Numberphile
Shares rank 25 of 48 YouTube channels by recommenders
People recommend it as a free YouTube channel of mathematics videos that sparks curiosity and leads viewers to explore new areas of math. Some critics argue it inspires rather than teaches.
People recommend it as a free YouTube channel of mathematics videos that sparks curiosity and leads viewers to explore new areas of math. Some critics argue it inspires rather than teaches.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Sparks curiosity and deeper math exploration
“It has taught me things from videos I can still recall a decade later and pushed me to explore different areas of math”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “What's a Mathematician to Do?” “provided the exposure and critical nudge to follow up on a piqued curiosity”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “What's a Mathematician to Do?” Recommended alongside 3Blue1Brown
“algorhythm has done wonders from my mathmatical ability by directing me to so much numberphile and 3Blue1Brown”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “My Mathematical Regression” “The greats on youtube are also worth watching: 3B1B, numberphile, etc.”
Comment from 24 Mar 2026 in “Is anybody else bored of talking about AI?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Inspires rather than teaches
“Numberphile doesn't do any education. That's like saying the Discovery Channel is educating a new generation of zoologists.”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “What's a Mathematician to Do?” “inspiration is not education”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “What's a Mathematician to Do?”
Other YouTube channels people recommend
The four most recommended other YouTube channels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3Blue1Brown | 96 | 4 | 96% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Veritasium | 44 | 12 | 79% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Technology Connections YouTube channel | 40 | 3 | 93% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Asianometry | 24 | 1 | 96% | 9 | — | Approved |
| NumberphileThis page | 7 | 1 | 88% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I found useful for context”
“algorhythm has done wonders from my mathmatical ability by directing me to so much numberphile and 3Blue1Brown”
“provided the exposure and critical nudge to follow up on a piqued curiosity”
“inspiration is not education”
“It has taught me things from videos I can still recall a decade later and pushed me to explore different areas of math”
“Numberphile doesn't do any education. That's like saying the Discovery Channel is educating a new generation of zoologists.”
“Numberphile is educating a new generation of young mathematicians for anyone with access to youtube.”
“The greats on youtube are also worth watching: 3B1B, numberphile, etc.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.