HackerTube.dev

But what are Hamming codes? The origin of error correction

3Blue1Brown · 3.1M views · 2020-09-04 · 20:05

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

3Blue1Brown's discovery-oriented introduction to error correction codes, building up Hamming codes from the puzzle of locating a flipped bit. It explains the parity-check idea and why it is so efficient.

On Hacker News

HN recommends it as an invaluable, intuitive explanation of Hamming codes that pairs well with hardware-oriented treatments.

Recommended by 4 HN people across 4 months · HN mentions 2020–2023

Topics

Information theory & signal processingRecreational & visual math
Search by tags
hamming codeserror correctionparityinformation theory3blue1brown

What people said

Hanschri · 2022-11 · Strong recommendation

To understand how error correction works and to learn more about Hamming codes & Reed-Solomon, 3Blue1Brown and Ben Eater were invaluable. 3Blue1Brown and Ben Eater are by far some of the best educational content creators within their fields, mathematics and computer engineering respectively. I would strongly recommend anyone interested in the topic to check out any of these videos: How to send a self-correcting message (Hamming codes): [VIDEO] Hamming codes part 2, the elegance of it all: [LINK] And any of Ben Eater's five videos on error correction: [LINK] As an aside, Ben Eater does all of his videos and demonstrations using an 8-bit computer he has built step by step in videos on a breadboard. Very impressive and inspiring.

Read the original HN comment ↗
WaffleIronMaker · 2023-08 · Recommendation

If you want to learn more about Hamming Codes from a mathematical perspective, I recommend 3Blue1Brown's YouTube series: > How to send a self-correcting message (Hamming codes) - [VIDEO] > Hamming codes part 2, the elegance of it all - [LINK] Associated with Ben Eater's video, if you want a perspective regarding low level computer hardware: > What is error correction? Hamming codes in hardware - [LINK]

Read the original HN comment ↗
adamisntdead · 2021-09 · Recommendation

I'm a big fan of this video from Reducible on Huffman codes: [LINK] , and from 3Blue1Brown on Hamming codes: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by 3Blue1Brown, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources