gui
9:41How Steve Jobs got the ideas of GUI from XEROX
272K views • 12 years ago
Ringo Pebam
A short video telling how Xerox PARC invented the graphical user interface and how Steve Jobs's 1979 visit influenced Apple's Lisa.
10:09Dominic Frisby. A simple guide to land value tax
25K views • 11 years ago
Dominic Frisby Comedy Videos
Comedian Dominic Frisby gives a ten-minute explanation of land value tax. He argues it would fix problems of rent-seeking and the economics of land ownership.
9:32Disney's Practical Guide to Path Tracing
914K views • 10 years ago
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios' short introduction to path tracing, showing how rays are traced and bounced through a virtual scene to simulate light. It explains how this approach is used in animated films.
13:43The Senseless Ambiguity of North American Turn Signals
4.2M views • 8 years ago
Technology Connections
Technology Connections explains why North American tail light rules, which allow red turn signals and flashing brake lights, make signals ambiguous. He argues for amber signals and cites studies showing a safety benefit.
3:54The moiré effect lights that guide ships home
3.1M views • 8 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott investigates moire-effect beacons, called Inogon leading marks, a Swedish invention from the 1980s that shows different patterns depending on the viewer's position. He visits one used to mark an undersea cable and tracks down its history.
6:46The surprising pattern behind color names around the world
8.4M views • 9 years ago
Vox
Vox explains the Berlin and Kay research showing that languages around the world tend to invent color words in the same order. It walks through the hierarchy and the debate around it.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
15:09Mouse Cursor History (and why I made my own)
3M views • 8 years ago
Posy
Posy gives a short history of the computer mouse cursor, from early straight pointers to the tilted arrow, comparing Apple and Windows designs. He then explains why he designed his own cursor set and offers it as a free download.
Topic match · GUI, HCI & interface history
21:05The Zipf Mystery
28.7M views • 11 years ago
Vsauce
Vsauce's explainer on Zipf's law, the pattern in which the frequency of a word is inversely related to its rank. It shows the pattern across many domains and discusses why it remains unexplained.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
3:49Gender Neutral Pronouns: They're Here, Get Used To Them
4.6M views • 13 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott argues that grammatical gender is a silly concept and that the singular 'they' is an established gender-neutral pronoun. The description carries later corrections and reflections he added in 2019.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
10:22Shakespeare: Original pronunciation (The Open University)
5.6M views • 15 years ago
OpenLearn from The Open University
David and Ben Crystal introduce the Original Pronunciation production of Shakespeare and show what it reveals about the history of English, including puns and rhymes lost in modern speech.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
18:28w
3.7M views • 7 years ago
jan Misali
jan Misali traces the history of the letter W, including why it is called double u. The video is part of a series of deep dives into individual letters.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
3:51Why “No Problem” Can Seem Rude: Phatic Expressions
5M views • 7 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains phatic expressions such as hello, thank you and how are you, which carry social meaning rather than information, and why replies like no problem can seem rude to some people.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
9:37Can Japanese People Read Chinese? (Kanji)
691K views • 7 years ago
That Japanese Man Yuta
Yuta, a Japanese YouTuber, explains whether Japanese speakers can read Chinese text. He shows how shared kanji let people guess meanings while the two languages remain completely different.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
16:41Movie Accent Expert Breaks Down 32 Actors' Accents | WIRED
15.8M views • 9 years ago
WIRED
Dialect coach Erik Singer analyzes how accurate the accents are of 32 well-known actors, including Brad Pitt and Will Smith, in WIRED's breakdown.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
4:31why typing like this is sometimes okay.
5.4M views • 7 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott makes a short descriptivist argument that language keeps changing and that casual internet writing conventions, like lowercase typing and dropped full stops, are legitimate. It is part of his Language Files series, written with Gretchen McCulloch.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
11:06Why Does Portuguese Sound Like Russian?! (or Polish)
2.5M views • 7 years ago
Langfocus
A Langfocus video examining why Portuguese, especially European Portuguese, sounds like Russian or Polish. It compares shared sounds such as vowel reduction and palatalization.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
9:42How big is a billion? - Numberphile
1.8M views • 14 years ago
Numberphile
Numberphile explains the long and short scales for naming large numbers, covering millions, billions, trillions, milliards and the Greek myriad, with James Grime and Tony Padilla.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
6:47The US Has More Tribes Than the World Has Countries
7.3M views • 6 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey explains why "Indian" is often preferred over "Native American" in the United States, especially near reservations, and how many tribes exist in the US. He draws on conversations with people who identify as Indian.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
12:23Xanadu Basics 1a - VISIBLE CONNECTION
20K views • 8 years ago
TheTedNelson
Ted Nelson explains the original Xanadu hypertext idea of visible connection, the notion that links between documents should be shown and preserved. He argues that the Web and current document standards lost this concept.
Topic match · GUI, HCI & interface history
12:04Anagrams, but where you can break apart letters: "Anagraphs"
256K views • 8 years ago
suckerpinch
Tom Scott-style exploration by suckerpinch (Tom7) of generalized anagrams where letters can be broken into pieces, called anagraphs, with a whimsical computational approach.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
12:44Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time
16.3M views • 10 years ago
Vox
Vox breaks down how great rappers build rhymes, from Kurtis Blow's simple bars to Biggie's smooth flow and Kendrick Lamar's dense, fast delivery. It uses on-screen visualizations of rhyme structure.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
6:00Rhyme: Why Eminem is one of the most impressive lyricists ever
3.7M views • 13 years ago
Library of Alexandria
A re-upload of a video breaking down Eminem's rhyme schemes, showing multi-syllable and internal rhymes in songs such as Lose Yourself. It aims to show why he is considered a standout lyricist.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
5:49Can Japanese Actually Write Japanese Kanji?
5.5M views • 10 years ago
That Japanese Man Yuta
Yuta asks whether native Japanese speakers can actually write kanji by hand, showing that many struggle to recall characters from memory.
Topic match · Language & linguistics
5:48Most Cities Got More Democratic. This One Didn't.
6.1M views • 14 years ago
CGP Grey
CGP Grey explains the City of London's unusual governance, including the Lord Mayor, guilds, and how it differs from the rest of London.
8:47Cloaking
238K views • 15 years ago
Google Search Central
Matt Cutts of Google explains what cloaking is: serving different content to search engine crawlers than to users. He covers why it violates Google's webmaster guidelines.
10:50The most feared song in jazz, explained
10.6M views • 7 years ago
Vox
Vox Earworm explains why John Coltrane's Giant Steps is so hard to improvise over: it is fast and moves through three keys. Musicians Braxton Cook and Adam Neely walk the host through the underlying music theory.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
14:06Testing 432 Hz Frequencies (and temperaments)
4M views • 7 years ago
Adam Neely
Adam Neely tests the claims for tuning to A=432 Hz by trying the unusual tuning systems that its proponents' numerology requires. He compares how they sound against standard tuning and temperaments.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
16:26Why Adults Can't Develop Perfect Pitch
1.8M views • 9 years ago
Rick Beato
Rick Beato argues that adults cannot develop true perfect pitch, which he ties to critical-period brain plasticity and language acquisition. He says it can only be developed in young children, and discusses the research behind this.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
4:20Why It's Impossible to Tune a Piano
4.1M views • 11 years ago
minutephysics
A minutephysics video explaining why a piano cannot be perfectly tuned, comparing equal temperament with just intonation and the math of harmonics.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
9:07Which key is the saddest?
1.3M views • 9 years ago
Adam Neely
Musician Adam Neely examines whether certain keys sound sadder than others, looking at the history of tuning systems and temperaments and at how instrument timbre shapes the emotional character we hear. It draws on historical aesthetics writing and audio examples.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
30:13What Makes This Song Great? "Into You" MAX MARTIN
456K views • 8 years ago
Rick Beato
Rick Beato analyzes the music and production of Max Martin through Ariana Grande's Into You, breaking down its layering and songwriting craft.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
2:58Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps
6.8M views • 12 years ago
Tom Scott
Tom Scott explains why Britain historically has separate hot and cold taps rather than mixer taps, tracing it to how water was stored in tanks. He notes why the hot tap is not safe to drink from.
Topic match · Home, DIY & practical skills
15:42Jacob Collier Explains Music in 5 Levels of Difficulty ft. Herbie Hancock | WIRED
16.8M views • 8 years ago
WIRED
WIRED's 5 Levels format with Jacob Collier explaining harmony to a child, a teen, a college student, a professional and Herbie Hancock.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
2:27What is a rocket mass heater?
508K views • 9 years ago
paul wheaton
A two-minute explanation of what a rocket mass heater is, starting from how a conventional wood stove works and why creosote and chimney fires occur. It shows how burning hot and storing the heat in thermal mass makes for an efficient heater.
Topic match · Home, DIY & practical skills
10:00How A London Orchestra Broke International Law
270K views • 7 years ago
12tone
12tone tells the story of pitch inflation and how concert A came to be standardized at 440 Hz, including attempts at legal standards. It is a short music history explainer.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
11:07The music theory of V A P O R W A V E
1.8M views • 10 years ago
Adam Neely
Adam Neely analyzes vaporwave through music theory, timbre and nostalgia, and includes a parody track made for the video. He also touches on the phenomenology of music.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
11:48Will We Ever Run Out of New Music?
16.8M views • 13 years ago
Vsauce
Vsauce asks whether music will ever run out of new melodies. It counts the possible note combinations and discusses how common chord progressions and remixing affect originality.
Topic match · Music theory, synthesis & production
13:20Your Home Can Survive a Wildfire
164K views • 11 years ago
National Fire Protection Association
NFPA video in which wildfire researcher Jack Cohen explains that embers (firebrands), not the flame front, are the main cause of homes igniting in wildfires. He shows how landscaping and removing debris around the home reduce risk.
Topic match · Home, DIY & practical skills
3:47Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam
1.3M views • 7 years ago
Not Just Bikes
A four-minute Not Just Bikes comparison of grocery shopping in Amsterdam versus car-centric North America, arguing that frequent small fresh-food trips beat bulk shopping. It ties this to land use and reduced food waste.
8:21Why Electronic Voting is a BAD Idea - Computerphile
2.3M views • 11 years ago
Computerphile
Tom Scott explains for Computerphile why electronic voting is a bad idea, arguing that paper ballots are transparent, auditable and hard to tamper with at scale. He covers why moving voting to phones, tablets or computers undermines trust and verifiability.