Explosive short films, full length talks from the world’s leading scientists and writers, and videos to challenge the way you look at the world.
The Royal Institution is a 200 year old independent charity creating opportunities for the public and scientists to explore science together, through events, education, and the CHRISTMAS LECTURES.
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The Royal Institution
Is mathematics invented or discovered? 🧮 Discuss in the comments!
8 hours ago | [YT] | 138
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The Royal Institution
At what temperature does water boil on the surface of Mars? 👽
3 days ago | [YT] | 496
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The Royal Institution
What do you think is the biggest unsolved problem in physics? (No correct answers by design — all are questions in science or philosophy of science open for discussion.)
5 days ago | [YT] | 368
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The Royal Institution
A question steeped in Ri history for you! What actually causes the sky to be blue?
1 week ago | [YT] | 510
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The Royal Institution
Baked Alaska is a dessert that should not work. Frozen ice cream. Blowtorch. The ice cream stays frozen.
In Part 2, Ben and David not only make one live on stage — they test whether the meringue is a good enough insulator to protect a human hand from a blowtorch. One of them volunteers.
The science of cooking has never been this dramatic. Live now. 🎥
1 week ago | [YT] | 17
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The Royal Institution
Two liquids walk into a kitchen. One is oil. One is egg. They come out a solid.
Harvard physicist David Weitz and Sorted Food's Ben Ebbrell are here to explain why — and it's one of the most satisfying things we've ever filmed. Part 1 is live now. 🎥
1 week ago | [YT] | 15
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The Royal Institution
Which planet has the longest day?
1 week ago | [YT] | 708
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The Royal Institution
Part 2 of the Psychology of Chess is LIVE!
🤖 Is this the end of "practice makes perfect"?
In tonight's lecture, International Chess Master Fernand Gobet reveals that an AI playing with zero calculation — pure pattern recognition only — achieves an ELO of 2,800. No thinking ahead. Just pattern recognition.
Here's the question: if a machine can reach near-grandmaster level without ever "thinking", what does that tell us about how humans should learn? Is practice still the answer — or is there something more important? 👇
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 25
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The Royal Institution
🧩 Have you ever been trapped by your own best idea?
In our new lecture, Fernand Gobet shows a position where strong players — including candidate masters — completely missed a faster checkmate because their minds were locked onto a brilliant one they'd already found. Even when told a better solution existed, eye-tracking showed they kept looking at the same squares without realising it.
Psychologists call this the Einstellung effect.
Has it ever happened to you — in chess, work, or life? Tell us below 👇
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 18
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The Royal Institution
What was the first microorganism humans ever observed?
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 370
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