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I was never a "math kid" in school, so I appreciate this deeply philosophical look at the invention of mathematics as explained to us by the always-amazing PBS Idea Channel. Math as a concrete unquestionable thing fills my flighty English major heart with dread, but math as a flexible language and/or belief structure? I can get behind that. Hopefully Mike Rugnetta and crew will use this video as a jumping off point for other commonly asked stoner questions such as "What if the color blue that  I see and the color blue that you see are different colors?" and "Do you guys see my hand right now? My hand is weird, right?"

Robots are only getting more and more intelligent, and eventually they will replace us. Every single story in popular science fiction confirms this viewpoint, so naturally whenever someone invents a new piece of technology that begins to closely resemble artificial intelligence, some nerd shouts "No don't do that THE CYLONS" or something to that extent. But what if creating better robots is actually the most ethical thing we can do as a society? That's the question that the most recent episode of PBS Ideal Channel puts forth to viewers. I'm not sure if I agree, but I could basically listen to host Mike Rugnetta wax philosophical to accompanying pop culture GIFs for days on end regardless.

We're big fans of PBS Idea Channel and Mike Rugnetta, so it was an obvious move to include this week's exploration of the idea that sad music, like, say, Ryan Adams or Elliott Smith, isn't inherently sad. It's kind of complicated, but it basically boils down to our cultural training. At least, that's what Rugnetta and his crew argue. What do you think?

Is a denial of service attack, or distributed denial of service attack (DDoS), a weapon? That's the question Mike Rugnetta and PBS Idea Channel set out to discuss this week. Sure, the rhetoric is filled with fighting terminology -- attack, for example -- but that doesn't necessarily make a DoS attack a weapon. In a lot of ways, the argument hinges around intent of such an attack, and how it denies certain actions. Don't take my word for it, though.

Instagram isn't really my cup of tea, or really photography as a whole, but there are scads of people out there snapping selfies and whatever else to fill the Facebook-owned company's profiles. In addition to posting tons of photos, folks are also maybe doing more than that by adding hashtags. At least, that's what Mike Rugnetta and PBS Idea Channel argue in their latest video. I'm not sure I agree, but it's certainly an interesting idea.

Violence and video games is a tricky subject, but it's just plain factual that many games -- like Call of Duty, for example -- sometimes license the use and depiction of actual firearms. As in, the virtual sniper rifle a player's using might be about as close to the real thing as a virtual sniper rifle gets. So, is buying Call of Duty or Battlefield a moral choice? That's what Mike Rugnetta and PBS Idea Channel explore in their latest and greatest video.

We here at Geekosystem love us some Community -- yes, even the current season -- so Mike Rugnetta's argument that Community's a postmodern masterpiece didn't have to do much to make us into believers. Even so, he makes a bunch of good points, and Dan Harmon himself seems to agree. So, yeah, give PBS Idea Channel's latest bit a watch, and see if you agree.

Knock-offs are everywhere! From faux Rolexes on the street to those fake Tickle Me Elmos to that one actually-kind-of-cool laser-gun-robot that clearly was supposed to be like Megatron I had as a kid. Turns out, knock-offs is a ubiquitous and powerful phenomena, and of course we see it every day. In the latest PBS Idea Channel video, host Mike Rugnetta offers a thoughtful point-and-counterpoint on the subject. Sometimes the counterfeit is just as good as the "real thing" or better, and he tells you why. Then again, buying knock-offs has its consequences.

Generally speaking, currency exists because we all agree said currency has value. It's essentially abstracting the whole barter system. So, now that the digital age has arrived, does it not make sense that we should start seeing digital currencies come to fruition? We pretty much are already, actually, even if you didn't realize it. PBS Idea Channel and host Mike Rugnetta explore exactly this in their latest video, which asks if stuff like Bitcoins and Team Fortress 2 hats are the future of currency.

Look, I'm not going to pretend that I'm a font of knowledge when it comes to transhumanism. The idea's a neat one though. In a nutshell, we'll eventually reach a point where technology will supplant all our involuntary problems like aging. PBS Idea Channel, however, thinks that Futurama might perhaps be the best argument against transhumanism. Whether you agree or disagree, host Mike Rugnetta makes an interesting argument.

Space travel for the masses is something that's continuously moving toward becoming reality. That isn't to say it's here, or that we're even all that close, but it's something that's closer to happening than it is to not. For those that have already made it to space, the experience has had a profound effect. It's been described as this encompassing feeling of unity and enhanced perspective. It's an interesting phenomenon, to be sure, which is why PBS Idea Channel, with host Mike Rugnetta, asks the question: Will space travel save us all?