MIT graduates cannot power a light bulb with a battery.

[@noamorwell]

I like how the only guy that did get it correct was the guy who answered "maybe", instead of giving in to the pressure of saying yes outright.

[@PastPresented]

Yes, as indicated from 1:46 onward, what he recognised was that he needed more information about the battery and the bulb to answer Yes or No to the question. The video cheats by not showing people wiring the circuit correctly but still inevitably failing to light the 120v bulb with the 1.5v battery- except the cheat is, as most of the comments sadly illustrate, part of the education. If people don't consider all aspects of the situation (including, in this case, the fact that only the "maybe" guy was shown succeeding with a bulb of more suitable voltage rating) they will get the answers wrong.

[@slayerphoenix6307]

No, the question was whether they could light a light-bulb with a battery and a wire. It doesn't matter that they weren't able to light that light-bulb with that battery and that wire.

[@PastPresented]

It absolutely does matter, because the full correct answer to the question would be something like: "Yes, IF the battery provides a suitable voltage to make the bulb glow in the visible spectrum, AND the wire is long enough to connect the further terminal of the battery to the bulb, AND the bulb is a working light-bulb, as opposed to, for example, a tulip bulb".

[@slayerphoenix6307]

No the general statement contains all the subset possibilities. Proving that birds can fly does not entail proving that every bird can fly. Proving that two or more birds can fly would prove the statement, that birds can fly. If you try to expand the many influences that you are talking about, then you can go further into if the wire is too resistant to current, if the wire is conductive at all, if the surroundings can transmit electromagnetic waves, if you are talking about the moment in which the circuit is connected since inductance can prevent the current from immediately appearing, if the questioned does not have a seizure while attempting to do so. Being able to light a light-bulb in any situation proves the statement of yes to the question, "do you think you could light a bulb with a battery and wire?" One instance in which they cannot, does not disprove the possibility that they can. If that were the case, then all laws of physics would be "disproven." If anybody is wrong, the creators of this video are in the wrong for not displaying the correct way to light the light-bulb with that set of equipment, if there even was a way. By your logic, I could ask them the question, then immediately shoot them on the spot. Therefore their statement would be wrong because they couldn't prove it using the equipment I was about to provide them.

[@slayerphoenix6307]

Also, it is the question that needs fixing. "Do you think you could light a bulb with a battery and wire?" Should be "Do you think you could light THIS bulb with THIS battery and THIS wire?" Without specifying, the statement defaults to the general, and you just become an idiot that is trying to make graduates look like idiots with your flawed logic. If you tried to do this as a test for something like the SAT/GMAT/whatever, you would get sued and lose your job.

[@inoffensiveusername4684]

The woman who said the current couldn't flow without a complete circuit was technically correct... she simply didn't know that that base of the bulb could be used as a connection. Simply a misunderstanding of the properties of the bulb as opposed to electrical current theory. This is a prime example of education vs experience in the field.

[@daemn42]

I don't think it's failure to understand the properties or construction of the bulb at all. I suspect that had she been given a 2nd wire she would have immediately connected it to the light bulb and battery correctly (as would several of the others). The problem here is not failure to understand how the most basic electrical circuit works, but failure to adapt when a simple problem is presented in a non-standard way. People just do not visualize a light bulb (or motor or almost anything else) in direct contact with its power source. I do think this non-adaptability (related to poor critical thinking) is a real problem, but the video misrepresents it.

[@rajharsh3114]

Blake Marshall When you connect the end of the bulb you basically complete the circuit. And I think she was an Indian. And there was another genius who was a Black person if you will.

[@learningDeepL]

"In their classic paper Perception in Chess, Chase and Simon reported on a study that compared the abilities of experts and novices to remember the positions of pieces in chess. *When pieces were arranged on the board as they might be during a game*, the experts' memories were far superior to the novices'. When the pieces were arranged randomly, there was little difference between the memories of the experts and the novices. The traditional interpretation of this result is that an expert's memory is not inherently better than a novice's but that the expert has a knowledge structure that helps him or her remember particular kinds of information. When new information corresponds to the knowledge structure -- in this case, the sensible placement of chess pieces -- the expert can remember it easily. When new information doesn't correspond to a knowledge structure -- the chess pieces are randomly positioned -- the expert can't remember it any better than the novice. A few years later, Ben Shneiderman duplicated Chase and Simon's results in the computer-programming arena and reported his results in a paper called Exploratory Experiments in Programmer Behavior. Shneiderman found that when program statements were arranged in a sensible order, experts were able to remember them better than novices. *When statements were shuffled, the experts' superiority was reduced.* Shneiderman's results have been confirmed in other studies. The basic concept has also been confirmed in the games Go and bridge and in electronics, music, and physics." src. CodingHorrors

[@Mr30friends]

***** Holy fuck dude. I do not think you understand the simplicity of the task they were told to do. There is no excuse except for the editing.

It's a fucking light bulb not a nuclear reactor.

[@ColeJT]

The guy who said, "maybe" paid the most attention in class. All of my engineering professors (sadly, I'm not an MIT alum) told us the answer to ANY engineering question is almost always, "it depends."

[@TheFatPeanut]

Same with the law

[@radtech21]

Excellent. In most contemporary problems there are A LOT of variables.

[@breathtakingsamurai981]

Or you say "I don't know" and then try it

[@iwillshinelikesun]

Q1. Are you an idiot *Maybe*

[@CT-pi2gl]

And notice he is the one who got it to light up

[@notSALTY.]

How many MIT graduates does it take to power a lightbulb?

[@sekolahonlineteknikotomotif]

LOL :P

[@davidedmundtochi5228]

oh no🤦‍♂️😆

[@thatrandomproject6652]

Juan

[@birdgincrit]

To quote ColeJT: "It depends."

[@saturatedodin476]

😅

[@connorb9261]

Part of this could be that the students have a good understanding of E&M and can wire circuits just fine, but have never stopped to look at a light bulb. It may not be immediately apparent where the two leads from the battery should make contact with the light bulb in order to turn it on, and then the fact that they are being put on the spot with a camera on them is causing them to be blind to seeing where the leads should go.

[@dhonors999]

This is not a question about electricity. All of them understood that they had to close the circuit in order to light the bulb. They expected two wires and thought the task would be really simple, but instead they were presented with a logic puzzle.

[@dofer112]

well, sure they expected tow wires, but the real problem is that they didn't know where to connect the light bulb to the circuit, even if they had two wires, I doubt they could figure out where to put them

[@andybrice2711]

Well, engineering is essentially one big logic puzzle. So they should still be good at it.

[@wasifhasan1795]

Engineering means to make the utilisation out of limited resources .... They should have done ... In industry you can be on the top when make the best with unexpected situations..

[@gearhead1302]

They haven't learned a lot of practical skills yet that happens in the field. They're used to solving book problems and theory. Every one of them would pass the test a few years down the road.

[@mhkubaid]

wtf dude.. why so defensive? Are you or your kin or kids from the uni and you're feeling the burn from the truth?

[@socialistworker6823]

I'm an MIT dropout. I can do it because my dad was an electrician. I could do it before MIT. If someone came to MIT to be an architect, mechanical engineer or geologist they might have been initially stumped by this. If instead of asking the question on graduation day you stuck them in a room and told them make this bulb light they would probably be able to do it after some observation and thinking. It would be interesting to compare the time it took various graduates from different schools and majors.

[@elonmusk352]

Is your father engineer or electrician?

[@nolan412]

Architects need to build electrified buildings. Mechanical engineers have an electric motor somewhere. A geologist...use flashlights.

[@kartikpandey8739]

Agreed. Most of them were not (must have not been) electrical engineering graduates.

[@jaysaini955]

Socialist? Why bro?

[@kenaaronbabbit9987]

I'm glad you're attempting to justify flunking out

[@dragorific]

they just went through 4 years of hell, anxiety and exams. don't give them another test on the spot at the day of their graduation xD.

[@owentimo]

Thats not how the REAL World works, Bruh.

[@r__b6095]

says someone who fucking calls themselves Sparta, Bruh

[@owentimo]

How often do you think about fathers raping kids? Thats quite disturbing.

[@colterhikel9819]

Dragorific they were at MIT in Massachusetts, not a foxhole in Afghanistan. tell me more about this hell they were in.

[@dragorific]

Colter Hikel True that xD

[@DaveC_2024]

0:23 you can see Harvard's flag and banner. There is NO way that MIT students cant do this. NO WAY.

[@MrWaalkman]

I used to think this until I worked with a MIT grad at M**th in Lewisburg, TN. This guy was dumb and dangerous. He handed me a piece of paper showing the wire that he was proposing to buy for the service conductors feeding our new plant and told me to "Approve it". I already knew that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the toolshed, so, no, I'll check things out first. The problem was that while one of the items was a cable, it was intended for direct burial and use for high-voltage primary applications. The other wire was appliance wire. Yes, appliance wire. WTF? So I became curious as to what company would sell us this crap. It was purportedly a company in Mexico. Further investigation revealed that their webpage was just a parking spot for "Phil's Fish Shack" among other things, their street address was actually a seat manufacturer in Aguas Calientes, and the name of the company was a combination of Spanish and Malagasy (spoken in Madagascar) loosely meaning "Group Shop". Smells scammy to me... Pointing out that he was about to spend 2.5 million dollars on, well, nothing, got me yelled at for exposing the scammers. Right... A few months later he handed me another cut-sheet showing the correct wire this time, but was planning on buying it in aluminum rather than copper because it was cheaper at 1.7 million dollars instead of 2.5 million dollars. It took two of us an hour or so to get through his thick head that the aluminum wire would simply not work. This time he didn't yell at me, but at first did blame "us" for the problem. Which he quickly changed to just himself. So we were making progress at least. About that time he told me that "Overtime was compulsory". Something that we had agreed to with my coming onboard was a maximum of a 45 hour workweek. So I quit. On the spot. Messing around with trying to save M**th money by screwing our electrical contractor out of that part of the project cost M**th about an additional four months of time added to the project. M**th was forced to rent generators to power the entire plant, for those four months, with the local Fire Marshall coming by *very* frequently to tell M**th that they needed to shut things down since their operating permit had yet to be approved. M**th would wait for him to drive down the road and fire them back up. This was in June. I had told this guy that he was not going to get the power to the building in time if he didn't hurry back in December when I hired on. I counted twelve generators at the front of the building, I can only imagine that they had the same number around the back. So yeah, I can see where a light bulb could be problematic for one of them.

[@007Kellam]

I want to know how none of them called out the fact that its a 120 volt AC bulb and a 1.5 volt DC battery. Did no one really get that?

[@007Kellam]

Valid point...

[@siux94]

Hailstorm i would say you dont know basics.. Transformer cant be made with dc..

[@Re_Kitty]

he said a boost converter, those dont work with AC, you just need some caps and an IC

[@Nickgowans]

007K an AC lightbulb? they don't exist, either a lightbulb or an LED. An incandescent lightbulb works with both AC and DC circuits, a diode works only with properly configured DC circuits. Also the bulb looks an awful lot like a lightbulb from a cheap bike light or an internal light in a car. in which case it would be 12v, and 1.5v would be more than enough to light it.

[@maxbauer1633]

autoformer?

[@aaronrios6470]

Lets ask this question to our presidential candidates.

[@niveyoga3242]

hahahaha xD

[@temenow]

Exactly! I always wondered why we don't ask every candidate to be an engineer as a requirement? May be the world would focus more on real issues rather than the fruitless political discours that we are bombarded with.

[@xdfckt2564]

Too late. Too late. Keep asking the question to yourself.

[@KA1blow]

No, because not every person in the world is an engineer. Let's ask you about the strategical impact of the Northern European plain in both world wars, how about that ?

[@erikhordnes7408]

@@temenow Is engineering the end all be all?

[@GetMeThere1]

Electricity/electronics is one of those things with a tremendous chasm between "book learning" and "practical experience." To answer even the simplest questions about what will happen if certain components are connected, etc., (much like the question in the video), you are MUCH better off if you have "played around" with lots of circuits and building and modifying common functional circuits. Even lab classes don't really help. You have to spend time, on your own, really working through the practical realities...

[@jenniferfarnworth6340]

Yup, my train of thought as well. I was less surprised at their inability to figure it out and more amazed that they gave some bullshit excuses or even said they could in the beginning. Instead of thinking to themselves, well, can I do this?

[@imoutofideasforaname]

Nah, these days everything is modular so if you focus on your circuit it is simple. Systems engineers will focus on everything working together as long as you take the necessary design decisions. I think they were just more caught off guard. Expecting to be interviewed about how it feels to graduate from the most prestigious uni in the world, but to see they are being asked a simple question in a degrading way. I doubt they are stupid. That is a fallacy. This is more insight into human psychology.

[@deyesed]

Ding ding ding, that's why intense electronics courses all have difficult, long lab sessions.

[@bigmuddy1]

I have a friend that got some electronics training in the Navy, took a correspondence course when he got out and now heads the pollution control monitor department of a big power company. He had a training class for his techs and showed them a piece of equipment that wasn't working. "Find out why" he told them and they went to work testing circuits and other things. He had taken a page from his military training and stopped them after a few minutes and asked " did anyone check the fuse?". After much embarrassment they learned a valuable lesson.

[@disqusrubbish5467]

Or you own a flashlight.

[@Dpham279]

uhhh most of the people were Harvard students not MIT.

[@ametedinov]

This is filmed at Harvard, not MIT as many others have pointed out in the comments. It is sad how some people intentionally give such misleading clickbait titles.

[@ivujvivj3399]

0.03

[@ivujvivj3399]

0:03

[@divyanshtiwari3547]

clearly the video narrator states harvard and 'mit'.......plz watch the video before getting your panties in a twist

[@erikbahen8693]

Well that's unfair.. those kids were severely hung over.

[@JustinHallPlus]

It was a trick question. The correct answer would have been "It depends on the battery and the light bulb."

[@temp___]

Justin Hall Explain.

[@JustinHallPlus]

jmichaelrout Well every light bulb except that small one probably required more power to light up than that little battery could possibly deliver. That's why only that one guy barely got that tiny light bulb to light up. Give me a car battery though and you can light up the headlights on a car. Thus it all depends on the battery and the lightbulb that you're talking about.

[@joakim2k10]

Justin Hall The question wasn't "can you power any light bulb with any battery?", so I fail to see the relevance here.

[@JustinHallPlus]

Geir Sunde​ No, the question was actually very poorly worded "Can you light a bulb with a battery?" What kind of bulb? A garlic bulb? What do you mean light it? Set it on fire? The question should have been "Can you make this lightbulb turn on with this battery and wire?" Because no matter how you hook it up, a D cell battery isn't going to light up a 20 watt lightbulb, it's barely going to light up a 2 watt indicator light in fact, and even then the battery is going to get very hot very fast from all the current it has to deliver. A flashlight lightbulb? Yes, but they only show one of those in this video, and it's where the guy gets it to light up. All this is is an example of poor journalism.

[@joakim2k10]

Justin Hall To be honest I think you're nitpicking. The essence of this was not the initial question, but the following demand for a demonstration where the given battery was sufficient to do the job.

[@ronwilliams357]

That's Harvard Yard... not MIT.

[@alanansari6020]

harvard's still one of the top uni in the WORLD ...doesn't really change anything

[@Kiyoen569]

@@alanansari6020but Harvard is not known for its engineering like MIT is

[@karast4746]

@@alanansari6020 not STEM student will never know how to solve this problem regardless which school

[@elonmusk9814]

@@Kiyoen569 It is a very basic thing that children like me learnt in primary school. So everyone should have a sense of lighting a bulb 💡.

[@alanansari6020]

@@Kiyoen569 This is middle school level science !!

[@abhishekbali.01]

It's in no way related to what they are worth. Harvard Professor's saying that '...everything else that's built on it is questionable' is disappointing. It's like for Bill Gates to be Bill Gates, he needs to be able to fix my neighbor's crappy laptop.

[@andrewness]

Which he probably could, in fairness.

[@jamescrawford327]

What Bill Gates did was to get lucky and then act like a stupid rock star.

[@mikebetts2046]

You are missing the point about Bill Gates. He is not as brilliant as his wealth would suggest. He is a leading philanthropist because of a fortunate combination of circumstances and not necesarily because he is a great person.

[@mikebetts2046]

Bill Gates did not invent a technology. His company wrote an operating system (software) and made a deal with IBM to use it on their PC's. Given the computer-craze that kicked shortly there-after, it was a bit like having a patent on air. Not to say that Microsoft did not in some way contribute to the computer market, but it was more IBM that invented technology.

[@andrewness]

Mike Betts I think you could argue that software is a technology. But your general point stands.

[@stewiegriffin6503]

1) Question is misleading. If it was the right bulb, they could have done it. Battery is too weak for this kind of bulb 2) We only saw students who have failed. What about them who gave the right explanation why is it not working ? 3) Typical KZbin video. Only clicks, shares and comments matters.

[@cobyp99]

yessssss someone understands something

[@MoonstarTheTravis]

sure, only the students who failed are exposed. but only if 2 or 3 fail it is still tremendously disappointing

[@bonbonpony]

Yes. Because it shows that they give diplomas to people who cannot light a light bulb.

[@timithy4569]

+Bon Bon Why do all MIT graduates need to construct the circuit that lights a bulb without instructions? I think the large majority of people maybe 80%+, have never had to work with bare wire without instructions. And if they did, the MIT grads could quickly learn how to do it.

[@bonbonpony]

timithy4569 Because MIT stands for Massachusetts Institute of *Technology* :P They don't need to deal with bare wire all the time, but they at least should know how to deal with it when they face such problems. (And they _will_ face!) If you only learn how to play with toys made by other people smarter than you, then you're not really that smart. One day there might be no smart people and their toys around and what then? You would have to be smart enough to build such toys yourself in order to do something more high-level next. Or your fancy toy may break and you will have to fix it. That's what engineers do, isn't it? :q

[@iri8032]

"How to achieve mental peace by trying to frame harvard/mit students after getting rejected by harvard/mit"

[@theliterunner]

Lmao, i thought i am the only one who can see these mfs

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Or being poor for not having rich daddy money lol

[@briogochill6450]

Tbf we would better be concerned of the level of the students

[@coloradoing9172]

@@Eduardo_Espinoza "About 58% of MIT undergraduates receive need-based financial aid. The median annual cost paid by an undergraduate who received an MIT Scholarship in 2023-2024 was $12,938." "Students from families that make less than $90,000 a year are not expected to contribute towards tuition at all."

[@samhuang9661]

@@Eduardo_EspinozaClownery. MIT gives some of the best financial aid in the country, it might even be the best (I forgot whether Princeton gives more, Harvard is pretty generous with financial aid as well but Harvard has its own issues with legacy admissions and favoring richer families that MIT largely does not). Also, note that MIT does not take a look at how much money a family has until after they have already decided to admit the student: this is stated in a lot of places and any applicant to MIT who pays attention knows this. Obviously there are still issues with financial inequality: richer families can get their kids into better schools through college counseling or more easily accessing certain extracurriculars, but it’s not a case of “Ah, this student has money, we must admit them” with MIT.

[@docdaneeka3424]

And how many did they interview that did manage to light the bulb?

[@insertphrasehere15]

Yeah I know, these are probably like the 4 people out of the whole graduating class that got it wrong.

[@bighands69]

If they are engineers they obviously will be able to do it. But if they are computer science or finance then they will more than likely not know how to.

[@thefilth7368]

Frankly, this is the type of thing you should be able to do in 3rd grade. They don't need their degrees to buy groceries or do the dishes and they certainly don't need their degrees to complete an electrical circuit. This is not about the degree, it's about the foundation that the degree is built on.

[@docdaneeka3424]

Sure, there are lots of things we should consider 'basic knowledge' that you should get from a modern education, but it really is unreasonable to expect everything to sink in for everyone - if you look hard enough there will be people that don't know pretty basic facts. We can bemoan the fact that the education system is horrible, wasn't it so much better in the old days, you don't learn anything at university ... etc etc, but really it's not true: society hasn't collapsed into a bunch of idiots, we are going foward faster and faster and things are way way better than they were in the 'old days'. It's just silly to expect every single person to know how to make a simple electric circuit, even MIT graduates. Some people don't know how to cook food, some people don't tie their shoes properly - well ok, but overall things are fine. If they were electrical graduates, I'd be more worried - but the people that say 'you don't learn anything at university' have completely missed the point of university (or they were terrible students, or a terrible university)

[@VioletTheGeek]

Um, with that larger bulb: none. A single D-cell battery is not enough power to light that bulb. Pretty sure that was the point.

[@abslon4772]

This video irritates me. Sure they weren't able to answer this question. But if any of them decided to do your job, they may suck at it first, but within one year will exceed you in terms of output. Most people simply don't understand how quickly students at MIT, and other top universities, can learn and get better at tasks

[@finn3102]

You must be an MIT graduate? Lol. I agree with you, and I have seen this many times with newly graduated electrical/ electronics engineers in the workplace. They have spent enormous amounts of time on formulas, math, theory etc.. Yet, minimal time on the hands on aspects. I have seen new graduates, who expected high resistance on a good fuse. New graduates will not know how to use a spectrum analyser, zero & calibrate an RF power meter etc.. These are the sorts of things that they mostly learn on the job. In the past my company used to test new graduates, with really basic questions before hiring. The testing was eliminated, because it was found that a lot of potentially good employees were doing poorly on the tests. New graduates expect to be quizzed on QAM, capacitive reactance etc.. Not asked to power a light bulb. lol

Legacy schools are about who you know and how much money you have, not what you know

[@justin9571]

joseph hemler No lol

[@fuckgoogle17]

Justin L it's at least, to a degree, about how much money you have. Scholarship aside

[@theendurance]

majority of them have perfect SAT scores and perfect GPAs so....

[@NoNameEntered]

I’m an MIT grad and this doesn’t surprise me. I knew plenty of CS grads who couldn’t even build a website. The focus there was theory more than practice. The CS kids who knew how to actually make stuff (myself included) learned it all before going to MIT.

[@Lianhua253]

Yeah! CS builds the fundamentals; degrees like Software Engineering, while more applicable, just frankly are not interdisciplinary enough.

[@GLnoG420]

1:23 I was just about to comment "that's what happens when you let economy and business majors play with electrical stuff. Of course they're not gonna know, they were taught something else. It's like expecting a 12 year old to slam dunk on Lebron's face". Until this point. Damn.

[@smeado3533]

I had a MIT graduate working for me at one point. Very intelligent girl obviously but she had trouble working on our instrumentation (it was a drinking water lab) and it took her an embarrassingly long time to put together a file box with instructions.

[@erikshure360]

How many MIT graduates would it take to screw in a light bulb?

[@user-lu6yg3vk9z]

erik shure 0 none of them will know how to do it.

[@aeromodeller1]

Two. But where are you going to find a light bulb that big?

[@awong2376]

I've been a mechanical engineer working in silicon valley for over 25 years. I never understood why they can't teach these kids basic things instead of putting emphasis on calculus and thermo etc. which I have never used my whole career! Most of what they pay you for in the industry is to solve problems that no answer exists yet. You find the answer and tell the world what you find. Its' called Innovation. The engineering curriculum needs some serious updating as it is the same as is was in my time in the 80's! Teach them how to put things together, and produce designs that can be manufactured. There's wayyy too much theory and not enough real world working knowledge. Most of the new grads feel great about themselves at first with all their knowledge they picked up in college only to slowly discover over the years that you use very little if any of it.

[@scottieb6442]

Because most advanced research abstracts away fundamental knowledge

[@alexlarson2466]

Just because you personally never use calculus or thermo does not mean it shouldn't be taught.

[@simontist]

It's a Chesterton fence, at best. Mostly though it's just cargo cult thinking.

[@ticktockbam]

wtf 4 green profile pictures in a row

[@josephmurillo8043]

@@ticktockbam ASAI

[@sigataros]

So what voltage bulbs did you give them? A 120v bulb won't light up bright enough to see with only 1.5v DC

[@micha8469]

As electrical engineer I can say that this kind of question is completly wrong and misleading. What is a light bulb and what's a battery? Neither of these say anything about the power supply and the load except that we have DC power supply and that the load suppose to lit. This question cannot be answered correctly except: I don't have enough data to judge. But it also says something about them as young engineers, they don't have that habit to look for needed data, to solve issues from the very beginning. They just blindly say yes or no without having proper data to answer. Another thing is that asking mechanical engineer about electricity is not a good idea. There's a reason why people get specialized education. That's because no one can be great at everything or even lots of stuff. Not enough life, not enough time. But one can be great at one discipline. But we got to the point where people have good knowledge about one discipline but they don't know the first thing about anything else. And people with varied knowledge are really needed right now. I don't know about MIT but when I was getting education at my uni of tech, 90% of the program was pure theory. Now looking at it after a few years, you are not engineer because you got a degree. Engineer is a diploma + a few years of experience in your discipline. Then you can call yourself an engineer. I have a few friends that have the very same diploma as I do but they wouldn't be able to do anything practical, all they can do is sitting in front of computers.

[@butanestove1514]

yo... my dude. they didn't just ask the question... they gave them the battery and the bulb and the wire. And they couldn't figure out how to do it. It's something that any one should be able to do before even starting an engineering degree.

[@TheLcass]

I was thinking exactly this , depending on the power of the bulb it might not light at all due to the power and voltage of the battery.

[@micha8469]

+Butane Stove the truth is that people who said yes or maybe were kinda right. Generally (as they asked) it is possible. Those who tried also did it right but they didn't show the whole process. And there were none who said it's not possible except the girl who said she needed another wire to close the circuit and she wasn't wrong because generally you use a wire to connect the power source to the load but she didn't realise she can just touch ground pin to negative of the battery.or the other way. I don't feel like electricity is superior and any engineer should know that before starting an engineering degree. But I also find it weird that there are people who seriously can't tell what they need to light a bulb or how to use a battery, it doesn't take an engineering degree to know that...

[@LegionStriker]

Leszek Michał I see where you're coming from, but honestly this is such a simple question there is no excuse. If you're an engineer I'd expect you are smart enough to understand the most BASIC fundamentals of electricity. This would probably happen at my university as well. There's a lot of retards who want to be "engineers" but haven't got the slightest inclination for learning. They barely squeeze into graduation because they know how to memorize answers. They lack intuition which is the only thing that matters. This is why even the most stupid individuals can specialize in one thing. I don't assume you're smart just because you graduate college. I've met plumbers who I would consider insanely smart as they have such a wide scope of knowledge and can learn anything very quickly.

[@MaDrung]

I think you don't understand that just because someone failed in the experiment (maybe they were hung over, didn't sleep for days or just panicked because they were put on the spot) doesn't mean they're not smart. They might have expected the question was a trick question and spent their time figuring out where the trick is. If you want to measure intelligence, IQ test is still the best method we have for that today.

[@louisuy_]

I gotta be honest with you, I did this back in 4th grade in the Philippines.

[@netsurfer10000]

i gotta be honest with you. it's not because you're smart but because these people lack general education.

[@louisuy_]

+netsurfer912 Yes. I'm not saying I am, but yeah~

[@louisuy_]

+Louis Cubillas MIT's the school I dream to be in.

[@Nico55RS]

+Louis Cubillas hahahaha I'm not sure why, but this comment resonated with me quite well.

[@hichemchenafi7258]

où

[@harrie205]

as a engineering student I hope they had to cherry pick to get this result.

[@souravzzz]

Did these people never play with batteries and bulbs when they were kids?

[@Themoigt]

U Wot M8 seems like they didn't

[@greenanubis]

+a_slight_veneer_of_privacy I dont see much sense to go into extremes of learning about something. Effort needed to go from that B+ to A is bigger than from B to B+. Its the law of diminishing returns. Meaning that you can with the same amount of effort be capable in a wide variety of fields or be great in just one field. Colleges do make people good in one thing, and that is getting good grades. Those 15% you are talking about are those that genuinely want to grow as a person, not just grow their skill of how to fake their competence.

[@shazzz_land]

Ivy league students playing with batteries and light bulbs? )))))))))

[@my3dviews]

How many MIT graduates does it take to screw in a light bulb? LOL

[@jurilentis5899]

Electrical engineer master race here.

[@Diaryofaninja]

Juri Lentis Electrical engineers are gross. Chem Engineers are the best.

[@ShadowLurker334]

​@@Diaryofaninja incorrect, it's the best!

[@snowwhite7677]

Now that they are Graduates, the first thing they should have done is gone into Salary Negotiations BEFORE doing the Job...

[@alielshekarchee]

I remember when I was 7 years old I used to light the bulb by using only a battery with no wires at all, by scratching the top of the battery's cover you can access to the negative near the positive end .

[@Vastatio]

I kept expecting the professor to say “you just got jammed” 🤣

[@arendmookhoek4314]

butt, but i was doing this since i was five wtf man

[@asgeiralbretsen]

But some people have never done this very specific activity, which means that not everyone knows how to do it.

[@arendmookhoek4314]

but still COME ON

[@igortcgg]

The topic is actually so simple, that everyone should be able to do that. At least everyone who finished a primary school and had a physics course covering basics of electricity. I have no idea how US education system works, but in my country literally every adult (not mentally disabled) person SHOULD be able to do that. Of course it doesn't mean that each person in my country is actually able to do that, but from graduates of MIT I would REALLY expect this skill.

[@arendmookhoek4314]

igortcgg there you go, it would be fine if they couldnt hold all the wires but this was just pathetic, shorting the batteries out, only connecting one terminal WHAT THE FUCK AMERICANS

[@asgeiralbretsen]

I think I might have the answer. The do not learn this basic shit at MIT. They expect their students to know these things from before, however many people miss out on that one day in school when you get tought this, and many more forget it.

[@TheBoss0110101001]

"I'm not an electrical engineer, I'm a mechanical engineer." What?

[@Christoph1990]

DickButt I like your profile picture

[@mikebetts2046]

That would be similar to me (as an electrical engineer) saying I cannot figure out how to change the alternator belt on my car. These dolts need some vocational education.

[@bighands69]

Mechanical engineers have no clue as to how current flows. How would we expect them to.

[@mikebetts2046]

bighands69 If a mechanical engineer has no idea of how current flows, then that engineer was not paying attention in certain classes. As an electrical engineer, I had to take courses in Newtonian physics, nuclear physics, statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, heat-transfer, mechanics of materials, chemistry, economics, etc. Ditto for mechanical engineers; assuming they are classically trained engineers and not just someone that rose up through the ranks and learned by hands-on.

[@TheBoss0110101001]

Didn't you have to take Physics: Electricity, Magnetism, and Optics? I am taking that and there is material about how batteries and resistors work. How the fuck did they pass that class and not know how to hook up a battery to a lightbulb?

[@calcyss7159]

They might seem like idiots, but im pretty sure that they could tell you a lot of stuff you wouldnt even understand. Also these clips are probably cherrypicked. *UPDATE:* Since someone in the comments misunderstood me, to clarify: With "stuff" i meant e.g. highly advanced physics and/or math. To understand such things you do indeed need a certain level of intelligence. The premise of this video and title are inherently flawed, as this obviously does not mean they are dumb or unintelligent at all.

[@calcyss7159]

But yes, its a bit funny they dont quite understand why the bulb wont light up properly/at all, lol

[@damo3923]

And many of those things are simply crammed, muscle memory information that they can spew. Completely different from critical thinking.

[@calcyss7159]

catindabox 334 Yes, thats not entirely wrong either.

[@o11o01]

+calcyss In today's society, yes there is something wrong with that. An engineer especially needs to be capable of critical thinking. Almost any person in a high up field needs the ability to critically think.

[@Kalervo80]

Yes, regular guy working at car repair or somethin are smarter. Too bad they don't go to school if its so easy and earn 5x as much.

[@douglasscott9322]

"Do you think you could push a compact car down a hill?" "Of course." *Supplies an 86 Honda Civic full of cement with no wheels* _"There you go, M.I.T. Students are stupid."_

[@randomstuff063]

DOUGLAS SCOTT Your humor is that of a smart person.

[@fiar2003]

DOUGLAS SCOTT Actually the light bulb problem has no tricks at all. It's simply assessing their understanding of a basic closed circuit. To discover their are MIT grads unable to solve this basic problem implies the teaching is fundamentally ineffective.

[@douglasscott9322]

Arif K​ How many volts is a standard Candle Bulb? How many volts can a D-cell battery output? Please link to us a 1.5v Candle Bulb of the same size in this video from any manufacturer. The only person who lit up a bulb, used a tiny DC compliant torch bulb, guess what it was designed to run on? My point still stands, you just do not understand both Physics and sarcasm.

[@haakonness]

They are not stupid because they could not light up the >=20W light bulb. They are stupid because most of them could not even close the circuit. And they didn't understand why it would not light up even if they would have closed the circuit. Thats two basic things they should have known. I knew this when I was 8 or 9 . The guy that was shown with a small bulb was the one that said "maybe", because he understood that he needed more information about the battery and bulb.

[@lubu4u312]

Lmao, Hakon is right, half the kids don't even put the wire to both ends. Its like they really just dont understand how a battery works. Oh but no a rich Ivy league school could never have dumb ass kids with rich parents. Its just cherry picking, yes :^)

[@brendanstanford5612]

I think I was like 6 years old when I took apart a flashlight and figured out the connections. And I had D's and F's in high school. WTF

[@grouse7694]

There's a difference between your actual intelligence and a number on a piece of paper.

[@brendanstanford5612]

I hear that. I was shunned away from the traditional school system. Back 8 years ago when I graduated high school, my mind was finally free and I was able to learn how I wanted to learn. Since then I have literally done thousands and thousands of hours of research on what I wanted to learn. I see it as earning my own personal degree in the life I want to live.

[@Low_pH]

James Over Yonder none of this means anything

[@FoodOnCrack]

depends on it, an incandescent light bulb for 230v will doubly light up on 1.5v. Maybe on 9v.

[@FoodOnCrack]

Patrick Appeldoorn i could argue that it depends on the wattage of the light bulb,1.5v is really low compared to 230v, remember some test experiments iwth incandescent bulbs and varistors at school. I believe either low or high wattage bulbs wouldn't light up at voltages under 5v or so.

[@fleksimir]

Patrick Appledoorn 230V one would not get nearly hot enough on a 9V to emit any light that any human's eye can see, even in the dark. a 100W 230V bulb would be using 0.3W on a 9V DC.

[@fleksimir]

Patrick Appeldoorn it is true that the wire would emit radiation, but it is not in any way significant here. anything that has a temperature above absolute zero emits energy, and the lightbulb emits it even when not connected to a battery (if you are not sure how does that not break the second law of thermodynamics, its because it also soaks up energy from its surroundings through radiation and conduction, so its at constant temperature while constantly radiating energy). but the energy isnt visible lighht to the human eye. all the battery would do is raise the tungsten's temperature a few degrees (or a few dozen degrees), and it would still be hundreds of degrees away from emitting visible light (by both wavelenght and intensity, and a few hundred degrees if you think both in kelvins or the farenheit's scale). i sincerely doubt thats what the journalist was aiming for. It would be an advanced thermodynamics question, and not a simple electric circuit question.

[@-rpm]

What is basic and fundamental to you is not for someone else, if I say what a bitwise operator is for the one who posted the video she wouldn't know but a computer science person would know it. Similarly people who go to Harvard or MIT are not experts at everything, they are experts at their thing.

[@RealationGames]

Prathik Rajendran M Knowing a concept of _complete circuit_ is a bit more fundamental than bitwise operators. It's like asking an electrical engineer to use ball bearing and axle to assemble a wheel, or architecht to make a sandwich. It's fucking fundamental and simple as shit, not specialization. You can't make a sandwich because you didn't get a cooking degree? Even interior designer should be able to do that.

[@AliRaza-fe8dg]

Well, my brother is a topper PhD from MIT and I'm a bachelor from India, I still correct him on many things so, it doesn't matter where you've studied , it's about how good you are at something.

[@joshhyyym]

Obviously it's a load of bollocks. However, I will insert my joke: Even Harvard have art history students.

[@yakir11114]

she literally said she is an engineer

[@Enedrapvp]

mechanical engineer* though every engineering student that takes the basic sophomore level courses have had to learn circuits and probably made basic LEDs at some point.

[@hyzercreek]

Well she couldn't have literally said she was an English major, because then she would literally know what the word "literally" means.

[@rosemaryhofstedt6703]

Joshua Mcateer *has

[@Douglasthehedgehog]

Gender studies is a real course at HARVARD

[@sheet-son]

I spent 7 years as an electrician on the job site before I decided to go to engineering school. I know when I have experience against my classmates when they are much smarter on paper. BTW I did this in 4th grade science class was part of our test

[@madaraainna]

Congratulations

[@hap1666]

Exactly, although I think it was sixth grade for me.

[@mdhvdubey]

I used to light a bulb by motor in 7th std school.. and yet I can’t even go to iit ...

[@dhruvshounak5516]

Using motor to light a bulb..no wonder you were not able to qualify JEE

[@mdhvdubey]

@@dhruvshounak5516 why coz i could have used aa batteries.? dude stupid experiments like those are the reason why i love science..

[@dhruvshounak5516]

@@mdhvdubey no comments

[@swastik_7294]

I make robots for fun and I didn`t even qualify IIT … It doesn't really matter.

[@dhruvshounak5516]

@@swastik_7294 i know

[@violacrb]

That's not what they teach in technical schools! They teach theory, equation derivation, mathematical transforms, laws of physics, etc. Practical knowledge? That's not worthy of academic institutions!

[@MaxwellsWitch]

Why not have both?

[@davidgervais5974]

practical knowledge can be learned outside of school, unlike theoretical knowledge. That is not my thought, but the one behind my school's teachings.

[@ataraxia2894]

Learning physics=learning about electricity. In order to light a bulb you need to have a closed circuit. Theories can be applied to real life for practical uses.

[@MrOmnos]

They have labs, you can't be an engineering without going to labs. Labs carry around 30% of the marks!!

[@davidgervais5974]

MrOmnos labs have for main purpose to demonstrate the veracity of a theory, not to teach you how to plug a light bulb.

[@KeystoneScience]

Oh my, the cringe is real :P

[@cuzOoba]

Keystone Science!

[@KeystoneScience]

+Constantine Marinos hi !

[@cuzOoba]

I'm subscribed to you on both of my accounts haha. Love what you're doing, keep it up!

[@KeystoneScience]

Constantine Marinos haha xD thank you!

[@AwesomeAdmirak]

Keystone Science Stop talking to yourself

[@Gonzaga78]

Pick 4 people that can't do it out of the 20 people you surveyed, put only one that can do it and there you have it, now everyone thinks every MIT student is dumb as a rock because only 1 in 5 can do it. one even stated that she wasn't an electrical engineer, that gives you a hint about how many people they could find that couldn't do it.

[@putty93010]

The concept is so simple the excuse of not being an electrical engineer is like saying you're not an astrophysicist when you're not able to say which planet is 2nd from the sun. The concept is so simple you should go all day talking to people on campus without finding someone that can't do it...except that one student rolling on ecstasy that tried to suck on the battery. He's the only one that shouldn't be able to do this.

[@Gonzaga78]

putty93010 no, it is not. It's a simple concept, but it's not a "everybody in the world knows how to do it" thing. Everyone knows the theory, not everyone has done it in the past. You may be talking about the simplest thing ever, but if you ask a bunch of people to do it for the first time, it's more than certain that a small percentage of them will get it wrong on their first try. It doesn't mean that they are dumb, or that they didn't learn anything while studying, or that they don't understand electricity like someone said in the video. They clearly know the basics, they just don't have the "know how" to do it. It's not like the are connecting the wire to the bulb and sticking it on the ground, while leaving the battery out on the sun to 'recharge'. It only shows that they never tried that before, because they never needed to, and probably never will. I'm sure anyone of those who couldn't do that can do a better job in their fields than 90% of their competitors. (and no, i never went to MIT, nor any other school in america btw)

[@putty93010]

Well I guess the term "dumb" is relative but children can do this (I think I was 7 the first time I did it). And Im'a hafta straight disagree with you. If they can't do this, they don't understand electricity and they are dumb when it comes to electrical concepts and practices.

[@Gonzaga78]

putty93010 Yeah, and i'm sure you did it on the first try without anyone telling you how to do it too. The rest of us mortals, have to learn how to do something before doing it.

[@ostapkurtash6359]

the thing is even mechanical engineers learn electric circuits and physics witch include electromagnetism (god help me with that one)! And more, I think that basic circuit analysis is required like a thing every engineer should know or he don't get engineer title at all! So don't come with the excuse "Oh I'm just a Mechanical Engineer don't ask me nothing about electricity cause I'm not obliged to know" because not correct argument.

[@henrytang2203]

After an entire engineering degree, I've realised that reading all those academic journals does not help with assembling ikea furniture.

[@vll1976]

I'm not an electrical engineer, I'm a mechanical engineer...

[@til159]

Was shocked by that answer, but explains alot about todays society.

[@michaeletzel4877]

The very first thing that came to mind was "how much voltage does the battery provide, how much voltage does the lightbulb require, and how much resistance does the wire have?" Of course it's possible to do it, but only IF the battery can supply enough to overcome the resistance of the wire and the lightbulb.

[@billybobthornton8122]

Michael Etzel P = V^2/R all day

[@BowersElectronics]

Something I remember learning in kindergarden. we lit bulbs, powered dc motors, and made electromagnets.

[@BowersElectronics]

Jonathan Thomas In the state of Texas they save the harder stuff for college. ;)

[@IAMDIMITRI]

I know right! I broke toys to see how they work >

[@BowersElectronics]

***** When I was in elementary school my parents worked for a hard drive repair company, and whenever there was a bad drive that already had the data recovered from it they would let me take it apart, and take out the magnets. I ended up putting two of them together on my ear and had a hell of a time trying to take it off... at least I was in style :P

[@IAMDIMITRI]

Blake Bowers omg haha, those are strong!!

[@antonnpn9063]

As a 4 year old me, that wouldn't be a problem

[@olivierk3024]

anton arnqvist for me, a half year old, this isnt a problem

[@ohlookitsme9913]

anton arnqvist As a fetus me, that wouldn't be a problem

[@spoderman2886]

OhLookItsMe as a sperm me this wouldn't be a problem

[@Shri]

You don't have to chop the wire (as many in the comment section are thinking). You can use the single wire itself. Just arrange it in a different way. You have the answer at 1:58 No wonder so few Americans are good at STEM and have to import Asians to do hard engineering and science. It is not just about bookish knowledge. It is also about practical experience. The only thing going for America right now is access to Venture Capital and strength of USD.

[@spuriustadius5034]

I think context is important. Pulling folks at random on one of the most ceremonial days of their lives, asking them to physically make an electrical circuit, while standing up and being filmed in front of multiple generations of their family, and having to awkwardly manipulate 3 objects to demonstrate an electrical circuit does not make for a "test" that means anything. It does NOT indicate that those STEM students fail to understand the most basic aspects of electrical circuits. It was a set-up and edited to favor the argument of the film-maker.

[@wandersmut6326]

This video is disingenuous, it only makes a fool of the viewer and not the students. Notice that the black student is holding a different bulb than the previous students and listen very carefully to what he says. He was unable to light the first bulb and has just been handed a smaller one that will work with this power supply. It is likely that the clips of the other students are taken after they were unable to light the first bulb with a correct, closed circuit and have reverted to trial and error before giving up. They are hesitant to answer because they know it is a trick question. They are about to be handed a bulb that, like the one in your lamp, will not light with the low voltage a single D cell battery provides.

[@wandersmut6326]

Actually the video isn't disingenuous - the poster is. It seems the fact that not every bulb will light with every power source is the point they're trying to make but the way it has been cut out of context and posted with this title sets you up to believe they're morons while if you could have seen the big picture you might have a little more sympathy. It's so easy to get views and likes by putting people down, isn't it?

[@cjeam9199]

Wander Smut I think you've misunderstood. The students are just not correctly closing the circuit because they've only been given one wire. Every time you see those large domestic bulbs there's a single flex going to it, which could explain why they're just touching the wire to the bulb, hand them a small bulb like that used more commonly in electronic projects and they're more likely to remember that you either need two wires or you need to hold the bulb onto the battery. Incandescent bulbs like that should light up with a battery albeit rather dimly.

[@cjeam9199]

Wander Smut ah wait no sorry I've not completely read your comment closely enough. I don't know, I still think the point could be that people forget they have to close the circuit or just realise they don't actually have the necessary practical skills even though they understand what to do theoretically - connect the wire to the bulb. The bulbs should glow dimly when connected properly.

[@thothheartmaat2833]

Wander Smut well then he analyzed the materials and figured out the problem and the rest didn't. probably got himself a job somewhere. maybe this was a test a company did to look for someone to hire. some of them didn't get the offer.

[@radiorob7543]

Give me a 9V battery, and a small 9 or 12v bulb, and I don't even need the wire.

[@kc9scott]

Give me a 9V battery, but it’d be best if you don’t give me a pile of steel wool to store the battery in.

[@JohnSmith-ts5wh]

My engineering faculty is only 27th in the world, but at least I can make a light bulb shine

[@valdomero738]

+Matthew Patroni Mine is not even on the chart, This is just propaganda though.

[@BetaChri5]

Can't graduate? Just sue!

[@CoryTheMan789]

A dose of Buckley

[@thebubbclub]

BetaChri5 Haha, you got redirected from that video too?

[@BetaChri5]

Crosseyed Butterfly Yes.

[@12101DyM]

Crosseyed Butterfly me too

[@chaoswebz]

BetaChri5 me too

[@BritishEngineer]

2:09 orr maybe it’s just the fact the light bulb has a high resistance since it’s designed for the mains.

[@asandax6]

"I'm not an Electrical engineer" Fair enough. "I'm a machanical engineer" We're so F***ed.

[@tigas4d4]

i did this shit when i was 7 in my grandpa car shop with car batteries, are these people serious

[@wicket4969]

Rick Harrison One thing I've learned after 21 years, it's that even Harvard students can be dumber than the average American

[@calcyss7159]

Not necessarily dumber. Just learning completely different stuff, and sometimes too detached from reality and simple things. I believe they could explain things to you that you wouldnt even understand.

[@wicket4969]

calcyss lol true, but this is something they should've learned in high school if not first year right? I mean, I learned this in grade 9 science and grade 12 computer engineering.

[@calcyss7159]

*****​ Well i personally never learnt this (im German), as i slept through it in school lol :D But anyone with a basic understanding of physics should know *why* this doesnt work, or rather why it doesnt work the way they are doing it. Closed circuits are a pretty basic concept.

[@Armando51roosters]

Rick Harrison An opinion? The best I can do is not give a fuck.

[@DugeHick]

Future looks so bright.

[@MrMarkjon]

it actually looks dark considering no one can figure out how to use a light bulb lol

[@DugeHick]

+MrMarkjon Just like graduates, not bright.

[@shockwave3283]

looooolll

[@Joe-yr1em]

+MrMarkjon classic

[@ajnode]

Based on the hairstyles and fashions, I'd guess this was filmed in the early-mid 90s.

[@xDELFYonceagain]

Calm down people. They are still some of the smartest people in the world, anyone can make stupid mistakes.

[@xDELFYonceagain]

Thomas Anderson I'm the one who is months away from graduating with honours. So if there's an idiot here, it's not me.

[@xDELFYonceagain]

Thomas Anderson Well, you think they got into MIT by being stupid?

[@1997CWR]

+Trafalgar Congrats btw :D I personally think that many of them just have been asked to do that task at the wrong time at the wrong place. It is arrogant to assume that one is more intelligent, just because of one datapoint. In addition everyone can say they knew how to do it, but then again they weren't challenged.

[@xDELFYonceagain]

1997CWR My thoughts exactly.

[@sujeetverma4259]

+Trafalgar I blow turtles

[@jessstuart7495]

The really scary part is how confident these students are in their own abilities. These students have played the game, and short-changed themselves of an education. Understanding isn't a requirement for success.

[@succupon]

If they're not electrical engineers, of course they're going to min/max information related to their degree and probably not know the basics of electrical engineering. Just as you wouldn't expect a geologist to understand basic mycology.

[@thecaptain6148]

You're expecting a D battery to power a 60 watt lightbulb? *Edit; Read the rest of the thread before you call me an idiot.

[@goldenduck7294]

You can't figure it out either, huh?

[@thecaptain6148]

Golden Duck What can't I figure out? one wire connects to one of the contacts on the battery and one to one of the contacts on the bulb. Then you touch the other side of the battery to the second contact on the bulb. It doesn't matter which way the polarity goes, It's just a resistor. These people were stupid to only connect one side of the battery, but it could never power that bulb anyways.

[@erikshure360]

The Captain Depends on what it means to say "power that bulb".

[@thecaptain6148]

erik shure I mean heat the metal enough to start producing light.

[@GewelReal]

did you even watch it? 1 guy lit it up...

[@hotman718]

They are college graduates not electricians

[@clorofila-mc5fr]

You don't have to be an electrician for know how to light a bulb

[@Polored1066]

If the interviewer actually had shown in the video how to light a bulb with the battery he gave them, the video would have been correct. Is that supposed to be journalism?

[@jojelwee]

Pablo Blo they showed?

[@Nickgowans]

Pablo Blo wait what? no you misunderstand, the interviewer wasnt teaching them how to light a bulb. which is something taught to 6 year old children in the UK and demonstrates a basic fundamental understanding of the manipulation of electricity. They simply provide the means to light the bulb and ask a bunch of graduates from the most prestigious technical college in the US if they can light a bulb using skills they should already have.

[@fleksimir]

Pablo Blo I disagree. An engineer should know that a 110 AC bulb won't work on a 9 or less Volt battery. Noone asked what type of a bulb is it (one could dissassemble a 110V LED bulb and make individual LEDs light up with a normal battery), noone asked what type of battery, the idiot on 1:39 shorted out the battery, one student assumed they failed when it didn't work without even asking can it work. Those are not engineers, those are kids with engineering diplomas and a disgrace to acctual engineers. I understand that to people that aren't engineers this seems harsh but remember: engineers design the stuff you buy, and one of them is now an idiot that tried to power something with a battery by shorting the battery out. Source: i'm an engineer (a mechanical engineer to make it even more ironic)

[@genericnamethingy]

+Fleksimir I think you're being too harsh, based on a cherry-picked video with nervous people being asked to do something new on camera. We all have that part of the course that we hate and just dish out on the exam and forget, only to realize later that we need it. Their skill on this particular practical problem this one time can't really be extrapolated to their skill on everything else.

[@fleksimir]

+Pedro S You are not wrong and you definitely have a point. Infact i would say the same thing for lots of other things students don't know to do. I think i just consider this to be too basic to fail.

[@kingcletus1310]

lol our whole class did that in like 3rd grade. This video is fake.

[@asgeiralbretsen]

Hello good sir, did you know that every single person does not remember every single part of every single day they went to school? Some people might forget certain random unnecessary things like where the plus and minus is one a random type of bulb that noone ever uses, you fucking moron ;)

[@noomeron]

Aski Found the MIT grad.

[@tobiasbusch7284]

Aski I remember that from 3rd grade

[@mscottveach]

A lot of people seem to think this is a sign that the system is broken. That's ridiculous. And silly. Here's why: Pick any university you want. In fact, better yet, pick any 1000 people you want. Feel free to cherry pick the smartest people in the world. You choose to select them all from the same discipline or you can spread it out. No restrictions. You're choice. Give me a camera and an hour and I'll make a video exactly like this using a different question that is every bit as "easy." Finding surprising or funny gaps in understanding or knowledge - especially with someone who is a little nervous or on the spot - is incredibly easy.

[@WasifAli96]

Break the wire into 2 separate pieces & connect them individually to +ve & -ve terminal. Then connect the other 2 to bulb & it'll light up. (3rd grader)

[@theDudeOfDudes]

You don't even have to do that. Connect one end of your wire to one terminal of the battery and the corresponding terminal in the light(bottom or side of bulb) and connect the opposite battery terminal to the other end of the bulb and voila, you will have light. Given that you have enough current for the given light bulb.

[@MChiribogaD]

Wasif Ali That is what exactly I was thinking. I thought at the start of the video that the journalists were fooling the graduates. When I was watching the video I said to myself "Cut the wire into 2 pieces" and light it up. Basic electricity concepts. I don´t know what kind of bulb the journalist had, but I am sure the battery is a 9V one.

[@WasifAli96]

MChiribogaD Pardon me but USA high school system i.e GED/Diploma has so many flaws regarding adequate academics skills given to students before going to university as compare to those in UK (Gce & Gcse's) which I've studied. Not being ostentatious but for us, this is a breeze.

[@theDudeOfDudes]

Wasif Ali They went to Harvard....the problem is not with the education. It's with those students.

[@MChiribogaD]

Wasif Ali I think the US education has some flaws considering the fact that the US is considered a developed nation. Countries located in Europe actually give more advanced programs that they do give in the US. Even countries in Hispanic America give more advanced programs than in the US. I have a friend that was applying for the UK and she was not admitted for getting into an university because the US curriculum from her school didn´t covered the programs that the UK high school system covered, thus, she applied for a foundation year. USA considers Calculus as AP,while in other countries is just part of the common curriculum. I am from Ecuador, and when I moved to Santo Domingo, DR, I went to an US school ( I don´t like to refer "American" just for the US but rather for the whole continent) and when they started giving Chemistry it was literally everything I saw last year in my last year in Ecuador, Math the same, and Physics...no physics bro! In senior year we just had physics, and guess what...the majority of topics I already covered them in Ecuador during 10th grade while in the US education they give them in 12th grade. In 11th grade I didn´t had physics. I was so sad, because physics is my favorite subject, so I decided to self-study physics with my physics book from Ecuador (Física "Paul E. Tippens") So that´s what I think. Best regards.

[@ToothyGus]

"I'm not An electrical engineer. I'm a mechanical engineer. It's probably operator error" wtf??

[@matthew562]

ToothyGus what about it? She admits she doesn't know what she's doing hence why she says that it's operator error.

[@AttackPenguin666]

As someone doing Mech/Electrical Integrated course...the Mechanicals really aren't taught this stuff. One would assume they would know it from Physics A-Level (mandatory where I study) but this isnt always mandatory. Physics GCSE would cover it but boy, thats a long time ago...

[@zalala]

ToothyGus mechanical engineering can not stand on its own in todays world, unless its a steampunk era.

[@DB-ty6tq]

Shahrizal Ibrahim you're a moron

[@zalala]

well everyone free to own their opinion, theres a reason why university are providing dual programme, mechanical and electrical, even within mechanical theres is electrical & electronic courses. but u my friend, are indeed an ignorant.

[@atmnpatel5750]

I never saw anyone explicitly state that they are MIT graduates in the video, and I think that the uploader got rejected when they applied and is lashing out.

[@peeledbanana311]

I can promise the teachers did not teach them these concepts. "Is it something in the way we were taught?" Yes. These types of students do what they are told.

[@judahfriedman8516]

Evidently, those people have never had to install a light bulb before.

[@Lianhua253]

yeah. Ivy leagues are dominated by rich snobs. MIT is actually better in that regard - they offer free tuition to anyone under 200k income and is largely merit-based, so their wealth gap is better than Harvard's... but still dominated by rich snubs.

[@Krebzonide]

They teach this in 8th grade science and I thought it was one of the more fun things in that class but they only spent like 2 days on it cuz it is so easy. Now I'm in 10th grade and I took digital electronics as a math credit and just a few days ago the teacher gave us a computer program to model circuits and I finished early so I made a simple binary calculator for fun.

[@indianbrave]

Which country you are from ?

[@Krebzonide]

@@indianbrave I'm in the US.

[@rapturekevin]

And why is china winning you ask?

[@MrTumbleweed]

Apparently because they can put two wires on a battery better? what exactly are they winning? winner of pollution? rudest tourists in the world? tragedy of the commons? Communism? They can keep on winning

[@rapturekevin]

Mr.Tumbleweed the manufacturing and engineering sector. I bought a hartke amp says made in china yet its an American company. Yesterday got a new microwave oven says made in china yet its an American company. I could go on for hours and this coming from a Canadian. That's what china is winning.

[@rikenm]

cheap labor and resources to build appliances are readily available there. Most of the time china just full on steal American technology.

[@MrTumbleweed]

rapturekevin Lol, if thats them winning, they can keep on winning. We have plenty more they dont kiddo. Dont delude yourself. Lets be honest. On average who has a happier and more fulfilling life, a chinese or an american? Whose winning?

[@Drawliphant]

1.5 volt is supposed to light up the big bulb? why did some of them get the small bulb?

[@sujoydas7598]

David Oliphant I have one of those big bulbs. it's a little dim at 1.5 volts but it works at that voltage

[@CC-gv6us]

Being an engineer is to live a life where everyone around you can't begin to understand the incredible complexities that support their daily existence which you never mock them for, but they all can't wait to mock you for not being a technician with a grade school mind.

[@magikarpusedsplash8881]

my brother asked me the question the other day, I scratched my chin for five seconds and told him I could put one end of the battery to bulb's contact. I only found this video afterwards.

[@juubes5557]

What the fuck... I thought they were talking about a 40w lightbulb. But a small lamp and a battery. Seriusly?

[@threelui3062]

The Institute is too focused on making synths to worry about light bulbs!

[@ya_boi_racoon6215]

ad victorian brother.

[@3dUber]

Okay this is just bad media. I'm willing to bet that the people they asked to create this circuit aren't even studying electrical engineering at all. One of them straight up said she was a mechanical engineer, and then the other guy asked for a tip, now that really doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who was studying electrical engineering. So asking the majority of a crowd that aren't electrical engineers how to create an electrical circuit is not going to get good results. Not just that, the circuit wouldn't work anyway because the battery is DC, and those lights are most likely AC, just like the majority of standard use light bulbs made in America. Even if the battery were AC(which isn't possible), it still doesn't have enough power to light a bulb like that. So asking a non-electrical engineer why that circuit wouldn't work is a complete bias on the entire situation. So good job America's media! You've gone and twisted the story again!

[@TheArnoldification]

Thank you. Honestly, I thought I was alone here on the point about the media. I don't know, people just seem to have an *extremely* narrow understanding of what intelligence is, and the difference between intelligence and ignorance, intelligence and third party factors (such as having delayed motor functions, like myself), etc. Imo, they promote this way of thinking as it complements the average viewer in a way such that they ill want to tune in to the media station mor frequently, resulting in better ratings. It's just really frustrating arguing with people about this, because the argument is almost always either one-sided or the person I'm arguing with is an enormous hypocrite. Thank god the people I work with in my college aren't like that. :/

[@3dUber]

William Coburn The bulb used is a very large one. The larger the bulb is the more current it is going to need to be lit. A small 1.5v battery like that simply cannot light a large bulb. And by the way, a resistor is not the primary component within an incandescent light bulb. Nothing within a light bulb even sort of resembles the works of a resistor. Incandescent light bulbs use thin tungsten filaments in a negative pressure bulb, or one filled with a noble gas, such as argon, to promote the dissipation of light. When the current travels through the tungsten, the tungsten burns because it can not support the current passing through it. Resistors do not light up or burn when they come in contact with large currents. They simply dissipate heat. And also, in standard "household appliances", when using an incandescent bulb such as the one shown in this video, no sort of step down transformation or rectification is taking place. The only thing taking place is the burning of the filament from a full 120 VAC power source. And the supposed "small light bulb", is hardly small. From the looks of it the bulb looks to be around 12v. Of course a 12v bulb will not be lit up by a 1.5v battery. It's common sense.

[@3dUber]

William Coburn I understand where you're coming from, but don't twist my words. You know full and well what I mean when I said resistors don't burn up under large currents. I am referring to a large current in a diminished manor. Also, I never said that lightbulbs did not get hot, so you saying "You even say that the bulb filament 'burns' within the gas-filled vacuum enclosure, which contradicts your early statement since 'burning' implies heat dissipation", is, in a way redundant. And I have never seen a light bulb modeled as a resistor in circuit analysis. In no definition of a resistor that i've ever seen, has it exclaimed that anything that dissipated heat is considered a resistor. It isn't even really about the fundamental understanding of a light bulb. Especially when it seems as though most of the people being interviewed are not engineers of any kind. Sure, you could say that learning to light a bulb with a power source is a basic understanding of electricity, and that they should have learned that in middle school. But tell me, how many of the small things do you really remember in detail from middle school. For instance, if asked you to explain the tectonic structure of an earthquake, or how a mid-oceanic ridge is formed, i'm sure you could not tell me from memory.

[@Quade235]

3dUber An incandescent light bulb does not care whether it's powered from a AC or DC source. It will light up, but very dimly. Try it yourself at home. Get a piece of wire and hold one end to the bottom contact on a battery, and the other end to the side (screw) portion of the bulb. Then, place the bottom of the bulb on the top contact of the battery. The orientation of the battery doesn't matter. Tell me the results.

[@TheGrandMasterFunk]

this is stuff that children should know how to do. I was taught this in grade 5, we were all given wire, batteries, and bulbs and told to play with them for 15 minutes and see if we could figure it out, then taught how and why it works... The problem is kids/teens/adults don't PLAY anymore

[@ekbergiw]

The sides and the end of a normal light bulb are electrically separated by the filament but I'm not exactly sure which is the beginning or the end, or even if it matters. Basically take the negative end of the battery and touch it to one of the conductive plates of the bulb, namely the sides or the end, then take the wire and connect the positive end of the battery to the side of the lightbulb that isn't connected to the negative end of the battery. An easy way to do this is by holding both the battery and the bulb together with one hand and manipulating the wire with your other hand.

[@harveysmith100]

The confidence seems to be greater than the ability.

[@Lianhua253]

(these are definitely cherry-picked, lmao) (literally any student in electrical engineering will respond the same)

[@PetraKann]

So according to Prof Sadler, if a person cannot complete a correct circuit with a battery and wire to light up a bulb, then "EVERYTHING ELSE HAS PROBLEMS" Really? That's how you test intelligence, knowledge, wisdom and creativity?? Well you know what you can do with your little electric circuit test? What a ridiculous demonstration at a graduation ceremony.

[@rachelmatthew6771]

Peter Kan Yes Peter, that's how the world test intelligence. If you use something as a fact or have hypothesis to create something. if that fact or hypothesis is already wrong then how do you expect the final result to be correct. We have learnt that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light(theory of special relativity) but now scieentist have discovered neutrino's which can travel more faster than light. We use special relativity as a fact but now its proven wrong which means everything related to special relativity or use special relativity is wrong. Why do you think it's ridiculous? Just because it shows the truth. I think graduation ceremony was the best place to demonstrate this,

[@Slicerwizard]

+Rachel Matthew "Scieentist" have NOT discovered "neutrino's" that can travel "more faster" than light. Better work on your neutrino knowledge, along with your English spelling and grammar.

[@PetraKann]

+Rachel Matthew actually that particular measurement concerning neutrino speeds has be debunked and sorted out. You need to keep up with the latest developments and follow things through right til the end. You should apologise to everyone on the internet, withdraw your remarks and ban yourself from using KZbin for 48 hours

[@PetraKann]

+Lord Kaiser apologise and ban yourself from using KZbin for 48 hours

[@rachelmatthew6771]

+Peter Kan man just don't talk about neutrino specifically. You get what I wanted to say. Now that you don't have a point you are just pointing silly mistakes which I just used to convey my point. Do you even know how to debate? Ban yourself from KZbin. so dumb comment like what were you even thinking. Just ban urself frm Internet.

[@ardvar2585]

How many mechanical engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

[@Mirandorl]

*TL;DR:* Universities teach by rote which discourages lateral thinking, but maybe that's not so bad and the lateral thinking comes later, through practice. But this costs industry more money and profit is king. Lets blame academia? ... Pretty much everyone in the comments has missed the point of this video. Yes, its largely fake. Some of the "graduates" are actors (not very good ones). Yes its a simple solution. The point the video is trying to make is that the education system is in danger of teaching you NOT to think, but to recycle what you are taught. The light bulb idea is only an illustration: An engineer is taught that to make a circuit you need two wires, a battery and a bulb. An engineer is shown circuit diagrams over and over. S/he sweats over exams, theories, failure, disappointment, parental anger, fear of the future. "Get the answers RIGHT". And "right" is "what you've been taught". Even if you don't need two wires. When faced with a problem that does not fit exactly what they were taught then, engineers can struggle to find that innovative solution - or in this case, what would seem the "wrong" solution. "If I just touch the bulb like that I can make it light". The guy has the answer, but still feels like he cheated. So at the end of the video, the voiceover says "is it what we've been taught, or the way that we think". We've been taught *not to think*. Deliberately or not is besides the point, and the bulb problem is only an illustration. Its still an excellent call to educators to examine how they teach and what the end product is. Teach genuine, critical thinking that creates effective solutions - NOT "right answers". *Counter to above:* A bachelors is a foundation that you build on, a framework. Later learning and practice expands upon it and later lets you discard it. Like learning piano - at first you are rigid and mechanical, remembering scales and finger positioning. But the mroe you learn and practice the more you internalise it and make it an art. Maybe graduates aren't MEANT to be fully capable lateral thinkers yet, as this is what practice in industry should be about. Industry always demands "the finished product" though - because its less profitable to train than it is to buy experience. So, is it the fault of the teaching system, or industry, or both?

[@brixmonton3577]

+Mirandorl did not read

[@Mirandorl]

Brix Monton your reply notification went straight to my spam.

[@MindfulBytes]

+Mirandorl your observation is very good, and so is your patience.

[@MKermy]

Uhhh tl:dr??? bruh this comment is longer than the video

[@Mirandorl]

@@MKermy You know lockdown is getting to you when you reply angrily to a four year old youtube comment ;)

[@LesTutosdUneMinute]

I think that they made the shot with all the students we can see on the backgroumd, to grt this footage.

[@vijay-qv8lu]

In India. I did this experiment in 6th Grade.This is our class project

[@djBC10000]

Since when do u need an electrical engineering degree to fkin light a bulb ? This is some shit all of us should have learned by the age of 8-11 I was fkin breaking atari game consoles and taking out the PCB and playing with it when i was 10..... it's basic knowledge people

[@Falcrist]

These aren't engineering students. The second semester of physics or the first semester of circuits requires knowledge like this. Hell, in 8.02 (MIT's name for General Physics II), students are asked to build a motor out of a battery and some wire. These people have not done that course.

[@zipporahthecushite7729]

Falcrist The woman at 1:25 says that she is a mechanical engineer.

[@souradeepbiswas3267]

Falcrist Yes of course that's easy and believe me I am just a high school student.

[@rodluvan1976]

I can light it with a potato

[@mhkubaid]

I suspect they are only showing the only 3 students who somehow could not do it. It's not that bad. I have met them before.

[@JorgeEscobarMX]

They use hats inside a class room. LOL