Participatory Geometry

2011-03-28 · letter vlog · John · 3:15 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Sports (also: Books & writing, Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal essay · tags: timely hook, self promotion, civic or action cta

In a seven-part video John celebrates his hometown Butler Bulldogs' second straight Final Four, jokingly defines basketball as 'participatory geometry', plugs Will Grayson, Will Grayson's Children's Choice Book Award nomination and his new novel's March release and title struggles, and argues that caring about sports, like caring about Harry Potter or Nerdfighteria, matters because it builds community.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Seven parts like Voldemort's soul; Part 1: Butler Bulldogs in the Final Four again; Matt Howard's sister is a Nerdfighter

• ★★★ John says his hometown Butler Bulldogs are in the men's basketball Final Four for the second consecutive year, an astonishing achievement. — 00:00:04
• ★★ John says he watched the game at a bar and the earlier rounds at home, where he urged Matt Howard to hit a free throw because his sister is a Nerdfighter. (playful) — 00:00:23
• ★★ John says Butler star Matt Howard's sister really is a Nerdfighter: sports and Nerdfighteria, the connections are endless. — 00:00:34 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:40 — Part 2: a tweet loves John brandishing random things; John brandishes

• ★ Quoting a tweet that loves when he brandishes random things like black Santas in his videos, John brandishes. (playful) — 00:00:40 · Twitter

00:00:50 — Part 3: basketball defined as participatory geometry

• ★★ John defines basketball for Nerdfighters who might not know it: two hollow cylinders and one sphere, essentially participatory geometry. (playful) — 00:00:50

00:01:08 — Part 4: Will Grayson, Will Grayson a Children's Choice Book Award finalist, teens asked to vote; new book out in March

• ★★★ John says Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which he co-wrote, is a finalist for the Children's Choice Book Award, whose winner is picked by actual teenagers. — 00:01:08 · Will Grayson, Will Grayson
• ★★ John asks actual teenagers to follow the link in the description and vote for their favourite book of the year. — 00:01:16 · doobly-doo
• ★★★ John says he just learned his new book is definitely coming out in March, not in two days but the next March, and he should settle on a title soon. — 00:01:20 · John's untitled novel (2011)

00:01:34 — Part 5: imaginary conversation with LeBron James

00:01:50 — Part 6: 2,000 Nerdfighter titles unused; The Hectic Glow and Omnis Cellula e Cellula rejected; new suggestions welcome

• ★★★ John says Nerdfighteria generated more than 2,000 titles for his new book, many very good, none of which he will use. — 00:01:50 · Nerdfighteria, John's untitled novel (2011)
• ★★★ John says his original title was The Hectic Glow, after a Thoreau quote, but it is the rural juror of book titles: people mishear it as The Metric Snow or The Hectic Blow. (playful) — 00:01:55 · John's untitled novel (2011)
• ★★ John says he then considered Omnis Cellula e Cellula, but Penguin told him Latin doesn't smell like a bestseller, so he still has no firm title. (playful) — 00:02:14 · John's untitled novel (2011), Penguin Books
• ★★ John invites anyone with new title suggestions to leave them in the comments. — 00:02:26 · John's untitled novel (2011)

00:02:29 — Part 7: Esther's quote; John's defence of sports as community, like Harry Potter, D&D or Nerdfighteria; sign-off

• ★ John calls Esther's 'Sports is like life also poop' a great quote. (playful) — 00:02:29 · Esther Earl
• ★★★ John argues sports matter: as a Harry Potter fan would treasure an email from J.K. Rowling, others treasure the Cubs winning the World Series or an Indiana college reaching the Final Four. — 00:02:29 · Harry Potter (book series), Indiana
• ★★★ John says we choose what we care about, and caring about sports is ultimately about community, like caring about Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons or Nerdfighteria. — 00:02:49 · social construction, Harry Potter (book series), Nerdfighteria
• ★★★ John says caring about stuff binds us to others who care about it, creating the communities that make life worth living; that is his defence of sports. — 00:03:01

Humor (significant)

• John announces how today's video is structured. — 00:00:00

  “Today's video is like Voldemort's soul: It comes to you in seven parts.”

• John offers to define basketball for Nerdfighters who might not know it: two hollow cylinders, one sphere. — 00:00:53

  “It's essentially participatory geometry.”

• In an imaginary chat, LeBron James says he inserts spheres into cylinders, and it is incredibly fun and pays millions. — 00:01:43

  “Huh. I wouldn't have thought that job pays well.”

• The Hectic Glow is the rural juror of book titles: people hear 'The Metric Snow?' — 00:02:09

  “I don't want people to think I wrote a book called the Hectic Blow!”

Threads in this video

• first use · John's definition of basketball as 'participatory geometry' (2011) — John defines basketball as two hollow cylinders and one sphere, 'essentially participatory geometry', the title bit; he returns to it in his defence of sports. (00:00:50)
• asked · John asks teenage viewers to vote in the Children's Choice Book Awards, where Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a finalist (2011) — John asks actual teenagers to vote for their favourite book of the year in the Children's Choice Book Awards, link in the description. (00:01:16)
• announced · The Fault in Our Stars: writing, title and publication (2011) — John has just learned his new novel is definitely coming out in March (of the following year); it is still untitled. (00:01:20)
• result reported · John asks viewers to suggest titles for his untitled new novel in the comments (2011) — John reports Nerdfighteria generated more than 2,000 titles for his new book, many very good, but he will use none of them. (00:01:50)
• reminder · John asks viewers to suggest titles for his untitled new novel in the comments (2011) — With no firm title yet, John invites new title suggestions in the comments. (00:02:22)
• restate · Can things that humans made up (sports, money, borders, rules) really matter? — John argues sports matter: we choose what we care about, and caring about sports, like Harry Potter or Nerdfighteria, binds people into communities that make life worth living. (00:02:29)
• milestone · Will Grayson, Will Grayson: publication (2010) — John says Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which he co-wrote, is a finalist for the Children's Choice Book Award, whose winner is picked by actual teenagers. (00:01:08)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• John asks viewers to suggest titles for his untitled new novel in the comments (2011) — reported back; last: result reported, 2011-06-10
• The Fault in Our Stars: writing, title and publication (2011) — completed; last: looked back, 2026-09-22
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson: publication (2010) — completed; last: outcome, 2011-04-06

Mentioned

Central: basketball · Butler Bulldogs men's basketball · John's untitled novel (2011)

Also: People: Esther Earl · Henry David Thoreau · J. K. Rowling · LeBron James · Matt Howard

Works: Dungeons & Dragons · Harry Potter (book series) · Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Organizations: Chicago Cubs · Children's Choice Book Awards · Penguin Books · Twitter

Terms: doobly-doo

Concepts: social construction

Places: Indiana

Events: NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament · World Series

Characters: Black Santa · Elmo · The Rural Juror · Voldemort

Only in the description or credits: Karen Kavett

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