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Foreign John Green Books and the Ultimate Concern

2010-03-19 · letter vlog · John · 3:37 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Philosophy & meaning (also: Global development) · mode: Personal essay

Closing the ultimate-concern week from among his foreign editions, John says utilitarianism is a legitimate value system nobody lives by: we privilege people and threats close to us (he gives to breast cancer, not cholera), and the question is how to balance being safe in the world with making a world safe for all.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — On the floor among foreign editions; thousands of Nerdfighter comments on ultimate concerns

  • ★ Short on sleep, John vlogs from the floor among author copies of his books in foreign languages, such as Looking for Alaska in Japanese. — 00:00:00 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
  • ★★ John has been fascinated reading thousands of Nerdfighter comments on their ultimate concerns, whether to have one, or whether one priority should rank above all. — 00:00:00 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:29 — French Paper Towns gag; Hank's Library of Alexandria shows what an ultimate concern reveals: what you value

  • ★★★ John says Hank's wish to die to recreate the Library of Alexandria shows why ultimate concerns are useful: they tell you what you value, here knowledge for all. (hedged) — 00:00:29

00:01:01 — German covers have feet; Nerdfighters' utilitarian concerns: a legitimate value system nobody lives by

  • ★★★ Many Nerdfighters named saving or preserving life; John calls this a utilitarian worldview, the greatest good for the greatest number: legitimate, but nobody actually lives by it. — 00:01:01 · Nerdfighteria

00:01:35 — Failure to be utilitarian: giving to diseases close to us (breast cancer) rather than bigger threats (cholera)

  • ★★ John says if you truly felt your life was no more valuable than others', there are many things you could sacrifice to improve their lives. — 00:01:35
  • ★★★ John says people traditionally give much more to fight diseases their friends and family get than to fight the biggest public-health threats. — 00:01:35
  • ★★ Because breast cancer has affected several members of his family, John gives money to breast cancer research, and is statistically likelier to do so than to fight cholera. — 00:01:35
  • ★★ John says cholera is a bigger public-health crisis than breast cancer, killing more people and younger ones. — 00:02:04

00:02:04 — Italian edition quote from Sarah; we privilege people and threats close to us; Hank's farsighted concern

  • ★★ The Looking for Alaska line on the Italian edition's back, 'imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia', was said to John by Sarah on their first date. — 00:02:04 · Looking for Alaska (novel), Sarah Urist Green

    “Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia.”

  • ★★★ John thinks we all privilege those close to us over those who aren't, and threats close to us over distant ones, which is why Hank's farsighted concern impresses him. (hedged) — 00:02:33

00:02:56 — Mexican edition's inexplicable shoe; making children safe in the world vs a world safe for children

  • ★★★ Quoting a Nigerian writer (make your children safe in the world, or make a world safe for children), John values the week's talk on balancing the two. — 00:02:56 · Nerdfighteria

    “you can make your children safe in the world, or you can try to make a world safe for children”

00:03:23 — Polish blurb joke

Humor (significant)

  • John translates the French title of Paper Towns. — 00:00:29

    “The funny face of Margot. I got a 1 on the French AP exam.”

  • John notes the German covers of most of his books always have feet. — 00:01:01

    “Margot Spurin? Feet! Girl feet this time, but still feet!”

  • The Mexican edition of Looking for Alaska has a labyrinth on the cover and then a shoe. — 00:02:56

    “Oh, inexplicable shoe. You're probably a metaphor, but I don't understand you.”

  • John claims he can speak Polish and reads a garbled phrase from a Polish edition. — 00:03:23

    “In Polish, Hank, that means this book is better than 21 regular books.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: in-group favoritism · ultimate concern · utilitarianism

Also: An Abundance of Katherines · breast cancer · cholera · Library of Alexandria · Looking for Alaska (novel) · Nigerian writer quoted by John · Paper Towns · Sarah Urist Green

Also centred on ultimate concern: Cute OVERLOAD: The Ultimate Concern Edition · Side-Boob is Not my Ultimate Concern

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