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i said yep

2020-09-25 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:38 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Nerdfighteria (also: Philosophy & meaning) · mode: Personal essay · tags: community lore, heavy topic

Telling John he is not making a video this week because of family curveballs, Hank reflects that Vlogbrothers is not about growth: it exists only because of the people who engage with it, even by just watching, and he anchors himself to the idea of negativity bias to remember that people are probably better than he thinks.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Hank says he is not making a video today; days off are allowed; family curveballs

  • ★★ Hank tells John and everybody that he is not making a video today. (playful) — 00:00:00 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank recalls the brothers saying a while back that they don't have to make a video every day and can take some days off. — 00:00:00 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ Hank had time on Tuesday but hadn't yet seen John's video, and surprise family curveballs came his way, so he chose to prioritize those. — 00:00:00
  • ★ Hank says everybody understands and supports that the brothers put such things first, which is one of the things he loves about this. — 00:00:00 · Nerdfighteria

00:00:46 — Not focused on growth: everyone who watches is part of it; 'I said yep' in 2007; lucky because of the people who give attention

  • ★★★ Hank says the channel is clearly not focused on growth right now and hasn't been for a while; it is something everybody here is doing together. — 00:00:46 · Vlogbrothers, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ Hank says even viewers who just watch, never comment and aren't excited about Pizzamas are part of it; generally, just by being there you are part of the media you engage with. — 00:00:46 · Nerdfighteria, Pizzamas
  • ★★ Hank reflects that we don't know what we sign up for: John asked him to do this in 2007, he said yep, and here they are in 2020. — 00:01:19 · John Green, Vlogbrothers
  • ★ Hank jokes that 2020 is the future of jet packs, and now we actually have the Iron Man suit. (playful) — 00:01:19
  • ★★★ Hank says the channel would not exist, or would be deeply different, without the people who engage with it, even just by clicking and watching. — 00:01:45 · Vlogbrothers, Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ Hank says he and John had something to do with what it is, but they are so lucky it was possible, and it was only possible because of the people who give them their attention. — 00:01:45 · John Green

00:02:10 — Negativity bias and those who exploit it; anchoring bias, so pick good anchors

  • ★★ Hank says we need to find things like that to engage with and let them become part of who we are and of how we imagine the world. — 00:02:10
  • ★★ Hank says the world is so crappy right now, and his brain is designed to weight the bad stuff more heavily than the good stuff. — 00:02:10
  • ★★ Hank says people trying to influence him and the world will focus on the bad stuff to make him think less of everything, so he won't vote or will buy something. — 00:02:10
  • ★★ Hank says anchoring bias, having go-to ideas, is impossible to avoid, so you have to pick good anchors. — 00:02:46
  • ★★★ Hank says one of his anchors is the idea of negativity bias: he uses his anchoring bias to remember that his negativity bias exists. — 00:02:46

00:03:13 — No video this week despite more than 10 years of weekly videos; sign-off

  • ★★★ Hank says this reminds him that the world and people are probably better than he thinks, which is at least something. (hedged) — 00:03:13
  • ★★ Hank is not making a video this week (week of 21 September 2020) and knows it's okay, but it feels really weird, since he has made a video every week on his day for more than 10 years. — 00:03:13 · Vlogbrothers

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: negativity bias

Also: anchoring effect · Iron Man · Pizzamas

Also centred on negativity bias: A Few Of My Favorite Things · Optimism is Not Insane · The Golden Gate Bridge Didn't Collapse!! · When to Attack a Moose

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