PLUS THREE,
IS FOUR.
THEN FOR THREE WE HAVE THREE
PLUS ONE, PLUS TWO...
IS SIX.
THEN FOR FOUR, WE ADD THESE WE
GET TEN.
FOR THE FIVE WE GET 11.
FOR THE SIX, WE GET 15.
FOR THE SEVEN,
WHOA, WE GET 18.
FOR THE EIGHT, OH,
IT GETS SMALLER, 13.
ELEVEN FOR NINE.
TEN FOR TEN, OH THAT'S
INTERESTING.
SIX FOR 11 AND FOUR FOR 12.
SO, YOU CAN SEE OUR SMALLEST
NUMBERS ARE HERE AT THE END.
AND THEY GET LARGER AS THEY GO
INTO THE MIDDLE,
AND THE LARGEST NUMBER,
LIKE WE EXPECTED,
IS THE NUMBER FOR THE AMOUNT OF
ROLLS FOR SEVEN.
Rosco says "WOW!"
"SO, SO, SO, IT'S TRUE."
"IF YOU LOOK AT THE TWO AND
THE 12, THEY'RE THE LOWEST,
"AND THERE IT IS SEVEN HAS 18,
THE HIGHEST.
"THAT'S AWESOME!"
Spencer says THAT'S PROBABILITY, ROSCO.
NOW, WE'VE DONE PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENTS USING COIN FLIPS
AND DICE, HOW ABOUT WE TAKE A
BREAK
AND CREATE A PIECE OF ART
USING PROBABILITY.
Rosco says "WHAT?"
"WE CAN DO MATH AND ART
AT THE SAME TIME NOW?"
Spencer says YOU BET!
NOW WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHILE I
SHOW OUR FRIENDS AT HOME
WHAT THEY CAN DO.
Rosco says "SOUNDS GREAT!"
Spencer says OKAY, MY FRIENDS, NOW WHAT
YOU'RE GOING TO NEED
IS A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER,
A PENCIL,
AND A RULER TO GET STARTED
AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO NEED
SIX DIFFERENT COLOURS OF CRAYONS
OR MARKERS OR PENCIL CRAYONS, OR
WHATEVER YOU HAVE AROUND.
I FOUND-- THIS IS WHAT I HAD
AROUND THE HOUSE,
SO I HAVE RED, GREEN, BLUE,
PURPLE,
BLACK, AND A YELLOW HIGHLIGHTER.
SO THE FIRST THING YOU WANT TO
DO IS WE WANT TO MAKE A GRID
OF EQUAL SIZED SQUARES ON YOUR
PIECE OF PAPER.
AND THERE'S A BIT OF A TRICK TO
DO THIS,
IF YOU JUST WANT TO USE THE
WIDTH OF YOUR RULER
TO FIGURE OUT YOUR SIZE
OF YOUR SQUARES.
SO I CAN PUT MY RULER THERE,
DRAW THE LINE DOWN,
MOVE IT ONTO THAT LINE,
DRAW IT DOWN.
AND I CAN KEEP DOING THAT, I CAN
DO THE SAME THING ACROSS.
AND I'M GONNA DO ACROSS HERE,
AND I CAN KEEP GOING UP.
AND THEN EVENTUALLY, I WILL FILL
UP THAT WHOLE PIECE OF PAPER
OR AS MUCH OF THE PAPER
AS I WANT TO
AND I WILL END UP WITH SOMETHING
THAT LOOKS A LITTLE BIT LIKE...
THIS.
NOW LET'S DO MINE UPSIDE DOWN,
THAT WILL HELP.
SO WE HAVE OUR PIECE OF PAPER
ALL READY NOW
AND I'M GOING TO KEEP THE OTHER
PIECE THERE
BECAUSE IT CAN HELP US GET THIS
TOTALLY RIGHT.
OH, JUST GONNA FIX MY
BOARD HERE.
THERE WE GO.
SO NOW YOU'RE GOING TO
TAKE YOUR DICE,
AND YOU WANT TO CHOOSE A COLOUR
TO REPRESENT
ALL THE DIFFERENT SIDES. SO
THAT'S WHY I NEED SIX COLOURS,
'CAUSE THERE ARE SIX SIDES
TO THE DICE.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO WRITE THE
NUMBER IN THE COLOUR BESIDE.
SO I WANT RED TO BE ONE.
I'LL MAKE GREEN TWO.
I'LL MAKE YELLOW THREE.
I'LL MAKE, LET'S SEE, FOUR CAN
BE BLACK.
FIVE CAN BE BLUE.
AND I'LL MAKE SIX PURPLE.
SO NOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO
IS I'M GOING TO ROLL MY DICE.
SO I'M GONNA ROLL IT, I'M
ROLLING IT RIGHT NOW.
I GOT A ONE.
AND BECAUSE I GOT A ONE, IT
MEANS I NEED TO FILL IN
ONE OF THOSE SQUARES THE
COLOUR RED.
NOW YOU CAN FILL IN ANY
SQUARE YOU WANT,
BUT I'M GOING TO START, KINDA,
I'M GONNA MAKE MINE
KIND OF LIKE I'M WRITING A
PARAGRAPH,
GOING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT AND
THEN DOWN THE PAGE.
AND I'M GOING TO DO THIS A
LITTLE FAST RIGHT NOW
CAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE
TO SPEND TOO, TOO LONG,
BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO TAKE
FOREVER. SO HERE WE GO.
SO I DO MY FIRST ONE WITH A NICE
BIT OF RED HERE.
AND THEN I CAN ROLL THE DICE
AGAIN, AND I GOT A FIVE.
AND MY FIVE I CAN SEE IS BLUE,
MAKE THEM KINDA LIKE, SCRIBBLY,
KINDA CARTOONY FUN.
AND THEN I ROLL AGAIN. AND I
GOT ANOTHER FIVE!
WOW, SO WE'VE GOT TWO BLUE
IN A ROW NOW.
THIS IS HOW IT MAKES IT
INTERESTING BECAUSE WE DON'T
REALLY KNOW, WE KNOW WE'LL USE
THE SIX COLOURS
BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ORDER
OF THEM WILL BE.
FOR INSTANCE, I JUST ROLLED
ANOTHER FIVE!
THAT'S SO MANY IN A ROW!
THE CHANCES OF THAT ARE
LESS AND LESS
'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT IN EVERY SIX
ROLLS,
IT'S LIKELY TO GET ONE OF EACH
NUMBER, HOPEFULLY.
AND NOW I ROLLED A TWO, THAT
WILL BE MY GREEN.
AND I'LL KEEP GOING. OH,
ANOTHER-- I THINK THIS DICE
MIGHT BE A TRICK DICE, I GOT
ANOTHER FIVE.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? IT CAN
STILL HAPPEN.
JUST BECAUSE IT'S NOT PROBABLE
DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
OH, I GOT A SIX! THAT'S OUR
FIRST PURPLE! NICE.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA KEEP ON
GOING, WE GOT A ONE AGAIN,
SO WE HAVE A RED BESIDE
THAT PURPLE.
OH, LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE-- NOW WE
HAVE TWO PRIMARY COLOURS
AND TWO SECONDARY COLOURS.
He continues coloring the sheet of paper.
Spencer says ANOTHER TWO,
SO WE GOT GREEN HERE, ADJACENT
TO THAT FIRST ONE,
JUST OVER THE DIAGONAL.
AND WE GO AGAIN, I GOT
ANOTHER SIX.
MAN, WE'VE-- FOUR AND THREE,
THEY'RE NOT COMING IN HERE YET.
THAT'S KINDA-- I WONDER WHEN
WE'LL GET ONE OF THOSE!
THE CHANCES ARE WE'LL GET
ONE EVENTUALLY,
THERE'S A LOT OF SQUARES THERE.
THERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
I COLOUR THAT IN.
JUST GONNA FLATTEN OUT MY PAPER
HERE SO IT LOOKS NICER.
THERE WE GO.
AND ANOTHER ROLL. AND WE HAVE A
THREE. THERE'S OUR FIRST THREE,
SO WE GET TO FINALLY USE THE
HIGHLIGHTER!
LOOK AT THAT! IT'S ALMOST LIKE
A NEON YELLOW. FUN!
AND ANOTHER SIX.
THERE WE GO.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE
PATCHWORK THAT WE'RE CREATING,
THIS IS ACTUALLY SHOWING WHAT
PROBABILITY
CAN LOOK LIKE VISUALLY.
I GOT ANOTHER SIX.
I GOT ANOTHER TWO. ON THIS
EDGE ONE HERE,
ON THIS SIDE COLUMN, IT LOOKS,
IT'S ALMOST A PATTERN ITSELF.
WE HAVE GREEN, THEN PURPLE,
THEN GREEN.
A LOT OF GREEN AND PURPLE IN
THAT CORNER, INTERESTING.
OH, I GOT ANOTHER FIVE, SO WE
HAVE ANOTHER BLUE DOWN HERE.
OH, WE HAD A LITTLE BREAK FROM
BLUE FOR A WHILE.
ANOTHER TWO, I'LL DO THAT
WITH MY GREEN.
NOT TOO MANY MORE ROLLS.
ANOTHER TWO?!
GOT A FEW TIMES WHERE WE CAN SEE
WE GET TWO ROLLS IN A ROW.
AND WE CAN KIND OF SEE THAT,
BECAUSE, AGAIN,
WE ARE SHOWING ALL THE ROLLS
WITH COLOURS.
ANOTHER ONE.
AND WE GOT ANOTHER TWO.
WE GOT SOME RED AND GREEN AND A
LITTLE BIT OF BLUE
JUST ON THIS ROW.
AND WE'RE ONTO OUR LAST ROLL...
LAST ROW.
WE HAVE A ONE.
IT'S INTERESTING, WE HAVE HAD NO
FOURS SO FAR.
I WONDER, THAT-- THAT SEEMS
PRETTY UNLIKELY TO ME.
OH, ANOTHER SIX.
AND THREE MORE TO GO, LET'S SEE
WHAT HAPPENS!
OH, WE FINALLY GOT A FOUR!
WE GET TO FINALLY USE THE BLACK
MARKER. THAT'S AWESOME!
SO NOW WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE OF
EVERYTHING IN HERE,
AND ANOTHER FIVE. THAT'S
MY BLUE.
AND LAST WE HAVE-- LASTLY, AND
WITH A ONE!
WE STARTED AND ENDED WITH THE
SAME NUMBER.
OKAY, SO YOU CAN SEE HERE...
THAT, WE CAN SEE, IT ALMOST
LOOKS LIKE IT'S RANDOM SQUARES
BUT REALLY IT'S JUST SHOWING THE
PROBABILITY
OF WHEN WE ROLLED THE DICE
RIGHT NOW.
AND I KNOW THAT, UH,
WHEN I SEE THIS PIECE OF ART
THAT THERE CAN BE VARIATION.
THERE IT IS. YOU CAN GIVE YOUR
PIECE A TITLE
AND EVEN SHOW THE RULE YOU USED
TO CREATE IT
AND HANG IT ON YOUR WALL.
LET'S SEE, I THINK WHEN I PUT A
TITLE ON MINE,
I'M GOING TO CALL IT "25 DICE
THROWS AND A RAINBOW."
Rosco says "WOW! I LOOOVE RAINBOWS!
"THAT LOOKS GREAT, MR. DE MAN,.
"BUT, BUT-- ARE YOU SURE
EVERYONE'S WON'T LOOK
"EXACTLY THE SAME IF THEY FOLLOW
THE SAME RULE?"
Spencer says THAT IS WHAT'S AWESOME ABOUT
THIS, ROSCO.
EVEN IF SOMEONE DID THE
SAME COLOURS
WITH THE SAME GRID,
HOW DO YOU THINK, FROM WHAT YOU
LEARNED ABOUT PROBABILITY,
ARE THE CHANCES THAT THEY'LL
COME UP WITH EXACTLY THE SAME
ROLLS IN THE SAME ORDER?
Rosco says "OH, I SEE NOW.
"UM, FROM WHAT I'VE LEARNED
SO FAR,
"I-- I THINK THE CHANCES OF
THAT ARE REALLY,
"REALLY, REALLY LOW."
Spencer says THAT'S RIGHT, ROSCO. NOW I GAVE
THIS ART CHALLENGE
TO SOME OF MY FRIENDS A
FEW DAYS AGO.
LET'S SEE HOW THEIR PROBABILITY
ART TURNED OUT.
SO MY FRIEND MARSHALL
MADE ONE KIND OF LIKE THIS.
IT LOOKS LIKE HE FOLDED
THE PAPER
AND THEN DRAWED ON
THE FOLDED LINES,
AND HE CALLED HIS
"MARSHALL'S SEVEN BLUES MEANS
SEVEN FIVES."
He pins the drawing on the board.
Spencer says AHH, THE BLUE MUST HAVE
REPRESENTED FIVE.
I MEAN, BLUE-- THEY MUST HAVE
ROLLED FIVE SEVENS.
SORRY, SO CONFUSING SOMETIMES!
AND NEXT WE HAVE, AHH,
LOOK AT THIS,
THIS IS TAWNYA'S PROBABILITY
PATCHWORK.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL, TAWNYA!
FANTASTIC.
NEXT WE HAVE-- OH WOW! LOOK WHAT
NANCY LYNN DID!
SHE HAS...
SHE CALLED HERS
"THE ODDS ARE BUTTONS."
AND SHE MADE A GRID, AND SHE
MUST HAVE HAD A WHOLE BUNCH
OF BUTTONS LYING AROUND THE
HOUSE THAT SHE COULD USE
TO MAKE HER PROBABILITY ART.
AND LAST, THIS ONE IS
REALLY COOL.
ROGER, IT LOOKS LIKE HE TOOK
SOME LEGO AND DICE.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE, HE
SET UP EACH COLOUR
AND HE MADE THEM INTO A
GRID AS WELL.
THAT LOOKS FANTASTIC, ROGER!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE,
FOR SHARING!
YEAH, ISN'T THAT FANTASTIC...
WHERE'D YOU GO, ROSCO?"
Rosco says "OH, JUST A SECOND.
RIGHT HERE!"
"UM, UM, WOW! IT DOES LOOK
AWESOME!
"IT'S-- IT'S-- IT'S A GALLERY
OF PROBABILITY!
"AWESOME!"
Spencer says OKAY, SO WHY DON'T WE LET OUR
FRIENDS AT HOME
KEEP WORKING ON THEIR WORK WHILE
WE WATCH THE END
OF THE
MYSTERY FILES
EPISODE,
"THE MYSTERY OF GAMES?"
Rosco says "GREAT IDEA, MR. DE MAN!"
A clip plays.
Tilly receives a call on her computer.
Tilly says HEY, E.B.!
E.B says HEY! WHAT DID YOU THINK
OF MY CHESS PAWN AVATAR?
Kyla says I HAVE TO GIVE IT
TO YOU. IT WAS PRETTY COOL.
Tilly says AND YOU'RE RIGHT, E.B.
I WAS PLAYING... I MEAN,
RESEARCHING MORE GAMES. AND
LOTS CAN BE CUSTOMIZED, FROM
PERSONALIZING YOUR OWN AVATAR TO
BUILDING AND DECORATING A HOUSE.
E.B says LIKE THE SIMS.
Kyla says OH YEAH! I LOVE THAT GAME.
Tilly says I'M PERSONALLY STILL
HOOKED ON TIC-TAC-TILLY, WHICH
I CUSTOMIZED MYSELF. BUT CHECK
IT OUT, I HAVE A LEAD ON THE
LAST CLUE. THERE'S A GAME
CALLED THE ROYAL GAME OF UR
THAT USES DICE LIKE THE ONES
FROM HERMIONE'S FILE.
IT WAS DISCOVERED IN A TOMB
THAT'S ALMOST 5,000 YEARS OLD.
Kyla says WELL, THAT TAKES CARE
OF THE "OLD" PART OF THE LABEL.
E.B. says I WONDER IF IT'S A STRATEGY
GAME, LIKE CHESS? AND WHAT'S THE
"NEW AGAIN" PART OF THE CLUE?
Kyla says I BET SOMEONE AT THE
NEIGHBORHOOD GAME CAFÉ KNOWS.
I'M HEADING OVER.
Tilly says GOOD IDEA!
The call ends.
Kyla and Qiyu shake hands.
Kyla says THANK YOU SO MUCH, QIYU.
IT'S BEEN REALLY FUN.
Qiyu says NO PROBLEM, KYLA.
IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.
Now, Kyla walks down the street. She records herself.
Kyla says I'M MEETING STEVE.
HE'S A GAME GURU, WHICH MEANS
HE KNOWS A LOT ABOUT ALL
KINDS OF GAMES. HE WORKS
AT THIS GAME CAFÉ.
Videogames sit on several shelves in a café.
Kyla says HI, IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU.
MY NAME'S KYLA.
Steve is in his late forties, with a goatee and long grayish hair. He's wearing a patterned gray shirt over a T-shirt.
Steve says HI KYLA. I'M STEVE.
Kyla says THERE ARE SO MANY GAMES HERE!
Steve says THERE ARE A LOT OF
GAMES. WE, OURSELVES, HAVE ABOUT
2,000-3,000 GAMES HERE
AT SNAKES and LATTES.
Kyla says WOW!
Steve says DID YOU KNOW THAT SINCE
MANKIND STARTED PLAYING GAMES,
WE THINK THERE ARE ABOUT
75,000 DIFFERENT GAMES
THAT HAVE BEEN INVENTED?
Kyla says WOW! I WISH I HAD TIME
TO STAY AND PLAY THEM ALL,
BUT I HAVE A MYSTERY TO SOLVE.
Steve says A MYSTERY?
Kyla says WE FOUND OUT THESE COME
FROM A SUPER OLD GAME CALLED UR.
DO YOU HAVE IT HERE?
Steve says YEAH, WE DO. THAT IS
A REPLICA OF A DIE FROM UR.
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK
AT A WHOLE SET?
Kyla says SURE!
Steve says COME WITH ME.
Kyla says THIS DOES NOT LOOK
5,000 YEARS OLD.
Steve says HA! HA! NO! THIS IS
A REPLICA. ANY GAME THAT IS
ACTUALLY 5,000 YEARS OLD WOULD
BE IN A MUSEUM. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
MAKING COPIES FOR A LONG TIME.
Kyla says SO HOW DID THEY KNOW
WHAT RULES TO USE?
Steve says WELL, THEY DON'T, REALLY.
WHEN THIS GOT FOUND IN AN
ANCIENT CEMETERY, THERE WASN'T
A COPY OF THE RULES SO PEOPLE
JUST SORT OF TOOK A GUESS.
I'LL SHOW YOU HOW I PLAY.
Kyla says OKAY.
Steve says IT'S A RACE. YOU'RE
TRYING TO GET YOUR PIECES TO
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOARD, AND
IF YOU LAND ON AN ENEMY PIECE,
YOU REMOVE IT FROM THE GAME.
SO IT'S SORT OF SORRY!
MEETS CHESS, A LITTLE BIT.
Kyla says BUT OBVIOUSLY THIS
TAKES LUCK, TOO, RIGHT?
Steve says ANY GAME WITH DICE
TAKES LUCK. IF YOU ROLL WHITE
TIPS, YOU GET TO MOVE PIECES.
YOU WANT TO BE WHITE OR BROWN?
Kyla says I'LL BE WHITE.
Steve says OKAY, THERE YOU GO.
Kyla rolls the pyramid dice.
Kyla says I GOT 1...
Steve says 1 MOVE.
Kyla says SO...
Steve says THERE YOU GO.
ALSO GOT 1.
LET'S DO THAT.
Kyla says SO YOU WOULD SAY THAT
THIS IS, LIKE, A STRATEGY GAME?
Steve says OH, DEFINITELY.
Kyla says OH, 1. SORRY!
Steve says DOES THIS GAME
REMIND YOU OF ANYTHING?
Kyla says NO, NOT REALLY.
Steve says HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS GAME?
Kyla says I THINK I HAVE BEFORE.
Steve says THIS IS BACKGAMMON.
Kyla says OH, OKAY.
Steve says BACKGAMMON IS ABOUT
3,000 YEARS OLD AND IT COMES
FROM THE ANCIENT LAND OF PERSIA,
WHICH IS IN THE MIDDLE EAST...
ALSO WHERE UR WAS FOUND.
A clip shows a map. A red line highlights Persia.
Steve says UR DATES BACK 5,000 YEARS. AND
SINCE THEY COME FROM THE SAME
PART OF THE WORLD, IT'S
A GOOD BET THAT BACKGAMMON
IS AN EVOLVED VERSION OF UR.
IT USES DICE TO CONTROL THE
MOVEMENT, JUST LIKE UR DOES.
Kyla says SO IT HAS LUCK IN IT, TOO?
Steve says OH, YEAH. THERE'S
DEFINITELY SOME LUCK. BUT THIS
IS VERY MUCH A GAME OF SKILL.
THE BROWN PLAYER IS TRYING TO
BRING ALL THEIR PIECES AROUND
TO HERE, AND GET THEM OFF
THE BOARD. THE WHITE PLAYER IS
TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING,
BUT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
Kyla says OKAY, SO THIS IS REALLY
SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WERE DOING
IN THIS GAME.
Steve says VERY MUCH. ROLLING
DICE, MOVING PIECES. 1, 2, 3...
Kyla says OUR MYSTERY FILE LABEL
SAYS "EVERYTHING OLD," AND WE
THINK IT MEANS THE EXPRESSION
"EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN."
ARE THERE ANY OTHER OLD GAMES
THAT ARE MADE INTO NEW ONES?
Steve says ABSOLUTELY. THERE ARE TONS.
Kyla says LIKE WHAT?
Steve says WELL, LET ME SHOW YOU.
I'M SURE YOU'VE PLAYED
SNAKES and LADDERS BEFORE.
Kyla says YEAH. MANY TIMES.
Steve says SO, THIS IS ACTUALLY
BASED ON AN ANCIENT GAME FROM
INDIA. WHEN ENGLAND COLONIZED
INDIA, THEY BROUGHT THE GAME
BACK AND IT GRADUALLY MADE ITS
WAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
THE IDEA BEHIND IT WAS IT WAS
MEANT TO TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT
MORALITY. YOU DO GOOD THINGS,
YOU GO UP TOWARD HEAVEN. YOU DO
BAD THINGS, AND YOU GO DOWN.
As he speaks, a blue arrow highlights on the game board, followed by a yellow snake.
Steve says AND THAT'S WHERE THE LADDERS
AND THE SNAKES COME FROM.
Kyla says SO WHAT PART OF
THE OLD GAME DID THEY KEEP
WHEN THEY MADE THE NEW ONE?
Steve says THE MECHANICS
ARE BASICALLY THE SAME.
YOU ROLL THE DIE, YOU MOVE...
Kyla says OKAY. SO, THAT'S WHAT'S
OLD. AND THEY MODERNIZED THE
BOARD AND THE PLAYING PIECES
TO MAKE IT NEW. I'M GETTING THE
PICTURE. MIND IF I LOOK AROUND?
Steve says YOU GO RIGHT AHEAD.
Kyla says THANKS.
Now, Kyla stands by a shelf.
She records herself and says I'M SEEING A LOT OF GAMES THAT
I RECOGNIZE FROM VIDEO GAMES.
OH, LIKE WORLD OF WARCRAFT.
OR EVEN PAC-MAN.
Steve says THOSE ARE GAMES THAT
STARTED OUT AS VIDEO GAMES,
AND INSPIRED PEOPLE TO MAKE
BOARD GAMES OF THEM.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF GAMES
THAT GO THE OTHER WAY.
Kyla says KIND OF LIKE TICKET
TO RIDE OR EVEN CLUE. BECAUSE
THESE ARE VIDEO GAMES, TOO.
Steve says YEAH. MANY VIDEO GAMES EVOLVED
FROM BOARD GAMES AND CARD GAMES.
Kyla says I THINK I HAVE
THIS MYSTERY SOLVED!
Later, the team looks at a video of. E.B. jumping in the green studio set.
E.B says JUMP SPIN...
DOUBLE ARM FLYING CHOP! HEY!
Tilly stops the video.
E.B says YOU KNOW, THAT WAS
A FUN MYSTERY. WE WERE,
LIKE, GAME DETECTIVES.
Tilly says GREAT AUNT HERMIONE
REALLY LEFT US HANGING WITH
THE ."" AT THE END OF
HER "EVERYTHING OLD" LABEL.
E.B says MM-HM.
Kyla says BUT, WE SOLVED IT.
NOTHING GETS PAST US.
Tilly says SHE WAS SAYING
"EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN."
E.B says YEAH. EVEN THE NEWEST,
COOLEST GAMES STILL HAVE
ELEMENTS FROM GAMES THAT
ARE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.
Kyla says AND, IF ONE OF THE
OLDEST GAMES EVER DISCOVERED IS
ABOUT 5,000 YEARS OLD, I THINK
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PLAYING GAMES
SINCE HUMANS EXISTED.
E.B says WOW. YOU KNOW, I BET
PEOPLE WERE PLAYING GAMES WITH
STICKS AND STONES IN THE SAND
EVEN BEFORE CITIES EXISTED.
Kyla says HEY, WHAT KIND OF GAMES
DO YOU THINK WE'LL BE PLAYING
IN THE FUTURE?
E.B says OH...
HOW ABOUT VIRTUAL REALITY?
Kyla says YEAH!
E.B says NO CONSOLES. NO BOARDS.
Tilly says THAT REMINDS ME.
I MADE ANOTHER GAME.
CHECK IT OUT.
E.B says OH! THAT'S AWESOME!
Tilly plays a game called "Chicken Charge" on her computer. It shows her driving a space ship to escape from a chicken.
Kyla says LET ME TRY, LET ME TRY.
Tilly says HEY! HEY!
WAIT A MINUTE! 2 AGAINST 1!
E.B says OH! I WIN!
I AM THE WINNER!
Tilly says NOT FAIR.
Kyla says I CALL FOR A REMATCH.
E.B. says OKAY, LET'S DO IT AGAIN.
Kyla says LET'S DO IT AGAIN.
COME ON...
Tilly says YOU GUYS ARE SO FAST.
All say MYSTERY SOLVED. POSTING
TO
THE MYSTERY FILES
WEBSITE.
A new video shows the pictures and files recorded and gathered during the episode saved in a box, on a website.
The end credits roll.
An Apartment 11 Production. In association with TVO Kids.
Executive Producer, Jonathan Finkerstein.
TVO Kids and Apartment 11 Productions Logos appear.
(music plays)
An animated clip shows a big orange X on a blue background. It explodes and letters and numbers come out of it in all directions and float around.
Mathematician Eric appears on screen. He's in his mid-twenties. He has short dark brown hair and a beard. He wears a red T-shirt with the show's logo and blue jeans.
The screen turns red and the logo of the show appears next. It reads "MathXplosion." Meanwhile, cones, cubes and dices float around it.
Kids voices sing a song with lyrics that go WHAT A HIT
IT'S NOT A TRICK
IT'S MATHXPLOSION
JUST FOR YOU
COOL AND NEW
MATHXPLOSION!
The episode starts with Eric standing in a workroom. A green ice floats near him until he grabs it.
Eric says HAH! I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT
I HAVE X-RAY VISION.
He puts on goggles and says IT'S TRUE! SEE THIS STACK
OF DICE?
BELIEVE IT OR NOT,
I CAN SEE THROUGH THEM
AND TELL YOU THE SUM OF ALL THE
NUMBERS ON THE HIDDEN FACES!
WHAT? YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME?
WELL, STICK AROUND, 'CAUSE BY
USING THIS ONE EASY TRICK,
YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
(making buzzing noise)
FOR MY NEXT TRICK, I'LL NEED
A VOLUNTEER.
OH.
HELLO!
He snaps his fingers and his double appears wearing a blue T-shirt.
Eric says OKAY, SO PLEASE SPIN THOSE DICE,
AND STACK THEM
ONE ON TOP OF ANOTHER.
I'LL TURN AROUND SO I CAN'T SEE.
(alarm sounding)
OKAY, ALL RIGHT.
SO, UH, HOW'D WE DO?
GREAT, NOW WITHOUT SEEING THEM,
I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE SUM OF
ALL THE HIDDEN FACES
IN THE STACK IS...
ABRACADABRA! ABRA-KAZEEN!
THE SUM OF THE HIDDEN FACES
IS...
17!
Eric's double looks shocked.
Eric says YEP. WHAT? DON'T BELIEVE ME?
ADD THEM UP AND CHECK FOR
YOURSELF.
Eric's double checks the stack of dice. A sum reads "3 plus 6 plus 1 plus 6 plus 1 equals 17."
Eric says HOW'D I KNOW?
ALLOW ME TO SHARE THE SECRET
OF THE DICE. SHH.
Eric snaps his fingers again making his double disappear.
Eric says OKAY, SO MAYBE I DON'T HAVE
X-RAY VISION EXACTLY.
HERE'S THE SECRET.
ON ALL REGULAR DIE, THE SUM OF
ANY TWO "OPPOSITE FACES."
WILL ALWAYS BE SEVEN.
THE OPPOSITE FACE OF ONE IS SIX.
SIX PLUS ONE EQUALS SEVEN.
ON REGULAR DICE, THE OPPOSITE
FACES ALWAYS, ALWAYS,
ALWAYS, ALWAYS SUM TO SEVEN.
SO ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THE
SUM OF ALL THE HIDDEN FACES
IS MULTIPLY SEVEN BY THE NUMBER
OF DICE YOU HAVE IN YOUR STACK.
THEN SUBTRACT THE TOP NUMBER.
THREE DICE?
SO MULTIPLE THREE BY SEVEN,
YOU GET 21.
NOW ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TAKE A
QUICK GLANCE AT THE TOP FACE.
THEN WE SUBTRACT THAT NUMBER
FROM 21.
A clip shows Eric glancing at the top dice. A subtraction reads "21 minus 4 equals 17."
Eric says EASY PEASY.
Eric draws a circle on a blackboard and colours it inside. He taps on it and a new clip plays. It features animated dice.
Eric says DICE COME IN MANY OTHER SHAPES
AND SIZES.
THERE ARE DICE SHAPED LIKE
SPHERES,
TETRAHEDRAL DIE.
A PYRAMID-SHAPED DIE WITH
FOUR FACES.
DODECAHEDRAL DIE,
WITH 12 FACES.
ICOSAHEDRAL DIE WITH 20 FACES,
AND THAT'S JUST A START.
ALL YOU NEED FOR THE TRICK I
SHOWED YOU
IS THREE DICE.
OH, AND YOU DON'T NEED SPECIAL
X-RAY GOGGLES TO DO IT.
REMEMBER! IT'S NOT MAGIC.
IT'S MATH.
A big explosion brings the show's logo back on the screen.
(music plays)
The end credits roll.
Produced by GAPC Entertainment in association with TVOKids.
Copyright GAPC Entertainment (MathPlosion) Incorporated, 2016.
The clip ends.
Spencer says SO ROSCO, WE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT
PROBABILITY TODAY.
LIKE, HOW DO YOU THINK
EVERYTHING WENT?
Rosco says "OH, OH, I THINK IT WENT WELL.
BUT, BUT...
"WE'RE REALLY RUNNING OUT OF
TIME, SO, SO...
"I THINK WE HAVE TO, UH, FINISH,
"AND SAY OUR THANK-YOUS AND
GOOD-BYES."
Spencer says WELL, OKAY, SURE. UM, WE
CAN DO THAT.
WELL, I GUESS THAT'S IT FOR OUR
FIRST
POWER HOUR.
HOW DO YOU THINK IT WENT?
Rosco says "OH YEAH, IT WAS-- WELL,
I WAS AMAZING. AND...
"AND MR. DE MAN, YOU WERE
PRETTY GOOD TOO."
Spencer says THANKS, ROSCO. WELL, WE'D LIKE
TO THANK OUR FRIENDS
AT
TVOKIDS,
AND OUR FAMILIES,
COLLEAGUES, AND FRIENDS
WHO HAVE HELPED US WITH THEIR
LOVE AND SUPPORT.
Rosco says "YEAH, AND OUR STUDENTS FROM
HUNTINGTON PARK,
"AND ALL OUR NEW FRIENDS, AT
HOME AND ONLINE."
Spencer says KEEP SMILING, EVERYONE!
Rosco says "AND REMEMBER, YOU ARE AWESOME!"
The caption changes to "TVO Kids would like to thank the following volunteer teacher for teaching the children of Ontario from their homes: Kenisha Bynoe, Amanda Cameron, Joel Seaman, Robert Vidler, Vickita Bhatt, Spencer de Man, Cameron Steltman."
(soft music plays)
A caption reads "Copyright 2020, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority."
An animated title against a sunny sky reads "TVOKids Power Hour of Learning."
In off, Laura says WELCOME TO
TVOKIDS
POWER HOUR OF LEARNING.
TODAY'S JUNIO LESSON:
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?
Spencer sits in a room full of objects. He is in his early thirties, with a short beard and brown hair. He wears glasses, a blue hoodie and headphones. He holds a puppet.
Spencer says HELLO AND GOOD AFTERNOON TO OUR
FRIENDS ACROSS ONTARIO
WATCHING TVOKIDS, AND FROM
AROUND THE WORLD,
WATCHING ONLINE.
WELCOME TO
TVOKIDS POWER HOUR.
MY NAME IS SPENCER DE MAN,
AND I TEACH IN HAMILTON
AT HUNTINGTON PARK
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
AND THIS IS MY BUDDY...
Rosco is a blue puppet with pink hair and a big purple nose. He wears a black, yellow and orange shirt.
With a deep voice, Rosco says "WAIT! WAIT, WAIT!
CAN-- CAN-- CAN I PLEASE
INTRODUCE MYSELF?"
Spencer says SURE, SURE, TAKE IT AWAY.
Rosco says "OKAY, OKAY, OKAY, HERE I GO.
"HI, HI, HI, MY FRIENDS.
"MY NAME IS ROSCO,
"AND-- AND-- AND-- AND I'M HERE
"WITH MR. DE MAN,
"TO HAVE LOTS OF FUN
WITH YOU TODAY!
"WE ARE GOING TO WATCH A SHOW
CALLED
MYSTERY FILES
"AND PLAY GAMES,
AND LEARN SOME MAGIC,
AND SO, SO, SO MANY
EXCITING THINGS!"
Spencer says THAT'S RIGHT, ROSCO!
TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LOTS
OF FUN WITH MATH.
Rosco yells "WHAT!? MATH?!
"BUT YOU TOLD ME WE WERE GOING
TO PLAY GAMES
AND MAGIC AND-- AND-- AND--."
Spencer says YES, ROSCO. ACTIVITIES LIKE
GAMES AND MAGIC TRICKS
NEED MATH, AND TODAY,
WE'RE GOING TO USE THEM
TO LEARN ABOUT PROBABILITY.
Rosco says "PROBABLY WHAT?"
Spencer says NO. NO, ROSCO, NOT "PROBABLY,"
"PROBABILITY."
PROBABILITY HELPS US FIGURE OUT
THE CHANCES THAT SOMETHING MAY
OR MAY NOT LIKELY HAPPEN.
LIKE, WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN
WHEN I FLIP THIS COIN?
Rosco says "OH, OH, OH, THAT'S EASY.
IT'S EITHER GOING
TO BE HEADS OR TAILS."
Spencer says OH, LET'S FIND OUT.
He flips the coin.
Rosco says "WHAT'D YOU GET?"
Spencer says IT'S TAILS.
Rosco says "OH, MAN! I WANTED HEADS!"
Spencer says WELL, WITH A COIN, THERE ARE TWO
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES.
WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN
IF I FLIPPED THE COIN
TEN TIMES IN A ROW?
Rosco says "OH, THAT'S EASY.
"IT WAS JUST TAILS,
SO NOW IT WILL BE HEADS,
"THEN TAILS, THEN HEADS, THEN
TAILS, THEN HEADS,
"THEN TAILS, THEN HEADS,
THEN TAILS, THEN HEADS,
THEN TAILS, THEN...
I THINK I DID THEM ALL."
Spencer says HMM...
MAYBE OUR FRIEND SHOULD TRY IT
AT HOME
AND SEE WHAT THEIR RESULTS ARE.
Rosco says "WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO?
"GRAB SOME PAPER, A PENCIL
AND A QUARTER,
AND FLIP IT TEN TIMES, AND WRITE
DOWN WHAT THEY GOT EACH TIME?"
Spencer says THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT
THEY SHOULD DO!
BUT THEY CAN USE ANY COIN, IT
DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A QUARTER.
AND WHILE THEY ARE GRABBING...
WHILE THEY ARE
GRABBING THEIR COIN,
PENCIL, AND A FEW
PIECES OF PAPER,
MAYBE THEY SHOULD ALSO TRY TO
FIND THREE DICE, SOME MARKERS
OR PENCIL CRAYONS, AND A RULER
FOR LATER IN THE SHOW.
BUT DON'T WORRY, IF YOU DON'T
HAVE SOME OF THOSE THINGS
NEARBY, YOU CAN
STILL FOLLOW ALONG
WITH WHAT WE DO HERE.
Rosco says "DO WE HAVE TO WAIT
FOR THEM?"
Spencer says YES, ROSCO, BUT WHILE WE WAIT,
LET'S WATCH THE BEGINNING OF
"THE MYSTERY OF GAMES,"
FROM TVOKIDS'
MYSTERY FILES.
Rosco says "AWESOME!"
A clip plays.
Kyla and E.B. hang in the basement.
Kyla reads the label on a drawer. She is in her teens. She has long dark straight hair and wears a floral dress over a green T-shirt.
E.B. is in his mid-teens with curly brown hair in an afro and he wears jeans and a striped T-shirt.
Kyla reads "EVERYTHING OLD..."
Kyla places the content of the drawer on the table.
E.B says ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE
WHAT CLUES HERMIONE LEFT.
WHAT'S THIS WEIRD BALL-THINGY?
AH, LOOK AT THAT!
THE LABEL SAYS "STUDIO DU CHATEAU."
Kyla says OHH! DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE GOING
TO GO VISIT A FRENCH CASTLE?
E.B says SADLY NO, 'CAUSE IT'S
A LOCAL NUMBER.
The number reads "555-0415."
Tilly is in her mid-forties. She has dark brown hair over her shoulders and wears a bright purple blouse.
Tilly says PUZZLING AND MYSTERIOUS.
THAT'S GREAT AUNT HERMIONE!
A portrait of aunt Hermione hangs on the wall. She is woman in her sixties with white hair and a hat.
E.B says MM-HMM.
Kyla says WHAT'S THIS?
SORT OF LOOKS LIKE
A CHESS PIECE.
Kyla holds a small horse piece.
E.B says YEAH. AND THIS...
OHH! KINDA LOOKS LIKE DICE.
Tilly says DEAR HERMIONE, WHAT WERE YOU
TRYING TO WRITE US
WITH THIS MYSTERY?
READY TO INVESTIGATE?
E.B. says OH, YES!
Kyla says LET'S DO THIS!
YES!
Music plays as the opening of the show rolls.
A song goes HISTORY IS FULL OF MYSTERIES
GREAT AUNT HERMIONE
COULD BE HEARD TO SAY
Aunt Hermione stands next to a knight's armour. She's in her fifties, with short white hair and wears glasses, beige trousers, a belted white short-sleeved shirt, an explorer's hat. She carries a cross-body bag.
The song goes YOU HAVE TO KNOW
WHAT CAME BEFORE
TO NAVIGATE THE WORLD TODAY
Clips show images of power lines, an abacus and a computer.
The song continues SHE WAS GOING TO WRITE A BOOK
CALLED "MYSTERY FILES."
TO TELL WHAT SHE UNCOVERED
BUT TIME RAN OUT
NEW ADVENTURES CAME FIRST
SO SHE LEFT HER SECRETS
UNDISCOVERED
She writes down notes on a notebook, holds a globe, travels by jeep, flies an airplane.
The song continues ALL SHE LEFT BEHIND
WAS A HOUSE FULL OF CLUES
BUT E.B. AND KYLA HAVE A PLAN
In the basement, a drawer in a chest opens and random objects come out.
The song continues THEY'RE GONNA SOLVE
EACH MYSTERY FILE
AND FINISH
WHAT HERMIONE BEGAN
THEY'LL SOLVE
E.B. and Kyla appear looking through Hermione's notes.
The song continues THE MYSTERY FILES
UNRAVEL ALL THE MYSTERIES
THEY'LL SOLVE
THE MYSTERY FILES
UPLOAD HIDDEN HISTORIES
THEY'LL SOLVE
THE MYSTERY FILES
E.B. and Kyla high-five.
The title of the show reads "The Mystery Files."
(music plays)
Walking down a hall, E.B. records a video and says I'M HERE AT A PLACE
CALLED STUDIO DU CHÂTEAU TO FIND
OUT ABOUT THIS WEIRD BALL.
THIS PLACE SURE ISN'T
A FRENCH CASTLE. I WONDER
WHAT THEY DO HERE.
WHOA!
E.B walks into a large studio set.
E.B says HEY, I'M E.B. NICE TO MEET YOU!
Ben is in his early thirties. He has brown hair and is clean-shaven. He's wearing a blue T-shirt and shorts.
Ben says HI E.B., I'M BEN.
NICE TO MEET YOU. WELCOME
TO STUDIO DU CHÂTEAU.
E.B says THANK YOU! THIS PLACE
IS, UH... PRETTY GREEN!
Ben says YEAH, WELL WE DO A LOT
OF DIFFERENT CAPTURES HERE FOR
MOVIES, TV SHOWS, VIDEO GAMES...
THAT SORT OF THING.
E.B says COOL! WELL,
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
Ben says I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS
IS. THIS IS A MOTION CAPTURE
MARKER. DO YOU KNOW
WHAT MOTION CAPTURE IS?
E.B says ISN'T THAT WHEN YOU
CAPTURE THE MOVEMENTS OF
A REAL PERSON SO THAT
VIDEOGAME'S MOVEMENTS ARE
MORE REALISTIC AND HUMAN-LIKE?
Ben says THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S EXACTLY
IT. AND WE'RE JUST SETTING UP
TO DO A MOTION CAPTURE SHOOT
RIGHT NOW. YOU WANT TO SEE?
E.B says NO WAY? YEAH!
Ben says YEAH? WANT TO DO IT YOURSELF?
E.B says CAN I ACTUALLY?
Ben says YEAH, YOU ACTUALLY CAN.
WE'VE GOT TO GET YOU SUITED UP
WITH A MOTION CAPTURE SUIT,
PUT A BUNCH OF MARKERS ON YOU,
BRING YOU BACK HERE AND
WE'LL SHOW YOU HOW IT WORKS.
E.B says OKAY.
Ben says OK. COOL. IT'S JUST THIS WAY.
E.B. puts on a black suit and cap.
E.B says I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT
AUNT HERMIONE WAS DOING WITH ONE
OF THESE MOTION CAPTURE MARKERS,
OR WHAT IT HAS TO DO WITH
"EVERYTHING OLD." BUT MAYBE
GETTING INTO THE ACTION
WILL HELP ME FIND OUT.
I'M READY! OH!
E.B. stands on a green room. He jumps and an animated version of himself does the same movement on a computer.
E.B. says HEY, LOOK AT THAT.
IT'S A PRETTY COOL SKELE... TON.
IT SEEMS A LITTLE FISHY
THAT THAT'S ME MOVING.
Ben says THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
E.B says OH, THAT'S SO COOL!
Ben says THAT MARKER THAT YOU FOUND,
ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER MARKERS
THAT THEY PUT ON THAT OUTFIT
THERE, IS WHAT ALLOWS US TO TAKE
THE MOTION THAT YOU'RE DOING AND
CAPTURE IT WITH THIS SOFTWARE.
E.B says NO WAY! THAT'S SO COOL.
ALRIGHT, SO MOTION CAPTURE
TO CAPTURE MY MOTION.
MAKES SENSE. SO,
WHERE'S THE CAMERA?
Ben says SO, ACTUALLY, THERE ARE
8 OF THEM. YOU SEE THOSE RED
CAMERAS UP ON THE TOP, THERE?
E.B says OH YEAH, I SEE THEM.
Ben says SO, EACH ONE OF THEM IS
SENDING MULTIPLE INFRARED BEAMS
THAT ARE BOUNCING OFF OF ALL
THOSE LITTLE MARKERS ON YOUR
BODY, AND THEN THE CAMERAS
ARE CAPTURING THE BOUNCE BACK
OF THAT INFRARED BEAM.
E.B. says AND THEN THAT'S TRANSFERRING
INTO THE COMPUTER, AND THEN
THAT'S DOING ALL THE WORK AND
THEN... BAM! I'M ON SCREEN.
Ben says YOU'VE GOT IT. CHANCES
ARE, IF YOU'VE SEEN A MOVIE OR
WATCHED A TV SHOW LATELY, THEY
USE EXACTLY THIS TECHNOLOGY TO
CAPTURE THE MOTION AND PUT IT
INTO THAT WORK. MOTION CAPTURE
IS USED EVERYWHERE.
E.B says THAT'S AWESOME.
YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE A DANCE!
E.B. moves his arms and hums.
Ben says DO IT.
(E.B. KEEPS HUMMING.)
THERE YOU GO!
E.B. does the moonwalk.
E.B says SPIN! OUH! DISCO!
THIS IS REALLY TIRING. OH YEAH.
DANCE. FLAILING THE ARMS.
(E.B. SIGHS.)
(APPLAUSE)
Now, E.B. records himself.
He says HERMIONE'S MYSTERY FILE
WAS LABELED "EVERYTHING OLD,"
SO MAYBE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO
WITH SUPER OLD VIDEO GAMES.
Next, Ben and E.B. sit talking.
E.B. says WHAT'S THE VERY FIRST GAME
TO EVER USE MOTION CAPTURE?
Ben says I'M PRETTY SURE THAT WAS
IN 1994,
RISE OF THE ROBOTS.
BEFORE THAT, IT WAS ALL DONE BY
HAND. BUT IN '94 THEY STARTED
THIS KIND OF TECHNOLOGY.
E.B says WHAT WERE GAMES LIKE
EVEN BEFORE MOTION CAPTURE?
Ben says WELL, ACTUALLY, I'VE GOT
ONE ON MY PHONE, HERE.
E.B says OH!
Ben says HAVE YOU HEARD OF PONG?
E.B says NO.
Ben says IT'S A VERY EARLY VIDEO GAME.
E.B says WHEN WAS IT MADE?
Ben says THIS GAME WAS MADE IN 1972.
E.B says REALLY?
Ben says NOW, PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE CELL
PHONES AND TABLETS BACK THEN.
THAT'S BEFORE I WAS BORN.
E.B. plays the game on Ben's phone.
Ben says THAT'S BEFORE I WAS BORN, TOO.
E.B says WELL, IF THEY DIDN'T
HAVE CELL PHONES OR TABLETS,
HOW DID THEY PLAY IT, THEN?
Ben says SO WHEN PONG WAS FIRST
MADE, YOU'D PLAY IT IN ON AN
ARCADE MACHINE, WHICH WAS LIKE
A STAND-UP MACHINE. YOU'D GO TO
A LAUNDRY MAT OR A VIDEO GAME
ARCADE. YOU'D PUT A QUARTER IN,
YOU'D PLAY THE GAME. THEN,
SOME YEARS LATER, IT WAS
PORTED TO HOME CONSOLES WHERE
YOU COULD ACTUALLY ATTACH IT
TO YOUR TELEVISION SET,
AND PLAY IT DIRECTLY AT HOME.
NOW, MANY YEARS LATER, HERE
WE HAVE IT ON OUR CELL PHONES.
E.B says AND NOW WE HAVE IT.
Ben says BACK THEN, THEY DIDN'T
HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CHARACTERS,
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT
FANCY 3D GRAPHICS AND MOTION
CAPTURE. IT'S LITERALLY JUST
A BALL BOUNCING BACK AND FORTH
ON THE SCREEN WITH 2 PADDLES...
ONE WHICH YOU CONTROL AND ONE
WHICH THE COMPUTER CONTROLS.
E.B. says YEAH. SO, PONG IS KIND OF
LIKE PING-PONG. SO, TECHNICALLY,
THE CREATORS OF THIS GAME TOOK
A GAME THAT ALREADY EXISTED
AND THEN MADE IT SOMETHING NEW.
A NEW DIGITAL VERSION.
A clip shows people playing ping-pong.
Ben says YEAH, SURE. I MEAN, VIDEO
GAME DEVELOPERS TAKE INSPIRATION
FROM THE REAL WORLD ALL THE
TIME. YOU'VE GOT SPORTS GAMES,
YOU'VE GOT CARD AND BOARD GAMES,
YOU'VE GOT ROLE-PLAYING LIVE
ACTION GAMES. THERE'S LOTS
OF DIFFERENT GAMES THAT EXIST
IN THE REAL WORLD AND ARE
TRANSLATED INTO VIDEO GAMES.
AND THOSE ARE THE GAMES
THAT WE PLAY EVERY DAY.
E.B says TRUE.
Aunt Tilly's computer beeps. The team has a conference call.
E.B. says HEY, YOU KNOW, I'M GETTING
PRETTY GOOD AT PONG.
Tilly says PUT YOUR PONG
ON PAUSE, PLAYER.
Kyla says I WANT TO GO
HEAD-TO-HEAD LATER, E.B.!
E.B says OH, YOU ARE ON!
Tilly says I GOT DEEPER INTO
THOSE OLD VIDEO GAMES BEN WAS
TALKING ABOUT. CHECK OUT SOME
OF THE ONES THAT WERE AROUND
EVEN BEFORE PONG.
ONE OF THE FIRST VIDEO GAMES
EVER WAS CALLED TENNIS FOR TWO,
CREATED IN 1958. IT RAN ON THIS
HUGE COMPUTER. THE BALL WAS JUST
A DOT. EACH PLAYER USED A KNOB
TO VOLLEY IT OVER THE NET.
E.B. says IT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE PONG.
Tilly says IT IS. BUT EVEN BEFORE
THAT, THERE WAS A COMPUTER
VERSION OF TIC-TAC-TOE CALLED
OXO. IT RAN ON AN EVEN BIGGER
COMPUTER CALLED EDSAC. AND
I MADE MY OWN VERSION, TIC-TAC-
TILLY. THAT WAY, EVEN WHEN I
LOSE, I WIN.
Tilly shows them the game she created on her computer screen.
Tilly continues ALSO, CHESS WAS THE
FIRST BOARD GAME TURNED INTO A
COMPUTER GAME, AROUND 1950. AND
YOU GUYS KNOW NINTENDO, RIGHT?
E.B. says YEAH. TOTALLY. OF COURSE.
NINTENDO, NINTENDO WII...
Kyla says SUPER MARIO BROS., ZELDA...
E.B says ALL THAT STUFF.
Tilly says WELL, I FOUND OUT THAT
THE COMPANY IS ACTUALLY MORE
THAN 120 YEARS OLD! NINTENDO
MADE PLAYING CARDS BACK THEN,
NOT VIDEO GAMES. HERE'S MY
FAVOURITE. I ALWAYS WANTED
MY FACE ON A PLAYING CARD.
Tilly clicks and shows a playing card that has her face. E.B. covers his eyes and shakes his head.
Kyla says SO WE KNOW THERE ARE
SOME REALLY OLD GAMES.
E.B. says YEAH. VIDEO GAMES WERE
MADE WAY BEFORE WE HAD XBOX,
PLAYSTATION, WII, HOME COMPUTERS
AND EVEN ARCADES.
Tilly says AND FROM WHAT WE'VE
DISCOVERED SO FAR, THOSE EARLY
VIDEO GAMES WERE ALL BASED
ON GAMES THAT ALREADY EXISTED!
Kyla says TRUE. LIKE CHESS!
MAYBE THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE OLD
CHESS PIECE CLUE! I'M ON MY WAY
TO MEET THE CHESS CHAMP NOW.
E.B says ALRIGHT. CHECKMATE YOU
LATER. GET IT, 'CAUSE IT'S
LIKE CHESS, AND YOU NEED TO
CHECKMATE... NO? OKAY, BYE.
The clip ends.
Rosco says "WOW! VIDEO GAMES AND LEARNING?
THIS IS AWESOME!"
Spencer says I KNOW, RIGHT?
AND I THINK IT'S
INTERESTING TO LEARN
THAT OUR FAVOURITE
VIDEO GAMES TODAY
ALL HAVE ROOTS IN REAL-WORLD
GAMES AND ACTIVITIES.
Rosco says "YEAH! I'VE BEEN PLAYING A LOT
"OF VIDEO GAMES LATELY,
BUT SOMETIMES,
"THE BIGGEST DISASTER STRIKES!"
Spencer says WELL, WHAT'S THAT, ROSCO?
Rosco says "WHEN THE BATTERIES RUN OUT!"
Spencer says OH, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A SIGN
THAT YOU NEED TO GET BACK
AND PLAY IN THE REAL WORLD
AGAIN, ROSCO.
Rosco says "I GUESS...
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?"
Spencer says WELL, WHY DON'T WE SEE
HOW OUR FRIENDS DID
WITH OUR COIN FLIP EXPERIMENT.
He pins the drawing of a bar graph on a black board.
He continues IT LOOKS LIKE OUR FRIEND TAWNYA
GOT FOUR HEADS AND SIX TAILS
WHEN SHE DID HER
EXPERIMENT AT HOME.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE ROGER
GOT SEVEN HEADS...
OH, THERE WE GO...
SEVEN HEADS AND THREE TAILS.
AND OUR FRIEND MARSHALL...
OH, LOOK, AND THEY BOTH
USED BAR GRAPHS!
THAT'S AWESOME!
AND MARSHALL HERE,
HE USED A LITTLE TALLY CHART
AND HE GOT... FIVE HEADS
AND FIVE TAILS.
THAT'S GREAT!
YOU ALL HAD SUCCESSFUL
PROBABILITY EXPERIMENTS!
Rosco says "UMM... WAIT. WAIT,
WAIT, WAIT. I--."
"I'M LOOKING AT THEIR ANSWERS,
"AND ONLY ONE LOOKS RIGHT TO ME.
"MARSHALL GOT EXACTLY FIVE HEADS
AND FIVE TAILS.
"HE IS RIGHT.
"BUT ROGER AND TAWNYA GOT
DIFFERENT ANSWERS!
THEY MUST BE WRONG."
Spencer says AHH... BUT YOU SEE, ROSCO,
THAT IS THE THING ABOUT
PROBABILITY.
IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN,
IT'S ABOUT HOW LIKELY
AND UNLIKELY
SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN.
Rosco says "OKAY...
UHH, I DON'T THINK
I QUITE GET IT, THOUGH."
Spencer says WELL, HOW ABOUT YOU
WATCH THIS LESSON
WITH OUR FRIENDS AT HOME,
AND SEE IF THAT HELPS?
Rosco says "OKAY!"
Spencer says TODAY, WE ARE LEARNING
ABOUT PROBABILITY.
He points to a written piece of paper pinned on the blackboard.
Spencer says PROBABILITY IS HOW LIKELY
OR UNLIKELY AN
OUTCOME WILL OCCUR.
NOW, WHEN WE FLIP
OUR COIN HERE,
WE CAN FIGURE OUT
THE PROBABILITY
BY USING A FRACTION.
WE CAN MAKE THE NUMERATOR,
OR THE TOP-- TOP NUMBER
THE DESIRED OUTCOME.
SO WITH OUR COIN HERE,
OUR DESIRED OUTCOME,
LET'S SAY, IS HEADS TODAY.
SO THAT MEANS THERE'S
JUST ONE DESIRED OUTCOME.
AND THEN OUR DENOMINATOR,
OR THE BOTTOM NUMBER,
THAT IS WHERE WE PUT ALL
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES.
SO AGAIN, WITH THE COIN,
IT WILL EITHER BE HEADS...
OOPS-- HEADS OR TAILS.
AND SO, THAT MEANS WE PUT A TWO
FOR THE BOTTOM NUMBER.
SO, WITH A COIN,
THE PROBABILITY,
OR THE CHANCES OF FLIPPING IT
AND COMING UP HEADS
IS ONE HALF,
OR 50 percent OF THE TIME.
NOW, WE CAN ALSO SHOW
THIS USING A DICE.
SO WHY DON'T I GET THAT UP NOW?
SO WE'RE GOING TO
TRY THIS WITH DICE NOW.
LET'S TAKE A QUICK
LOOK AT OUR DICE.
NOW THIS DICE, IT'S A CUBE,
AND IT HAS SIX SIDES
WITH THE NUMBERS ONE, TWO,
THREE, FOUR,
FIVE AND SIX ON IT.
NOW, LET'S SAY WE
WANT TO ROLL THE...
HMM, HIGHEST NUMBER.
THAT WOULD BE THE NUMBER SIX.
SO, OUR DESIRED OUTCOME OF SIX
WOULD BE JUST ONE,
'CAUSE THERE'S ONLY
ONE SIX ON THE DICE.
NOW, ALL THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
FOR OUR BOTTOM NUMBER HERE
WOULD BE ONE, TWO, THREE,
FOUR, FIVE AND SIX.
SO THAT IS SIX POSSIBLE
OUTCOMES.
SO, IT IS LIKELY THAT
WHEN I ROLL THIS DICE,
IT WILL COME UP AS SIX
ABOUT ONE EVERY SIX ROLLS.
NOW, WHAT IF THE DESIRED OUTCOME
WAS A DIFFERENT NUMBER?
LET'S SAY, UMM, THREE.
WELL, THERE'S STILL ONLY
ONE THREE ON THIS DICE.
AND THERE'S ALSO...
SO, WE STILL HAVE A ONE
FOR THE DESIRED OUTCOME.
AND AS WE SAW WITH THE SIX,
THERE ARE STILL SIX POSSIBLE
OUTCOMES,
SO AGAIN, THE PROBABILITY
IS ONE OVER SIX.
AND IT'LL ACTUALLY BE THE SAME
FOR EVERY SINGLE NUMBER
ON THE DICE.
Next, an empty graph appears on the board.
Spencer says NOW LET'S SEE HOW THINGS CHANGE
WHEN WE ADD ANOTHER DICE.
HERE'S A GRAPH SHOWING ALL THE
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
WHEN YOU ROLL TWO DICE.
WE HAVE, ON THE Y-AXIS,
THE ONE, TWO, THREE,
FOUR, FIVE AND SIX
THAT YOU CAN GET WITH DICE NUMBER 1,
AND ON THE X-AXIS, AGAIN,
ONE, TWO, THREE,
FOUR, FIVE AND SIX.
NOW, WHEN WE ROLL TWO DICE,
WE OFTEN ADD THE
TWO NUMBERS TOGETHER.
AND WE CAN DO THAT
ON THE CHART HERE
BY SEEING WHERE THE TWO NUMBERS
COME TOGETHER ON THE GRID.
SO HERE WE HAVE ONE PLUS ONE
IS TWO.
TWO PLUS ONE... THREE.
THREE PLUS ONE... FOUR.
THEN WE HAVE FIVE,
SIX AND SEVEN.
AND THEN WE CAN KEEP GOING
THROUGH,
SO WE HAVE TWO PLUS ONE
IS THREE,
AND THEN FOUR, FIVE, SIX,
SEVEN, EIGHT.
THREE PLUS ONE,
WE GO UP THIS WAY,
AND WE CAN SEE A BIT OF A
PATTERN COMING UP HERE TOO,
CAN'T WE? IT LOOKS
LIKE IT GOES FOUR,
FIVE, SIX, SEVEN,
EIGHT, NINE.
AND THEN WE HAVE-- IT LOOKS...
OH, TWO, THREE, FOUR...
AH, I GET THIS IS WILL BE
ONE PLUS FOUR. THAT IS FIVE!
EXCELLENT. FIVE, SIX,
SEVEN, EIGHT,
NINE, TEN.
Using a red market, he fills the chart.
Spencer says SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT,
NINE, TEN, ELEVEN.
AND LAST, WE HAVE SEVEN,
EIGHT, NINE,
TEN, ELEVEN,
AND WE HAVE A SIX AND A SIX,
THE HIGHEST ROLL IS TWELVE.
HEY, ROSCO, YOU'RE BACK!
Rosco says "YEAH, YEAH, I THINK I'M
STARTING TO GET IT NOW."
Spencer says GREAT! WELL, NOW OUR
CHART IS FILLED IN.
CAN WE USE THAT
TO FIND THE PRO...
AND WE CAN USE THAT TO FIND THE
PROBABILITIES FOR EACH ROLL.
WHAT NUMBER SHOULD WE
CHOOSE FIRST, ROSCO?
Rosco says "HMM... LET'S START
WITH NUMBER ONE!"
Spencer says HMM...
ROSCO, UHH, THERE'S NO ONE.
Rosco says "WHAT?! BUT-BUT-BUT, THERE'S...
THERE'S-- THERE'S ONES
ON THE DICE!
DID YOU MAKE A MISTAKE?"
Spencer says AHH, NO, I DON'T...
I DIDN'T MAKE A MISTAKE,
BUT LOOK AT THE CHART
A LITTLE CLOSER.
Rosco says "OHH, OHH, I'M SO SILLY.
"UMM-- UMM-- OF COURSE,
THERE'S TWO DICE,
SO THE SMALLEST NUMBER
HAS TO BE TWO."
Spencer says OKAY, SO LET'S THINK
ABOUT OUR PROBABILITY,
WHAT WOULD OUR TOP NUMBER
BE FOR THE ROLL OF TWO?
Rosco says "UMM, WELL,
"UMM, THERE'S ONLY...
ONE WAY TO ROLL A TWO."
Spencer says YEAH, I CAN SEE
THAT RIGHT THERE,
I'M PUTTING THIS
LITTLE MAGNET THERE.
Rosco says "AND-- AND-- AND-- HOW DO I
FIGURE OUT
THE BOTTOM NUMBER AGAIN?"
Spencer says WELL, WHAT WE CAN DO IS COUNT
EVERY SINGLE SQUARE
ON OUR GRID HERE,
AND THAT WOULD TELL US
ALL THE POSSIBLE ROLLS.
Rosco says "OHH. HEY, HEY, HEY, I KNOW...
"I KNOW THIS, I KNOW THIS.
"UMM, I CAN SEE THAT
IT IS SIX HIGH
"AND-- AND-- AND IT
GOES SIX ACROSS.
"SO I CAN FIGURE OUT
MANY SQUARES THERE ARE
"BY USING MULTIPLICATION!
"SO-- SO-- UMM-UM-UMM,
"SIX TIMES SIX IS,
"UHH, THIRTY... SIX!
"YEAH, YEAH! 36!
"UMM-UMM-UMM, AND...
"AND SO IT WOULD BE ONE OVER 36
THE CHANCES OF ROLLING A TWO!"
Spencer says EXACTLY!
AND WE CAN KEEP GOING ACROSS
AND SEE THE CHANCES FOR THE
DIFFERENT NUMBERS.
Rosco says "YEAH?"
Spencer says YEAH! SO FOR THREE,
THERE'S TWO THREES, SO WE KNOW
IT'S TWO OVER 36.
THERE ARE... THREE FOURS,
SO THAT WOULD BE THREE OVER 36.
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE,
FOR THE FIVES,
FOUR OVER 36.
FOR THE SIX, WE WOULD HAVE...
FIVE OVER 36.
Rosco says "OH, I'M STARTING TO GET THIS!
"SO SEVEN WOULD BE SIX OVER 36.
"AND EIGHT WOULD BE
SEVEN OVER 36.
AND NINE WOULD BE
EIGHT OVER 36."
Spencer says AH, AH! WAIT JUST
A SECOND, ROSCO.
LOOK AT THE CHART.
Rosco says "OHH! AGAIN, I NEED TO LOOK MORE
CLOSELY AT THINGS.
"UMM, YEAH, YEAH, I SEE NOW.
"EIGHT ACTUALLY HAS LESS THAN
SEVEN.
"AND THEN NI-- HEY, IT ALL GOES
DOWN AGAIN,
UNTIL THERE'S ONLY ONE CHANCE
FOR THE TWELVE!"
Spencer says YEAH. SO USING
A GRAPH LIKE THIS,
WE CAN FIGURE OUT AND
USE THOSE PROBABILITIES,
UMM, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ROLLS
MIGHT COME UP MORE OFTEN.
Rosco says "THAT'S AWESOME!
"WOW, THAT'S-- SO THAT'S...
"THAT'S THE ODDS
FOR EVERY DICE ROLL?
"WE SHOULD PLAY SOME GAMES.
I'LL WIN ALL THE TIME NOW!"
Spencer says BUT WILL YOU, ROSCO?
LET'S HAVE OUR FRIENDS AT HOME
DO ANOTHER PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENT. SO...
Rosco says "WELL, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?"
Spencer says WELL, THEY SHOULD
CREATE A TALLY CHART
WITH THE NUMBERS FROM ONE TO...
SORRY, TWO TO TWELVE
ACROSS THE TOP,
AND THEN YOU CAN ROLL
YOUR PAIR OF DICE 36 TIMES,
'CAUSE THAT'S HOW MANY DIFFERENT
POSSIBILITIES THERE ARE,
AND RECORD THE RESULTS YOU GET.
AND WE CAN FIND OUT IF THE
RESULTS MATCH THE GRAPH.
Rosco says "OHH! AND-- AND-- AND WHILE
THEY'RE DOING THAT,
CAN WE WATCH MORE OF
'THE MYSTERY OF GAMES'?"
Spencer says SURE, ROSCO! THAT SOUNDS LIKE
A GREAT IDEA!
A clip plays.
Kyla says I'M MEETING QIYU. SHE'S
THE REIGNING WORLD YOUTH CHESS
CHAMPION FOR GIRLS UNDER 14.
QIYU STARTED PLAYING WHEN
SHE WAS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD.
SHE TRAVELS TO TOURNAMENTS ALL
AROUND THE WORLD, AND SOMETIMES
SHE HAS TO PLAY FOR 5 HOURS
STRAIGHT AGAINST PLAYERS
WHO ARE MUCH OLDER THAN SHE IS.
AND SHE VERY OFTEN WINS.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HER ABILITY
TO CONCENTRATE ON STRATEGY.
A clip shows Qiyu playing chess against a middle-aged man.
Qiyu leans out a door and says COME ON IN, IT'S RAINING!
Kyla walks into Qiyu's house.
Kyla says WHOA, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
MY NAME'S KYLA,
NICE TO MEET YOU.
Qiyu has black hair in a ponytail and wears a black and white dotted dress.
Qiyu says NO PROBLEM. HI!
I'M QIYU. NICE TO MEET YOU TOO.
Kyla says THIS IS REALLY COOL!
A huge chess game sits on the floor.
Qiyu says OH, THANK YOU. IT'S NOT
USUALLY IN MY LIVING ROOM.
IT'S USUALLY OUT ON OUR LAWN,
BUT IT'S POURING.
Kyla says I WAS HOPING YOU COULD
HELP ME SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.
I HAVE THIS OLD CHESS PIECE,
AND I THINK IT MIGHT BE
CONNECTED TO VIDEO GAMES.
Qiyu says YEAH,
IT'S DEFINITELY A CHESS PIECE.
IT'S DEFINITELY A KNIGHT, TOO.
Kyla says DO YOU KNOW WHERE
IT COMES FROM, BECAUSE
IT SEEMS SUPER OLD.
Qiyu says WELL, I'M NOT SURE WHERE
THIS SPECIFIC PIECE COMES FROM,
BUT I DO KNOW THAT CHESS IS A
VERY OLD GAME. CHESS EVOLVED
FROM AN OLDER GAME CALLED
CHATURANGA. IT WAS PLAYED IN
INDIA ABOUT 1,500 YEARS AGO.
Kyla says 1,500 YEARS OLD!
NOW THAT'S OLD. I THINK CHESS
FITS RIGHT INTO HERMIONE'S
"EVERYTHING OLD" CATEGORY.
A series of pictures show old paintings of chess players.
Kyla says WHAT DO YOU THINK CHESS HAS TO
DO WITH OTHER KINDS OF GAMES,
LIKE VIDEO GAMES?
Qiyu says WELL, CHESS AND VIDEO
GAMES ARE BOTH STRATEGIC,
SO YOU KIND OF PLAY AGAINST
OTHER PEOPLE AND YOU HAVE TO
ANTICIPATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING
NEXT, AND WHAT THE OPPONENT
IS DOING NEXT.
SO THEY'RE BOTH STRATEGIC.
SO, DO YOU PLAY CHESS?
Kyla says YEAH, A BIT. I WAS IN
THE CHESS CLUB A FEW YEARS BACK.
Qiyu says OH, THAT'S REALLY GOOD!
Kyla says YEAH. NO BIG DEAL.
KYLA LAUGHS.
Qiyu says YOU WANT TO PLAY A GAME?
Kyla says WORLD CHAMP?
SURE, WHY NOT?
They play the floor chess. They start moving pawns.
Kyla says DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PIECE?
Qiyu says I MEAN, I KIND OF LIKE
ALL THE PIECES. AND THEN THERE'S
THE KNIGHT. HE'S KIND OF, LIKE,
REALLY TRICKY. HE CAN JUMP OVER
OTHER PIECES. SO, KIND OF
UNEXPECTED. BUT I THINK MY
FAVOURITE WOULD BE THE QUEEN,
FOR SURE, BECAUSE SHE'S REALLY
MAJESTIC AND SHE'S POWERFUL,
AND SHE MOVES LIKE A BISHOP AND
ROOK COMBINED. SO SHE'S THE MOST
POWERFUL PIECE ON THE BOARD.
Kyla says IT'S KIND OF LIKE THE
CHESS PIECES ARE AN ARMY, AND
THE BOARD IS THEIR BATTLEFIELD.
Qiyu says YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
Kyla says CHESS AND THIS VIDEOGAME
I PLAY CALLED CIVILIZATION SEEM
REALLY SIMILAR. IN THE VIDEO
GAME YOU HAVE YOUR ARMY.
EVERYBODY HAS THEIR STRENGTHS
AND WEAKNESSES, AND YOU HAVE
TO PLAN YOUR MOVES TO DEFEAT
THE ENEMY. SAME KIND OF
STRATEGY GAME, RIGHT?
Qiyu says YEAH, VERY SIMILAR TO CHESS.
Kyla says I TRIED AND TRIED TO GET
QIYU'S KING IN CHECKMATE. BUT
SHE EVADED ME EASILY AND PUT MY
OWN KING IN JEOPARDY OF BEING
CAPTURED NUMEROUS TIMES.
A fast motion clip shows them playing chess.
Kyla continues BUT, JUST BECAUSE QIYU IS THE
WORLD CHESS CHAMPION DIDN'T
STOP ME FROM MAKING EXCUSES
ABOUT LOSING.
Qiyu says AND THAT'S CHECKMATE.
Kyla says SERIOUSLY?
Qiyu says YEAH.
Kyla says THE ISSUE IS DEFINITELY
THE BOARD. IT JUST THREW OFF
MY GAME. IT'S WAY TOO BIG.
Qiyu says OH, DEFINITELY! I'M SURE
ABOUT THAT. IF WE PLAYED ON
A REGULAR SIZED CHESSBOARD,
THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT?
Kyla says OH, YEAH.
Qiyu says YEAH?
Kyla says JUST A BIT.
Qiyu grabs her cell phone.
Kyla says OH, SORRY. DO YOU HAVE
TO DO SOMETHING?
Qiyu says OH NO, DON'T WORRY
ABOUT IT. I WAS JUST PLAYING
CHESS ONLINE. IT WAS
MY TURN TO MAKE A MOVE.
Kyla says WAIT A SECOND,
I THINK I'M ON TO SOMETHING.
Kyla phones Tilly.
Tilly says HEY, KYLA!
E.B says HEY.
E.B. connects to the call.
Kyla says HEY, YOU GUYS. I JUST
REALIZED SOMETHING. CHESS IS AN
OLD GAME BASED ON AN EVEN OLDER
GAME. AND NOW WE HAVE ONLINE
CHESS AND VIDEO GAMES LIKE
CIVILIZATION THAT ARE LIKE
A DIFFERENT FORM OF CHESS.
E.B says THAT'S COOL, BUT
WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO
WITH "EVERYTHING OLD."?
Tilly says OH, I CAN'T BELIEVE
THIS DIDN'T CLICK WITH ME
BEFORE! OH TILLY, REALLY! YOU
SHOULD LEARN TO FOCUS AND USE
YOUR ENERGY FOR GOOD INSTEAD OF
GETTING ALL DISTRACTED AND...
E.B says COME ON, TELL US!
Kyla says SPILL IT!
Tilly says IT'S A SAYING,
"EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN."
Kyla says BUT... OLD AND NEW?
IS THAT WHAT HERMIONE MEANT?
E.B. says IT'S STARTING TO MAKE
SENSE WITH OUR MYSTERY. ALL
GAMES GOT MODERNIZED WITH
MOTION CAPTURE, AND CHESS
GOT MODERNIZED WITH COMPUTER
VERSIONS. I BET I CAN MAKE AN
EVEN COOLER VERSION OF CHESS.
I'LL POST WHEN I'M DONE.
Tilly says HANG ON! WELL, HE'S
OFF. I'LL GET BACK TO YOU
ON THAT LAST CLUE, KYLA.
Kyla says STANDING BY.
The call ends.
E.B says YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE
TO HAVE A CHESS BOARD. DO YOU
GUYS HAVE A CHESS BOARD?
Ben says YEAH, I THINK WE COULD
PULL UP A CHESS ASSET HERE.
They look at a computer screen.
E.B says OH, IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!
Ben says WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PUT
ON IT, THOUGH? THAT'S THE THING.
E.B says OH...
Ben says SO WE'VE GOT, LIKE,
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
Ben shows a picture of a robot on a tablet.
E.B says OH, PERFECT.
Ben says YEAH?
E.B. says WE NEED TO NAME IT, THOUGH.
Ben says WALLY.
E.B says SURE, WHY NOT?
A young woman places blue tape on the green floor of the studio to create a chessboard.
Ben says START OVER ON THE LEFT,
THERE. WE'LL DO SOME MOVES.
E.B says I WANT THE ROBOT TO DO
A LITTLE HOP AND WHEN HE JUMPS,
A NICE FLAP IN THE AIR.
Ben says ALRIGHT. BUT THE FIRST
TIME, JUST ONE SQUARE. OKAY?
E.B says ALRIGHT. READY?
Ben says YEAH.
E.B. jumps and the animated robot imitates him.
E.B says HOW WAS THAT?
Ben says GOOD. NOW DO IT DIAGONALLY.
E.B says COOL. OKAY.
Ben says YEAH. COOL.
DO SOME CRAZY ATTACKS.
E.B says I'M READY.
HOW ABOUT A FLYING
DOUBLE ARM CHOP?
Ben says ALRIGHT.
E.B says FLYING DOUBLE ARM CHOP!
Ben says COOL. MAYBE WE COULD DO
THE JUMP SPIN IN ONE DIRECTION
AND THE DOUBLE ARM CHOP
IN THE OTHER.
E.B says OH, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. JUMP
SPIN! DOUBLE ARM FLYING CHOP!
Ben says THAT'LL DO.
E.B says EVEN IN A VIDEO GAME
VERSION, IF YOU KEEP THE SAME
RULES AS CHESS, YOU CAN GIVE
THE PIECES MORE PERSONALITY
AND COOL POWERS.
The clip ends.
Rosco says "WOW! CHESS IS SO COOL!"
"I WANT TO PRETEND I'M A KNIGHT,
AND JUMP OVER EVERYONE."
Spencer says YEAH, CHESS IS A GREAT GAME.
AND IT'S NOT TOO HARD TO LEARN,
BUT CAN TAKE YEARS OF PLAYING
AND PRACTICE TO BECOME
AN EXPERT PLAYER.
Rosco says "UM, UM, HOW MANY DICE TO YOU
NEED FOR CHESS?"
Spencer says ACTUALLY, ROSCO, CHESS DOESN'T
USE ANY DICE AT ALL.
IT'S NOT SO MUCH A GAME ABOUT
PROBABILITY,
IT'S A GAME WHERE YOU USE
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
TO TRICK YOUR OPPONENT INTO
LOSING PIECES.
Rosco says "OH, WOW THAT SOUNDS...
THAT SOUNDS SNEAKY."
Spencer says YEAH. IT CAN BE.
BUT SINCE YOU MENTIONED DICE,
WHY DON'T WE CHECK IN WITH SOME
OF OUR FRIENDS AND SEE
HOW THEIR TWO DICE PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENT WENT.
Rosco says "OKAY."
Spencer says SO, FIRST, LET'S LOOK AT HOW
MARSHALL DID.
He shows a chart on a small piece of paper.
Spencer says SO, WE SEE HIS RESULTS THERE.
THEY'RE KIND OF-- THEY KIND OF
ALIGN WITH IT HERE.
SO, LET'S JUST WRITE HIS RESULTS
INTO OUR CHART.
He copies the results on a bigger chart on the board.
Spencer says HE GOT NO TWOS AT ALL.
HE GOT THREE THREES,
FOUR FOURS, THREE FIVES,
SIX SIXES,
EIGHT SEVENS,
TWO-- OH, SORRY, FOUR EIGHTS,
TWO NINES, TWO TENS,
FOUR ELEVENS
AND ZERO TWELVES.
AND THEN, OUR FRIEND TAWNYA.
OH, OKAY, IT LOOKS LIKE
SHE GOT...
OH, SORRY, THERE'S TAWNYA'S
WORK, MY FRIENDS.
SHE GOT, ONE TWO, ONE THREE,
THREE FOURS,
FIVE FIVES,
THREE SIXES-- OH, DON'T WRITE
THE WRONG NUMBER THERE.
THREE SIXES, SIX SEVENS,
FOUR EIGHTS,
OH, JUST LIKE MARSHALL.
FIVE NINES, FOUR TENS,
TWO ELEVENS AND TWO TWELVES.
AND THEN, LAST WE HAVE
MY FRIEND ROGER.
AND WE'LL THROW HIS RESULTS INTO
THE CHART AS WELL.
HE GOT, THREE TWOS,
TWO THREES, THREE FOURS,
THREE FIVES, SIX SIXES,
FOUR SEVENS, FIVE EIGHTS,
FOUR NINES, FOUR TENS,
ZERO ELEVENS,
AND TWO TWELVES.
OH...
Rosco says "OH, OH, YOU'RE DROPPING STUFF,
YOU SHOULD PUT THAT BACK."
Spencer says OKAY, JUST A SECOND, ROSCO,
IT'S OKAY.
IT'S... IT'S TRICKY SOMETIMES.
Rosco says "OH, OKAY.
OKAY, OKAY, RIGHTY."
"OKAY, UM, UM, WOW.
"THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
"IT LOOKS LIKE SOME OF THE
NUMBERS CAME UP AS WE EXPECTED,
BUT OTHERS DON'T LOOK RIGHT."
"'CAUSE THERE SHOULD ONLY
BE UM, UM, UM,
"SIX SEVENS,
AND MARSHALL GOT EIGHT,
AND, AND, AND..
ROGER ONLY GOT FOUR."
"BUT WAIT.
IS THIS LIKE
THE COIN FLIP AGAIN?"
Spencer says EXACTLY, ROSCO.
JUST LIKE THE COIN PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENT,
WE MIGHT NOT GET THE RESULTS
THAT EXACTLY MATCH
THE LIKELY OUTCOMES.
Rosco says "YEAH! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH,
THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT.
"YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
"SO, THAT'S WHY ROGER GOT THREE
TWELVES,
EVEN THOUGH, WE WERE ONLY
EXPECTING HIM TO GET ONE."
Spencer says EXACTLY.
AND WITH PROBABILITY, THE MORE
TIMES WE DO AN EXPERIMENT,
THE CLOSER OUR RESULT WILL GET
TO WHAT WE EXPECT.
SO, IF WE ADD ALL OF THESE
NUMBERS TOGETHER,
WHAT WE SHOULD SEE IS THAT
THE NUMBERS AT THE SIDES
SHOULD BE THE SMALLEST AND IN
THE MIDDLE, THE LARGEST.
DO YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN I ADD THEM UP?
Rosco says "YEAH, FOR SURE!"
Spencer says OKAY, SO FOR OUR TWO, WE HAVE
ZERO PLUS ONE, PLUS THREE,
IS FOUR.
THEN FOR THREE WE HAVE THREE
PLUS ONE, PLUS TWO...
IS SIX.
THEN FOR FOUR, WE ADD THESE WE
GET TEN.
FOR THE FIVE WE GET 11.
FOR THE SIX, WE GET 15.
FOR THE SEVEN,
WHOA, WE GET 18.
FOR THE EIGHT, OH,
IT GETS SMALLER, 13.
ELEVEN FOR NINE.
TEN FOR TEN, OH THAT'S
INTERESTING.
SIX FOR 11 AND FOUR FOR 12.
SO, YOU CAN SEE OUR SMALLEST
NUMBERS ARE HERE AT THE END.
AND THEY GET LARGER AS THEY GO
INTO THE MIDDLE,
AND THE LARGEST NUMBER,
LIKE WE EXPECTED,
IS THE NUMBER FOR THE AMOUNT OF
ROLLS FOR SEVEN.
Rosco says "WOW!"
"SO, SO, SO, IT'S TRUE."
"IF YOU LOOK AT THE TWO AND
THE 12, THEY'RE THE LOWEST,
"AND THERE IT IS SEVEN HAS 18,
THE HIGHEST.
"THAT'S AWESOME!"
Spencer says THAT'S PROBABILITY, ROSCO.
NOW, WE'VE DONE PROBABILITY
EXPERIMENTS USING COIN FLIPS
AND DICE, HOW ABOUT WE TAKE A
BREAK
AND CREATE A PIECE OF ART
USING PROBABILITY.
Rosco says "WHAT?"
"WE CAN DO MATH AND ART
AT THE SAME TIME NOW?"
Spencer says YOU BET!
NOW WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHILE I
SHOW OUR FRIENDS AT HOME
WHAT THEY CAN DO.
Rosco says "SOUNDS GREAT!"
Spencer says OKAY, MY FRIENDS, NOW WHAT
YOU'RE GOING TO NEED
IS A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER,
A PENCIL,
AND A RULER TO GET STARTED
AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO NEED
SIX DIFFERENT COLOURS OF CRAYONS
OR MARKERS OR PENCIL CRAYONS, OR
WHATEVER YOU HAVE AROUND.
I FOUND-- THIS IS WHAT I HAD
AROUND THE HOUSE,
SO I HAVE RED, GREEN, BLUE,
PURPLE,
BLACK, AND A YELLOW HIGHLIGHTER.
SO THE FIRST THING YOU WANT TO
DO IS WE WANT TO MAKE A GRID
OF EQUAL SIZED SQUARES ON YOUR
PIECE OF PAPER.
AND THERE'S A BIT OF A TRICK TO
DO THIS,
IF YOU JUST WANT TO USE THE
WIDTH OF YOUR RULER
TO FIGURE OUT YOUR SIZE
OF YOUR SQUARES.
SO I CAN PUT MY RULER THERE,
DRAW THE LINE DOWN,
MOVE IT ONTO THAT LINE,
DRAW IT DOWN.
AND I CAN KEEP DOING THAT, I CAN
DO THE SAME THING ACROSS.
AND I'M GONNA DO ACROSS HERE,
AND I CAN KEEP GOING UP.
AND THEN EVENTUALLY, I WILL FILL
UP THAT WHOLE PIECE OF PAPER
OR AS MUCH OF THE PAPER
AS I WANT TO
AND I WILL END UP WITH SOMETHING
THAT LOOKS A LITTLE BIT LIKE...
THIS.
NOW LET'S DO MINE UPSIDE DOWN,
THAT WILL HELP.
SO WE HAVE OUR PIECE OF PAPER
ALL READY NOW
AND I'M GOING TO KEEP THE OTHER
PIECE THERE
BECAUSE IT CAN HELP US GET THIS
TOTALLY RIGHT.
OH, JUST GONNA FIX MY
BOARD HERE.
THERE WE GO.
SO NOW YOU'RE GOING TO
TAKE YOUR DICE,
AND YOU WANT TO CHOOSE A COLOUR
TO REPRESENT
ALL THE DIFFERENT SIDES. SO
THAT'S WHY I NEED SIX COLOURS,
'CAUSE THERE ARE SIX SIDES
TO THE DICE.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO WRITE THE
NUMBER IN THE COLOUR BESIDE.
SO I WANT RED TO BE ONE.
I'LL MAKE GREEN TWO.
I'LL MAKE YELLOW THREE.
I'LL MAKE, LET'S SEE, FOUR CAN
BE BLACK.
FIVE CAN BE BLUE.
AND I'LL MAKE SIX PURPLE.
SO NOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO
IS I'M GOING TO ROLL MY DICE.
SO I'M GONNA ROLL IT, I'M
ROLLING IT RIGHT NOW.
I GOT A ONE.
AND BECAUSE I GOT A ONE, IT
MEANS I NEED TO FILL IN
ONE OF THOSE SQUARES THE
COLOUR RED.
NOW YOU CAN FILL IN ANY
SQUARE YOU WANT,
BUT I'M GOING TO START, KINDA,
I'M GONNA MAKE MINE
KIND OF LIKE I'M WRITING A
PARAGRAPH,
GOING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT AND
THEN DOWN THE PAGE.
AND I'M GOING TO DO THIS A
LITTLE FAST RIGHT NOW
CAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE
TO SPEND TOO, TOO LONG,
BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO TAKE
FOREVER. SO HERE WE GO.
SO I DO MY FIRST ONE WITH A NICE
BIT OF RED HERE.
AND THEN I CAN ROLL THE DICE
AGAIN, AND I GOT A FIVE.
AND MY FIVE I CAN SEE IS BLUE,
MAKE THEM KINDA LIKE, SCRIBBLY,
KINDA CARTOONY FUN.
AND THEN I ROLL AGAIN. AND I
GOT ANOTHER FIVE!
WOW, SO WE'VE GOT TWO BLUE
IN A ROW NOW.
THIS IS HOW IT MAKES IT
INTERESTING BECAUSE WE DON'T
REALLY KNOW, WE KNOW WE'LL USE
THE SIX COLOURS
BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ORDER
OF THEM WILL BE.
FOR INSTANCE, I JUST ROLLED
ANOTHER FIVE!
THAT'S SO MANY IN A ROW!
THE CHANCES OF THAT ARE
LESS AND LESS
'CAUSE WE KNOW THAT IN EVERY SIX
ROLLS,
IT'S LIKELY TO GET ONE OF EACH
NUMBER, HOPEFULLY.
AND NOW I ROLLED A TWO, THAT
WILL BE MY GREEN.
AND I'LL KEEP GOING. OH,
ANOTHER-- I THINK THIS DICE
MIGHT BE A TRICK DICE, I GOT
ANOTHER FIVE.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? IT CAN
STILL HAPPEN.
JUST BECAUSE IT'S NOT PROBABLE
DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
OH, I GOT A SIX! THAT'S OUR
FIRST PURPLE! NICE.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA KEEP ON
GOING, WE GOT A ONE AGAIN,
SO WE HAVE A RED BESIDE
THAT PURPLE.
OH, LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE-- NOW WE
HAVE TWO PRIMARY COLOURS
AND TWO SECONDARY COLOURS.
He continues coloring the sheet of paper.
Spencer says ANOTHER TWO,
SO WE GOT GREEN HERE, ADJACENT
TO THAT FIRST ONE,
JUST OVER THE DIAGONAL.
AND WE GO AGAIN, I GOT
ANOTHER SIX.
MAN, WE'VE-- FOUR AND THREE,
THEY'RE NOT COMING IN HERE YET.
THAT'S KINDA-- I WONDER WHEN
WE'LL GET ONE OF THOSE!
THE CHANCES ARE WE'LL GET
ONE EVENTUALLY,
THERE'S A LOT OF SQUARES THERE.
THERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
I COLOUR THAT IN.
JUST GONNA FLATTEN OUT MY PAPER
HERE SO IT LOOKS NICER.
THERE WE GO.
AND ANOTHER ROLL. AND WE HAVE A
THREE. THERE'S OUR FIRST THREE,
SO WE GET TO FINALLY USE THE
HIGHLIGHTER!
LOOK AT THAT! IT'S ALMOST LIKE
A NEON YELLOW. FUN!
AND ANOTHER SIX.
THERE WE GO.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE
PATCHWORK THAT WE'RE CREATING,
THIS IS ACTUALLY SHOWING WHAT
PROBABILITY
CAN LOOK LIKE VISUALLY.
I GOT ANOTHER SIX.
I GOT ANOTHER TWO. ON THIS
EDGE ONE HERE,
ON THIS SIDE COLUMN, IT LOOKS,
IT'S ALMOST A PATTERN ITSELF.
WE HAVE GREEN, THEN PURPLE,
THEN GREEN.
A LOT OF GREEN AND PURPLE IN
THAT CORNER, INTERESTING.
OH, I GOT ANOTHER FIVE, SO WE
HAVE ANOTHER BLUE DOWN HERE.
OH, WE HAD A LITTLE BREAK FROM
BLUE FOR A WHILE.
ANOTHER TWO, I'LL DO THAT
WITH MY GREEN.
NOT TOO MANY MORE ROLLS.
ANOTHER TWO?!
GOT A FEW TIMES WHERE WE CAN SEE
WE GET TWO ROLLS IN A ROW.
AND WE CAN KIND OF SEE THAT,
BECAUSE, AGAIN,
WE ARE SHOWING ALL THE ROLLS
WITH COLOURS.
ANOTHER ONE.
AND WE GOT ANOTHER TWO.
WE GOT SOME RED AND GREEN AND A
LITTLE BIT OF BLUE
JUST ON THIS ROW.
AND WE'RE ONTO OUR LAST ROLL...
LAST ROW.
WE HAVE A ONE.
IT'S INTERESTING, WE HAVE HAD NO
FOURS SO FAR.
I WONDER, THAT-- THAT SEEMS
PRETTY UNLIKELY TO ME.
OH, ANOTHER SIX.
AND THREE MORE TO GO, LET'S SEE
WHAT HAPPENS!
OH, WE FINALLY GOT A FOUR!
WE GET TO FINALLY USE THE BLACK
MARKER. THAT'S AWESOME!
SO NOW WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE OF
EVERYTHING IN HERE,
AND ANOTHER FIVE. THAT'S
MY BLUE.
AND LAST WE HAVE-- LASTLY, AND
WITH A ONE!
WE STARTED AND ENDED WITH THE
SAME NUMBER.
OKAY, SO YOU CAN SEE HERE...
THAT, WE CAN SEE, IT ALMOST
LOOKS LIKE IT'S RANDOM SQUARES
BUT REALLY IT'S JUST SHOWING THE
PROBABILITY
OF WHEN WE ROLLED THE DICE
RIGHT NOW.
AND I KNOW THAT, UH,
WHEN I SEE THIS PIECE OF ART
THAT THERE CAN BE VARIATION.
THERE IT IS. YOU CAN GIVE YOUR
PIECE A TITLE
AND EVEN SHOW THE RULE YOU USED
TO CREATE IT
AND HANG IT ON YOUR WALL.
LET'S SEE, I THINK WHEN I PUT A
TITLE ON MINE,
I'M GOING TO CALL IT "25 DICE
THROWS AND A RAINBOW."
Rosco says "WOW! I LOOOVE RAINBOWS!
"THAT LOOKS GREAT, MR. DE MAN,.
"BUT, BUT-- ARE YOU SURE
EVERYONE'S WON'T LOOK
"EXACTLY THE SAME IF THEY FOLLOW
THE SAME RULE?"
Spencer says THAT IS WHAT'S AWESOME ABOUT
THIS, ROSCO.
EVEN IF SOMEONE DID THE
SAME COLOURS
WITH THE SAME GRID,
HOW DO YOU THINK, FROM WHAT YOU
LEARNED ABOUT PROBABILITY,
ARE THE CHANCES THAT THEY'LL
COME UP WITH EXACTLY THE SAME
ROLLS IN THE SAME ORDER?
Rosco says "OH, I SEE NOW.
"UM, FROM WHAT I'VE LEARNED
SO FAR,
"I-- I THINK THE CHANCES OF
THAT ARE REALLY,
"REALLY, REALLY LOW."
Spencer says THAT'S RIGHT, ROSCO. NOW I GAVE
THIS ART CHALLENGE
TO SOME OF MY FRIENDS A
FEW DAYS AGO.
LET'S SEE HOW THEIR PROBABILITY
ART TURNED OUT.
SO MY FRIEND MARSHALL
MADE ONE KIND OF LIKE THIS.
IT LOOKS LIKE HE FOLDED
THE PAPER
AND THEN DRAWED ON
THE FOLDED LINES,
AND HE CALLED HIS
"MARSHALL'S SEVEN BLUES MEANS
SEVEN FIVES."
He pins the drawing on the board.
Spencer says AHH, THE BLUE MUST HAVE
REPRESENTED FIVE.
I MEAN, BLUE-- THEY MUST HAVE
ROLLED FIVE SEVENS.
SORRY, SO CONFUSING SOMETIMES!
AND NEXT WE HAVE, AHH,
LOOK AT THIS,
THIS IS TAWNYA'S PROBABILITY
PATCHWORK.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL, TAWNYA!
FANTASTIC.
NEXT WE HAVE-- OH WOW! LOOK WHAT
NANCY LYNN DID!
SHE HAS...
SHE CALLED HERS
"THE ODDS ARE BUTTONS."
AND SHE MADE A GRID, AND SHE
MUST HAVE HAD A WHOLE BUNCH
OF BUTTONS LYING AROUND THE
HOUSE THAT SHE COULD USE
TO MAKE HER PROBABILITY ART.
AND LAST, THIS ONE IS
REALLY COOL.
ROGER, IT LOOKS LIKE HE TOOK
SOME LEGO AND DICE.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE, HE
SET UP EACH COLOUR
AND HE MADE THEM INTO A
GRID AS WELL.
THAT LOOKS FANTASTIC, ROGER!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE,
FOR SHARING!
YEAH, ISN'T THAT FANTASTIC...
WHERE'D YOU GO, ROSCO?"
Rosco says "OH, JUST A SECOND.
RIGHT HERE!"
"UM, UM, WOW! IT DOES LOOK
AWESOME!
"IT'S-- IT'S-- IT'S A GALLERY
OF PROBABILITY!
"AWESOME!"
Spencer says OKAY, SO WHY DON'T WE LET OUR
FRIENDS AT HOME
KEEP WORKING ON THEIR WORK WHILE
WE WATCH THE END
OF THE
MYSTERY FILES
EPISODE,
"THE MYSTERY OF GAMES?"
Rosco says "GREAT IDEA, MR. DE MAN!"
A clip plays.
Tilly receives a call on her computer.
Tilly says HEY, E.B.!
E.B says HEY! WHAT DID YOU THINK
OF MY CHESS PAWN AVATAR?
Kyla says I HAVE TO GIVE IT
TO YOU. IT WAS PRETTY COOL.
Tilly says AND YOU'RE RIGHT, E.B.
I WAS PLAYING... I MEAN,
RESEARCHING MORE GAMES. AND
LOTS CAN BE CUSTOMIZED, FROM
PERSONALIZING YOUR OWN AVATAR TO
BUILDING AND DECORATING A HOUSE.
E.B says LIKE THE SIMS.
Kyla says OH YEAH! I LOVE THAT GAME.
Tilly says I'M PERSONALLY STILL
HOOKED ON TIC-TAC-TILLY, WHICH
I CUSTOMIZED MYSELF. BUT CHECK
IT OUT, I HAVE A LEAD ON THE
LAST CLUE. THERE'S A GAME
CALLED THE ROYAL GAME OF UR
THAT USES DICE LIKE THE ONES
FROM HERMIONE'S FILE.
IT WAS DISCOVERED IN A TOMB
THAT'S ALMOST 5,000 YEARS OLD.
Kyla says WELL, THAT TAKES CARE
OF THE "OLD" PART OF THE LABEL.
E.B. says I WONDER IF IT'S A STRATEGY
GAME, LIKE CHESS? AND WHAT'S THE
"NEW AGAIN" PART OF THE CLUE?
Kyla says I BET SOMEONE AT THE
NEIGHBORHOOD GAME CAFÉ KNOWS.
I'M HEADING OVER.
Tilly says GOOD IDEA!
The call ends.
Kyla and Qiyu shake hands.
Kyla says THANK YOU SO MUCH, QIYU.
IT'S BEEN REALLY FUN.
Qiyu says NO PROBLEM, KYLA.
IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.
Now, Kyla walks down the street. She records herself.
Kyla says I'M MEETING STEVE.
HE'S A GAME GURU, WHICH MEANS
HE KNOWS A LOT ABOUT ALL
KINDS OF GAMES. HE WORKS
AT THIS GAME CAFÉ.
Videogames sit on several shelves in a café.
Kyla says HI, IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU.
MY NAME'S KYLA.
Steve is in his late forties, with a goatee and long grayish hair. He's wearing a patterned gray shirt over a T-shirt.
Steve says HI KYLA. I'M STEVE.
Kyla says THERE ARE SO MANY GAMES HERE!
Steve says THERE ARE A LOT OF
GAMES. WE, OURSELVES, HAVE ABOUT
2,000-3,000 GAMES HERE
AT SNAKES and LATTES.
Kyla says WOW!
Steve says DID YOU KNOW THAT SINCE
MANKIND STARTED PLAYING GAMES,
WE THINK THERE ARE ABOUT
75,000 DIFFERENT GAMES
THAT HAVE BEEN INVENTED?
Kyla says WOW! I WISH I HAD TIME
TO STAY AND PLAY THEM ALL,
BUT I HAVE A MYSTERY TO SOLVE.
Steve says A MYSTERY?
Kyla says WE FOUND OUT THESE COME
FROM A SUPER OLD GAME CALLED UR.
DO YOU HAVE IT HERE?
Steve says YEAH, WE DO. THAT IS
A REPLICA OF A DIE FROM UR.
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK
AT A WHOLE SET?
Kyla says SURE!
Steve says COME WITH ME.
Kyla says THIS DOES NOT LOOK
5,000 YEARS OLD.
Steve says HA! HA! NO! THIS IS
A REPLICA. ANY GAME THAT IS
ACTUALLY 5,000 YEARS OLD WOULD
BE IN A MUSEUM. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
MAKING COPIES FOR A LONG TIME.
Kyla says SO HOW DID THEY KNOW
WHAT RULES TO USE?
Steve says WELL, THEY DON'T, REALLY.
WHEN THIS GOT FOUND IN AN
ANCIENT CEMETERY, THERE WASN'T
A COPY OF THE RULES SO PEOPLE
JUST SORT OF TOOK A GUESS.
I'LL SHOW YOU HOW I PLAY.
Kyla says OKAY.
Steve says IT'S A RACE. YOU'RE
TRYING TO GET YOUR PIECES TO
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOARD, AND
IF YOU LAND ON AN ENEMY PIECE,
YOU REMOVE IT FROM THE GAME.
SO IT'S SORT OF SORRY!
MEETS CHESS, A LITTLE BIT.
Kyla says BUT OBVIOUSLY THIS
TAKES LUCK, TOO, RIGHT?
Steve says ANY GAME WITH DICE
TAKES LUCK. IF YOU ROLL WHITE
TIPS, YOU GET TO MOVE PIECES.
YOU WANT TO BE WHITE OR BROWN?
Kyla says I'LL BE WHITE.
Steve says OKAY, THERE YOU GO.
Kyla rolls the pyramid dice.
Kyla says I GOT 1...
Steve says 1 MOVE.
Kyla says SO...
Steve says THERE YOU GO.
ALSO GOT 1.
LET'S DO THAT.
Kyla says SO YOU WOULD SAY THAT
THIS IS, LIKE, A STRATEGY GAME?
Steve says OH, DEFINITELY.
Kyla says OH, 1. SORRY!
Steve says DOES THIS GAME
REMIND YOU OF ANYTHING?
Kyla says NO, NOT REALLY.
Steve says HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS GAME?
Kyla says I THINK I HAVE BEFORE.
Steve says THIS IS BACKGAMMON.
Kyla says OH, OKAY.
Steve says BACKGAMMON IS ABOUT
3,000 YEARS OLD AND IT COMES
FROM THE ANCIENT LAND OF PERSIA,
WHICH IS IN THE MIDDLE EAST...
ALSO WHERE UR WAS FOUND.
A clip shows a map. A red line highlights Persia.
Steve says UR DATES BACK 5,000 YEARS. AND
SINCE THEY COME FROM THE SAME
PART OF THE WORLD, IT'S
A GOOD BET THAT BACKGAMMON
IS AN EVOLVED VERSION OF UR.
IT USES DICE TO CONTROL THE
MOVEMENT, JUST LIKE UR DOES.
Kyla says SO IT HAS LUCK IN IT, TOO?
Steve says OH, YEAH. THERE'S
DEFINITELY SOME LUCK. BUT THIS
IS VERY MUCH A GAME OF SKILL.
THE BROWN PLAYER IS TRYING TO
BRING ALL THEIR PIECES AROUND
TO HERE, AND GET THEM OFF
THE BOARD. THE WHITE PLAYER IS
TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING,
BUT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
Kyla says OKAY, SO THIS IS REALLY
SIMILAR TO WHAT WE WERE DOING
IN THIS GAME.
Steve says VERY MUCH. ROLLING
DICE, MOVING PIECES. 1, 2, 3...
Kyla says OUR MYSTERY FILE LABEL
SAYS "EVERYTHING OLD," AND WE
THINK IT MEANS THE EXPRESSION
"EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN."
ARE THERE ANY OTHER OLD GAMES
THAT ARE MADE INTO NEW ONES?
Steve says ABSOLUTELY. THERE ARE TONS.
Kyla says LIKE WHAT?
Steve says WELL, LET ME SHOW YOU.
I'M SURE YOU'VE PLAYED
SNAKES and LADDERS BEFORE.
Kyla says YEAH. MANY TIMES.
Steve says SO, THIS IS ACTUALLY
BASED ON AN ANCIENT GAME FROM
INDIA. WHEN ENGLAND COLONIZED
INDIA, THEY BROUGHT THE GAME
BACK AND IT GRADUALLY MADE ITS
WAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
THE IDEA BEHIND IT WAS IT WAS
MEANT TO TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT
MORALITY. YOU DO GOOD THINGS,
YOU GO UP TOWARD HEAVEN. YOU DO
BAD THINGS, AND YOU GO DOWN.
As he speaks, a blue arrow highlights on the game board, followed by a yellow snake.
Steve says AND THAT'S WHERE THE LADDERS
AND THE SNAKES COME FROM.
Kyla says SO WHAT PART OF
THE OLD GAME DID THEY KEEP
WHEN THEY MADE THE NEW ONE?
Steve says THE MECHANICS
ARE BASICALLY THE SAME.
YOU ROLL THE DIE, YOU MOVE...
Kyla says OKAY. SO, THAT'S WHAT'S
OLD. AND THEY MODERNIZED THE
BOARD AND THE PLAYING PIECES
TO MAKE IT NEW. I'M GETTING THE
PICTURE. MIND IF I LOOK AROUND?
Steve says YOU GO RIGHT AHEAD.
Kyla says THANKS.
Now, Kyla stands by a shelf.
She records herself and says I'M SEEING A LOT OF GAMES THAT
I RECOGNIZE FROM VIDEO GAMES.
OH, LIKE WORLD OF WARCRAFT.
OR EVEN PAC-MAN.
Steve says THOSE ARE GAMES THAT
STARTED OUT AS VIDEO GAMES,
AND INSPIRED PEOPLE TO MAKE
BOARD GAMES OF THEM.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF GAMES
THAT GO THE OTHER WAY.
Kyla says KIND OF LIKE TICKET
TO RIDE OR EVEN CLUE. BECAUSE
THESE ARE VIDEO GAMES, TOO.
Steve says YEAH. MANY VIDEO GAMES EVOLVED
FROM BOARD GAMES AND CARD GAMES.
Kyla says I THINK I HAVE
THIS MYSTERY SOLVED!
Later, the team looks at a video of. E.B. jumping in the green studio set.
E.B says JUMP SPIN...
DOUBLE ARM FLYING CHOP! HEY!
Tilly stops the video.
E.B says YOU KNOW, THAT WAS
A FUN MYSTERY. WE WERE,
LIKE, GAME DETECTIVES.
Tilly says GREAT AUNT HERMIONE
REALLY LEFT US HANGING WITH
THE ."" AT THE END OF
HER "EVERYTHING OLD" LABEL.
E.B says MM-HM.
Kyla says BUT, WE SOLVED IT.
NOTHING GETS PAST US.
Tilly says SHE WAS SAYING
"EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN."
E.B says YEAH. EVEN THE NEWEST,
COOLEST GAMES STILL HAVE
ELEMENTS FROM GAMES THAT
ARE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.
Kyla says AND, IF ONE OF THE
OLDEST GAMES EVER DISCOVERED IS
ABOUT 5,000 YEARS OLD, I THINK
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PLAYING GAMES
SINCE HUMANS EXISTED.
E.B says WOW. YOU KNOW, I BET
PEOPLE WERE PLAYING GAMES WITH
STICKS AND STONES IN THE SAND
EVEN BEFORE CITIES EXISTED.
Kyla says HEY, WHAT KIND OF GAMES
DO YOU THINK WE'LL BE PLAYING
IN THE FUTURE?
E.B says OH...
HOW ABOUT VIRTUAL REALITY?
Kyla says YEAH!
E.B says NO CONSOLES. NO BOARDS.
Tilly says THAT REMINDS ME.
I MADE ANOTHER GAME.
CHECK IT OUT.
E.B says OH! THAT'S AWESOME!
Tilly plays a game called "Chicken Charge" on her computer. It shows her driving a space ship to escape from a chicken.
Kyla says LET ME TRY, LET ME TRY.
Tilly says HEY! HEY!
WAIT A MINUTE! 2 AGAINST 1!
E.B says OH! I WIN!
I AM THE WINNER!
Tilly says NOT FAIR.
Kyla says I CALL FOR A REMATCH.
E.B. says OKAY, LET'S DO IT AGAIN.
Kyla says LET'S DO IT AGAIN.
COME ON...
Tilly says YOU GUYS ARE SO FAST.
All say MYSTERY SOLVED. POSTING
TO
THE MYSTERY FILES
WEBSITE.
A new video shows the pictures and files recorded and gathered during the episode saved in a box, on a website.
The end credits roll.
An Apartment 11 Production. In association with TVO Kids.
Executive Producer, Jonathan Finkerstein.
TVO Kids and Apartment 11 Productions Logos appear.
(music plays)
An animated clip shows a big orange X on a blue background. It explodes and letters and numbers come out of it in all directions and float around.
Mathematician Eric appears on screen. He's in his mid-twenties. He has short dark brown hair and a beard. He wears a red T-shirt with the show's logo and blue jeans.
The screen turns red and the logo of the show appears next. It reads "MathXplosion." Meanwhile, cones, cubes and dices float around it.
Kids voices sing a song with lyrics that go WHAT A HIT
IT'S NOT A TRICK
IT'S MATHXPLOSION
JUST FOR YOU
COOL AND NEW
MATHXPLOSION!
The episode starts with Eric standing in a workroom. A green ice floats near him until he grabs it.
Eric says HAH! I BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT
I HAVE X-RAY VISION.
He puts on goggles and says IT'S TRUE! SEE THIS STACK
OF DICE?
BELIEVE IT OR NOT,
I CAN SEE THROUGH THEM
AND TELL YOU THE SUM OF ALL THE
NUMBERS ON THE HIDDEN FACES!
WHAT? YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME?
WELL, STICK AROUND, 'CAUSE BY
USING THIS ONE EASY TRICK,
YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
(making buzzing noise)
FOR MY NEXT TRICK, I'LL NEED
A VOLUNTEER.
OH.
HELLO!
He snaps his fingers and his double appears wearing a blue T-shirt.
Eric says OKAY, SO PLEASE SPIN THOSE DICE,
AND STACK THEM
ONE ON TOP OF ANOTHER.
I'LL TURN AROUND SO I CAN'T SEE.
(alarm sounding)
OKAY, ALL RIGHT.
SO, UH, HOW'D WE DO?
GREAT, NOW WITHOUT SEEING THEM,
I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE SUM OF
ALL THE HIDDEN FACES
IN THE STACK IS...
ABRACADABRA! ABRA-KAZEEN!
THE SUM OF THE HIDDEN FACES
IS...
17!
Eric's double looks shocked.
Eric says YEP. WHAT? DON'T BELIEVE ME?
ADD THEM UP AND CHECK FOR
YOURSELF.
Eric's double checks the stack of dice. A sum reads "3 plus 6 plus 1 plus 6 plus 1 equals 17."
Eric says HOW'D I KNOW?
ALLOW ME TO SHARE THE SECRET
OF THE DICE. SHH.
Eric snaps his fingers again making his double disappear.
Eric says OKAY, SO MAYBE I DON'T HAVE
X-RAY VISION EXACTLY.
HERE'S THE SECRET.
ON ALL REGULAR DIE, THE SUM OF
ANY TWO "OPPOSITE FACES."
WILL ALWAYS BE SEVEN.
THE OPPOSITE FACE OF ONE IS SIX.
SIX PLUS ONE EQUALS SEVEN.
ON REGULAR DICE, THE OPPOSITE
FACES ALWAYS, ALWAYS,
ALWAYS, ALWAYS SUM TO SEVEN.
SO ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THE
SUM OF ALL THE HIDDEN FACES
IS MULTIPLY SEVEN BY THE NUMBER
OF DICE YOU HAVE IN YOUR STACK.
THEN SUBTRACT THE TOP NUMBER.
THREE DICE?
SO MULTIPLE THREE BY SEVEN,
YOU GET 21.
NOW ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TAKE A
QUICK GLANCE AT THE TOP FACE.
THEN WE SUBTRACT THAT NUMBER
FROM 21.
A clip shows Eric glancing at the top dice. A subtraction reads "21 minus 4 equals 17."
Eric says EASY PEASY.
Eric draws a circle on a blackboard and colours it inside. He taps on it and a new clip plays. It features animated dice.
Eric says DICE COME IN MANY OTHER SHAPES
AND SIZES.
THERE ARE DICE SHAPED LIKE
SPHERES,
TETRAHEDRAL DIE.
A PYRAMID-SHAPED DIE WITH
FOUR FACES.
DODECAHEDRAL DIE,
WITH 12 FACES.
ICOSAHEDRAL DIE WITH 20 FACES,
AND THAT'S JUST A START.
ALL YOU NEED FOR THE TRICK I
SHOWED YOU
IS THREE DICE.
OH, AND YOU DON'T NEED SPECIAL
X-RAY GOGGLES TO DO IT.
REMEMBER! IT'S NOT MAGIC.
IT'S MATH.
A big explosion brings the show's logo back on the screen.
(music plays)
The end credits roll.
Produced by GAPC Entertainment in association with TVOKids.
Copyright GAPC Entertainment (MathPlosion) Incorporated, 2016.
The clip ends.
Spencer says SO ROSCO, WE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT
PROBABILITY TODAY.
LIKE, HOW DO YOU THINK
EVERYTHING WENT?
Rosco says "OH, OH, I THINK IT WENT WELL.
BUT, BUT...
"WE'RE REALLY RUNNING OUT OF
TIME, SO, SO...
"I THINK WE HAVE TO, UH, FINISH,
"AND SAY OUR THANK-YOUS AND
GOOD-BYES."
Spencer says WELL, OKAY, SURE. UM, WE
CAN DO THAT.
WELL, I GUESS THAT'S IT FOR OUR
FIRST
POWER HOUR.
HOW DO YOU THINK IT WENT?
Rosco says "OH YEAH, IT WAS-- WELL,
I WAS AMAZING. AND...
"AND MR. DE MAN, YOU WERE
PRETTY GOOD TOO."
Spencer says THANKS, ROSCO. WELL, WE'D LIKE
TO THANK OUR FRIENDS
AT
TVOKIDS,
AND OUR FAMILIES,
COLLEAGUES, AND FRIENDS
WHO HAVE HELPED US WITH THEIR
LOVE AND SUPPORT.
Rosco says "YEAH, AND OUR STUDENTS FROM
HUNTINGTON PARK,
"AND ALL OUR NEW FRIENDS, AT
HOME AND ONLINE."
Spencer says KEEP SMILING, EVERYONE!
Rosco says "AND REMEMBER, YOU ARE AWESOME!"
The caption changes to "TVO Kids would like to thank the following volunteer teacher for teaching the children of Ontario from their homes: Kenisha Bynoe, Amanda Cameron, Joel Seaman, Robert Vidler, Vickita Bhatt, Spencer de Man, Cameron Steltman."
(soft music plays)
A caption reads "Copyright 2020, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority."
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