Computer Scientist Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED

Computer scientist Amit Sahai, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of zero-knowledge proofs to 5 different people; a child, a teen, a college student, a grad student, and an expert. Using a variety of techniques, Amit breaks down what zero-knowledge proofs are and why it's so exciting in the world of cryptography.

Amit Sahai, PhD, is a professor of computer science at UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.


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Computer Scientist Explains One Concept in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED

[GeographyNow]

All I needed was the Child level and was like "Okay GOT IT. Thank you"

[thor_]

My dad explained me this a long time ago.. he would tell me how hard his path to school was without revealing anything

[dr.sakshinbelgavi]

Please I beg you Wired... Don't stop this series and make them more, i really enjoy the multi-disciplinary people coming together and sharing this amazing concepts which I've never even heard of in such an interesting and articulate way, it keeps me going.

[sudhindrakopalle]

Videos like these tell me there is so much in this world I know nothing about.

[DaGleese]

I'm just blown away with the example he gave to the child with the puffin. So simple, yet it really just explains everything.

[ShuAbLe]

That dialogue with the child was so deep, I'm impressed that she gets it and by how well explained it was.

[henriklarsen]

As a teacher, I have to admire Amit's skill for explanation!

[Chitus]

The teen version was simpler than the child one honestly. Also that ten year old is very smart.

[KaziKaz]

This guy was so good at explaining this topic. I bet he's a good teacher. Also this whole video series is genius because you are introducing complex topics to the masses in a way that they can understand and digest. Love this, keep it up Wired!

[starlight]

It’s so nice to see his past students talk about what a great professor he was. If only all educators had this much passion towards their subject matter and enjoyed imparting knowledge to others this much.

[edwardseverinsen]

I need to see if Sahai has any publicly available lectures or tutorial videos. I love his _aura_ of calmness and his gentle tone. It makes it easier to learn in a way.

[pineapple]

that child level explanation was absolutely brilliant and it was really awesome to see the girl understand such a complicated topic in their own correct way

[jacobzhang]

I had Sahai for the CS theory course at UCLA and he was a great teacher. Perfect choice for this video! Go Professor Sahai!

[UberTankred]

At first I thought Chelsea's analogy with the "magic trick" was wrong. Then I realized that the girl is smarter than I, because a "magic trick" in its entirety is something completely normal and understandable, but since the magician only lets you see what you're supposed to see, you receive proof that something is real without proof how it possibly could be real!

[tuananhphan]

It revels very true about how growing up affects your way of thinking, and how not everyone can become a scientist. The child cares more about why. The teen is confused, while the college student only cares about the result. The grad student comes back to why, but with for what specifically in the real world. The expert is actually a child with a deeper interest in why, mathmatically and philosophically. Well, it seems to be true that scientists never grow up

[till]

In cyber security, Zero-Knowledge Proofs have HUGE prospects and applicability. But Dr. Sahai's example of social interaction and using ZKP's to prevent mistrust is a Blackmirror-like scenario in which social interactions are based on personal criteria of trust and, if you know you can by your own criteria not trust a person, you know that they must have broken one of these criteria, giving you knowledge about the other person that you would not be supposed to have.

[samuelatienzo]

The level 1 proof was the hardest since he had to take something complex and make it simple. A sign of a great teacher 👍

[a_cleverfool]

Had the privilege of studying Automata Theory with him as my professor. Truly brilliant and very good at explaining and fostering discussion.

[James-bvnu]

In my last final exam, I managed a beautiful proof to my professor, and convinced him that I had zero knowledge.

[intannurhidayah]

This video popped up in my recommendation. I didn't even know what they're talking about but I love how the professor was talking. So calm but clear. I wonder how he teaches his students?