Spider-Man (Cédric Villani) - Numberphile

Fields Medallist and math "celebrity" Cédric Villani is famous for wearing ornate spiders on his lapel.
More Villani videos: bit.ly/Villani_...
Cédric Villani website: cedricvillani.org
His book Birth of a Theorem (Amazon): bit.ly/BirthOfA...
Villani talks about his Fields Medal: • The Fields Medal (with...
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[@allenamenbesetzt]

Vilani: Nobody cared who I was until I put on the spider.

[@elidrissii]

If we pull off the spider, will he die?

[@listenerofrealrap]

Some Dude It would be extremely painful.

[@NamesAreJustAdvertisingIDs]

^^(He's a big guy.)

[@DlcEnergy]

thank you for that comment... it's too hilarious! xD xD xD

[@Jorvanius]

Was this comment part of his plan?

[@Porglit]

Anyone else want to spend years and years to build a monumental amount of trust with this guy just to get the answer to the spider question?

[@completeandunabridged.4606]

Porglit Yes :)

[@MrDaanjanssen]

yes come lets do it i invite him over for a couple of beers at my place

[@benleydon]

Anyone else want to go halves on a $16 blowtorch and some cable-ties and find out the answer to the spider question in about a minute?

[@CocoTehQuila]

The answer is 42. Sorry to ruin it for you guys

[@MrDaanjanssen]

I've already read hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, so no worries there ;)

[@DinosaurFromFuture]

"Ok, I'll tell you the reason. It's because I like spiders."

[@nerdbot4446]

Maybe the answer can be found on the web

[@LeoWattenberg]

YES! This is the degree of punnage necessary for this question.

[@9696Punk]

you deserve far more likes for this one

[@streak1burntrubber]

Man. That pun bites hard.

[@user-lk9jr8xx9l]

Take the like and get out

[@Jona69]

Your profile pic is was perfect for your comment LOL.

[@yoshtg]

i bet there isnt a secret behind the spider. he just wears them because he wants to.

[@Scrungge]

Kymate Probably, but it does give him a factor of mystery

[@TheNabilshow2]

I believe that the spider has a relation to a mathematical equation that he is secretly working on maybe! The day he gets the solution he will answer that question. That's my theory :)

[@hyperbolicparaboloid2818]

Lol ikr

[@IllumTheMessage]

He's explained it in talks before that he likes to use them as a way to engage in human interaction with others when they ask about it. That it is sort of a device for connecting with others. Which is also why he doesn't explain why he wears them because if there was a reason that people knew about it would defeat the purpose. They wouldn't ask anymore and he wouldn't be able to engage with them.

[@math.mouraa]

Zod makes sense

[@ryPish]

Ever since he was bitten by a spider, he understood the true meaning behind the number 8, how it relates to infinity, the universe and everything. Being able to walk on the walls and ceiling is also quite convenient when you need to see things from a new angle.

[@luisfernandoyupanquitaco8630]

Ry P so fantastic creature!!!

[@mjj7901]

This should be the top comment!!!

[@Triantalex]

false.

[@ghtyy2]

Frenchman with a spider on his chest. Take that off, what are you? Genius, mathematician, Fields Medal winner, director of Institut Henri Poincaré.

[@user-pj3qt8iy9d]

Now a French politician too (he aspires to be the future mayor of Paris), but I admit I don't know him much.

[@Triantalex]

??

[@HunterRodrigez]

iam pretty sure there are only a handful of people on this planet who could pull of a style like that... and he is most certainly one of them

[@KaliTakumi]

Hunter Rodrigez Yea they're also the only ones who know why he wears the spider

[@HunterRodrigez]

Kali Takumi and he never even told them... They just know

[@socrates4002]

They are in a secret society.

[@zioscozio]

When he said "less than that", I'm sure he was just being polite. He actually meant one by raising his middle finger.

[@BigDBrian]

Nah, I think he meant it in a very literal sense, less than 5, as it's a nice way to be imprecise about it and emphasise how little the amount of people is.

[@olivierb.2149]

French Canadians and French from France have very different mannerisms though (I'm French and I live in Montreal). The way I understood it was "less than 5" like mrBlork said. But I could be wrong too!

[@matsv201]

scozio yea.... he does know.what he is doing... I would guess The answer to The question is simple, but very boring.... so people ask...

[@headshock1111]

I think he was groping for a translation of the French equivalent of "I could count on one hand..."

[@ThunderChunky101]

scozio This... Is the best discussion I have ever read on KZbin!

[@sibritstone]

He got bit by a radioactive spider, gave him math powers!

[@DataStorm1]

Reminds me of the story of the Ship's captain that for years and years locked himself in his cabin every night, opens his safe and studies all evening on a piece of paper. After he dies, the crew opens the safe and read what's on the paper. It says: Port is left, starboard is right.

[@MrTorticolis]

Why is spider wearing a Cédric Villani?

[@kalinjonas1875]

Less than 8 spiders know the answer.

[@superoxidedismutase5757]

ROFL

[@Triantalex]

??

[@jacktumbleweed]

I think we have a new runner in the competition for "World's Most Interesting Man"

[@Triantalex]

??

[@sebastianportalatin5658]

Two Numberphiles in a row? What is this, Christmas?

[@hitchikerspie]

That would be two CGPGrey videos

[@matthewyoung4088]

That would be A CGPGrey video

[@tommihommi1]

HitchhikersPie or everyframeapainting

[@salimibrahim459]

yh

[@joso5681]

+Matthew Young 2 GCP videos? That would be the Big Crunch

[@t-menthe5078]

8th Millennium Prize Problem : What's the deal with Cédric Villani and Spiders ?

[@Miker0812]

I'm glad he didn't divulge the reason. That would ruin the mystery about him.

[@camilohiche4475]

word

[@SquirrelASMR]

The reason is that he wants to be mysterious.

[@SquirrelASMR]

@@camilohiche4475 number

[@chadestioco]

Super intelligent, check. Math professor like the original Moriarty, check. Sinister signature clothing article, check. Surname sound like "villain", check. Hmm...now what does that remind me of??? :\

[@pat3658]

chadestioco Yeah, what? :-/

[@Denasdc]

Rick Pat it reminds me of a check, because that's the only common thing

[@deamon6681]

Better check inkheart again...

[@zoikles1]

Cedric Villani!

[@Kaiji700M]

professor snape ofc

[@navyblue8621]

I wouldn't be surprised if the spider was just a motif he happened to like. Mr. Villani remembers where he got each of those spiders, and probably the people who made them. He isn't really collecting spiders; he's collecting memories.

[@lugyd1xdone195]

Its the web of memories that matters...

[@otakuribo]

At 1:28 Cedric just became the sexiest mathematician alive.

[@freechoas]

I believe he works for the mafia, and the Spider is the membership for entrance.

[@GuiMenGre]

L.lawliet Isn't it risk to show your name like this?Kira might be lurking everywhere...

[@GuiMenGre]

Unless you *are* Kira and have already killed L O.O

[@holaaloh6630]

Genei ryodan ?

[@badmanjones179]

he lost a bet

[@JahMusicTube]

still better than a ducky tie!

[@pip5188]

I can see this guy being in an anime or cartoon

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Hentai? :-)

[@davidwuhrer6704]

Well, Rule 34, if nothing else…

[@TheCimbrianBull]

David Wührer The eight legs of the spider suddenly becomes giant tentacles :-)

[@simonthomsen11]

He is in fact a big fan of anime and manga! There are several mentions of it in 'Birth of a Theorem' where he especially praises Death Note. I'm sure that his style and character has taken inspiration from anime/manga to some extent.

@Simon Thomsen Haha... I though something like that would be the case. I mean all characters need a defining feature of their design, right?

[@zaplan6762]

I love Villani, I met him once when I was 16, he's so intersting and such passionate person. Also he loves Marsupilami and spiders so we had a talk about it ^^ Such an inspiration !

[@gatoradeee]

I heard from somewhere that spiders symbolize creativity and he wears them as a reminder to stay curious and to think outside of conventional thought in the field of mathematics.

[@anubhav21dec]

Before clicking on this video, I thought I finally am going to know the answer.

[@ndmx1334]

This guy is so effortlessly charismatic

[@19TheChaosWarrior79]

I watched his R.I lecture Birth Of A Theorem. it's the first time I've heard of him but seen him everywhere recently. amazing guy

[@573f]

i cant wait for my grand kids to learn about this guy on philosophy or math class

[@PointB1ank]

Those spiders are beautiful pieces of art.

[@gatoradeee]

He's like a real life bond villain.

[@jaibau1993]

Everything about Cédric actually amazes me

[@wattage]

you win a fields medal, you're allowed to wear whatever you want for whatever reason. i like that he shared some of his others that he's been given. a testament to how important they are to him.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

He just played with a spider toy when a kid, so gets the nostalgic feel. I like scorpions and beetles. Was fascinated by those Jewel items as a kid.

[@tedsimmons4756]

I bet the idea of spiders gave him some insight into topology. Like he had to picture a spider crawling on the surface of a manifold to understand its properties.

[@Zangoose_]

Elegance, intelligence and creativity are all found in spiders

[@hitchikerspie]

"These sick ones" legend!

[@texanplayer7651]

I can only guess it's because he's fascinated by the mathematical properties of a spider's web

[@socrates4002]

The web of life, the neural web, the World Wide Web, the cosmic web. It's an occurring structure.

[@ro_yo_mi]

From the little I've seen of Cédric in your videos here, he seems like a really interesting guy to talk with over tea.

[@Hobbit183]

Spider has 8 legs. 8=2^3 and 3 is the number of corners on a triangle......ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED!

[@shadowmax889]

half life 3 CONFIRMED

[@outmail_goocrosoft_com1862]

8 = 1 + 7; 7 is Ronaldo's jersey number. RONALDO CONFIRMED!

[@littlecraftcreature]

I would love to make a spider for this guy's collection! I am not one for spiders myself, but I love his collection!

[@eddiebizi]

Finally more Villani videos!

[@mayurbhoi]

I like when Numberphile releases 2 videos within a day

[@CatoSierraWasTaken]

He wears it because he is a stand user and spiders are his 「A S T H E T I C」

[@Nurr0]

Omg!! I knew this was missing thank you for uploading this. :D

[@casualjoe2]

My hatred for flies turned into a love for spiders, could be that..

[@CzarStalin]

This is some of your best work Brady!!

[@TheKetsa]

Lets just say he was once a spider phobiac and recovered.

[@ASMRChess]

There can be no doubt that Cédric is a super villian. First of, the name. Villani/Villain - I mean, it's obvious. Also the spiders which can only be the symbol of an ancient octoviriate that is secretly controlling the fate of the planet. Cédric is a genius mathematician, probably leaving tonnes of clues to his evil designs scattered in his math-papers. Only the most clever people will understand and by then - it will be too late. But what really gives Cédric away is his hand-writing. Look up any video where he presents on the blackboard; his hand-writing is beautiful, flawless - even when writing exceedingly complicated and obscure math.

[@TheSLK66]

Not to mention he is involved in politics these days. He has a somewhat important position now.

[@travispetit2410]

dude, I don't want to alarm you, but there's a spider in your chest

[@sleepingsaucer3801]

that glance to the camera when he assured that he won't say the reason why .-.

[@DeoMachina]

These are nice spiders For a nice professor :D

[@HixGary]

The math in a spiders web is mind blowing hopefully he’ll come across a spider from Mars

[@bootblacking]

Dude probably just really likes spiders and realized he can create an air of mystery around himself by wearing spider pendants.

[@TheSLK66]

1:29 If he looked at me like that I would stare at him with the same look for a couple of seconds XD

[@levi12howell]

Don't be ashamed, wear it proudly and give you reason

[@twstdelf]

Love this guy! Fields Medallist... holds up his hand with fingers outstretched, "less than that." lol

[@AymarYoutube]

With this spider he looks like he teachs math in Hogwarts

[@BuckFieri]

1:00 that wooden möbius strip is so cool!

[@domlabeau7497]

A person like that can only be a genius

[@paintingjo6842]

Plot twist: he just hasn't thought of a reason yet.

[@carl6167]

A spider has 8 legs. 8 = 2^3 I have solved the mystery. Wait, how did i get 200 likes. Is there something i do not understand about my own "joke" ?

[@completeandunabridged.4606]

Carl Jontza Nah, 8 = 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1. Far more elegant :)

[@EebstertheGreat]

If only. It's only HL2 Episode 3, though.

[@AkiSan0]

not all of them... not all...

[@educasanova3488]

+Sergi Costa Half Life up until 8 confirmed, at least. Nice seeing you 'round here m8

[@EebstertheGreat]

Aki, did you pull legs off spiders as a kid?

[@UrnestHemingouey]

I think he likes the attention and this is the whole reason. And he knows that if he answers, the mystery would be gone.

[@JoeyBartlett]

What's cool, is that I have that same book, the illustrated elements by Euclid. I feel a lot cooler knowing that I have something pretty highup mathematician also reads!

[@inept5002]

Who is he

[@numberphile]

+Outcast Plays Prof Villani wins the 2010 Fields Medal and is one of the world's best-known mathematicians.

[@catsexual3412]

Outcast Plays he is a very well known pokemon trainer. He likes psych/insect type pokemon as you can tell from the video.

[@tiberiu_nicolae]

That's hilarious

[@frankschneider6156]

+Outcast Plays a nut, but a f*cking smart nut.

[@trucid2]

Spider pokemon. Whoa.

[@AdityaKumar-ij5ok]

Here he comes... Cedric Villani Spiderman Spiderman, does whatever a mathematician can

[@How_To_Drive_a_TARDIS]

thank you

[@AlvaroGymnas]

I love Cedric's videos. I wish we will someday know what those spiders stand (or "strap") for.

[@xtsemi6]

I think the answer is: He wants to obtain effect like ''Everyone will have own interpretation, so its cool'', ''mystery in man suggests unique knowledge''.

[@TheCdizzle163]

0:32 I have that same edition of The Elements of Euclid on MY desk!

[@sameerah3422]

By far my greatest hero.

[@Henrix1998]

Nice, KZbin sent announcement about the playlist and not just single video

[@succeedlilsss7249]

That s where he stores his math power

[@rayhutchings7]

spider makes connections to survive

[@benjamingeyer5930]

I love this man.

[@arel50]

😆😅 Ah, I love him! One of my top favorite modern mathematicians. He really rocks the crazy genius stereotype.

[@poif_8579]

he's obviously just trying to be mysterious about it as a publicity stunt so he gains attention from people being curious

[@ClevorBelmont]

I’m more amazed there are so many spider artists around the world. 2 years on and I STILLcome back to this vid. Btw the answer is he was bitten.

[@alephnull4044]

Why Cedric Villani wears the spiders is perhaps the greatest open question in mathematics to date.

[@7Somerset]

Rocking that anton chigurr haircut

[@machinesia272]

I'm from Uruguay and believe me when I tell you I was shocked when Cédric said he had a spider from here. Any more people from Uruguay?

[@rinconcurioso]

Machinesia I'm from UY too!

[@minijimi]

I need to know why and wont be able to sleep until that moment.

[@inakilbss]

I was born in Uruguay. It feels right to know a spider of this guy's comes from the same country as me.

[@DjVortex-w]

A man of mystery.

[@fabiangn8022]

Amigo Cedric tiene un talento y un look único

[@kguy152000]

I want him to whisper equations in my ear. Re-post of apparently deleted comment.

[@primopierre]

People who knows the reason are as many - and valuable - as the awards he has received. 👌🏼

[@Garbaz]

That's some jewellery I can get behind. Nice collection :)

[@georgeh5075]

He's such a style icon haha

[@leonard1871]

0:13 Rumor has it , the stone in that spider is an infinity gem (the reality stone).

[@phiberoptick]

this is my favorite video. no answers, just questions. let the mind wonder a bit. life does not provide all the answers and that is ok.

[@profdrdrnoname4360]

0:56 is that a huge gömböc?

[@numberphile]

+ProfDrDrNoname see our previous video about his office decorations

[@francoisegregyi233]

ProfDrDrNoname Igen. Perce.

[@gery49]

According to local tales the gömböc eats people and grows bigger. I guess he keeps it as a watchdog :D

[@Loweene_Ancalimon]

Yeah, it is. He talks about it at the very end of his book "Living theorem", it was given to him by Gabor Domokos.

[@herooftime6941]

I'm pretty sure I've seen an interview were he explains why he wears a spider, I need to double check in case i'm mistaken but if I find it I'll put the link

[@allenamenwarenbezet]

He also wears silvery spider webs on his lapel sometimes

[@aymenmekhilef9544]

As someone once told me, wearing those decorative spiders on his lapel might be his way of telling people that he's calm enough so even a spider can live on his body (we all know that spiders live in isolated places)

[@DizzyForPigs]

One word: Horcruxes

[@subjectline]

1:47 that's a top quality question

[@andrzejdyszy7740]

macedonia, argentina, Morocco, Niger, and EASTERN EUROPE.... I never heard about country with that name...

[@howzeman]

Wish more people would dare to have their own style. The spider from marocco is beautiful.

[@mr.trashbin307]

the spiders may be red herrings because the ones he wears holds a gemstone... He got them from each of those places and he needs to protect them...

[@JavierSalcedoC]

that´s one of the last great questions in mathematics