Can things that humans made up (sports, money, borders, rules) really matter?

Hank adds that silly rules are good as long as they don't control people in harmful ways.

Axis: yes, constructed things matter because we make them matter ... no, they are arbitrary and trivial

Positions by date: 44 records in 44 videos. The position did not change in these records.

John

date	how	position	video
2009-09-13	first on record	John says what we love about sports is that, unlike life, it has no room for ambiguity, which makes sports fun but always kind of insufficient.	Sex, Sports, and Caster Semenya 00:02:15
2010-06-21	restate	John: though it's silly, he chooses to care about the World Cup because it transcends geography, ethnicity, wealth and politics.	You're Gonna Die 00:01:36
2011-03-28	restate	John argues sports matter: we choose what we care about, and caring about sports, like Harry Potter or Nerdfighteria, binds people into communities that make life worth living.	Participatory Geometry 00:02:29
2011-08-10	restate	John argues sovereign debt is unsecured and gold no longer backs currency: the only thing backing currency in the world is trust.	Understanding America's Debt Problem 00:01:33
2011-10-28	restate	In the book's author's note John writes that hunting for facts inside a story attacks the idea that made-up stories can matter, which he calls sort of the foundational assumption of our species.	Reading Chapter One of The Fault in Our Stars 00:02:23
2014-12-23	restate	John argues that fictions and constructions become real all the time; constructed things, like a chair, are real enough to hurt.	Agloe, New York 00:01:28
2015-01-04	restate	John says the sport itself doesn't matter, just people kicking a ball into a net; we make it meaningful by caring, and that goes for lots of stuff.	The Best Worst Thing 00:03:05
2015-03-17	restate	John says he needs to believe made-up stories can really matter in the lives of real people.	What Are Paper Towns? 00:02:32
2016-05-24	restate	John says sports are silly, yet quotes that of all the unimportant things football is the most important. · also in: Who Should We Root For?, THE BEST DAY	Easier Than IKEA: A Video in Two Parts 00:03:34
2017-04-25	restate	John says Pokémon is basically just a sport: winning battles doesn't save the world or make it fairer, but neither does soccer, and he likes soccer.	Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon 00:02:14
2018-03-13	restate	Against those who call soccer the stupidest human activity, John says football is about community: it matters because we share it, and shared endeavors across divides remind us we are all in this together.	Who Should We Root For? 00:02:59
2019-06-04	restate	John says that more than that, sports are about celebrating, grieving and being together: they remind us that what we have matters less than what we share, and that we are never truly alone.	On Sharing the Walk 00:02:39
2019-07-23	restate	Singing hymn-like songs with other fans at the stadium, John again felt football's great gift: it has made him part of a massive, sprawling, inclusive us.	What to Love and How 00:01:27
2020-04-28	restate	Taking up the poem's line that the crowd enjoys the game to no end save beauty, John says we all need things in our lives with no end save beauty; he finds it in competitive Tetris and marble racing.	get your game on 00:02:55
2020-06-30	restate	John kept thinking of the old line often attributed, probably incorrectly, to Pope John Paul II: of all the unimportant things, football is the most important.	i like it 00:03:40
2020-08-11	restate	John says he loves stories about humans making meaning where none inherently exists, like at a foosball table.	never get bored 00:01:01
2020-09-08	restate	John argues that sports are not really about the balls or the people moving them: at their core, sports are a third thing.	That's the way. 00:00:29
2022-01-18	restate	John says the celebrations honoured not just the result but the players' heart, tenacity and belief, in a country that is growing and growing together.	The Miracle of the Leone Stars 00:03:24
2022-09-13	restate	John recommends Welcome to Wrexham even to non-football fans: it's about how football, of all the unimportant things, is the most important.	A Million Things at Once 00:01:16
2023-04-04	restate	John says this is ultimately why he loves sports so much: sometimes he needs to feel in a straightforward, uncomplicated way.	The Search for Real Feeling 00:01:58
2023-04-11	restate	John loves sports not for the balls but for the people: loving something together lets him feel earnest, unironic connection and emotion he couldn't feel otherwise.	Wrexham's Most Amazing Feeling 00:00:44
2023-11-07	restate	John argues that almost every form of meaning is constructed: we convince ourselves and each other that things matter because that is how we get things done together.	NaFaDoYBIMSCoM 00:03:13
2024-03-05	restate	John says that of all the unimportant things, football is the most important.	THE BEST DAY 00:03:34
2024-08-20	restate	John says the outcome of individual matches doesn't matter much, but in the moment it feels significant.	Thoughts from Places: BROMLEY! 00:02:26
2024-09-27	restate	John says football matters: it doesn't, but of all the unimportant things it is the most important.	Is It 2010? IT'S A PARTS VIDEO 00:02:10
2025-04-22	restate	The game reminded John of the old line that of all the unimportant things, football is the most important.	The Unimportant Things 00:00:29
2025-05-27 (said on 2025-05-25, implied)	restate	John says he doesn't believe in superstition except insofar as we give things power by believing in them, which is how he feels about a lot of things.	The Longest (and best) Day 00:01:10
2025-06-17	restate	John is not much concerned with whether God exists independently of human consciousness, since human-constructed ideas such as human rights become real through shared belief.	My Religion 00:00:29

Hank

date	how	position	video
2011-09-28	first on record	Hank argues sports and almost all value exist only by collective agreement, and that doing things together because they are fun is why we do anything.	Cup Stacking and Glasses Picking 00:01:58
2012-08-03	restate	Hank: the Olympics (and gymnastics, shot put) have value because people come together and give them value.	I Don't Understand My Life 00:00:58
2014-02-14	restate	Hank guesses the value of odd Olympic skills comes from cultural agreement, but says it doesn't matter where it comes from: he just wants to watch.	Happy Third Chocolate Day! 00:01:03
2014-05-16	restate	Hank says the only difference between something being vitally important and not important at all is whether you believe it is.	The Myth of Greatness 00:03:28
2015-01-02	restate	Hank says we need culture and conventions (an alphabet order, a first day of the year), but convenient conventions that are not innocuous should be picked out and removed.	Why is The Alphabet In Alphabetical Order? Eight Completely Arbitrary Things 00:03:17
2017-04-14	restate	Hank says it is a fine bench, special only because of what people bring to it, as with most important things and people: we aren't much unless you know our story.	★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam 00:02:45
2017-05-26	restate	Hank says careers, job interviews, diplomas and jobs are not normal human things we are designed for but brand-new cultural constructions that didn't exist about 300 years ago.	Some Rough Advice for the "Real World" 00:01:46
2018-06-15	restate	All value is bestowed by humans, so when we say it matters that the ball went through the hoop, it matters.	Sports are Dumb 00:01:41
2020-07-10	restate	Where ideas come from matters to Hank, as a weekly video maker and as a person, because almost everything is an idea: justice, America, money, borders, political parties, businesses.	What a Concept!! 00:00:29
2021-02-26	restate	Hank concludes that we exist in a stew of made-up things created for no particular reason and by no system, yet they remain dramatically useful to us and our society.	Arbitrary but Useful 00:03:34
2022-01-14	restate	Hank concludes there is huge value in standardization, one part of the map always up: the choice had pros, cons and negative effects, but it was the right call and avoided a problem we never think about.	Thank God We Got This Right… 00:03:18
2023-02-24	restate	Hank says there are many ways to find meaning and purpose, but the Project for Awesome is one they made up from scratch, and it is ever so good.	The P4A 2023 is The Hottest Club on the Internet 00:17:15
2024-06-14	restate	Hank says social technologies hold society together: church, marriage, fashion, Christmas, soccer, the idea of a border and the word vegan are human-created things that change behavior.	Some Reasons why People Suck 00:01:38
2024-08-16	restate	Hank says ranking countries by medals is ridiculous, if a fine kind: countries don't win medals, individuals do, and we rank because we like it, not because it means something.	I Have Uncovered an Olympics Mystery… 00:02:26
2025-04-04	restate	Hank says silly norms and taboos are good as long as they don't control people in harmful ways: in general it is good to have some weird rules that make us us.	Morality 00:03:58
2025-05-02	restate	Hank argues the time of day is both a physical reality (where the sun is) and a constructed cultural reality (what our phones say).	I Found the Dumbest Time Zone 00:00:00
2026-09-29	restate	Hank says committing to the bit honours a friend by focusing on the thing that matters to both; the bit doesn't matter, it only matters because they matter.	Pretend You Don't Know This 00:02:40

Background

date	how	position	video
2010-01-04	background	John argues that rules which feel arbitrary (hurdles, brushing, math) have real utility: they stand between us and chaos. (playful)	It Hurts In My Toof: The 2010 Rules 00:01:45
2010-06-18 (said on 2010-06-19, implied)	background	Hank, staging a mock intervention over John's World Cup obsession: however great soccer is, it is just a game. (playful)	You just lost THE GAME! 00:00:00

Dates are upload dates, which set the order. Where the speaker gives a different recording date in the video, it is added as "said on YYYY-MM-DD, implied" (derived from the date said in the video).