Summer of Math Exposition

Zorn's Lemma Demystified

This video explains Zorn's lemma: exactly what the statement means, and when and how it is used. The audience is people that know some math and have heard of Zorn's lemma but have no idea what it's actually about.

Analytics

6.5 Overall score*
34 Votes
10 Comments
Rank 29

Comments

Although the topic and the way of teaching was interesting but it's a bit difficult to hold attention through all the technicalities. Instead of directly hitting the topics like Order and Basis, you can give a brief idea on what it's about.

5.5

I understand the point you are trying to make, that the process is the same everytime, and it is effective. It does make the video a bit repetitive, which can be hard to stay focused. I'd say it is an excellent video if you want an explanation of Zorn's lemma, but it is not a video I would recommend someone to watch in their free time.

7

I have hesitated between "better than most" and "outstandig". I finally retain "outstanding" because of the great originality of the topic. Also, the hypnotizing repetition in the structure of the different proofs (the three use cases of Zorn's lemma) is at first look a little annoying, BUT is INDEED a real strength of the video. Thank you very much for having the guts and the generosity to present such a specific topic. I must say I have to watch the second part again (and again ?) to understand the proof of the lemma itself. Thank you so mutch.

9

Really well structured video

7.3

if i could have any suggestion it is that watching with captions active can obscure some of the text near the bottom of the scene i enjoyed this exposition very much thank you motivation 5/10 clarity 5/10 novelty 5/10 memorability 5/10

4.7

Clear, intuitive and nice. It doesnt have many visals but the topic does not need any anyways.

8.5

I like the video, here's my thoughts off the top of my head. Of course I started off with the problem that left me pondering: How are infinite unions possible? This is the one step I am missing. It seems to be the critical missing piece that everything depends on. My intuitive notion of this video is we're proving that infinity exists. Assuming infinite unions are possible seems to be the key. For me, I have informal knowledge of some of the concepts in this video, like getting numbers by starting from the empty set and expanding. I did take a math proofs class in college several years ago and have dug back into linear algebra and mathematical computation using Gilbert Strang's books in the last year. So I like the application to building infinite vector spaces. This is the part of the video I found most intuitive.

7

Sudgy always gets my vote! Very clear explanation

7

rating it high bc this deserves more recognition than it's getting

7.5

Very glad you've *chained* this with Axiom of Choice (AC)/ZFC.

7.3