I used to hate QR codes. But they're actually genius

01 Oct 2024 (13 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)