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It is Much Easier to Destroy than Create

2019-12-06 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:54 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Everyday life (also: Global development) · mode: Personal essay · tags: calendar ritual, fundraising ask, civic or action cta

Hank, who ties his self-worth to his output, loves jigsaw puzzles because they feel like they matter without mattering; his favorite part, taking them apart, shows how much easier it is to destroy than to build, so everything that works stays built only through human action, which is why the P4A supports the 'master puzzle-solvers' at Partners In Health and Save the Children.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Why Hank, obsessed with productivity, loves jigsaw puzzles that matter without mattering

  • ★★ Hank is a little shocked by how much he likes jigsaw puzzles. — 00:00:01
  • ★★★ Hank admits he is obsessed with productivity, sometimes unhealthily: he ties his self-worth to his output, and his output to audience validation, money or other imperfect surrogates for 'impact'. — 00:00:05
  • ★★ A jigsaw puzzle has none of that: Hank can't think of anything with less impact on the world than reassembling a wintertime scene. (playful) — 00:00:27
  • ★★★ Puzzles trick Hank's mind into feeling they matter without the responsibility of mattering, which lets him relax and spend time with friends and family. — 00:00:36

00:00:58 — Puzzles as problems; taking them apart shows it is easier to destroy than build, so what works survives through human action

  • ★★ Every puzzle is different and tricks may not transfer, so doing a puzzle is like solving any problem: no two are the same, but feeling a problem's shape makes you better at it. — 00:01:00
  • ★★ Puzzles have the advantage of being finite, so you know when you're done, which real-world problems usually lack. — 00:01:13
  • ★★ Unlike many puzzle people he knows, Hank's favorite part is taking the puzzle apart, watching complete order revert almost instantly to complete disorder. — 00:01:23
  • ★★★ Hank loves seeing how hard it is to build and how easy to destroy, and says it is mathematically true that destroying is much easier than building. — 00:01:43
  • ★★★ Therefore everything that stays built, every solved problem and cured disease, remains so only through human action: billions of people placing puzzle pieces carefully every day. — 00:02:01

00:02:20 — P4A's problems that matter: supporting the master puzzle-solvers at PIH and Save the Children

  • ★★ During the Project for Awesome the focus is on problems that don't have the luxury of not mattering; they feel heavy but must be looked at and understood. — 00:02:20 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★★ Hank says we need to support the master puzzle-solvers who understand each problem's unique shape, like the people at Partners In Health and Save the Children, the P4A's first-half charities. — 00:02:36 · Partners In Health, Save the Children, Project for Awesome
  • ★★ Healthcare is a hard puzzle everywhere, but these organizations help communities build more robust healthcare, decrease illness and provide stability. — 00:02:50 · Partners In Health, Save the Children
  • ★★★ Everyone who supports the P4A, by making a video, supporting a charity, joining the livestream or getting perks, helps put puzzle pieces where they are most needed. — 00:03:02 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★★ The world's problems can feel like a weight, but also like a puzzle we'll never finish that brings a better world with every piece laid. — 00:03:16

00:03:28 — P4A begins at noon Eastern: 48-hour livestream and Indiegogo perks

  • ★★★ The Project for Awesome begins shortly at noon Eastern, with 48 hours of fun, fundraising, silliness and thoughtfulness at projectforawesome.com/live. — 00:03:28 · Project for Awesome
  • ★★★ Hank tells viewers to go to projectforawesome.com/donate for the Indiegogo, whose many perks are available only during the P4A. — 00:03:43 · Indiegogo, Project for Awesome

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description explains the P4A: first-half money goes to PIH and Save the Children, second-half money to community-voted charities, and the company pays non-volunteer staff, so after perk costs all money goes to charity. — video description · Project for Awesome, Partners In Health, Save the Children
  • ★ In a channel comment John calls the video oddly satisfying, maybe his favorite-ever Hank video, and invites viewers to the livestream. — creator comment · Project for Awesome
  • ★ In channel comments Hank names Charles Wysocki for the puzzle images and says he has done many more puzzles over the years than the ones recorded. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: jigsaw puzzle · Project for Awesome

Also: Entropy · Indiegogo · Partners In Health · productivity · Save the Children · self-esteem

Only in the description or credits: Charles Wysocki

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