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Essential videos of 2012

25 of the 111 videos uploaded in 2012 were judged high on "words matter": the ideas are the point of the video, so reading or watching for the argument pays off — a reading guide, not a best-of list. Each entry gives the thesis (with a link to where the argument starts) and one line on why it was judged idea-dense. Back to the overview.

Main speaker: John: 15 · Hank: 10

  • 2012-01-10 · John · The Fault in Our Stars · Books & writing, Q&A
    • On the eve of The Fault in Our Stars' publication, John answers viewer questions in an airport: the book grew from his hospital chaplaincy and from knowing Esther (though Hazel is not Esther), explores gender and heroism, and gave him moments of 'fanaa', self-transcendence. (00:00:11)
    • Why it is here: John's own account of TFIOS's origins (chaplaincy, Esther), aims (gender and heroism) and the experience of writing (fanaa) are substantive and often cited.
  • 2012-01-20 · Hank · Thoughts on SOPA From New Orleans · Internet & YouTube, letter vlog
    • Walking New Orleans' French Quarter after the SOPA/PIPA blackout, Hank compares the internet to an infinite street of street performers that can't be regulated like a normal street, argues SOPA protects corporations and old media business models rather than people, and is proud the internet banded together to stop it. (00:00:38)
    • Why it is here: Hank's argument about SOPA, internet regulation and old versus new media (the 'infinite street') is his considered position on a major policy fight.
    • Replies to: 2011-11-18 Top 5 Reasons ████ ██ ██████
  • 2012-03-06 · John · Know Your News! Understanding the Syrian Revolution in Under 4 Minutes · World affairs, explainer
    • John gives Hank a four-minute history of Syria since 1946 (coups, the Ba'ath Party, the Assads, Alawism) to explain the regime's violent crackdown on the 2011 pro-democracy protests and the resulting civil war, and asks whether and how to help. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: A dense factual history of Syria with dates, figures (97.9% vote, UN estimate of over 10,000 killed) and an explanation of sectarian and great-power dynamics behind the 2012 conflict.
  • 2012-04-03 · John · Idiotic Governance: How Our Political Discourse Hurts Our Economy · US politics & society, explainer
    • John argues, through FAA funding, the highway bill and Medicare, that US political discourse rewards disagreement over sensible compromise, producing costly, inefficient policy; he also laments that the US keeps the penny after Canada dropped it. (00:00:30)
    • Why it is here: A dense argument with checkable numbers (penny costs, 23 FAA extensions, a billion dollars, Medicare at 5% of GDP) and a clear claim about how political incentives make bad policy.
  • 2012-05-11 · Hank · Your Arguments Are Invalid: Gay Marriage · US politics & society, letter vlog
    • Responding to North Carolina's constitutional ban on gay marriage, Hank rebuts common arguments against it (religion, the Bible, 'undermining marriage', 'unnatural') and argues that the only argument that matters is equality under the law. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: A compact argued rebuttal of anti-gay-marriage arguments, with a coined term ('hypothetheory') and a clear equality-under-law thesis; the wording of the rebuttals is the content.
  • 2012-05-15 · John · Religion and Gay Marriage · US politics & society, letter vlog
    • Following Hank's video, John argues that 'traditional marriage' has never been simply one man and one woman wed in church, that tying legal marriage to a religious covenant breaks down, and that denying gay couples the rights of marriage is discrimination. (00:01:41)
    • Why it is here: An argued case on the legal definition of marriage built from biblical and church history, intersex people and the covenant view; the reasoning carries the video.
    • Replies to: 2012-05-11 Your Arguments Are Invalid: Gay Marriage
  • 2012-05-22 · John · You ARE The Product · Internet & YouTube, letter vlog
    • Answering Hank's question of how a free Facebook can be worth $100 billion, John argues that free services sell their users to advertisers, that ads do shape behavior, and that being commodified should be a conscious choice; he asks Nerdfighters whether ads should fund Nerdfighteria. (00:00:44)
    • Why it is here: A compact explanation of the ad-supported business model ('you are the product') with an argument about ads' effect and a question about the channel's own funding.
    • Replies to: 2012-05-11 Your Arguments Are Invalid: Gay Marriage
  • 2012-07-10 · John · Feeling More Alive: Fahrenheit 451's The Hearth and the Salamander · Books & writing, recommendation
    • For the Nerdfighter Book Club, John reads Part One of Fahrenheit 451 as a book in which everyone is both alive and dead, notes how Bradbury's predictions about mass media came true, and asks when we feel least like we are wasting our lives. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: A close reading of Part One with a historical comparison (TV then and now) and open questions about attention and what makes life feel meaningful; the ideas carry the video.
  • 2012-07-13 · Hank · An Army of Mindless Drones · Books & writing, recommendation
    • Replying to John's Fahrenheit 451 video, Hank defends Clarisse as a stand-in for our culture that lets readers see how weird any culture is, but argues Mildred is unrealistic: mass entertainment hasn't scrubbed people of humanity, and there are no mindless drones. (00:00:29)
    • Why it is here: An argued reading: how Hank reads, Clarisse as a lens on one's own culture, and a warning against using the book to dehumanize others as 'mindless drones'.
    • Replies to: 2012-07-10 Feeling More Alive: Fahrenheit 451's The Hearth and the Salamander
  • 2012-07-17 · John · Hitler and Sex! · History & curiosities, explainer
    • John parodies a sensational cable 'Hitler and sex' show, then argues that the real story is boring and sad: Hitler was a common domestic abuser, and sensationalizing him lets us feel fundamentally unlike people who commit genocide. (00:02:35)
    • Why it is here: A historical debunking (Pink Swastika, testicle rumor) and an argued point that domestic abuse is common and sensationalism serves our comfort, aimed at TV's appetite for simplicity.
  • 2012-08-03 · Hank · I Don't Understand My Life · Philosophy & meaning, letter vlog
    • On Esther Day Hank answers a commenter who felt worthless watching Olympic gymnasts: value is something people give each other, the value we bring comes from whom we love and who loves us, so say 'I love you' to people you don't usually say it to. (00:00:35)
    • Why it is here: An argued reflection on where value comes from (socially given, rooted in love) tied to the meaning and ask of Esther Day.
  • 2012-08-07 · John · An Open Letter to Students Returning to School · Everyday life, letter vlog
    • In an open letter to students returning to school, John argues that compulsory public education is historically recent and underlies modern achievements such as the Curiosity landing, answers students' complaints, and says school exists for everyone's benefit: public education is an investment in students, not a charity. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: An argued essay on why public education exists (taxes, investment, not charity) with historical numbers and a direct appeal to students; widely quotable framing of school as a public good.
  • 2012-08-21 · John · Is College Worth It? · Everyday life, letter vlog
    • Answering a Nerdfighter's question, John works out that a reasonably good accredited college is criminally overpriced but probably still worth it financially, then argues that college is less about maximizing income than about becoming a better, more informed observer of the universe. (00:02:07)
    • Why it is here: An argued essay with a worked cost-benefit calculation and a stated position on what college is for.
  • 2012-08-31 · Hank · Why The Rich Pay Lower Taxes · US politics & society, explainer
    • Hank explains ordinary income, marginal tax brackets and the flat 15% capital gains tax, then argues, as a self-declared non-expert, that taxing investment gains less than earned income seems unfair and bad ethics; he closes by celebrating Nerdfighteria's $1 million for Kiva. (00:00:31)
    • Why it is here: An explainer of how US income and capital gains taxes work followed by an explicitly argued ethical position on tax policy.
  • 2012-09-18 · John · Existential Airport Anxiety · Books & writing, recommendation
    • Responding to the second half of Fahrenheit 451 from a TV-filled airport, John argues the novel is about choosing distraction over engagement, revises his view that books are the cure, and with David Foster Wallace links distraction to fear of a deeper pain. (00:01:01)
    • Why it is here: A literary reading turned argument about distraction and engagement, with a self-correction about books versus other media and a long Wallace quotation; the ideas carry the video.
  • 2012-09-21 · Hank · You. Must. Vote. · US politics & society, list
    • Hank argues that the only wrong vote is no vote, rebutting the common excuses one by one (super PACs, one vote never decides, safe states, no time, nothing changes, not registered), and calls voting in America a responsibility. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: A structured argument against not voting, with a coined analogy (voting as the YouTube comments of government), a prediction and concrete calls to register and vote early.
  • 2012-10-02 · John · What To Do With Your Life · Everyday life, Q&A
    • Answering a college freshman, John argues that adulthood is not one fixed choice: you keep deciding all your life and can do many things, so study broadly and, above all, make things with people you like. (00:00:13)
    • Why it is here: A single argued answer about adulthood, choice and careers ending in concrete advice; the wording of the argument is the content.
  • 2012-10-12 · Hank · Human Sexuality is Complicated… · US politics & society, explainer
    • Hank explains that biological sex, gender identity, sexual and romantic orientation, sexual behaviour and gender roles are separate spectra rather than two boxes, arguing that understanding this reduces hate and self-hate and that people deserve respect wherever they fall. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: A careful conceptual explainer with a normative point (pronouns follow gender; all combinations are legitimate; understanding reduces hate) that defines Hank's position on sexuality and gender.
  • 2012-10-23 · John · Understanding the National Debt and Budget Deficit · Economics, explainer
    • In election season John explains that the $16 trillion US national debt is mostly owed to Americans and is cheap, so it is not a crisis, while warning that deficits must shrink to keep credit cheap; he compares the candidates' modest plans and asks for discussion without yelling. (00:00:28)
    • Why it is here: A dense, number-heavy explainer of debt versus deficit, who holds US debt, why it is not a crisis, the future risk, and the candidates' tax plans in historical context.
  • 2012-11-04 · John · Policy and Politics: Brotherhood 2.0 Week Begins · US politics & society, explainer
    • Opening a punishment week of daily vlogs, John compares Obama's and Romney's tax plans on ordinary income and capital gains, prefers Obama's (hedged), and argues neither is radical: demonising opponents is more dangerous than either plan. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: Number-dense comparison of the 2012 candidates' tax plans with a historical frame, an explanation of capital gains, and an argument about political rhetoric.
  • 2012-11-07 · Hank · The 51st State · US politics & society, explainer
    • Hank argues that the most historic result of the 2012 election may be Puerto Rico's apparent vote for statehood, explains its colony-like status and the congressional hurdles, and suggests the biggest barrier is that Americans dislike changing the number of states. (00:00:28)
    • Why it is here: A news explainer full of checkable claims about Puerto Rico's status, statistics and the statehood process, plus an argument about Americans' resistance to change.
  • 2012-11-09 · Hank · The Stadium of Representatives: The End of B20 Week :-( · US politics & society, explainer
    • Answering viewers' questions after his Puerto Rico video, Hank explains why the House of Representatives exists, how its seats were capped at 435 and are reapportioned after each census, and what Puerto Rican statehood would mean for it; he also ends the Brotherhood 2.0-style week. (00:00:29)
    • Why it is here: A civics explainer built on checkable numbers (65 seats, 435, one per 700,000) and the mechanics of apportionment and statehood.
    • Replies to: 2012-11-07 The 51st State
  • 2012-11-16 · Hank · We're all Scared · Philosophy & meaning, letter vlog
    • Hank argues that everyone is a creator, above all of their own self, so everyone fears sharing their creations and being judged; the only remedy he has found is to keep creating in spite of the fear. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: A compact argued essay (two postulates and a conclusion) on creation, the self, judgment and fear, with a clear prescription; the ideas are the whole video.
  • 2012-12-04 · John · Time for AWESOME · Global development, announcement
    • John introduces the sixth annual Project for Awesome, framing it through his own privilege (Kenyon, internet access, $249 cameras) and the importance of extending opportunity, after celebrating Time naming The Fault in Our Stars the top novel of 2012. (00:00:00)
    • Why it is here: A compact personal argument about privilege and access to opportunity that motivates the P4A, plus precise P4A 2012 rules and money figures (date and time, top-five voting, board discretion, $15,000, penny pledge, $50,000 match).
  • 2012-12-17 · John · THE PROJECT FOR AWESOME 2012 IS HERE! Save the Children. · Global development, announcement
    • John launches the sixth Project for Awesome and makes the case for his charity, Save the Children: poverty is complex, Save the Children responds to it complexly and efficiently, and children born into poverty are not 'other'. (00:01:21)
    • Why it is here: A compact argued case with numbers: absolute poverty and purchasing power parity, the many causes of poverty, under-five deaths, Save the Children's programme share, and the claim that poor children are not 'other'; plus P4A 2012 logistics and John's perks.

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