I used to hate QR codes. But they're actually genius
01 Oct 2024 (10 days ago)
I was wrong (0s)
- The speaker initially believed QR codes were ineffective and would not gain popularity. (3s)
- QR codes are now widely used for various purposes, including tickets, menus, advertising, and even money exchange in some countries. (28s)
- The history of QR codes is connected to early attempts at digitizing information. (45s)
How Morse Code revolutionized communication (49s)
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse, a painter, was inspired to find a faster way to communicate over long distances after the death of his wife. (2m5s)
- Morse, along with Joseph Henry and Alfred Vail, created a machine that could send electrical pulses along a wire, leading to the development of Morse code. (2m14s)
- Morse code, a system of dots and dashes representing letters and numbers, became an international standard for rapid messaging, widely used in various industries. (3m23s)
How barcodes work (3m57s)
- Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland began experimenting with ways to speed up the checkout process in grocery stores, eventually leading to the creation of the first barcode. (3m58s)
- UPC barcodes, capable of storing 12 digits, are read by a laser that measures the amount of light reflected by the black and white lines. (4m57s)
- The last digit of a UPC barcode is a check digit used to verify that the barcode is complete and can be used to back-calculate a missing digit. (6m31s)
- QR codes use a grid system where white represents zero and black represents one to store information. (10m47s)
- The size of a QR code, determined by its version, dictates its storage capacity, with larger versions holding more data. (11m54s)
- Error correction codes within a QR code allow for data recovery in case of damage and enable the inclusion of elements like logos. (16m25s)
Why damaged QR codes still work (18m16s)
- QR codes use a system of error correction based on the Hamming distance, which allows them to be read even when damaged. (20m34s)
- Reed-Solomon codes, a type of error-correcting code, are used in QR codes to ensure data integrity even with data loss. (25m10s)
- QR codes use masking patterns to prevent large blocks of uniform color, making them easier for scanners to read. (27m1s)
Why are QR codes so common? (29m54s)
- DENSO Wave, the creator of QR codes, made the patent open and free to use, which contributed to the widespread adoption of QR codes. (30m18s)
- The integration of QR code readers into smartphone camera apps by Android and Apple in 2017 significantly increased the use of QR codes. (30m49s)
- The COVID-19 pandemic further boosted the use of QR codes globally as a contactless way to share information and facilitate payments. (30m52s)
How safe are QR codes? (31m21s)
- Some scammers have used QR codes to defraud people. (31m23s)
- People should be cautious and check where a QR code leads before clicking on a link. (32m14s)
- It is important to pay attention to safety when using the internet, including when scanning QR codes. (32m16s)
The future of QR codes (32m25s)
- It is impossible to run out of unique QR codes. (33m32s)
- There are about 10 times more version 1 QR codes at the lowest redundancy level than there are legal chessboard configurations. (33m44s)
- A random arrangement of pixels in a QR code pattern is unlikely to be interpretable. (33m53s)