ProfessorViral

I came across this video that's a nice mix of "lets apply an actual thesis" and "still be very silly" that I don't normally find in green screen video essays. It doesn't over edit in that style either, which is an absolute pleasure to see. If you've got a second this weekend, give it some love!

23 hours ago | [YT] | 20

ProfessorViral

UNBEATABLE fans! I'm currently working on a second video for the game, this time about the quest for perfection in art; how Beat and Clef exemplify and argue about one side of the debate, how it impacted Quaver's relationship with her mother, and how Treble... how Treble... unfortunately, I have nothing to say for Treble (as of right now). So, say something nice about this man! It doesn't have to be about the topic or even super serious, just give some love to him in the comments and I'll include some of the best ones in the video so he's not left out!

2 days ago | [YT] | 85

ProfessorViral

Well, we had our first spike in a while, so hello everyone new! If you liked the recent Library of Babel video this is probably another one you'd enjoy. It examines Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy," specifically how the kind of god he tries to prove would live a tortured, and deeply flawed, existence. It's a cool exercise in rationalist logic, which is a nice contrast to the (as a comment pointed out) essentially empiricist logic of the recent video.

The current schedule is a video every three weeks, so I'll be back on the 23rd with more!

3 days ago | [YT] | 74

ProfessorViral

Do you feel as if there is one set reality that we all take part in, or that only our perceptions exist (Essentially, are you an idealist or not)?

I'm getting through the rest of the Borges short story and essay collection I have, and "A New Refutation of Time" led me down this idealist route. It might end up as part of a video on regret? I'm thinking about a video style that's applying different ideas to the same anxiety, so that a viewer could gain new perspective on their fears. As in, should you feel regret if time doesn't actually exist? Or if the self doesn't actually exist? My personal view on philosophy is that we should pick and choose the bits which help us (as a collective) live our best lives anyway, so this may be a way to embrace that

5 days ago | [YT] | 53

ProfessorViral

Edit: The Library of Babel video is live now! https://youtu.be/dHpPm_2uMJw

I bought and (not fully) fixed an old typewriter for tomorrow's video, only to use it for about 5 seconds in the final product!

The video itself is about the concept of the universal library, that is a comprehensively generated set of all possible text, every combination of every character in a language. Most in nonsense, but it contains everything that could ever be written, and will ever be written. Made most famous by Borges in the short story The Library of Babel, it speaks to the logic of infinity, the human nature which begat that logic, and how math becomes quite insane when taken to those extremes. For a little preview, I think a focus on infinity can easily ruin a human life, but I believe it's almost evolutionary to use it for argumentation. If we can't control the world itself, what if we control the reason for the world?

Clearly, I tried to do even more interesting things with the lighting/set for this one, although I think we can call it a "learning experience" more than anything else. It took all day, exhausted me totally, and led to some mistakes with the framing (the camera is way too close to me in most of the video). I also messed up one of the "scene changes" and put it too early, so I had to rerecord a whole section to not destroy the flow.

But, the good thing is, I reworded and edited down the content itself to try and keep the most important aspect as polished as possible, and I like the end result. However, I've noticed that a lot of what I said in my DDDD video about "politics" applies to everything, including content: I worry that some of what I include is only interesting to me because I researched it. To someone less interested/researched, it might just read as repetition? I think that's the issue with working so much on a specific skill, you eventually "polish" it out of mass appeal. But, that's a topic for an upcoming video about perfection and creation, I think (more UNBEATABLE for that one!)

Anyway, I've spent too long writing this out, but production stuff isn't quite video worthy. Maybe that's the universe saying I need a second channel, but I have a whole second channel video's worth of thoughts on the "second channel meta." In short, I don't want to just be a yapper. I don't want this platform to just be background noise. I want it to stay as important as it was for me, all those years ago when early video essays inspired me into the person I am today. So, thanks for being a part of that with me, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 148

ProfessorViral

Do you think cell phones (really, pocket computers) are inherently a bad thing, and that "going analogue" is the fix, or do you feel that the current trend of going no phone is just a bandage? And, even more, do you feel that the bandage solution is justified, even if it means losing the good parts of things like instant communication?

1 week ago | [YT] | 43

ProfessorViral

On April 2nd we'll be discussing the concept of the universal library, a comprehensively generated collection of all possible text, leading to an essentially infinite library of nonsense. Most famously, this was the concept for The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges. If you want a little head start, here's every source for the video! Or, if you want the video itself early, it's already available to financial supporters on and off site!

The Library of Babel (Borges): sites.evergreen.edu/politicalshakespeares/wp-conte…
The Library of Babel (Website): libraryofbabel.info/browse.cgi
The Library of Babel (Simulation): keiwan.itch.io/library-of-babel-3d
The Total Library (Borges): gwern.net/doc/borges/1939-borges-thetotallibrary.p…
Ancient Atomism: plato.stanford.edu/entries/atomism-ancient/
Infinite Monkey Theorem: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem
Law of Truly Large Numbers: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_truly_large_numbers
The Universal Library (Lasswitz): mithilareview.com/lasswitz_09_17/
Universal Library (Quine): web.archive.org/web/20141012062427/https://hyperdi…

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 121

ProfessorViral

Would you dedicate your life to exploring an endless library if such a thing existed (of all media, not just literature)?

I like to think I could, but there's a high chance I would regret my decision, and then, having left, regret my regret. Mentally, I'd probably never escape if I entered even once

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 76

ProfessorViral

I watched Heavenly Delusion, which led to a script for body swapping. Of course, this means Your Name has to be involved and, well, I actually don't like the movie much. It's entertaining, sure, but because it's formula is "do whatever is most dramatic in this moment," whether it actually makes sense or not. Whenever I sat down to think about it, every possible theme fell apart due to the writer's hand entering the story. This is the video where I explained all of that, so that I don't feel the urge to say it all again in an upcoming video lol

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 60