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Currently Playing: Is 100 Better Than 101?

Is 100 really such a special number? Or have we spent thousands of years getting excited about something completely arbitrary? To celebrate the 100th episode of The Rest Is Science, Professor Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens (Vsauce) go head-to-head in a mathematical showdown: which is the better number, 100 or 101? It sounds like a simple question, but the answer takes them from the strange history of counting, to the psychology of numbers, the mathematics of primes and the possibility of communicating with alien species. Why do we find round numbers so satisfying? Would 100 mean anything if we'd evolved with 9 fingers? And is there a single number that’s fundamentally special, regardless of the counting system we use? Can Hannah and Michael settle the debate once and for all? Or is the most ‘important’ number of all one they haven't even considered yet? ------------------- For more information about Cancer Research UK, their research, breakthroughs and how you can support them, visit https://cancerresearchuk.org/restisscience Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ. ------------------- Video Editor: Oli Oakley Animator: Sam Benson Video & Social: Bex Tyrrell Assistant Producer: Lucy Lipscombe Producer: Simona Rata Senior Producer: Lauren Armstrong-Carter Chief Digital Officer: Samuel Oakley Exec Producer: Neil Fearn