Uploaded May 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
While working on the interplay between thermodynamics and information theory, physicist Juan Parrondo realized that a system of losing games could actually produce a winning result. And it isn’t just by playing them in a highly-strategic way; it’s even possible for two guaranteed losers to generate a winner when played randomly.
At the heart of that counterintuitive conclusion is a test of our understanding of probability and relationships between events. From the simplest money-based games and coin flip scenarios to theoretical perpetual motion machines like the Brownian ratchet and flashing Brownian ratchet, Parrondo’s Paradox explores elements of game theory that are inspiring research in fields like biogenetics, finance, and evolutionary biology.
*** SOURCES ***
Finite Math -- Markov Chains
youtube.com/watch?v=tYaW-1kzTZI
youtube.com/watch?v=afIhgiHVnj0
Derek Abbot, Peter Taylor, and Juan Parrando, “Parrondo's Paradoxical Games and the Discrete Brownian Ratchet”
https://www.academia.edu/269127/Parrondos_Paradoxical_Games_and_the_Discrete_Brownian_Ratchet
Stan Wagon’s Parrondo Paradox Demonstration
demonstrations.wolfram.com/TheParrondoParadox
Abhijit Kar Gupta and Sourabh Banerjee, “Parrondo’s Paradox: New Results and New Ideas”
arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1602/1602.04783.pdf
New York Times, “Paradox In Game Theory: Losing Strategy That Wins”
nytimes.com/2000/01/25/science/paradox-in-game-theory-losing-strategy-that-wins.html
S. N. Ethier and Jiyeon Lee, “The flashing Brownian ratchet and Parrondo’s paradox”
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.171685
Andrew Gelman and Deborah Nolan, “You can load a die but you can’t bias a coin”
https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~nolan/Papers/dice.pdf
*** LINKS ***
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twitter.com/TaborTCU
Editing by Aspect Science
youtube.com/channel/UCyi06SeKkiwoAzFVmQtDtfg
Huge Thanks To Paula Lieber
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While working on the interplay between thermodynamics and information theory, physicist Juan Parrondo realized that a system of losing games could actually produce a winning result. And it isn’t just by playing them in a highly-strategic way; it’s even possible for two guaranteed losers to generate a winner when played randomly.
At the heart of that counterintuitive conclusion is a test of our understanding of probability and relationships between events. From the simplest money-based games and coin flip scenarios to theoretical perpetual motion machines like the Brownian ratchet and flashing Brownian ratchet, Parrondo’s Paradox explores elements of game theory that are inspiring research in fields like biogenetics, finance, and evolutionary biology.
*** SOURCES ***
Finite Math -- Markov Chains
youtube.com/watch?v=tYaW-1kzTZI
youtube.com/watch?v=afIhgiHVnj0
Derek Abbot, Peter Taylor, and Juan Parrando, “Parrondo's Paradoxical Games and the Discrete Brownian Ratchet”
https://www.academia.edu/269127/Parrondos_Paradoxical_Games_and_the_Discrete_Brownian_Ratchet
Stan Wagon’s Parrondo Paradox Demonstration
demonstrations.wolfram.com/TheParrondoParadox
Abhijit Kar Gupta and Sourabh Banerjee, “Parrondo’s Paradox: New Results and New Ideas”
arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1602/1602.04783.pdf
New York Times, “Paradox In Game Theory: Losing Strategy That Wins”
nytimes.com/2000/01/25/science/paradox-in-game-theory-losing-strategy-that-wins.html
S. N. Ethier and Jiyeon Lee, “The flashing Brownian ratchet and Parrondo’s paradox”
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.171685
Andrew Gelman and Deborah Nolan, “You can load a die but you can’t bias a coin”
https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~nolan/Papers/dice.pdf
*** LINKS ***
Vsauce2 Links
Twitter: twitter.com/VsauceTwo
Facebook: facebook.com/VsauceTwo
Hosted and Produced by Kevin Lieber
Instagram: instagram.com/kevlieber
Twitter: twitter.com/kevinlieber
Podcast: youtube.com/thecreateunknown
Research And Writing by Matthew Tabor
twitter.com/TaborTCU
Editing by Aspect Science
youtube.com/channel/UCyi06SeKkiwoAzFVmQtDtfg
Huge Thanks To Paula Lieber
etsy.com/shop/Craftality
Get Vsauce's favorite science and math toys delivered to your door!
curiositybox.com
Select Music By Jake Chudnow: youtube.com/user/JakeChudnow
#education #vsauce2
