Yesterday’s lackluster Academy Awards ceremony may have afforded you some unexpected time for contemplating life’s more urgent questions, such as the one British comedian Alan Davies pursues above: How long is a piece of string? Watch Davies, who is also a frequent panelist on the popular Stephen Fry-hosted quiz show Quite Interesting, explore the riddle’s philosophical implications and inevitable connection to string theory with the help of physics, quantum mechanics, and finally a visit with mathematician Marcus de Sautoy. Fans of the Davies/du Sautoy interaction may also want to check out Du Sautoy’s TED talk on Symmetry, as well as the debates in that video’s comments section. More docs can be found in our collection of 200+ Free Documentaries, part of our larger collection, 4,000+ Free Movies Online: Great Classics, Indies, Noir, Westerns, Documentaries & More.
There is a similar episode on BBC Horizon “Do you know what time it is?” which I throughly enjoyed.