Register 2017: hedges and bits

Statements from 2017 that are not plain sincere assertions: sincere claims the speaker hedged or marked as uncertain (with the hedge words quoted), and statements made as a bit. Plain sincere, unhedged statements are on the video pages. Back to the overview.

John

1167 statements · sincere 88% · playful 11% · other bits 1% · hedged or unsure 17%

Sincere but hedged (172)

Split by hedge type (derived from the quoted hedge words with a fixed word list — see the overview): epistemic doubt 84 · wish / hope 6 · opinion marker 40 · other hedge 35 · hedge words not recorded 7.

Epistemic doubt (84)

real uncertainty about whether it is true

2017-01-03 · 10 Years on YouTube (...and MORE GREAT NEWS) — Colorado Nerdfighters will watch the game at the Three Lions Pub in Denver; there may be other places to watch with Nerdfighters, and John started a Reddit thread on it. — hedged: “may” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:47)
2017-01-03 · 10 Years on YouTube (...and MORE GREAT NEWS) — When the project started the brothers weren't close: John left for boarding school when Hank was 11, and they talked by phone maybe once a year; now at least twice a week. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:25)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John says this seems one example of how, in current political discourse, people reach vastly different conclusions because they look at different sets of data. — hedged: “to me this seems” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:21)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John says the two biggest factors seem to be more people choosing to be full-time parents and more students in professional and graduate schools. — hedged: “seem to be” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:12)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John says some of the decline is probably due to lack of job opportunities: people retiring early after losing a job, or students who could be tempted into work. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:30)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John says U6 shows labor-market slack; the U3-U6 gap is slightly higher than before the 2009 recession, suggesting there may be more room for job growth than U3 implies. — hedged: “may be” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:32)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John says people need good jobs, not just jobs, and on that front the recovery from the recession is probably unfinished. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:28)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John says median household incomes are likely still lower than in 2007, though final 2016 data are not yet available. — hedged: “likely” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:35)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John says if we can agree on these facts, maybe we can discuss how to continue or even expand the economic recovery. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:50)
2017-01-10 · What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? — John asks viewers to say in comments which Oscar-contending movies they like best; his favourites are Hidden Figures and Moonlight. — hedged: “Maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:05:11)
2017-01-17 · How Young Is History? — The Chauvet paintings were made across thousands of years, so the cave was almost certainly used by one community for longer than we have used the Pantheon. — hedged: “almost certainly” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:15)
2017-01-17 · How Young Is History? — John says much of what we think inevitable or natural about humanness isn't: not wealth inequality, climate change or polarization, but not literacy, free speech or a three-hour Rome-Florence trip either. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:02)
2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John finds these little aphorisms not just annoying but kind of insulting. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:28)
2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John feels his whole adult life has been a series of circumstances forcing him to reckon seriously with things he once easily dismissed. — hedged: “I kind of feel like” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:44)
2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John says he still hasn't learned that when he wants to roll his eyes, he should be alive to the possibility that the object of his disdain is more complex than he imagines. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:17)
2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — The seven nations seem to have been chosen because 2015 and 2016 laws signed by President Obama required their residents to get a visa to visit the US. — hedged: “seem to” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:29)
2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — John finds the blanket refugee ban very poorly targeted: it lumps together all refugees, whether from Syria, South Sudan or Burma. — hedged: “seems to me” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:38)
2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — John says much of this may be moot in three or four months (by May 2017) as parts of the order expire. — hedged: “may” [epistemic doubt] (00:06:37)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — John thinks the secret of life may be understanding that you deserve to love and be loved. — hedged: “I think maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:23)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — The first was probably Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now, but also New Partner by the Palace Brothers and Love Love Love by the Mountain Goats. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:58)
2017-02-14 · Human Life Is Getting Better. Faster Than Ever Before. — John calls Melinda and Bill Gates's annual letter required reading: the news tells him what happened yesterday, the letter lets him zoom out to the larger human story. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:02)
2017-02-14 · Human Life Is Getting Better. Faster Than Ever Before. — John recalls Hank telling him bad news happens all at once and good news slowly, making good news hard to notice; we still need it, maybe now more than ever. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:13)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John says meaning in life may be constructed by us rather than derived from some objective truth, but that does not make it any less real. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:22)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John's favourite fictional depiction of time travel is probably Back to the Future, which has had an outsized influence on his life. — hedged: “Probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:50)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — Asked about another season of Crash Course Literature, John says there probably will be one. — hedged: “Yeah, probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:59)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John says 53 is probably in the top half of two-digit numbers, but 43 is the best. — hedged: “It's probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:43)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — Asked why people are obsessed with being right, John says he doesn't know, and that he is practising saying 'I don't know' more because it is a really underutilized phrase. — hedged: “it seems to me” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:08)
2017-03-07 · Hoping for an Airport Reunion: One Refugee Family's Story — John calls the question of whether immigration reduces wages very hotly contested, but says refugees entering the US are more thoroughly vetted and more likely to be highly educated, so they almost certainly do not decrease wages. — hedged: “almost certainly” [epistemic doubt] (video description)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John says YouTube still feels different from the rest of the internet and less stressful, maybe because he lives in a relatively friendly and peaceful corner of it, and thanks viewers for that. — hedged: “that might be because” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:11)
2017-03-28 · Why Can't America Have a Grown-Up Healthcare Conversation? — John notes Medicare for All would lower overall US health care costs but cause a lot of job loss, possibly as many as two million jobs. — hedged: “possibly” [epistemic doubt] (video description)
2017-03-28 · Why Can't America Have a Grown-Up Healthcare Conversation? — John says the most cited fix is single payer, Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All; studies show it would lower overall costs, probably not to European levels, through less administration, advertising and stronger price negotiation. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:40)
2017-03-28 · Why Can't America Have a Grown-Up Healthcare Conversation? — John says some on the right want to scale back or eliminate government health funding to let markets work; that might lower prices, but many millions would lose insurance. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:06:07)
2017-03-28 · Why Can't America Have a Grown-Up Healthcare Conversation? — John says decreasing regulation might lower prices but raises the risk of inadequately trained professionals and unsafe medications. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:06:20)
2017-04-04 · Why I Won't Run for Office — John finds this surprising because Daniel is the smartest person he knows and governor of Illinois seems like a terrible job. — hedged: “seems like” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:19)
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — John says many people, himself included, worry their work won't matter because it won't be remembered or reach genius; maybe that makes individuals too important. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:55)
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — John suggests art and life are like the ball of paint: you choose your colours, add your layer as best you can, and it is eventually painted over until almost no one knows about it. — hedged: “Maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:05)
2017-04-18 · Framing — Invoking 'This is not a pipe', John says this is his life but not all of it, and if he remembers that about himself, maybe he can understand it about other people. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:14)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — Most Pokémon are based on legends (Charizard, a dragon) or animals (Rhyhorn, a rhinoceros), but Pikachu seems just our collective idea of adorable, which we throw balls at and cage. — hedged: “seems” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:39)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — John says caging the adorable is weird, but less weird considering that is our relationship with many non-human animals. — hedged: “I guess” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:54)
2017-05-09 · Your Neighborhood, Your Life Expectancy — John finds this deeply wrong: the Declaration of Independence names three inalienable rights, and before liberty and the pursuit of happiness comes life. — hedged: “seems to me” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:18)
2017-05-16 · The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job — John suspects in retrospect the introducer existed mostly to make the movie longer: stretching a 90-minute film into 120 minutes of content would add eight minutes of advertising. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:08)
2017-05-16 · The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job — John recommends The Road to Nerdfighteria, a free ongoing documentary project on how people found this corner of the internet and what it means to them; it still accepts submissions. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:25)
2017-05-16 · The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job — In the end screen John says he won't see Hank on Friday: he is taking a week or possibly two away from the internet to write, and next Tuesday's (23 May 2017) video is prerecorded. — hedged: “possibly” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:42)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — John says butterflies seem able to remember smells from when they were caterpillars, though that is not quite self-awareness. — hedged: “seem” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:57)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — John's favourite painting is probably one by Raymond Pettibon. — hedged: “Probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:29)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — John says his favourite comic-book superhero at the moment is probably Ms. Marvel. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:36)
2017-05-30 · What Should We Keep? — John says Facebook and Instagram will likely be around for decades, if not centuries, and many people back up their work and photos to the cloud. — hedged: “likely” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:26)
2017-05-30 · What Should We Keep? — John advises viewers, 23 or not, to take many pictures of themselves this year (2017), save them to the cloud and maybe print some, in case physical things last. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:26)
2017-06-06 · My Favorite Subreddits: Joy, Wonder, Knowledge, and Birds with Arms — John describes Reddit as a link aggregator of communities called subreddits; browsing it uncurated is a little unpleasant and at times kind of toxic, but it has many wonderful corners. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:12)
2017-06-13 · Cheyenne, Wyoming — John finds Cheyenne fun: his main complaint about human life is being stuck in one slowly decaying body, and living in a made-up world frees him from the twin prisons of consciousness and body. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:38)
2017-06-13 · Cheyenne, Wyoming — John says Cheyenne was long an escape: in years without many real friends, when he was intensely lonely, he could go where people liked him because he had made them up. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:55)
2017-06-13 · Cheyenne, Wyoming — John says part of your intellectual and emotional self is absent for a while; you make what you can of it and then, most importantly, come home to your body, the sensate world and the people you love. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:27)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — The description says signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down can probably, not definitely, be pre-ordered in the US and Canada at the listed links. — hedged: “probably! not definitely!” [epistemic doubt] (video description)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — Not totally sure why he does it, John says one reason is that it is unfair that people far from big cities or unable to attend author events get signed books only by paying a surcharge. — hedged: “I'm not totally sure” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:04)
2017-07-18 · Accio Decade Hallows — Without the song they wouldn't have met Esther or the people behind the Project for Awesome, Hank probably wouldn't have sung before thousands, and John doubts he would be signing 200,000 copies of his new book. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:34)
2017-07-25 · What OCD Is Like (for Me) — John says inner experiences are hard to talk about because the senses cannot reach them: psychic pain cannot be seen or heard and is hard to describe without simile or metaphor. — hedged: “it seems to me” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:13)
2017-08-01 · Death and How to Avoid It (...for a while) — John says some of the 2015 rise is probably due to more miles driven as the economy improved, but most of it is due to distracted driving. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:34)
2017-08-01 · Death and How to Avoid It (...for a while) — John says Amazon will soon run out of its signed Turtles All the Way Down copies, though bookstores across the US and Canada will have many, with updates at probablysignedturtles.com; Amazon buyers should buy now. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:28)
2017-08-08 · What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy — John says Venice is so picturesque it often doesn't seem real, and in some ways it isn't. — hedged: “I guess” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:55)
2017-08-08 · What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy — John says the decayed books outside form a sculpture, a reminder of where all books, and all cities, are going; but there's gelato, so no need to despair. — hedged: “I guess” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:25)
2017-08-15 · Very Hard to Desclibe — John says this is probably his last full reading of the book: once something is published and he can't change it, he finds it unbearable to read. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:38)
2017-08-15 · Very Hard to Desclibe — John has been reading a lot of poetry lately; he doesn't know why, but guesses it's how his brain wants to process text at the moment. — hedged: “I guess” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:04)
2017-08-15 · Very Hard to Desclibe — John doesn't yet know where the tour will go; it will probably be only in the United States, with details in the coming weeks. — hedged: “it will probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:50)
2017-08-29 · 40 — John says he believed adult responsibilities (lawns, soccer practice, credit scores) would pin you down and stop you growing, making you a robot that fulfills obligations: an existential death before physical death. — hedged: “sort of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:31)
2017-09-07 · I Love and Apologize to (Insert Location Here): Surprise Thursday Bonus Video! — John suggests people coming alone may make friends on the tuatara Discord or at the show. — hedged: “you might find” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:00)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John notes that tuatara have been on Earth over 150 million years while humans emerged maybe 300,000 years ago, at most 0.2% of tuatara history. — hedged: “like maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:14)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John suspects that humanity's world may end a long time before the world itself does. — hedged: “I kind of suspect” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:28)
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — John says how and why the shift happened is much debated by historians, partly because moving from hunting and gathering to agriculture seems completely irrational. — hedged: “seems to have been” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:31)
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — Hunter-gatherers seem to have been healthier than early agriculturalists: remains and sites show famine and starvation were much more common among early settlement dwellers. — hedged: “seem to have been” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:41)
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — Early agriculture probably meant more work: studies of 20th-century hunter-gatherers show under 20 hours a week acquiring food and under 20 on domestic labor. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:05)
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — Whatever happened, John says cities seem not to have been in the short- or even medium-term interest of those who lived in them. — hedged: “it does seem like” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:09)
2017-09-26 · Trump and Russia: An Introduction to What We Know (and What We Don't) — Benefiting from a foreign government's propaganda initiative is not a crime, but colluding with that government is, probably. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:36)
2017-09-26 · Trump and Russia: An Introduction to What We Know (and What We Don't) — John expects to hear 'thing of value' a lot in coming months, partly because the courts haven't clearly decided what it means. — hedged: “I suspect” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:02)
2017-09-26 · Trump and Russia: An Introduction to What We Know (and What We Don't) — Receiving damning information about an opponent from a foreign national and sharing it is probably receiving a thing of value, but not established; knowing about or arranging such help raises further questions. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:09)
2017-09-26 · Trump and Russia: An Introduction to What We Know (and What We Don't) — Discussing sanctions on that call was possibly illegal: Flynn was not yet national security adviser but was trying to negotiate foreign policy. — hedged: “possibly” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:34)
2017-09-26 · Trump and Russia: An Introduction to What We Know (and What We Don't) — Kushner also apparently asked the Russian government for a back channel to Moscow that US intelligence couldn't hear. — hedged: “apparently” [epistemic doubt] (00:07:08)
2017-10-03 · Let's Talk about Books — John recommends The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, whose books are always tender and generous to the reader; it might be his favourite of them. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:00)
2017-10-17 · Look at Tiny Baby Hank — The book has received extremely generous reviews, maybe the two best any of John's books have ever received; he will link them below. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:26)
2017-11-03 · Because We're Here — John says we are here, if only for a while; maybe we'll never know why we are here, but we can still proclaim in hope that we are here. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:23)
2017-12-05 · On the Movies — John says this doesn't mean there will definitely be a movie, only that there might be one. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:06)
2017-12-12 · 2017 is the Best? — John says he has been feeling 'blech': he is kind of fed up with 2017 and finds large swaths of the social internet disheartening. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:00)
2017-12-12 · 2017 is the Best? — Once a year John likes to look at encouraging global trend lines, and offers five ways that 2017 is actually kind of the best. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:13)
2017-12-19 · History Is Happening — John often feels powerless against injustice, inequality, violence and structures that encourage oppression, as if he can only scroll. — hedged: “I don't know if this is true for other people” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:58)
2017-12-26 · LEAVE IT IN 2017 — John writes an open public version of the letter, called Leave It in 2017, hoping to improve accountability. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:35)

Wish / hope (6)

a wish about the future, not a claim about what is true

2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John says the characters in An Abundance of Katherines hopefully spend the novel learning that an unremarkable life can be fulfilling and meaningful. — hedged: “hopefully” [wish / hope] (00:00:40)
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — John says you add your coat of paint, hoping you made the world more beautiful; you will eventually be painted over, but you still matter. — hedged: “hopefully” [wish / hope] (00:02:45)
2017-06-27 · UNBOXING — John will sign at least 200,000 copies of the book, hopefully slightly more. — hedged: “hopefully” [wish / hope] (00:01:08)
2017-08-01 · Death and How to Avoid It (...for a while) — John tells anyone living with substance abuse they are valuable and deserve love, support and wellness, that many live wonderful lives in recovery, and hopes they seek help today. — hedged: “I hope” [wish / hope] (00:02:03)
2017-08-29 · 40 — John tells friends and viewers affected by flooding in Texas, Louisiana, India, Nepal and Bangladesh that they are thinking of them, and asks Nerdfighters who are able to join him in donating to relief organizations via links below. — hedged: “I hope” [wish / hope] (00:02:59)
2017-10-10 · Turtles All the Way Down!!! A Reunion Video — John signed over 200,000 copies of the US edition, so autographed copies should be easy to find, except outside the US and Canada, for which he apologises. — hedged: “hopefully” [wish / hope] (00:00:51)

Opinion marker (40)

marks a view as the speaker's own; not doubt

2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — John worries the US has already made a dangerous statement that it won't do its part in the refugee crisis and will discriminate solely by place of birth, which he thinks are mistakes. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:06:41)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John thinks Twitter and Facebook are useful, important and in pockets beautiful, and he has benefited a lot, but most of the time his feeling on the social internet is 'ahhh'. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:35)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John feels that inside the feed he becomes a person he dislikes: skimming instead of engaging, valuing cleverness over compassion, and clicking clickbait, which creates a world with more clickbait. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:02:04)
2017-03-28 · Why Can't America Have a Grown-Up Healthcare Conversation? — John thinks the relentless political focus on the exchanges reflects a larger inability to have a grown-up conversation about health care. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:20)
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — The description says art, writing and most human endeavours are best imagined as huge, sprawling collaborations rather than the efforts of a few geniuses: creativity belongs to everyone. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (video description)
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — John thinks genius is not a simple trait like brown eyes but a continuum, like empathy. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:33)
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — John thinks the worship of individual genius is misguided: Edison didn't invent the light bulb, which many people were inventing around him, and Newton didn't discover gravity but pushed our awareness of it further. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:39)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — Henry has all the Pokémon encyclopedias and many cards; John doesn't know where he gets them and thinks he trades for them on the playground. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:10)
2017-05-30 · What Should We Keep? — John feels citizens of the internet are better at creating stuff than at preserving, curating and archiving it, and wonders how many of our pictures will survive 15 years. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:00:41)
2017-06-13 · Cheyenne, Wyoming — John found Hank's productivity advice last week (week of 5 June 2017) helpful and astute but thinks creative productivity is somewhat different. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:57)
2017-07-04 · Civil Twilight — John finds it helpful to know how sunsets work and has never bought the romantic notion that scientific understanding robs the universe of its beauty. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:07)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — Asked whether his signature is worth negative four dollars on Amazon, John thinks it is negative three: the signed edition is currently cheaper there than the unsigned one. — hedged: “I actually think” [opinion marker] (00:00:34)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — John thinks his signature varies wildly; Sarah thinks he spends far too much time looking at it. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:01)
2017-07-25 · What OCD Is Like (for Me) — John says he is not a psychologist, thinks we should listen to experts on mental health and other things, and can only speak to his personal experience. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:02)
2017-07-25 · What OCD Is Like (for Me) — John says that may fit some people's experience but not his: his illness has no superpower side effects, and inside a thought spiral he can hardly observe anything outside himself. — hedged: “I don't feel like” [opinion marker] (00:02:40)
2017-08-01 · Death and How to Avoid It (...for a while) — Signing update: John has about 34,000 copies to go, about 68 hours of signing, which he thinks is doable. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:22)
2017-08-03 · HAPPY ESTHER DAY!!! — John says Esther loved the Project for Awesome and Harry Potter Alliance initiatives, and thinks Project Lovely is a beautiful way for her family and friends to continue her legacy. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:41)
2017-08-15 · Very Hard to Desclibe — John says the cover captures the feeling of the thought spirals at the center of the book. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:12)
2017-08-22 · The Causes of Cholera — John thinks there are many reasons we find this story hard to attend to, starting with Yemen's complex civil war with no clear or simple path to peace. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:48)
2017-08-29 · 40 — John grants he has been incredibly lucky professionally and personally, but from the many middle-aged people he knows he honestly thinks his experience is the rule rather than the exception. — hedged: “I honestly think” [opinion marker] (00:01:41)
2017-08-29 · 40 — John doesn't think his life has grown less interesting as it has grown more settled. — hedged: “I don't think” [opinion marker] (00:01:58)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — John says all you need to know is that the story is narrated by a 16-year-old girl named Aza Holmes. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:06)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John thinks the point of getting out of bed is to seek a reason to get out of bed: fulfilment and meaning will not descend on us miraculously. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:40)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John thinks meaning is something we make together, and that is what gets him out of bed. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:52)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John thinks some pockets of the internet make us feel better, but the wiring of the human brain and the architecture of the social internet make it hard, for him at least, to stay in them. — hedged: “I do think” [opinion marker] (00:01:07)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — Even so, John thinks Aaron Burr has a case as his least favourite American founding father. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:43)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John says writing aims to create an experience inside someone else's mind, and there will always be failures, from the limits of the writer's talent and of language itself. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:02)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John compares this to building: wood and carpenter are always imperfect, so all buildings fall short of how they were imagined, yet they can still give us shelter. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:17)
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — John says one of the great unanswered questions of world history is why cities. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:01)
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — Our ancestors' choices and ours involve trade-offs; to live intentionally you must bear in mind what you believe is the ground of meaning in life. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:14)
2017-09-26 · Trump and Russia: An Introduction to What We Know (and What We Don't) — John says it's important to follow the story for its big implications for American democracy, while remembering we are in its middle and don't know how it ends. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:08:39)
2017-10-03 · Let's Talk about Books — John thinks Celeste Ng's books should be discussed alongside other great chroniclers of American suburbia such as John Updike. — hedged: “I really think” [opinion marker] (00:01:06)
2017-10-03 · Let's Talk about Books — John looks forward to unread books out this month (October 2017), Okorafor's Akata Warrior, Lockhart's Genuine Fraud and Stiefvater's All the Crooked Saints, so his tour reading is sorted. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:56)
2017-10-30 · I Mustache You: A Pizzamas Reunion! — John says this is the best year of Pizzamas ever. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:32)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — Asked how to explain Pizza John, John says he doesn't: it is not something you explain, just something you accept. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:00:51)
2017-11-09 · The New Zealand Five Cent Coin — John believes the New Zealand five-cent piece is the only coin ever minted featuring a tuatara. — hedged: “I believe” [opinion marker] (00:00:29)
2017-12-05 · On the Movies — John has often said that books belong to their readers: it doesn't matter whether an author intended a symbolic resonance if it is there, because we read the book, not the author. — hedged: “I believe” [opinion marker] (00:00:05)
2017-12-05 · On the Movies — John says the author's voice shouldn't be privileged on matters outside the text, such as what happens to characters after the story ends; that is up to readers. — hedged: “I don't think” [opinion marker] (00:00:21)
2017-12-19 · History Is Happening — John is physically and metaphysically tired; his brain and voice are limping to the finish line of 2017. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:00:08)
2017-12-26 · LEAVE IT IN 2017 — John feels there are not enough opportunities for reflection in our culture right now. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:00:21)

Other hedge (35)

a hedge that matches none of the word lists

2017-01-17 · How Young Is History? — John calls the Pantheon the world's oldest building still in use (depending on definitions), finished around 126 CE under the Roman emperor Hadrian. — hedged: “depending on your definition of” [other hedge] (00:00:00)
2017-01-17 · How Young Is History? — John says the Chauvet paintings are in many ways more sophisticated than Lascaux's, with more action and implied motion, and arguably more detailed. — hedged: “arguably” [other hedge] (00:01:39)
2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — After much confusion and emergency lawsuits, it now appears that permanent residents will not be subject to the ban. — hedged: “it now appears” [other hedge] (00:01:39)
2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — John says the refugee suspension appears to include people already vetted, approved and given visas, which he calls very different from the earlier Iraq slowdown. — hedged: “appears” [other hedge] (00:03:33)
2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — Because the order bars 'benefits' to citizens of affected nations, people apparently cannot seek asylum, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act, which an executive order cannot override. — hedged: “it does not appear” [other hedge] (00:05:56)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — There's a pretty good chance no human will contract polio this week (week of 6 February 2017), something rarely possible over the last several thousand years. — hedged: “pretty good chance” [other hedge] (00:00:14)
2017-02-14 · Human Life Is Getting Better. Faster Than Ever Before. — John says that in 20 years (by 2037), when today's median viewer is his age, absolute poverty and child mortality may be rare everywhere on Earth. — hedged: “it is genuinely possible” [other hedge] (00:03:25)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John's metaphor: some find an eternal fire needing nothing; others must build and refuel their own, which they understand better; the light and heat of both are equally real. — hedged: “I would argue” [other hedge] (00:00:33)
2017-02-28 · You Are Here — Esther met her Nerdfighter friends in the comments of the brothers' old BlogTV live shows, staying in the chat after the shows: their friendship happened in a space the brothers created and then vacated. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:00:44)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John says the dumb phone hasn't worked: in seven months his background stress has decreased somewhat, but mostly he just spends more time on his computer. — hedged: “I suppose” [other hedge] (00:01:33)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John is not convinced twittering makes him better informed: he knows a lot about Trump's handshakes with foreign leaders but little about South Korea's ousted president, Brazil's corruption scandals or the Fed's monetary policy. — hedged: “I'm not convinced” [other hedge] (00:01:50)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John says the early results of his information diet are positive, but it is too soon to know for sure. — hedged: “it's too soon to know for sure” [other hedge] (00:02:57)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — 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. — hedged: “as far as I can tell” [other hedge] (00:02:14)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — John argues uncertainty is underappreciated: discourse expects a position held with absolute certainty, yet he can hardly be certain he is a human, let alone of the right top tax rate. — hedged: “I would argue” [other hedge] (00:01:19)
2017-06-27 · UNBOXING — Turtles All the Way Down will have a first printing of about 1.5 million copies, too many to sign. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:00:58)
2017-06-27 · UNBOXING — Sarah turned the 2011 chart into a 2017 thermometer resting on stacked turtles; since January John has signed 80,000 and has about two months to reach his goal. — hedged: “like, about” [other hedge] (00:02:52)
2017-06-27 · UNBOXING — Most sheets are just signed, but about 3% carry a DFTBA, some have yetis drawn by Sarah, a few were circled in hot pink by Alice and several hundred bear Henry's Pokéballs: a family affair. — hedged: “about” [other hedge] (00:03:08)
2017-07-04 · Civil Twilight — John says the first half hour or so after sunset is called civil twilight because some governments consider it legally still daytime. — hedged: “or so” [other hedge] (00:00:05)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — John has to finish signing by about August 17th. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:00:27)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — A selfish reason: for 2,000 days or so of writing this book John rarely knew if his work would make it in or bring him closer; signing, he knows people will like it and each one gets him closer to done. — hedged: “or so” [other hedge] (00:01:14)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — Signing a thousand takes about two hours, so the whole project will take around 400 hours. — hedged: “about” [other hedge] (00:02:11)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — The chief pleasure of signing is that John doesn't have many thoughts at all. — hedged: “I would actually say” [other hedge] (00:03:11)
2017-07-18 · Accio Decade Hallows — Of John's five memories of shocked joy, the first two are his children's births: expected, yet both times the feeling, an overwhelmedness of joy and awe, was a complete surprise. — hedged: “I suppose” [other hedge] (00:00:59)
2017-09-07 · I Love and Apologize to (Insert Location Here): Surprise Thursday Bonus Video! — John apologises to Texas, the American Southwest and everyone outside America for having no stops there, and says they will try to visit soon. — hedged: “we will try” [other hedge] (00:01:22)
2017-09-07 · I Love and Apologize to (Insert Location Here): Surprise Thursday Bonus Video! — John says he will try to be in the comments answering questions. — hedged: “I will try” [other hedge] (00:02:46)
2017-09-19 · Why Cities? — For 95% of human history basically everyone was a hunter-gatherer living in a small band of maybe a few dozen people. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:00:06)
2017-10-24 · Tour Bus Bus Tour — John signed what he believes is every copy of Turtles All the Way Down for sale or borrowing in Sioux Falls, meeting librarians, booksellers and confused Target shoppers. — hedged: “I believed” [other hedge] (00:00:05)
2017-10-30 · I Mustache You: A Pizzamas Reunion! — John feels Pizzamas is a gift Hank gives him every year, the weirdest time of year, with daily videos made only to hawk weird Pizza John merch, and he is grateful. — hedged: “feel like” [other hedge] (00:01:50)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — John has eaten pizza in Italy; it had too many olives, and he finds Italian pizza a little overrated. — hedged: “a little bit” [other hedge] (00:02:53)
2017-11-03 · Because We're Here — John says he was then in a period of intense unwellness, losing himself to intrusive thought spirals, with a chest-crushing depression: nothing enjoyable, struggling to get out of bed. — hedged: “I felt like” [other hedge] (00:00:47)
2017-11-09 · The New Zealand Five Cent Coin — They gave many coins out on tour; John will try to give the rest over his life to those who need a physical reminder of how kind people can be. — hedged: “I will try” [other hedge] (00:02:36)
2017-12-05 · On the Movies — John says one problem with this view is that it is disingenuous to pretend the author isn't in the book, especially in a personality-driven culture and for an author with a public life like an 11-year video blog. — hedged: “a little bit” [other hedge] (00:00:37)
2017-12-05 · On the Movies — John tells readers who care about the book that he will try to listen to them throughout the process. — hedged: “I will try” [other hedge] (00:03:32)
2017-12-12 · 2017 is the Best? — John says it's possible that 2017 will be the second-to-last year (2016) any human ever gets polio; its end will be a huge global health victory won by millions of donors and volunteers. — hedged: “it's possible” [other hedge] (00:00:26)
2017-12-19 · History Is Happening — His mental illness often makes John feel a passenger in his own consciousness; scrolling the social internet makes him feel a passenger in history, as if it happens to us. — hedged: “I tend to feel like” [other hedge] (00:00:33)

Hedge words not recorded (7)

marked as unsure, but the hedge words were not quoted

2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John spends much of his free time wondering whether he is made of his thoughts and whether his thoughts belong to him, without reaching any conclusions. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:02:55)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John says he doesn't know when his new book will come out. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:03:20)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — Asked whether his greatest hope or greatest fear would win a duel, John says he doesn't know who would win between absolute oblivion and a cure for malaria. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:03:24)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Neither brother knows which Pokémon looks most like Hank; John says he is excited to find out from his viewers. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:03:27)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — The description says John is not sure whether others share his social media malaise, and is trying to sort out whether the social internet's architecture makes it inherently unhealthy for him or this is just a phase. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (video description)
2017-05-02 · The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up — John has no physiological explanation for the effect except that it works: thumbs-upping should tire him but just makes him feel great. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:02:18)
2017-09-26 · Trump and Russia: An Introduction to What We Know (and What We Don't) — What we don't know is almost everything: what was discussed, whether any American accepted a thing of value or colluded, even what a thing of value is. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:08:22)

Joke (11)

a gag; not a claim

2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — Asked his opinion on bears, John gives a rapid string of contradictory verdicts, from strongly in favor to overrated to opposed. (00:00:53)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — Asked how he copes with the scary stuff in the world, John jokes that he is a happy lobster in a pot of cool water, then asks if the water is getting warmer. (00:01:40)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John says his favourite is 'Andrew', a Pokémon who is just a guy who plays guitar. (00:01:03)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John fumbles Jigglypuff ('wiggle puffed') and then offers 'Spike ladder', which Hank ironically calls a real one. (00:01:38)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John would rather have R2-D2 in his house than C-3PO, because hanging out with Hank already feels like having C-3PO. (00:03:14)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — John casts Pokémon as a near-future influx of cute, talented species of unknown origin: not an alien Noah's Ark, since many resemble Earth life, maybe a radiation event. — speculative (hedge words not recorded) (00:00:39)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — Asked what's in the boxes, John claims an absolutely true story: he opened one and was stunned to find inside it another box. (00:00:37)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — Demanding happier news, John refuses to answer questions on Russia and Trump and on AFC Wimbledon failing to score in their final six games. (00:02:58)
2017-08-08 · What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy — John asks Sarah whether she will be annoyed if he adds a vowel to the end of every noun all trip; she says it will offend her, and he says he'll 'bear that in mind-o'. (00:00:13)
2017-12-05 · On the Movies — Saying so much can go wrong, John jokes that they could have made Hazel an 84-year-old Titanic survivor, then admits the idea is not original. (00:01:39)
2017-12-05 · On the Movies — John says now is the time to start inundating him with casting suggestions, because no one ever reads his Twitter bio. (00:03:10)

Playful (129)

a real point made in a joking way; the paraphrase records the meant core

2017-01-03 · 10 Years on YouTube (...and MORE GREAT NEWS) — Partner abs remind John his stomach was made for resting a laptop on, but he says his life is changing dramatically during the 100 days. (00:00:35)
2017-01-03 · 10 Years on YouTube (...and MORE GREAT NEWS) — Showing an old-school jump cut, John jokes that if he had one day to live he would want it full of 2007 Vlogbrothers jump cuts. (00:00:59)
2017-01-03 · 10 Years on YouTube (...and MORE GREAT NEWS) — John adds that on January 3, 2011 he made one of his most viewed videos ever, joking that this surely had nothing to do with the thumbnail. (00:02:03)
2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John notes that one such line, about trying to do something remarkable, is from his own novel An Abundance of Katherines: 'so my bad'. (00:00:19)
2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John's first problem with motivational quotes is that they aren't true: tough people die like everyone, and many worthwhile things, like bananas, come easily. (00:00:26)
2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John calls the line 'if you can dream it, you can do it', attributed to Walt Disney and on countless posters, manifestly untrue. (00:00:47)
2017-01-24 · On Motivation — John mocks 'the mountain we must conquer exists within ourselves': then why did Edmund Hillary climb actual mountains? (00:00:57)
2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — With many law professors, John calls that clause kind of ludicrous: a Canadian who prefers parliamentary government could seemingly be barred from Disney World. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:05:40)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — Cherry Diet Dr Pepper being almost impossible to find is great news to John, since plain Diet Dr Pepper is already perfect. (00:00:43)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — Glitter Alice puts on John's face survives days of washing, which makes him think billions of bacteria probably can too. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:02)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — With a TARDIS John would probably just go to present-day New Zealand: the past was worse, he isn't confident in the future, and New Zealanders seem nice. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:18)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — John's favorite part of 100 Days is how bad he and Chris are at high fives: best friends for a decade, they have never completed one. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:11)
2017-02-07 · Good News, YA Books, and Bears: It's Question Tuesday — John calls 1984 a great dystopian novel, but jokes that the dystopia we're living in has amazing world-building. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:02:28)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — Asked whether rich people have better Wi-Fi, John says money can buy almost anything but not freedom from Comcast; Beyoncé surely resets her router like everyone. — hedged: “I'm pretty sure” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:10)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John recalls inviting to his and Sarah's wedding a somewhat famous person who had helped bring them together; the invitee's email reply began 'Of course I cannot come', but he bought them wine glasses off their registry. (00:01:16)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — Answering a viewer's wedding invitation, John jokes that of course they cannot come, then says if it's in Indianapolis with an open bar, they'll be there. (00:01:43)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John says the White River seems natural and pristine precisely because it is a heavily polluted open sewer, which makes it a metaphorically resonant river. (00:02:23)
2017-02-21 · Does Human Life Have Real Meaning? — John says some high-school friends still call him Kuffs because he once said Christian Slater never made a bad movie. (00:02:50)
2017-02-28 · You Are Here — After far more than 10,000 hours, John says he is still not really good at making YouTube videos; he can manage a jump cut, and that's about it. (00:01:05)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — When the crowd chants 'peanut butter face', John answers that's spoken like people who've never done peanut butter face. (00:01:27)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John says Alice told him a monkey turtle is a monkey that turns into a turtle, for protection, and that it is '100 big'. (00:00:17)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John says that asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Henry says inventor, then pauses and adds: of Pokémon. (00:01:47)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Asked what non-natural colour he would permanently dye his hair, John says silver; Hank notes he is getting there already, and John agrees. (00:01:57)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John says for the record that Hank is not taller than him; Hank is standing on a rock. (00:02:26)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John says a monkey-turtle would beat a turtle-monkey in a fight, because it can turn into a turtle for protection. (00:02:47)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — John is baffled by the plate set on the table at fancy restaurants and taken away before the food comes; Hank calls it a just-in-case plate. (00:03:03)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John wonders whether his social media malaise is just a phase, like the time in ninth grade when he wore a trench coat for six months even though he lived in Florida and it was hot all the time. (video description)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John admits the phone still has a browser plus Delta, Yelp, Google Maps, Chipotle and a soccer-on-TV app, so it isn't really that dumb, but he has no way of twittering. (00:01:22)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John admits that sometimes he tells his actual real-life family 'sorry' because someone on the internet is wrong and he must explain why, and that he has even retweeted fake news. (00:02:16)
2017-03-21 · My Information Diet — John explains newspapers and magazines to young people as a carefully curated internet printed on paper and mailed to your house: inefficient and too expensive, but he is desperate for a change. — hedged: “Basically” [other hedge] (00:02:45)
2017-04-04 · Why I Won't Run for Office — John tells how, over ping-pong, Stan turned his praise of the Crash Courses in Computer Science and World Mythology into talk of more Crash Course Literature (perhaps 1984): a trick into a meeting. (00:01:25)
2017-04-04 · Why I Won't Run for Office — John says candidates must listen like grown-ups to people who disagree and will never vote for them, resisting the urge to cover their ears. (00:01:58)
2017-04-04 · Why I Won't Run for Office — John says shaking filthy hands recalls the story of someone asking James Joyce to kiss the hand that wrote Ulysses, and Joyce replying that it has done many other things as well. (00:02:07)
2017-04-04 · Why I Won't Run for Office — John says that after enough handshakes and meetings you get to be governor, at which point you basically become a professional attender of meetings. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:02:19)
2017-04-04 · Why I Won't Run for Office — John tells Hank that the governor of Indiana is at that moment attending a public meeting of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. (00:02:31)
2017-04-04 · Why I Won't Run for Office — John says a scavenger hunt is happening with a different riddle every week, explained in the doobly-doo, and this week's (week of 3 April 2017) clue is Self-Care Bunny, rearranged. (00:03:33)
2017-04-11 · Making the World's Largest Ball of Paint — John jokes it can't be a coincidence that so many world's largest balls are in the US: popcorn in Iowa, stamps in Nebraska, competing twine balls from Kansas to Minnesota. (00:00:07)
2017-04-18 · Framing — John says the answer for both of them is editing: viewers hear his clean greeting, not the long run of flubbed takes before it. (00:00:13)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — John notes that the last 500 years have seen a huge decrease in biodiversity on Earth. (00:00:34)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — John explains you catch Pokémon by throwing Poké Balls, keep them in your backpack and train them for battle; why capture them is like asking why people fish. (00:01:05)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — John believes surplus Pokémon (17 Pidgeys) can be transferred to 'the Professor', which seems a bad idea; his son told him Pokémon don't like going there. — hedged: “I believe” [opinion marker] (00:01:24)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — John says trainers strengthen Pokémon to battle others' Pokémon, basically a Roman gladiator thing for children, fought until they 'faint' rather than to the death. — hedged: “From what I can gather” [other hedge] (00:01:46)
2017-04-25 · Pokemon, Reviewed by a Dad Who Knows Nothing about Pokemon — John lists questions he can't answer: how Pokémon evolve, and, if this is identical to fishing, why not just fish. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:02:31)
2017-05-02 · The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up — John reacts with exasperation to the ever-growing collection of cardboard boxes behind him. (00:00:00)
2017-05-02 · The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up — After the thumbs up John found he could run faster, visibly on his running app, and more happily, suddenly noticing the trees and the beautiful day. (00:01:06)
2017-05-02 · The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up — Tiring again, John tried giving an oncoming runner a thumbs up; though not thumbed back he felt the same surge of energy and happiness, ran faster, and it kept working. (00:01:34)
2017-05-02 · The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up — Part of John feared becoming known as 'the thumbs up guy', but another part noted he had just run the fastest mile of his life. (00:02:00)
2017-05-02 · The Life Changing Magic of Thumbs Up — John asks friends who see him on the trails or at a race to say nothing and just give him a thumbs up, guaranteeing he will return the favor. (00:02:32)
2017-05-09 · Your Neighborhood, Your Life Expectancy — In a tangent John calculates that, with 2.5 hours of exercise a week from age 16, about one extra year goes to exercising and 1.5 to sleeping, leaving basically two. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:01:00)
2017-05-16 · The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job — John grants they may have followed their dad by making non-fiction video, but calls vlogs not documentaries but very short podcasts featuring facial expressions, needing less visual-storytelling talent. — hedged: “I guess” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:08)
2017-05-16 · The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job — John says that even after more than ten years he is still pretty bad at editing video. (00:00:26)
2017-05-16 · The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job — John jokingly describes cable television as an outdated technology: a monthly fee for lots of video, like Netflix, except you still had to watch advertisements. (00:00:40)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — John says shocking scandals seem to grip the nation every week, each seeming the properly shocking one until the next; as Dorothy Parker said, 'what fresh hell is this?' — hedged: “It seems like” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:15)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — John asks in turn whether humans know what they are doing as they mature, or just wonder 'what the heck am I doing?' (00:01:04)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — To a viewer whose brother expects a baby, John jokes she will be a regular aunt, not a great aunt; taking 'great' as excellent, he says not to worry, she'll be great. (00:02:09)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — John's favourite pasta shape is the bow tie and his favourite regular shape the spiral. (00:02:25)
2017-05-23 · Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday — Asked his favourite superhero, John jokingly says Batman, then says Batman isn't a superhero but a rich person. (00:02:32)
2017-05-30 · What Should We Keep? — John's first objection: the idea assumes there will be people in the distant future. (00:01:17)
2017-06-06 · My Favorite Subreddits: Joy, Wonder, Knowledge, and Birds with Arms — John says he hasn't been getting much sleep lately and, as Hank can probably tell, his puff levels are a little high. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:04)
2017-06-06 · My Favorite Subreddits: Joy, Wonder, Knowledge, and Birds with Arms — Expecting flame wars over how he says 'GIF', John says both pronunciations are entirely correct and that he will use both to infuriate everyone. (00:01:04)
2017-06-06 · My Favorite Subreddits: Joy, Wonder, Knowledge, and Birds with Arms — John recommends Birds with Arms, which sounds like a weapons euphemism but is a subreddit of birds with arms: owls, roosters, hawks, all the major birds. (00:01:19)
2017-06-06 · My Favorite Subreddits: Joy, Wonder, Knowledge, and Birds with Arms — John jabs that Google's AI is great at Pictionary but still can't figure out which videos to demonetize. (00:01:52)
2017-06-20 · FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again — John says people writing 'first' in comments doesn't bother him: whenever he is first, he can't stop himself. (00:00:17)
2017-06-20 · FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again — John says that, growing up amid streetlights, he thought moonlight was something whose time had passed, like passenger pigeons; a moon shadow made him wonder if he was a werewolf. — hedged: “I don't know” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:44)
2017-06-22 · My New Book — John says next Tuesday's (27 June 2017) video will be an unboxing video, because he hears those are popular on YouTube. (00:01:06)
2017-06-22 · My New Book — John notes that 'see you tomorrow' is another thing he hasn't gotten to say for a while. (00:01:10)
2017-06-27 · UNBOXING — As previously noted, opening one of the boxes reveals another box, but it is not boxes all the way down: this box holds paper, 2,000 sheets. (00:00:03)
2017-06-27 · UNBOXING — John apologises to readers outside the US and Canada, joking that by not being American they probably get universal health care, maybe worth more than an autograph. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:21)
2017-07-04 · Civil Twilight — John loves the phrase 'civil twilight': the adjective 'civil' makes almost every noun better, except war. (00:00:25)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — Amazon might be onto something: for about a year after The Fault in Our Stars came out, unsigned copies were much rarer than signed ones. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:00:43)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — Asked to put the pen to work on another book instead of a zillion anonymous tokens, John says the pen does not want to work on another book. (00:02:20)
2017-07-11 · Signing 200,000 Autographs — John is not sponsored by Sharpie, though he'd happily sell out; he buys his own Sharpies. (00:02:30)
2017-08-01 · Death and How to Avoid It (...for a while) — After one of his kids sneezed on his hands at camp drop-off, John searched the car's centre console for Purell while driving home: 'a tremendous and potentially fatal miscalculation'. (00:00:07)
2017-08-01 · Death and How to Avoid It (...for a while) — John says too many of us use our phones while driving, play Pokemon Go, or reach for Purell. (00:02:41)
2017-08-03 · HAPPY ESTHER DAY!!! — John says he will not say 'I love you' to Hank again for a year, and at the end looks forward to saying it again in 365 short days. (00:00:53)
2017-08-08 · What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy — John says you can't really complain about crowds of tourists when you are part of that crowd. (00:01:09)
2017-08-08 · What You Make of It: Thoughts from Venice, Italy — John says that, sure, the world is going to end and Venice will sink into the sea, but not yet. (00:02:59)
2017-08-15 · Very Hard to Desclibe — John notes the cover shown is wrapped around Paper Towns; people disappointed by the lack of actual turtles will probably also be disappointed by their absence from the book. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:17)
2017-08-15 · Very Hard to Desclibe — John says he would already be done if he hadn't gone to Venice, but he liked going to Venice. (00:01:20)
2017-08-29 · 40 — John says that to delay adulthood he kept his life light in his 20s, once telling a girl he was dating that he could pack his life into his car in 15 minutes; she dumped him soon after. (00:00:52)
2017-08-29 · 40 — John jokes that adults must say they underestimated adulthood, tricking themselves that they're having a great time rather than being slowly strangled by homeowners association meetings. (00:01:08)
2017-08-29 · 40 — John says next week's (week of 4 September 2017) video, his reading of the first chapter of Turtles All the Way Down, will be over four minutes but is not punishable, citing precedents from 2011 and 2008 when he read the first chapters of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. (00:02:51)
2017-09-07 · I Love and Apologize to (Insert Location Here): Surprise Thursday Bonus Video! — John says the shows will answer questions, have plenty of surprises, and share news from Mars and AFC Wimbledon. (00:00:15)
2017-09-07 · I Love and Apologize to (Insert Location Here): Surprise Thursday Bonus Video! — John says the shows will be spoiler-free about his books, though there may be Star Wars spoilers. (00:01:50)
2017-09-07 · I Love and Apologize to (Insert Location Here): Surprise Thursday Bonus Video! — Apologising, John says the brothers will probably sing together, but only briefly. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:33)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John says he wrote Turtles All the Way Down mostly in bed, so he does not follow his own advice. (00:01:00)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — Asked if he is still mad that pennies exist, John says not mad so much as disappointed. (00:01:32)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — Asked Vulcans or Klingons, John picks both. (00:02:05)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — Asked coffee or tea, John again picks both. (00:02:10)
2017-09-12 · How Will the World End? Why Even Get Out of Bed? It's Question Tuesday. — John finds animals with no necks profoundly disturbing. (00:02:13)
2017-10-03 · Let's Talk about Books — John jokes about the sound his anxiety makes as the release nears. (00:00:00)
2017-10-10 · Turtles All the Way Down!!! A Reunion Video — The Guardian said the book might be a new modern classic, which John finds a bit much, but he'll take it. (00:01:13)
2017-10-10 · Turtles All the Way Down!!! A Reunion Video — Hank forgot the words to all his songs, but a young woman in the front row knew them all, so it worked out; Hank says differently from expected rather than better. (00:01:42)
2017-10-17 · Look at Tiny Baby Hank — John spent his one day off this month (October 2017) at Legoland in muggy Florida: great, but not exactly relaxing. (00:00:01)
2017-10-17 · Look at Tiny Baby Hank — John has a photo shoot for the magazine Runner's World and jokes that he is now literally a fitness model. (00:00:25)
2017-10-17 · Look at Tiny Baby Hank — The students got Hank's high school yearbook; John shows 'tiny baby Hank' and a caption of Hank and a classmate surfing the 'net who believe all seniors should get internet privileges ('Hank, I agree!'). (00:00:52)
2017-10-17 · Look at Tiny Baby Hank — To cut the sentimentality, John has his four-year-old daughter Alice insult Uncle Hank ('stupid butt'), adding it is kind of true given Hank's ulcerative colitis. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:30)
2017-10-24 · Tour Bus Bus Tour — John filmed the whole signing day but destroyed the memory card: eating pretzel chips while fiddling with it, he put the card in his mouth, chewed it and tried to chew it again; it shows only small tooth marks but is toast. (00:00:16)
2017-10-24 · Tour Bus Bus Tour — John argues that any non-food item that human chewing can destroy should not describe itself as 'Extreme Pro', as his memory card does. — hedged: “I would argue” [other hedge] (00:01:02)
2017-10-24 · Tour Bus Bus Tour — The bus bathroom has one rule: no pooping, not for moral reasons but because the tubes are too small. (00:01:48)
2017-10-30 · I Mustache You: A Pizzamas Reunion! — John notes he only gets to say 'Good morning Hank, it's Monday' once a year, on Pizzamas. (00:00:00)
2017-10-30 · I Mustache You: A Pizzamas Reunion! — John hasn't shaved since the book came out; when Hank guesses luck or AFC Wimbledon, John answers 'That's the business!' (00:00:15)
2017-10-30 · I Mustache You: A Pizzamas Reunion! — John loves that every designer worked in the mustache: it's almost like his mustache is actually awesome and people like it. (00:02:05)
2017-10-30 · I Mustache You: A Pizzamas Reunion! — John notes the shot glass is a first, a sign Nerdfighteria is getting older; Hank says you can drink anything from it, like Ovaltine. — hedged: “I don't know” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:09)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — John tells Hank to stop trying to make 'behind the sides' happen. (00:00:03)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — John notes that they have found themselves on the set of a play in a small theatre, where they film the video. (00:00:07)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — John acknowledges 'the elephant in the room': he has shaved his mustache. (00:00:39)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — Asked 'pineapple or no', John says he'd take a pineapple, or might take 'no', which he finds a very useful word. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:06)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — John's pizza-eating method: he takes it off, rolls it up and slices it so it is like a cinnamon roll. (00:01:10)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — John says Hank will eat anything, such as a gas-station corn dog that has been rotating for hours on tour. (00:01:37)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — On a pizza-sized John or a John-sized pizza, John says that if a miniature version of yourself showed up you would have to let it decide for itself. (00:02:38)
2017-11-01 · Pizza Cocktails with John and Hank! — John calls it the best way to have Diet Dr Pepper, Mike's Hard Lemonade and champagne, and pours himself another. (00:01:32)
2017-11-01 · Pizza Cocktails with John and Hank! — John tells a tipsy Hank that pitching DFTBA merch during Pizzamas is incredibly important. (00:03:08)
2017-11-03 · Because We're Here — John says he hates audience participation: sometimes the audience doesn't deliver, and he paid to be entertained, not to be part of the entertainment. (00:01:21)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — The description says the brothers answer questions from what was, in retrospect, definitely not a pecan orchard, though they call it one on camera. (video description)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — John says that on tour he and Hank decided they have too many opinions, so each day they each abandon one opinion. (00:02:07)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — The abandoned opinions include whether a hot dog is a sandwich and Phil Collins's music. (00:02:16)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — Granting a viewer's request, John announces the discount code 'Pizza' for one percent off anything at DFTBA.com for the next 24 hours. (00:03:36)
2017-11-09 · The New Zealand Five Cent Coin — John adds, as a tangent, that some countries still mint coins worth one fifth of a nickel. (00:00:52)
2017-11-21 · Two Love Stories — Sara and Luis married with many Nerdfighter friends present; the dress code, 'comfortable but dressy rainbow colors', makes it almost certainly the greatest wedding ever. (00:01:04)
2017-11-21 · Two Love Stories — John says he just barfed between takes. (00:01:24)
2017-11-21 · Two Love Stories — John's unsolicited wedding advice: only an open bar matters, and if possible make the dress code comfortable but dressy rainbow colors. (00:02:15)
2017-11-21 · Two Love Stories — To viewers wondering why this never happened to them, John says that if you're lucky it happens exactly once in your life. (00:02:27)
2017-11-21 · Two Love Stories — John says we are surrounded by injustice and microbes and must never become complacent, which is his way of saying get your flu shot. (00:02:37)
2017-11-28 · Let's Talk about Money — In a mock-casual aside, John notes that Turtles All the Way Down is in bookstores everywhere and the New York Times just named it one of its favorite books of the year. (00:00:40)
2017-11-28 · Let's Talk about Money — John remarks that 'no pressure or anything, a little bit of pressure' is kind of his approach to everything. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:41)
2017-12-12 · 2017 is the Best? — Fourth, babies: they are amazing, and in 2017 a particularly amazing baby named Orin learned to crawl. (00:01:38)
2017-12-26 · LEAVE IT IN 2017 — Too much of John's mental well-being depends on eleven mostly twenty-something strangers far away; he should care but not shout that all is ruined at the TV in front of his children. (00:02:02)
2017-12-26 · LEAVE IT IN 2017 — Leave in 2017 drinking more than two LaCroix a day: LaCroix is great, but show restraint. (00:02:24)

Hank

1029 statements · sincere 88% · playful 10% · other bits 1% · hedged or unsure 19%

Sincere but hedged (181)

Split by hedge type (derived from the quoted hedge words with a fixed word list — see the overview): epistemic doubt 64 · wish / hope 7 · opinion marker 64 · other hedge 38 · hedge words not recorded 8.

Epistemic doubt (64)

real uncertainty about whether it is true

2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank says answering even one hard question on Vlogbrothers takes too long for a Question Tuesday, so he might edit his hard-question answers into smaller videos for Twitter, Facebook or Hankschannel if he has time. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (video description)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank says VidCon visitors shouldn't rent a car because parking and driving in Los Angeles are terrible; take a cab to the hotel, probably walk to the convention center, use Uber. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:32)
2017-01-13 · Top 10 Best Dogs Ever — Hank understands why people wanted puppies: the moment feels much more tense than a couple of years ago and seems likely to get worse before it gets better. — hedged: “It seems like” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:14)
2017-02-03 · Are We Making Things Worse? — Those organizations are struggling; the US has stopped helping both people who want to come and those already here, which Hank says doesn't seem like a good idea. — hedged: “doesn't seem like” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:46)
2017-02-24 · Doing Bad Things To Make Good Things Happen — As Hank has gained more power (what social media calls influence), he has grown much more wary of, even sort of afraid of, that Machiavellian perspective. — hedged: “sort of” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:10)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank says that had he been born ten years later he probably would have been additionally or alternately diagnosed with ADHD, though he can't say for sure. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:20)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank says that, especially now, he is less impaired by the different way his brain maybe works, thanks to great support from family and teachers. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:48)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank says he has also gotten himself into situations where the different way his brain works is maybe an advantage rather than a hindrance. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:54)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank says there are two parts to minimising the negative effects of a brain that doesn't work normally: changing the environment to suit it, and improving its function through medication, mindfulness or exercise. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:27)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank says his advantages let him succeed at changing his environment, so maybe he never had a hard enough time to look into the second part. — hedged: “kinda maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:43)
2017-03-24 · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) — Hank says much of Lake Powell's water is lost to evaporation, water that might otherwise reach the sea and nourish the Gulf of California's delta. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:44)
2017-03-24 · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) — Hank says he kind of loves the dam: he loves kayaking through the canyons and that people have a beach to go to and fish to catch. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:06)
2017-03-24 · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) — Hank says there are still times he excitedly marvels at feats of human ingenuity like the dam while also kind of wishing they didn't exist. — hedged: “kinda” [epistemic doubt] (00:05:17)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank asks how you decide what to do at any given moment, a big, important question we maybe don't ask ourselves enough. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:18)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank says the election made him think many things need protecting and that he might not be doing a good job of making the world better in the best ways he can. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:42)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank says he should have been thinking about this before the election, but now it feels more pressing than ever. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:57)
2017-04-14 · ★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam — 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. — hedged: “I guess” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:45)
2017-04-14 · ★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam — Each visitor brings their own stories and connections and makes the bench more than it was meant to be, maybe a little like all of us. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:28)
2017-04-28 · Can You Trust Mainstream Media? — Hank says we increasingly feel we cannot trust these experts, so we trust whatever narrative we already signed up for, spreading what fits and quietly ignoring what doesn't. — hedged: “it seems” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:37)
2017-05-05 · Sick and Tired — Hank is bummed that the House pushed through a totally unstudied, probably unhelpful health care bill; it has a way to go and the Senate will have its say. — hedged: “super probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:00)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — The description says viewers where YouTube Red isn't available will probably get a one-time purchase option. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (video description)
2017-05-26 · Some Rough Advice for the "Real World" — Hank thinks most graduates, like him at their age, have done what others told them their whole lives and now don't know what to do. — hedged: “I think is probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:06)
2017-06-02 · The Paris Accord: What is it? And What Does it All Mean? — In the description Hank says nostalgia drives the push to leave: the focus on coal, uneconomical and employing few Americans, reflects fondness for a world that probably never existed. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (video description)
2017-06-02 · The Paris Accord: What is it? And What Does it All Mean? — Hank says climate refugees, lost crops and lost infrastructure could destabilize the world economy and bring a very bad era, a view the US Department of Defense shares. — hedged: “could” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:13)
2017-06-09 · Some Unhealthy Productivity Tips (and some Healthy ones) — Asked how he does so many things, Hank says he's not sure he does, hasn't thought much about it, doubts he is healthy about it, and thinks many of his secrets aren't good for him. — hedged: “I don't know that” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:03)
2017-06-09 · Some Unhealthy Productivity Tips (and some Healthy ones) — Hank's first unhealthy secret: he has convinced himself that if he isn't using all his tools to do the most good and give people good jobs, he is less of a good person, maybe too much pressure. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:00)
2017-06-16 · When Will You Die? — The description notes that many factors, such as income, location, race and medical history, likely affect age of death as much as or more than current age. — hedged: “likely” [epistemic doubt] (video description)
2017-06-16 · When Will You Die? — Hank says life expectancy, an imperfect surrogate for a population's overall health, is simply the average age at which a person in our country will die. — hedged: “Kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:07)
2017-06-20 · FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again — Hank says the first book he fell in love with was Jurassic Park, or possibly its sequel The Lost World, which he loved. — hedged: “Possibly” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:57)
2017-06-20 · FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again — Hank says his first concert was probably They Might Be Giants. — hedged: “I think it was probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:48)
2017-06-20 · FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again — Hank says his first concert may instead have been the B-52s, with the Violent Femmes opening. — hedged: “may have been” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:56)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — Hank signs off noting that he and John are probably hanging out right now, since it is VidCon. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:48)
2017-06-30 · Eyes Made of Crystal? - Trilobites are Bizarre — Trilobites were probably so successful because of strong exoskeletons, jointed legs and, a big deal, the first complex eyes. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:13)
2017-07-07 · My Earthquake Story - (And Thoughts About Numbers) — The Richter scale tells how much the Earth is moving, but maybe not what we actually want to know. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:35)
2017-07-14 · YouTube History Lesson: Vlogbrothers Through the Ages — Having recorded for 36 minutes, Hank says there is probably a much longer version of the video on hankschannel. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:52)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — Hank says it is not just choices: schools competing for students sent education costs and student debt soaring, and debt pushes people toward safer decisions and maybe more fear of failure. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:51)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — Hank says banks are focusing less and less on what they are supposed to do: help people create new value in the world. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:39)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — Hank says that as starting a business gets more complicated, people with money may find it simpler and better to invest in the stock market, in big entrenched companies, than in their own small businesses. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:55)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — Hank says that with global supply chains and red tape of employment regulations and business taxes, the path to hiring a second person may not exist, or may be uninteresting. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:01)
2017-08-04 · Why Bullets are Good for the Environment — Hank says nobody dislikes this: gun buyers, even non-hunters, are proud to support hunters, and supporters of more gun regulation are probably happy that more land is conserved. — hedged: “probably more or less” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:33)
2017-08-04 · Why Bullets are Good for the Environment — Hank counts himself among people who might be in favour of more gun regulation in America. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:39)
2017-08-11 · Life is not a Job Training Program — Hank calls it a lie we tell ourselves, or let colleges tell us, that college is job training; you are learning to be better at things, which helps in getting and doing work. — hedged: “It seems to be kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:21)
2017-08-25 · Trust and Fire - Thoughts from the Smoke — Hank is worried by some people's current feeling that they must confirm everything for themselves, which he calls individualism taken to maybe a fatal extreme. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:31)
2017-09-01 · What Everyone Gets Wrong About Global Warming — Hank says homes once considered safe might struggle to get insurance, since nobody understands probability curves like insurance workers. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:19)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Hank thinks many people without butt problems don't realise how bad they can be. — hedged: “I think maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:56)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Among his strategies, Hank recommends carrying a little tube of diaper rash cream for lubrication. — hedged: “I don't know, basically” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:13)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — Hank guesses carbonation is needed for the can to feel normal; otherwise the gas contracts when cold and the can deflates. — hedged: “I guess” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:48)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — Hank is done with stories about how messed up the world is and evil people doing evil things; he wants stories about something, maybe something hopeful. — hedged: “Maybe?” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:40)
2017-10-06 · The World's Largest Fruits — Unsure what to make, Hank called John, who said he is really stressed, maybe a little sad, and just wants a video about humans being joyful and amazing. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:00)
2017-10-13 · Behind the Sides — Hank says they played, or are about to play, at the McGlohon Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina, a beautiful theatre with a dome, red carpet and stained glass windows. — hedged: “possibly” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:05)
2017-10-20 · Places Made of People: Thoughts from My Old High School — Winter Park High School is made of the people who inhabit it, so it becomes an entirely new place every three years or so. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:50)
2017-10-20 · Places Made of People: Thoughts from My Old High School — Maybe if Hank had understood that the place was its people, not its walls, he would have been a better steward of it; maybe that is true of all the places we inhabit. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:04)
2017-10-27 · The Secret to my Productivity — You can raise your odds of hitting the bullseye, which is what the 80% is for, but you never know where you'll hit until you throw the dart; endless planning may be wasted work. — hedged: “might” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:49)
2017-10-27 · The Secret to my Productivity — Hank learns most of what he learns by doing the first 80% and releasing the work; in the final tweaks he learns nothing and is just scared, and they may or may not improve it. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:19)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — Hank says a blue whale's heart is big enough that a person could probably be inside its aorta. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:11)
2017-11-17 · Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) — Hank says the code has fairness provisions: a graduate student might earn about $10,000 a year in actual money while receiving tuition deferment. — hedged: “might make like” [epistemic doubt] (00:04:45)
2017-12-01 · Let's Talk About Stress! — Asked by CGP Grey how 'Cheyenne' comes to be pronounced 'shy-ann', Hank says there is probably a real reason: the word went through several rapid rounds of loanword adaptation. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:22)
2017-12-01 · Let's Talk About Stress! — Hank says that, remarkably, thinking about the unpleasantness makes it much less unpleasant, but because it is unpleasant people don't want to do it. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:47)
2017-12-01 · Let's Talk About Stress! — Hank finds nothing works except overpowering his lizard brain and doing what he knows will help, such as exercise, contemplation or talking to someone, rather than running away to Reddit or linguistics. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:22)
2017-12-08 · I Have (a little bit) HAD IT! — Hank says that, not with his personal life but with the world at large, he has a little bit had it and is feeling grumpy. — hedged: “kind of, sorta” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:07)
2017-12-15 · Why Big Solutions Fail — Hank says an item made in China has one place to go, its port; from there maybe a dozen other ports; then a few thousand warehouses or stores. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:45)
2017-12-15 · Why Big Solutions Fail — Hank says the last mile problem is kind of why big ideas for fixing things often fail: at the last mile one overarching solution becomes tens or hundreds of thousands of hard-to-work-out solutions. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:31)
2017-12-15 · Why Big Solutions Fail — Hank says this costs money, but ventures that it may be one of the best things society could possibly spend money on. — hedged: “let me venture that maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:25)
2017-12-29 · Can You Ever Really Change? — Hank advises finding ways to live that work for you and people who appreciate you as you are, but says if you want to change you can, and even if not you probably will. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:03)

Wish / hope (7)

a wish about the future, not a claim about what is true

2017-04-07 · Squeezing Strangers' Bikes in Amsterdam! — Hank thanks the person who edited this version and encourages John and anyone else to look at the other versions edited by other people. — hedged: “hopefully” [wish / hope] (00:03:43)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — Hank hopes everyone who can will join him in watching the film. — hedged: “I hope” [wish / hope] (00:03:20)
2017-05-12 · Things That You Just Might Love — Hank points to description links for everything he mentioned and hopes viewers check them out and love them too. — hedged: “I hope” [wish / hope] (00:03:49)
2017-07-21 · On Condom Failure — Hank hopes the internet and scientists' continuing work will let people get better information and make better decisions, even as some keep fighting to hide it. — hedged: “Hopefully” [wish / hope] (00:03:41)
2017-08-11 · Life is not a Job Training Program — Hank hopes we are on Earth to solve problems for ourselves and others, and says education of whatever kind helps with that. — hedged: “What I hope” [wish / hope] (00:01:51)
2017-08-25 · Trust and Fire - Thoughts from the Smoke — Hank tells everyone on the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana he hopes it won't be as bad as it looks, asks them to be safe and make good decisions, and says he is thinking of them. — hedged: “hopefully” [wish / hope] (00:03:39)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — Hank hopes viewers will join him watching lots of TNG on Netflix this weekend. — hedged: “I hope” [wish / hope] (00:03:31)

Opinion marker (64)

marks a view as the speaker's own; not doubt

2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank notes most Question Tuesday videos go to John, which makes sense as John posts on Tuesdays but is a bit unfair, so today is Question Tuesday on a Friday. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:07)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — So, Hank concludes, it is the C that is silent in 'scent'. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:07)
2017-02-03 · Are We Making Things Worse? — Hank thanks John for his Tuesday video: neither wants Vlogbrothers to become a current-events and politics channel, but John is very good at such videos and Hank came away understanding more. — hedged: “I also think” [opinion marker] (00:00:07)
2017-02-03 · Are We Making Things Worse? — Hank sometimes thinks that talking politics on Vlogbrothers just makes things worse, deepening the echo chamber and chasing off everyone who disagrees with his liberal views. — hedged: “Sometimes I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:22)
2017-02-03 · Are We Making Things Worse? — Just as the government shouldn't have discriminated against people for their sexual orientation for years, Hank doesn't think it should be legal for businesses to do so. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:58)
2017-02-03 · Are We Making Things Worse? — Hank thinks creating and feeding an irrational fear of people who want to come to America, as his ancestors did for the same dream, is an effective but dangerous way to gain power. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:06)
2017-02-24 · Doing Bad Things To Make Good Things Happen — Hank thinks it is important for the brothers to talk about the things on which they disagree with their old selves. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:15)
2017-02-24 · Doing Bad Things To Make Good Things Happen — The idea appealed to Hank as a younger man partly because it excused acting against his values, but mostly because it fed his wish to believe he could manipulate people and the world toward a good outcome. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:40)
2017-02-24 · Doing Bad Things To Make Good Things Happen — Hank had to get okay with discarding ideas he couldn't carry out while living rightly, which was surprisingly hard because he had praised ideas above reality. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:00)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — In a voice-over Hank tells John he survived the punishment and it was worth it. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:46)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank says part of him always wants to believe he is strong and smart enough to handle any curve ball without letting anyone down, which he thinks might be destructive, so he is glad he has let himself get support from friends, family and professionals over the years. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (video description)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank thinks he has by now gotten through the hardest parts of living in his brain, learning to cope, and is proud of that. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:12)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank thinks it took hard work but also a lot of help, which he got in spades through economic advantages, early diagnosis and great tutors: he has been very lucky. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:24)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Hank thinks the most underrated Pokémon is surfing Pikachu. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:32)
2017-03-24 · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) — Hank, a big fan of the environment, often thinks a bias toward 'naturalness' can cause big problems, like a fear of vaccines or genetically modified foods. — hedged: “I often think” [opinion marker] (video description)
2017-03-24 · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) — Hank often sees the environmental movement belittle people's fun, and thinks it can go too far in imagining humanity as a blight on nature and all technology as a step backward; he cannot abide that. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:04:16)
2017-03-24 · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) — Hank says he is in love with nature and with humans; he won't call humans simply natural, because while we are, we are also much more and sometimes less. — hedged: “sometimes I think” [opinion marker] (00:04:41)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank says they recently relaunched How to Adult because he thinks it should exist in the world. — hedged: “I just think” [opinion marker] (00:01:05)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank feels these projects should exist and he can help them exist as others may not, because he has tools others lack. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:01:33)
2017-04-14 · ★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam — Hank reports critical reviews: Milena's two-star review finds the bench extremely uncomfortable and wonders how Hazel and Gus did it; Dominika says people need to treat it better. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:27)
2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank asks whether advertisers losing their reach to people under 65 would really be bad, since he can decide how to spend his money without them. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:02:59)
2017-04-28 · Can You Trust Mainstream Media? — Hank says he is watching a scary, fairly new sense spread among his peers and friends that all expertise is false: government, media, scientists and even charities can't be trusted. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:02)
2017-05-05 · Sick and Tired — Hank says workers such as garbage collectors and sewage-plant staff are compensated, not appreciated, by money: pay trades time and skill, while appreciation is more human and less transactional. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:02)
2017-05-05 · Sick and Tired — Hank thinks we forgot about appreciation because we assume economics takes care of it. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:25)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — Hank says he and John love documentaries but thinks they have a problem: we are busy with work and with the distractions of the computer. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:05)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — Hank says documentary film is fantastic, but more and more he feels there is no good place or time for it. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:00:52)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — Hank says looking at himself through a cat's eyes gives a perspective hard to find otherwise, one the movie discovers and shares well. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:08)
2017-05-12 · Things That You Just Might Love — Hank loves that a newly connected, more global society lets us see more cool creations and lets more people create professionally, and thinks we should take advantage of it. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:35)
2017-05-19 · Should I Have a Baby? — Third, feeling he can't do it at all: with someone depending on you for everything it feels like tremendous failure, even fleetingly and untrue; he thinks everyone feels this and it gets better. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:24)
2017-05-19 · Should I Have a Baby? — Third, Hank thinks he understands his parents' relationship with him much better, which may be hard without experiencing parenthood. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:08)
2017-05-26 · Some Rough Advice for the "Real World" — In the description Hank says society thrives on driven people, but he thinks we can make the world better without putting all this pressure on ourselves. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (video description)
2017-06-09 · Some Unhealthy Productivity Tips (and some Healthy ones) — In the description Hank says his happiness should not be his primary goal, but it should be on the list. — hedged: “I don't think” [opinion marker] (video description)
2017-06-09 · Some Unhealthy Productivity Tips (and some Healthy ones) — Hank's third healthy secret, for everybody and broader than productivity: he follows and cultivates his curiosity, which often leads to better life and business decisions and to feeling better. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:57)
2017-06-09 · Some Unhealthy Productivity Tips (and some Healthy ones) — Hank thinks curiosity is one of the top two or three human characteristics, something he likes about himself; he wants to understand stuff and people. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:09)
2017-06-16 · When Will You Die? — Hank expects to see John next in person in Los Angeles before their next video. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:50)
2017-06-20 · FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again — Hank says the first movie that made him cry was An American Tail. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:31)
2017-07-07 · My Earthquake Story - (And Thoughts About Numbers) — We judge our worth and draw confidence from quantified things (AP scores, net worth, BMI, bench press) because they are easy to measure, not because they are good surrogates for our value. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:50)
2017-07-14 · YouTube History Lesson: Vlogbrothers Through the Ages — Hank thinks YouTube's long-running earlier channel design was launched under the codename Cosmic Panda. — hedged: “I think I remember” [opinion marker] (00:00:57)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — The description says Hank does not think viewers should start a business, only that they should be able to; there are good reasons not to, and he supports people who work for others, especially for him. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (video description)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — Hank thinks there is a strong entrepreneurial attitude among young people right now. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:14)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — Hank thinks young people are starting businesses: 'generation 1099' of side-hustling contractors with podcasts, Etsy stores, Postmates and day jobs, each side hustle a sole proprietorship, so counted that way more than ever. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:45)
2017-08-11 · Life is not a Job Training Program — Hank says they made about 500 backpacks and there will be no more after that. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:05)
2017-08-18 · What I've Been Thinking About — Hank thinks it says a lot about Mom that she let him share the story, which does not make her look good and which she hadn't brought up for about 25 years. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:46)
2017-08-18 · What I've Been Thinking About — Hank says it is hard to talk about race and we need to do it more; Mom wanted to help them talk about it. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:57)
2017-08-18 · What I've Been Thinking About — Hank feels uncomfortable talking about race and worries about doing wrong or hurting someone, but wants to because it is important and serves the world he hopes for. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:05)
2017-08-18 · What I've Been Thinking About — Hank thinks many white Americans consider it rude or even racist to notice race, while black people he knows can hardly imagine race not being a normal topic. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:16)
2017-08-18 · What I've Been Thinking About — Hank also thinks tribalism is innate: we find it much easier to empathise with people who are like us, however we define that. — hedged: “I also think” [opinion marker] (00:02:13)
2017-09-01 · What Everyone Gets Wrong About Global Warming — Hank says the effect of a warmer Earth on weather does not fit a 15-second soundbite, and it is not anybody's fault for not getting it. — hedged: “I don't think” [opinion marker] (00:00:14)
2017-09-08 · How to Win Australia — People-watching at the airport, Hank notes it takes him very little data to put someone in a category, and feels he knows their politics and worldview from a glance, and half believes it. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:00:14)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Hank says many people have butt problems, such as hemorrhoids, anal fissures and IBD, and they should not be ashamed of them. — hedged: “I don't think” [opinion marker] (00:01:25)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — Unlike much TV sci-fi today, TNG was always about something: forced to choose, its writers would sacrifice plot before meaning. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:02:01)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — We are no longer in a West Wing world but a House of Cards world, and Hank is a bit sick of it and finds it boring. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:31)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — Today's media are not asking enough what a story is about. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:03:22)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — Hank learned from TNG that themes are as important as plot, sometimes more, since diversion is the least a story can offer. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:27)
2017-10-06 · The World's Largest Fruits — A lemon variety, the nine-pound lemon tree, grows nine-pound lemons or more; a few grow at Epcot in Orlando, where Hank thinks the 15-pound record lemon was harvested. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:59)
2017-10-13 · Behind the Sides — Being able to see and start to understand the magic is a big reason Hank loves backstages, which don't pay for drop ceilings. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:51)
2017-10-13 · Behind the Sides — Hank thinks we are sometimes too good at hiding the hard work that goes into making things function. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:51)
2017-10-20 · Places Made of People: Thoughts from My Old High School — Hank wishes he had brought more to the school: he did okay, but defined himself by what he hated rather than what he liked, thinking it cooler to be jaded than careful with other people. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:17)
2017-11-08 · Follow Hank All Day — Hank says the scripts are really good these days and the writing staff is legitimately one of the best in popular science writing. — hedged: “in my opinion” [opinion marker] (00:02:08)
2017-11-08 · Follow Hank All Day — Hank says staff meetings could be super boring but are actually very entertaining, one of his favorite times of the day, unusually for staff meetings. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:03:11)
2017-11-17 · Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) — Hank thinks everybody agrees the US tax code is too complicated, but nobody agrees on the best way to simplify it. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:17)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — Fruitcake was traditional because fruit was special at this time of year: dried fruit soaked in booze is the closest thing to fresh fruit in midwinter. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:02:46)
2017-12-29 · Can You Ever Really Change? — The description says, as John said in his last video, we don't give ourselves enough chances for self-reflection; tests can help but imply what they test is overly concrete, and no self is carved in stone. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (video description)
2017-12-29 · Can You Ever Really Change? — Hank says it is extremely valuable to take time for self-reflection, to assess and understand ourselves and see the right paths forward for who we are now. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:01:20)

Other hedge (38)

a hedge that matches none of the word lists

2017-01-20 · Behind the Scenes of My Life — Hank suggests that anyone drained by the political climate look to the people they know in the real world rather than those they imagine are taking over the country, guessing there is a lot of hope there. — hedged: “My guess” [other hedge] (video description)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank explains that sensory disorders mean having a hard time dealing with information coming into your senses, or getting too much or not enough of it. — hedged: “Basically” [other hedge] (00:00:05)
2017-03-17 · Trump's Budget Explained — Hank says 13 blocks would come out of Health and Human Services, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and six blocks from the NIH's biomedical research, one of the world's largest research funders. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:02:04)
2017-03-17 · Trump's Budget Explained — Hank says this is only a very basic account, since the departments hold thousands of programs that would not fit in a YouTube video. — hedged: “very basically” [other hedge] (00:04:12)
2017-03-24 · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) — Hank says the fight that led to Lake Powell in some ways created the modern environmental movement and some aspects of it he doesn't love; the lake is one of his greatest internal debates made real. — hedged: “in some ways” [other hedge] (00:00:29)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — The description says the system stopping working mostly means Hank is behind on a lot (not the important stuff), and his email task list has become a source of significant dread. — hedged: “mostly” [other hedge] (video description)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank says his system for the last ten years has worked pretty well: basically do whatever needs doing, driven by a strong sense of obligation. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:00:27)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank concludes his old systems no longer fit his life, which is okay: he must build new ones, difficult and sometimes painful, but he is figuring it out and it is 100% worth it. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:03:45)
2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank says each ad played on a YouTube video pays the creator about ten times less than the same ad on TV. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:00:53)
2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank says YouTube shows about five times fewer ads per minute watched, so the average channel earns about 50 times less per minute of viewership than a TV channel. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:01:00)
2017-04-28 · Can You Trust Mainstream Media? — Hank attributes this at least partly to the simultaneous collapse of the financial model that supported journalism and of newspapers' editorial control over what people saw first. — hedged: “at least in part” [other hedge] (00:01:10)
2017-04-28 · Can You Trust Mainstream Media? — Hank feels media critics are becoming the news themselves: people who attack expertise with no desire or ability to replace it, letting us feel better than the experts. — hedged: “It feels like” [other hedge] (00:02:32)
2017-05-05 · Sick and Tired — Hank is discouraged that some people are fighting for internet providers like Comcast, sarcastically 'those underdogs', to control what goes through their pipes, at what speed and price. — hedged: “it looks like” [other hedge] (00:00:28)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — Hank says the film is really good and has about 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:01:48)
2017-05-26 · Some Rough Advice for the "Real World" — 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. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:01:46)
2017-06-02 · The Paris Accord: What is it? And What Does it All Mean? — Hank says poor countries that emitted basically no greenhouse gases will be hurt most by rich countries' CO2, because of food and water insecurity and less medicine and infrastructure. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:02:05)
2017-06-16 · When Will You Die? — Hank hopes that, barring something like a catastrophic solar-flare apocalypse, death rates will continue to go down. — hedged: “we hope” [other hedge] (00:02:39)
2017-06-30 · Eyes Made of Crystal? - Trilobites are Bizarre — Trilobites emerged around 500 million years ago, in the Cambrian Explosion when life grew more complex, and were the first true arthropods. — hedged: “around” [other hedge] (00:00:42)
2017-06-30 · Eyes Made of Crystal? - Trilobites are Bizarre — The last trilobites went extinct around 250 million years ago, but they were extremely successful, lasting 270 million years. — hedged: “around” [other hedge] (00:01:16)
2017-06-30 · Eyes Made of Crystal? - Trilobites are Bizarre — By comparison, primates have existed for around 50 million years, so 'we have a lot of catching up to do'. — hedged: “around” [other hedge] (00:01:26)
2017-07-07 · My Earthquake Story - (And Thoughts About Numbers) — Hank says out loud that you're not your numbers. — hedged: “I also just think” [other hedge] (00:01:36)
2017-07-14 · YouTube History Lesson: Vlogbrothers Through the Ages — YouTube has looked pretty much the same for about the last three years, and Hank doesn't much love the current design. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:00:40)
2017-07-14 · YouTube History Lesson: Vlogbrothers Through the Ages — The earliest archive.org capture dates from December 1, 2007, so there is no record of the channel for its first 11 months. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:03:19)
2017-07-21 · On Condom Failure — Such statistics are mostly meant to inform policymakers' public health decisions, not individual choices, but individuals use them as the only stats available. — hedged: “for the most part” [other hedge] (00:01:27)
2017-07-21 · On Condom Failure — Per act of intercourse, using a condom cuts the odds of pregnancy about 250 times, far better than ten. — hedged: “about” [other hedge] (00:01:40)
2017-07-21 · On Condom Failure — As far as Hank can tell, that per-act figure has never been taught in sex ed; he calculated it himself from somewhat incomplete raw data. — hedged: “as far as I can tell” [other hedge] (00:01:49)
2017-07-21 · On Condom Failure — Probabilities compound: over two years you multiply 0.98 by 0.98; perfect condom use for 10 years gives about a 20% chance of pregnancy, and over 20 years 1 in 3. — hedged: “about” [other hedge] (00:02:27)
2017-07-21 · On Condom Failure — With typical rather than perfect use, condoms result in pregnancy in about 20% of years in which people use only condoms. — hedged: “about” [other hedge] (00:02:48)
2017-07-28 · Why You Haven't Started a Business — Hank says more money now comes from venture capitalists, super rich people wanting tenfold returns, so they invest mostly in tech and ignore businesses with a safer path to a smaller market. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:01:26)
2017-08-04 · Why Bullets are Good for the Environment — Hank announces ROLF, a new silly party game from DFTBA Games, on Kickstarter for the next 24 days or so; it has already reached its goal, so it will be made. — hedged: “or so” [other hedge] (00:03:20)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Hank orders the cheapest thing at restaurants but buys the most expensive toilet paper, assuming the makers have done something. — hedged: “basically” [other hedge] (00:02:51)
2017-10-06 · The World's Largest Fruits — The description says it is wonderful to benefit from the work of thousands of generations, from today's food workers to those who began creating our crop varieties tens of thousands of years ago. — hedged: “In a lot of ways” [other hedge] (video description)
2017-10-27 · The Secret to my Productivity — Hank says the last 20% of getting to what he thinks is best is about 90% of the work, which is why he releases at 80%. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:02:14)
2017-10-27 · The Secret to my Productivity — In Hank's mind, getting it done is success and getting it perfect is not, especially because perfect doesn't exist. — hedged: “in my mind” [other hedge] (00:03:12)
2017-11-08 · Follow Hank All Day — At the DFTBA warehouse staff meeting, Hank explains DFTBA.com makes cool stuff for online creators and gets it to people; they pitched ideas, reviewed current products, and everyone is excited about Pizzamas. — hedged: “Basically” [other hedge] (00:00:47)
2017-11-08 · Follow Hank All Day — After putting the baby to bed and dinner, Hank returns to the office for a call and editing; his days are usually lots of meetings, shooting and some creative process. — hedged: “usually roughly” [other hedge] (00:03:32)
2017-11-17 · Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) — Hank says the simplest system is a head tax, everyone paying the same amount: about $12,000 a year each would pay the entire federal budget. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:00:35)
2017-11-17 · Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) — Hank says the value of deferred tuition, perhaps $35,000, is technically income, but because taxing it would be a huge burden on graduate students it is not counted, at least at the moment; what Congress is planning, he says, is not this discussion. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:05:00)

Hedge words not recorded (8)

marked as unsure, but the hedge words were not quoted

2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Asked whether Bernie would have won, Hank sings that he doesn't know and nobody does; anyone sure is wrong, since it is too easy to be certain of the unprovable. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:02:17)
2017-02-03 · Are We Making Things Worse? — In the description Hank says that having a platform means he never really knows how much he should use it to effect change. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (video description)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Asked whether he has ADHD, Hank answers maybe. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:02:51)
2017-03-17 · Trump's Budget Explained — The description says Hank doesn't really know what the budget is meant to do beyond sharply raising military spending while keeping total spending almost exactly the same. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (video description)
2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank asks whether the content-brand relationship, designed for radio, is a useless holdover from another century, forcing new ways to turn created value into spendable value. — speculative (hedge words not recorded) (00:02:46)
2017-06-02 · The Paris Accord: What is it? And What Does it All Mean? — Hank says the agreement is an investment with costs, and we don't know exactly what the price will be or how much better off we will be. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:03:49)
2017-11-17 · Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) — Hank says Republicans in Congress want people like him to pay much less tax on money made by their corporations; he does not know why, since it is still income to him. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:02:47)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — Several viewers asked about the Christmas pickle; Hank doesn't know what it is and wonders if they are being messed with. — explicitly uncertain (hedge words not recorded) (00:03:19)

Satire (2)

a mock position (e.g. a fake moral panic) — the opposite of what is meant

2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Hank jokes that 'make a product, confuse the consumer, profit' also works for the American medical system. (00:03:17)
2017-10-31 · Where are Whale Balls? Question Tuesday: Pizza Edition — Of the line 'America: we don't make stuff, we make stuff better', Hank says it is not always true, but in 2017 what matters is whether it sounds good. (00:03:03)

Fiction (3)

a story or novel read aloud; the words belong to characters

2017-11-24 · The Bizarro History of Black Friday: (AND 2017 CENSUS!) — Hank claims, in fiction, that Black Friday is the day all Americans keep their lights off, and few know how it began. (00:00:00)
2017-11-24 · The Bizarro History of Black Friday: (AND 2017 CENSUS!) — In the invented history, the Lighthouse Service picked the day after Thanksgiving for all lighthouse maintenance because it was memorable and had less shipping traffic. (00:00:43)
2017-11-24 · The Bizarro History of Black Friday: (AND 2017 CENSUS!) — In the invented history, the day became a remembrance of sailors lost at sea, with lights off in New England port towns, spreading across the US. (00:01:02)

Joke (8)

a gag; not a claim

2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Asked his favourite type of plate, Hank names the kind the Earth's crust is on. (00:02:50)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — Hank assumes American Dance Machine is a musical about one dancing robot made in America, and counts its ten choreographers. (00:00:49)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — Marriage a la Carte 'sounds like a bad idea'; its Library of Congress song recording cannot be found, and Hank gives it 10 out of 10 Dinklepops for a song, Captain Dinklepop, he cannot hear. (00:03:13)
2017-08-11 · Life is not a Job Training Program — Asked how much plasma it takes to pay for an engineering degree, Hank says an engineering student should do the calculation herself, and it is far more than she has. (00:00:12)
2017-12-08 · I Have (a little bit) HAD IT! — Asked for a signature dish to bake for new friends, Hank flounders through nachos, baked potatoes, biscuits and gravy and corn dogs, which are fried. (00:01:36)
2017-12-08 · I Have (a little bit) HAD IT! — Asked whether the brothers would support a viewer becoming world dictator, loyalty rewarded, Hank says the viewer had him until the end. (00:02:40)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — Asked whether Christmas is like the films, Hank says it is exactly like Die Hard. (00:00:16)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — For last-minute presents, Hank suggests unused soap from the cupboard, such as Irish Spring. (00:02:04)

Playful (108)

a real point made in a joking way; the paraphrase records the meant core

2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank says there is no new Republican health care plan: Republicans want to keep Obamacare's good parts but make it cost less by waving their hands around. (00:00:28)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank says flying through space is probably not Superman's fastest route: air resistance shouldn't matter much to him, and a bigger radius means a longer circumference. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:54)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Asked how to pronounce 'thistle', Hank says he doesn't know how to pronounce anything and uses the HowJSay app, whose narrator has said nearly every word. (00:01:11)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — A self-declared pear connoisseur, Hank avoids pear juice on his nose by cutting a square around the core, nibbling the core, then eating the rest in strips. (00:01:47)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Asked how Dave is, Hank says that if they mean the fish, Dave is less good: he can barely hold up his string but is still floating. (00:02:32)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank says his cat thinks two cats would be too many, which is terrible for him because his own answer is maybe eight. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:41)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank reports the Online Etymology Dictionary says the C in 'scent' was added in the 17th century, joking that people just felt like it. (00:02:59)
2017-01-06 · Too Excited about Pears! (Question Tuesday with Hank) — Hank loves the prints and is surprised that they smell good. (00:03:38)
2017-01-13 · Top 10 Best Dogs Ever — Hank notes canaries are named after the Canary Islands, which are named after the Latin word for dog, and so jokingly counts Tweety Bird as a dog. (00:02:49)
2017-01-27 · Screaming for Four Minutes Straight (with WheezyWaiter) — Following viewer suggestions, Hank and Craig debate having a butt for a face, play one-word story, fight imaginary eagles, high-five with their feet, punch a Wheezy clone, scream, kiss, make old-man noises and pillow-fight. (00:00:27)
2017-01-27 · Screaming for Four Minutes Straight (with WheezyWaiter) — Asked by a viewer to scream for four minutes, Hank says it is something he feels like doing anyway after this week (week of 23 January 2017). (00:02:04)
2017-01-27 · Screaming for Four Minutes Straight (with WheezyWaiter) — Michael Aranda suggests 'A Day in the Life of Orin Green', with Hank as dad and Craig as the baby. (00:02:49)
2017-02-10 · Valentines Candy Taste Test with Hank and Katherine — Hank suspects Fun Dip's mystery flavor is a lie: the makers didn't buy flavoring for the batch, meaning it is just sugar. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:03:00)
2017-02-17 · As Cold as The Milk: Learning Spanish with Luzu — Following viewers' suggestions, Hank and Luzu stare at each other intensely, talk in Spanish, try tongue twisters, discuss how to be cool, and skip a kiss because Luzu is sick. (00:01:08)
2017-02-24 · Doing Bad Things To Make Good Things Happen — Hank explains the empty spot in recent videos: his only tripod was busy on a Wizard School video; after ten years he still hasn't bought a second tripod. (00:00:07)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — The audience-chosen ingredients are announced in turn: Pop-Tarts, hot dogs, sriracha, baked beans (with a little beef), pudding, peanut butter and, last, mustard. (00:00:23)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — Hank says everyone was rooting for a vegan blend, but it's not happening this time. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:00:35)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — Told to add water, Hank adds almond milk instead, because it is all he has. (00:01:38)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — Hank drinks the blended mixture to chants of chug, still has a little left, and finds it very spicy once the peanut butter stops masking the heat. (00:02:44)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — Mid-chug Hank recites the rule that when a Vlogbrother messes up, a Vlogbrother must be punished. (00:03:02)
2017-03-10 · Do I Have ADHD? — Hank says he is always searching for new things to create and wears holes in his socks fast because his toes never stop moving. (00:01:04)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Hank says talking to Alice is like talking to a bad chatbot: asked if her new water bottle was better than the old one, she said it's pink and the other's purple. (00:00:34)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Asked his favourite Pokémon and why it is Charizard, Hank says it is Snorlax, because he is cute, large and powerful. (00:00:59)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Asked which Pokémon could best keep a steady job, Hank pictures Charizard managing a Wendy's, flaming the burgers when the grill breaks. (00:01:16)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Hank says that in college he wanted a job where he could get a mohawk at 40, and now he has one, then plays 'your cool teacher Hank with the 40 year old mohawk'. (00:02:09)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — Hank's favourite adjective to spice up a sentence is 'spicy', but he worries his friends will know him as the one who says spicy all the time. (00:02:31)
2017-03-14 · Green Brothers Reunited! — When Mr. Mime is suggested as the only vaguely human-shaped Pokémon, Hank says he knows no greater insult than saying someone looks like Mr. Mime. (00:03:32)
2017-03-17 · Trump's Budget Explained — Hank says one small block holds the entire NEA, NEH, Institute of Museum and Library Services and Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and under Trump's budget they would no longer exist. (00:03:52)
2017-03-31 · No Cut Confessional: Priorities — Hank jokes that when his son wants attention and he has stuff to do, the boy wins with the impenetrable argument that he has cheeks. (00:03:30)
2017-04-07 · Squeezing Strangers' Bikes in Amsterdam! — Hank finds a tiny, cheap bike light on the ground and keeps it. (00:01:28)
2017-04-07 · Squeezing Strangers' Bikes in Amsterdam! — Hank suspects many of the bikes he sees are not in use, joking that they have been there for centuries or are left out to make it look like there are lots of cyclists. — hedged: “I think” [opinion marker] (00:03:10)
2017-04-14 · ★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam — At a fair in town, Hank orders 'American sauce' expecting ranch dressing; it isn't, and he doesn't know the flavour. (00:00:36)
2017-04-14 · ★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam — Hank reads reviews saying it is just a bench, an ordinary bench, noting one such review still gave four stars. (00:01:16)
2017-04-14 · ★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam — Hank says the bench seems the opposite of the world's largest ball of paint: tourists remove paint every visit rather than add it. — hedged: “seem” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:38)
2017-04-14 · ★★★★ Review: The TFiOS Bench - Amsterdam — Hank notes that the 'few promise locks' one review mentions have apparently multiplied in eight months: there are more than a few. — hedged: “apparently” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:52)
2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank protests that his eyeballs are worth ten times more on TV than on YouTube though they are the same eyeballs; at some point an audience is valued so low you say no. (00:01:11)
2017-04-21 · The Adpocalypse: What it Means — Hank says Google's valuation dropped by about $750 million in a day. — hedged: “like” [other hedge] (00:02:04)
2017-05-05 · Sick and Tired — Hank tells everyone he also does not know what is in the boxes and asks John what is in the box. (00:00:00)
2017-05-05 · Sick and Tired — Hank warns the line is fine, since overdoing it marks you as a weirdo, so find a small way, like a double thumbs up. (00:03:00)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — Hank remarks that he is making a Wednesday video, which is not how this works, and that it is going to get weirder. (00:00:03)
2017-05-10 · Seeing Myself Through a Cat's Eyes — Hank says cats' great service is getting in your way, demanding chin scratches instead of computer staring, and so showing by example that it's okay sometimes to just exist. (00:02:25)
2017-05-12 · Things That You Just Might Love — Hank recommends Miles Chronicles as hilarious, warning viewers not to drink anything while watching or they will spray and choke. (00:02:09)
2017-05-19 · Should I Have a Baby? — Answering the DadCast's most common question, how to decide to have a child, Hank says you don't know: it is like buying 378 bottles of olives without ever tasting one. (00:00:22)
2017-05-19 · Should I Have a Baby? — Second, he gets to sing wherever he wants: with the baby along, people think it's cute rather than weird. (00:02:03)
2017-05-26 · Some Rough Advice for the "Real World" — Hank jokes that freedom is awful: graduates face infinite paths (army, Peace Corps, clergy, grad, business or 'horoscope' school, side hustles, podcasts). (00:00:13)
2017-06-02 · The Paris Accord: What is it? And What Does it All Mean? — Hank says viewers quite likely have a strong opinion on the Paris Agreement and even more likely don't really know what it is. — hedged: “a really good chance” [other hedge] (00:00:07)
2017-06-02 · The Paris Accord: What is it? And What Does it All Mean? — Hank says it is hard to tell poor countries not to grow with the dirty fuels rich countries used, and instead to buy solar panels with money they don't have. (00:02:19)
2017-06-16 · When Will You Die? — Hank says a past life expectancy of 35 doesn't mean people died around 35: deaths of children and babies pulled the average down, and 80-year-olds in the Middle Ages were no mythical creatures. (video description)
2017-06-16 · When Will You Die? — Hank recalls his dumb idea as a youngster that once you reached the life expectancy of 78 you could die at any moment. (00:01:48)
2017-06-20 · FIRST! Green Brothers Reunited Again — Asked when he last did something for the first time, Hank says it is the first time he has had all these cells and probably the first time he has worn this outfit. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:28)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — In the description Hank says the title undersells how enjoyable this was, and that not every video needs clicks: some are just for the viewer. (video description)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — Hank notes that Dave the fish is, perhaps surprisingly, still there, just not in great shape. (00:00:23)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — Reading the Banjo Eyes page, Hank notes the title refers not to Cantor's character but to a talking racehorse played in costume by the vaudeville team Morton and Mayo. (00:01:11)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — Finding the musical's 1975 TV special in full on YouTube, Hank judges it less good than every YouTube video, yet beautiful. (00:01:57)
2017-06-23 · Reviewing Musicals from their Wikipedia Pages — Teddy & Alice (1987) fictionalises Teddy Roosevelt and his daughter Alice; Frank Rich of the New York Times compared it to a high-school halftime show, and Hank gives it zero teddy bears. (00:03:31)
2017-06-30 · Eyes Made of Crystal? - Trilobites are Bizarre — Hank exclaims that it took humans 300 million years to catch up with trilobite evolution, and says he just loves it. (00:03:20)
2017-07-07 · My Earthquake Story - (And Thoughts About Numbers) — A couple of hours after Hank went to bed two nights ago his house shook in an earthquake; it was not serious, and he thinks the biggest casualty was the pasta sauce. (00:00:00)
2017-07-07 · My Earthquake Story - (And Thoughts About Numbers) — Hank and Katherine still freaked out and ran to the baby's room, only to watch him sleep, since it was over by the time they got there. (00:00:14)
2017-07-14 · YouTube History Lesson: Vlogbrothers Through the Ages — Hank says Truth or Fail, still promoted on the 2010 channel page, never worked, though it was a good show he worked hard on. (00:01:45)
2017-07-21 · On Condom Failure — Hank says that statistic can be misunderstood in many (about 25) ways, and sets out to explain them. (00:00:16)
2017-08-04 · Why Bullets are Good for the Environment — John texted Hank that he had forgotten Hank is CEO of a board game company and that he is hilarious and amazing; Hank is not sure he is the CEO, just helps make it work. — explicitly uncertain: “I don't know” [epistemic doubt] (00:03:10)
2017-08-11 · Life is not a Job Training Program — For decorating, Hank suggests a frame from Michael's and a poster from DFTBA.com, on sale for back to school; framing it makes you look classy. (00:03:13)
2017-09-01 · What Everyone Gets Wrong About Global Warming — Hank says the backpacks sold out, so the one he holds is his and viewers can't have it. (00:03:32)
2017-09-08 · How to Win Australia — Hank says he still honestly calls Denver Isengard and asks John if he remembers. (00:00:06)
2017-09-08 · How to Win Australia — Hank's expensive lens stops autofocusing until turning it off and on again fixes it. (00:00:52)
2017-09-08 · How to Win Australia — On the flight Hank woke up a lot but went back to sleep each time; waking after nearly everyone else, he feels he has won. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:02:26)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — The description says it will be interesting to see what YouTube's demonetization algorithm makes of a video about butt problems and toilet paper. (video description)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Hank, jet-lagged, says he is using the tripod for support so he doesn't fall over. (00:00:01)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Hank says the nice hotel's toilet paper was a miserable disgrace. (00:00:46)
2017-09-15 · My Butt Has Some Complaints About Australia — Hank notes that America has no bidets while Europe has plenty. (00:01:48)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — The description apologises that this video is two different videos. (video description)
2017-09-29 · What's This Video About? — The flat Dr Pepper tastes like regular Dr Pepper with the barest tingle; Hank jokes that of its 23 flavours it missed one. (00:00:38)
2017-10-06 · The World's Largest Fruits — Hank's favourite transformation: a spindly grass seed was useful enough to be bred again and again until it became corn. — hedged: “apparently” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:33)
2017-10-13 · Behind the Sides — At the McGlohon they walked down three flights of stairs to the green room; backstage at VidCon looks and smells like a high school cafeteria. (00:01:00)
2017-10-13 · Behind the Sides — Hank, obsessed with this as his tour vlog from last year (2016) shows, tries to get into places here and fails: the secret room is locked. (00:02:02)
2017-10-13 · Behind the Sides — Hank loves little doors: any door smaller than a full-height man intrigues him, he doesn't know why. (00:02:37)
2017-10-20 · Places Made of People: Thoughts from My Old High School — No wonder Hank still has nightmares about wandering the campus unable to find his classroom; his head never made the school big enough for all those people. (00:01:17)
2017-11-01 · Pizza Cocktails with John and Hank! — Hank says they don't have to pitch it: the merch is such high quality that people will get it whether they talk about it or not. (00:03:20)
2017-11-02 · Hank Reviews Everything — Hank gives Springfield, Oregon, seen from an airplane, three stars: no apparent intentionality, too many rivers clashing with a highway intersection, and hard to tell from Eugene. (00:00:21)
2017-11-02 · Hank Reviews Everything — Hank gives orange traffic cones five stars: built for durability, visibility, stability, stackability and low cost, they have converged on their best possible form. (00:00:43)
2017-11-02 · Hank Reviews Everything — Hank gives a half-drunk Fiji water two stars: nobody wants to finish it, though the bottle design uses refraction well, and he feels guilty it was shipped from Fiji and probably won't be drunk. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:01:36)
2017-11-02 · Hank Reviews Everything — Hank gives a 1970s thermostat 3.5 stars for its handcrafted design shaped by the injection molding of its time, then straightens it and raises the rating to 4.5. (00:02:31)
2017-11-06 · Banana Milk and Almond Orchards — At a road food stop Hank finds banana milk in the healthy section; sniffing it, John and Brock say it smells like banana Now and Later candy, awful and fake. (00:00:17)
2017-11-06 · Banana Milk and Almond Orchards — The brothers stop to make John's video at a roadside pet area: a dog wearing a crown, a trunkless 'tree made out of dirt', a joking 'Pizza John photoshoot' with a dirty chain, and an unlocked farm. (00:01:27)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — Asked for his favorite hat, Hank shows the Pizzamas hat, available at DFTBA.com for only the next five days with the other Pizzamas gear. (00:00:15)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — Asked how the tour has been, Hank says 'so good, so good, so good'. (00:00:25)
2017-11-07 · Definitely Not A Pecan Orchard: A Pizzamas Question Tuesday — Hank has abandoned his opinion on other people's opinions of M&M flavors, a big deal since he was hardcore anti-peanut-butter M&M. (00:02:22)
2017-11-08 · Follow Hank All Day — Hank and his colleagues find candy corn flavored M&M's disgusting. (00:01:11)
2017-11-17 · Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) — The description says Hank meant to make a tax-policy video and ended up singing a bunch and repeatedly falling out of his chair. (video description)
2017-11-17 · Why Are Taxes So Complicated? (The Musical?) — Hank says the last reason is rich people avoiding taxes: annoying rules in his business taxes exist because someone used an underhanded trick and the government had to respond. (00:05:23)
2017-11-24 · The Bizarro History of Black Friday: (AND 2017 CENSUS!) — Hank explains the title: 'Bizarro' can mean an alternate, more peculiar reality, from the 'Bizarro World' comics where the world is a cube and Superman is bad, so this is a history of a different Earth. (video description)
2017-11-24 · The Bizarro History of Black Friday: (AND 2017 CENSUS!) — Hank admits he made all of it up except the Lighthouse Service being created by the first Congress. (00:01:43)
2017-11-24 · The Bizarro History of Black Friday: (AND 2017 CENSUS!) — A clearance page has things 50% off because the warehouse really needs room; Hank thought warehouse clearances were made up. (00:02:28)
2017-11-24 · The Bizarro History of Black Friday: (AND 2017 CENSUS!) — Hank suggests that anyone who wants to turn off their lights and get cozy this Black Friday should; it sounds lovely. (00:03:37)
2017-12-01 · Let's Talk About Stress! — Hank says that yesterday he told everybody he was stuck in, as John says, Cheyenne, Wyoming. (00:00:00)
2017-12-01 · Let's Talk About Stress! — Hank says this is about dialects as well as languages: 'shy-an' is not a noise a British person would make, and they would find a lovelier way to say it. (00:01:10)
2017-12-01 · Let's Talk About Stress! — Hank reveals the video's first two minutes on linguistics were him fleeing: a bad but not worst strategy, since at least he learned something. (00:01:57)
2017-12-08 · I Have (a little bit) HAD IT! — Asked how to support a friend with a weird haircut, Hank says all haircuts are weird: human hair grows forever, like only domesticated dogs bred to have dumb hair. (00:00:59)
2017-12-08 · I Have (a little bit) HAD IT! — To a viewer who wants to believe there's no place like home but doesn't know where home is, Hank answers: welcome to adulthood. (00:01:28)
2017-12-08 · I Have (a little bit) HAD IT! — Hank says he likes turtle men like Dr. Lawrence Turtleman, the least popular thing he has done on Vlogbrothers, maybe ever. — hedged: “maybe ever” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:55)
2017-12-15 · Why Big Solutions Fail — Some perks are sold out or nearly so, including the P4A charity calendar with a photo, not photoshopped, of Hank splashed in the face with champagne. (00:03:00)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — Answering the films question, Hank says real Christmas has feasts, presents and stockings: all the tropes are there. (00:00:36)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — Hank thinks the idea was that in the middle of winter people were depressed and needed some green, with spring a long way off. — hedged: “I think the idea was” [opinion marker] (00:00:53)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — Hank says Katherine has a real love affair with Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas and talking about it makes her cry. (00:01:22)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — People in warm climates do the same stuff at Christmas, probably minus the sweaters. (00:02:36)
2017-12-22 · Christmas Questions Answered (With Katherine and Hank) — Americans don't observe Boxing Day: they call it the day after Christmas and go back to work. (00:03:09)
2017-12-29 · Can You Ever Really Change? — Hank says he was extremely pleased when his result came back XNXP: the test could not classify him on introvert/extrovert or thinking/feeling, as he was right in the middle. (00:00:42)
2017-12-29 · Can You Ever Really Change? — Hank admits he was pretty weird then: he loved parties, dancing and being looked at mostly because it was scary, the way a parachuter loves an extreme sport. (00:01:02)

Other voices

70 statements · sincere 69% · playful 13% · other bits 19% · hedged or unsure 7%

Sincere but hedged (3)

Split by hedge type (derived from the quoted hedge words with a fixed word list — see the overview): epistemic doubt 1 · opinion marker 1 · other hedge 1.

Epistemic doubt (1)

real uncertainty about whether it is true

2017-09-22 · How to Invest (and other money questions with The Financial Diet) — a guest: Don't cash out a 401k to pay off student loans when changing jobs: the 401k is a very good deal and loans are probably at a low rate, so paying them as they come is better. — hedged: “probably” [epistemic doubt] (00:02:47)

Opinion marker (1)

marks a view as the speaker's own; not doubt

2017-02-17 · As Cold as The Milk: Learning Spanish with Luzu — Luzu: Luzu feels he can't express himself correctly in English; he speaks much better in Spanish. — hedged: “I feel like” [opinion marker] (00:00:44)

Other hedge (1)

a hedge that matches none of the word lists

2017-11-10 · The Weirdest Living Animals - (With Dr. Lawrence Turtleman) — Dr Lawrence Turtleman (character): Only two terrestrial vertebrates are alone in their order: the aardvark (order Tubulidentata) and the hoatzin (order Opisthocomiformes). — hedged: “as far as I can tell” [other hedge] (00:01:28)

Fiction (13)

a story or novel read aloud; the words belong to characters

2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Aza opens on when she first realized she might be fictional: lunch at White River High School in Indianapolis at a time set by forces too large to identify. (00:00:19)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Aza says your life is a story told about you, not one you tell: you pretend to be the author, but the bell chooses; you are the canvas, not the painter. (00:00:49)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Aza likens her lunch table to a long-running Broadway play: Mychal the Artsy One, Daisy her Best and Most Fearless Friend, and herself the Sidekick, somebody's something. (00:01:49)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Aza reflects that by cell count humans are about half microbial, with a thousand times more microbes in her than people on Earth; it isn't irrational to worry about being a bacterial colony. (00:02:51)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Mychal Turner (character): Mychal says Davis Pickett's father vanished the night before a raid over bribery, with a $100,000 reward out for him; Aza knew Davis from camp. (00:03:31)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Fearing her stomach noise signals a C. diff infection, Aza rereads Wikipedia on the human microbiome and recalls a Cleveland Clinic case; her self replies she has no fever yet. (00:04:22)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Daisy Ramirez (character): Daisy tells Mychal his Photoshop project averaging the faces of a hundred Mychals should average exonerated prisoners instead, making it about race, class and mass incarceration. (00:05:04)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Aza wonders whether, if half your cells are not you, the notion of 'me' as a singular pronoun, let alone author of her fate, holds. (00:05:27)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Aza describes her compulsion to reopen a callus on her finger to drain imagined infection: once she starts thinking about it, she literally cannot not do it. (00:05:48)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Daisy Ramirez (character): Daisy shows off her dyed hair; her self-proclaimed life motto is 'Break Hearts, Not Promises'. (00:06:42)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Despite Dr. Karen Singh's breathing advice and warnings not to look things up, Aza rereads the article; a thought spiral, followed inward, never ends but tightens infinitely. (00:07:52)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Daisy plans to watch Star Wars Rebels with Aza; she loves all of Star Wars, even the Lego show, and writes fan fiction about Chewbacca's love life. (00:09:13)
2017-09-05 · John Reads the First Chapter of Turtles All the Way Down — Aza Holmes (character): Aza recalls lying beside Davis on a camp dock looking at the same sky, maybe more intimate than eye contact: it is rare to find someone who sees the same world. — hedged: “maybe” [epistemic doubt] (00:09:53)

Playful (9)

a real point made in a joking way; the paraphrase records the meant core

2017-02-10 · Valentines Candy Taste Test with Hank and Katherine — Katherine Green: Katherine is wild about the leopard-shaped Reese's and bets they will end up in the background of Hank's videos. (00:00:50)
2017-02-17 · As Cold as The Milk: Learning Spanish with Luzu — Luzu: Teaching Hank Spanish word by word, Luzu gets him to tell everyone to subscribe to Luzu's channel. (00:01:51)
2017-02-17 · As Cold as The Milk: Learning Spanish with Luzu — Luzu: After botching 'I slit the sheet', Luzu says outsiders take a long time to learn the difference between 'sheet' and other words. (00:02:23)
2017-02-17 · As Cold as The Milk: Learning Spanish with Luzu — Luzu: Asked for a tutorial on being cool, Luzu says they have different kinds of cool: Hank is intellectually cool, Luzu cool in all the other ways. (00:02:46)
2017-03-03 · PUNISHED: Blenderized Audience Choice: LIVE! — Maureen Johnson: Maureen Johnson protests that this was not in her contract and says, not joking, that she is legitimately queasy. (00:02:33)
2017-11-10 · The Weirdest Living Animals - (With Dr. Lawrence Turtleman) — Dr Lawrence Turtleman (character): Dr. Turtleman says Hank handed him the last day of Pizzamas, and he loved its videos: the haul videos, reunions, almond orchards and reviews. (00:00:02)
2017-11-10 · The Weirdest Living Animals - (With Dr. Lawrence Turtleman) — Dr Lawrence Turtleman (character): Tigers and lions, and wolves and foxes, are visibly related, and a lion and a wolf are more related to each other than to a sheep. — hedged: “kind of” [epistemic doubt] (00:00:32)
2017-11-10 · The Weirdest Living Animals - (With Dr. Lawrence Turtleman) — Dr Lawrence Turtleman (character): The hoatzin is a really weird South American bird, as its looks show. (00:01:45)
2017-11-10 · The Weirdest Living Animals - (With Dr. Lawrence Turtleman) — Dr Lawrence Turtleman (character): Because humans enjoy ginkgos, they have been planted all over the world from their original home in Asia, welcomed into the Anthropocene. (00:03:04)