Learning quantum mechanics with Super Mario World
Posted Mar 24th 2008 6:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Video
We love science, even if it totally creeps us out sometimes. Take, for example, this video explaining quantum mechanics and parallel universes via
Super Mario World. Maybe
Tyler Durden was right and we
aren't unique snowflakes, after all. (It's okay, we're trying to hold back the tears, too.)
Still, we love when science is dumbed down to our level (that is, explained using video games we know and love). This video, for example, teaches Hugh Everett's multiverse concept, using 134 overlaid playthroughs of a
Super Mario World hack.
We now conclude your Nintendo Wii Fanboy lesson for today (brought to you by the folks at
PopSci); make sure to run off and tell your mothers what you've learned.
[Via
Gemaga]
Tags: hack, hugh-everett, multiverse, parallel-universe, quantum-mechanics, science, super-mario-world
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-24-2008 @ 6:07PM
Waffala said...
Too awesome, all science should be explained using Nintendo's intellectual properties.
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 6:21PM
Croove55 said...
Next week, Link's spin attack will explain centripetal and centrifugal forces, and the differences between reactive and fictitious centrifugal force. Also, stay tuned as Olimar and Al Gore explain why your car could be slowly killing the world's Pikmin population.
3-24-2008 @ 6:23PM
worm said...
While I appreciate seeing Nintendo in the education world, this is hogwash "science" at best. If you want to call random, gross speculation about parallel universes that could never be proven to exist "science", then go right ahead. This is bull in its purest form.
Plus this video is kinda old.
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 6:53PM
Candace Savino said...
I think you're just bitter because you're not a beautiful, unique snowflake :P
But, to defend my post:
1) Who are you to say that this can never be proven or disproven? How do you know how far science will come many, many, years from now? Also, where would we be if no one ever ventured to speculate or think of a crazy hypothesis? Dismissing something immediately because of incredulity is like hearing that world is flat in the 1400s and immediately believing it to be untrue. Lastly, how can you call something "not science" when people have tried to prove/disprove multiverses using the scientific method? The fact that it's been proven mathetimatically is interesting, even if that means nothing concretely.
2) The video is only a week old, and was only made popular on Digg this weekend. It also hasn't shown up in major gaming blogs, so gamers are probably unfamiliar with it. But yet, I suppose a week is Jesus riding a dinosaur, in internet terms.
:D
3-24-2008 @ 7:05PM
worm said...
This video is NOT only a week old. This exact video (minus the text) was posted on kotaku (which is one of the major gaming blogs) on February 6th. That's where I'd seen it.
http://kotaku.com/353450/super-mario-world-explores-quantum-physics
3-24-2008 @ 7:19PM
Candace Savino said...
"This video is NOT only a week old. This exact video (minus the text) was posted on kotaku (which is one of the major gaming blogs) on February 6th."
i.e. THIS *exact* video IS a week old.
PopSci took the multi-Mario video (the one you linked) and spliced the science lesson directly into it, making it as basic as possible so that non-science minded people could understand it. Which is probably why this video got dugg and not the other one.
Anyway, I can totally see where your frustration is coming from, since the original video was made last month :). So, my bad in that respect (and in also not realizing that it was posted on Kotaku).
3-25-2008 @ 8:39PM
Spekkio said...
And your background and qualifications in physics are...?
Calling science "bull" without being able to back it up is not a valid argument.
3-24-2008 @ 6:26PM
Roto13 said...
I feel smarter already.
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 6:31PM
HPFFE said...
lol, awesome.
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 6:46PM
neekblog said...
heh, reminds me a lot of this:
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/248844
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 6:55PM
Chris said...
This video kind of confused me... I already understood the multiverse theory, and the whole time I was just trying to figure out how all these Marios pertained to the part of the theory he was trying to explain.
Still, it was fun. :-)
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 7:13PM
Mr Khan said...
So this is how those Dark SWAT Kats were able to exist
Now if only i had some dimensional radar
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 7:17PM
xxfanboy87xx said...
i think pspfanboy is alittle too late on this one. this video was first found in 2005. and the splitting mario is a result of how much times the gamer actually died in this Kaizo Mario hacking game.
Reply
3-24-2008 @ 7:20PM
Candace Savino said...
Ah, so I've seen. Sorry about that, guys :D.
Reply
3-25-2008 @ 1:49AM
Patius said...
*head asplodes.
Reply
3-25-2008 @ 3:42AM
DomoBraden said...
"THE VIDEO YOU ARE TRYING TO WATCH IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON."
Nooooooo!!!
*Cue depressing sitcom music*
...Now I feel left out.
Reply
3-25-2008 @ 3:44AM
DomoBraden said...
*10 seconds later.
Nevermind, it's back up again.
*Cue happy music.
Reply
5-05-2008 @ 3:47AM
balungi said...
science fiction insn't the beginning of quantum mechanics but is the beginning of the bigbang phenomena. what about the final and the newly developed wide theory. is it that one truth can explain all the others or does it make nature wrong.found at http://jabarule.livejournal.com and www.freewebs.com/balungilano
Reply