ProfessorViral

How similar does our experience have to be to another person's to understand that person?
There are some things I haven't "got" until I experienced them myself for certain, but I've also found myself able to understand what others *could* be feeling by searching for the underlying motivations. For example, I don't find sports to be a measure of myself, for me it's just fun, so if a sports player lost a game, my initial reaction would be "but it was still fun, what's the big deal?" However, I do understand that I care how well a video does, not just how proud of the writing I was. I know that we can derive both fun and value from our activities, so I can understand why someone would be upset at losing a game and adjust my reaction to be more appropriate because I get the a quality of the action, not the action itself.
I've had a situation recently where someone seemed to minimize the importance of something I was deeply worried about, and I'm honestly trying to weigh how valid a reaction anger would be to their minimizing.
(Is anyone actually reading this far? If you are, check out my "Human Curated Video Essays" playlist when you need something to watch. It's great, thoughtful content by people who deserve your attention)

1 day ago | [YT] | 79

ProfessorViral

Do you think that endless desire is a fundamental human trait? As in no matter how much we achieve, we continue trying to achieve more. And, as something extra to consider, is the destructive potential this holds worth the rewards it brings?



If this is something you find interesting, it's the topic of our next video, coming out on December 4th. Hopefully I'll see you there!


(Side note, I always say "we" and "our" not because I have any sort of a team in making these videos, but because I've always seen them as something we, me and the audience, share in. I didn't really consciously choose it, but just noticed I gravitated towards it one day. Same as how I realized I write in 2nd person way more than I should, probably)

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 65

ProfessorViral

The next video is one that's truly special to me. It's not about an anime, but it's essentially about an anime since we'll be discussing the generation defining JRPG Final Fantasy 10, a story which has all the same kinds of elements you probably like about my anime videos. That's all to say, I really want you all to see it. FFX is a story that I've known for over 20 years, so despite it's length and challenge narrative I truly enjoyed putting it together from start to finish, the notes, the scripting, even the editing. If these kinds of videos can do well, then it opens the door for me to do, and enjoy, so much more here on the channel.

I really want you all to see it, because I think it's one of the most interesting narratives that we'll cover together. A mystical plot with twists and turns, but also with soft moments of doomed romance in between, characters who can fight power on the scale of gods, but can't bring themselves to say out loud the cost of doing so. It takes a defiant swing against the inherent manipulation of belief systems, but also understands exactly why they're there, that the desires of human beings are chaotic and destructive, and tempering that energy is crucial to stability. But when fear creeps in, when control becomes normalized, cyclically justified, how far will belief go to harming the people it was created to protect? It's a story which takes the logic of infinity of Sonny Boy, and mixes it with tones of distraction from Brave New World, creating a society drowning in its displeasure, heading into an infinity of cheering for sports while dying to a monster which can never die, tearing apart their entire world. What does it mean to be human, and how does that intersect with society? Can people come together successfully and still be the best of what we're meant to be? You can probably see why I enjoy this story so much.

It'll be up on December 4th, but later today it should be available early for paid supporters. This is one I could really use your help with. I'll be making another of these "hype" posts next week to share some more about it and hopefully get people excited, and I'd be over the moon if all your support, the likes and shares and comments and all the things I hate asking for could help this one do well. Of course I'll have peace with however it does, and I'll be doing this for a long time don't worry, but the quicker we can get this to be stable, the more I can provide what you're here for. And, why this one is so important, the more variety of stories I can do that with, the greater this can be for us all. Thanks as always for your support, and for giving me more than I'd ever imagined, and probably deserved. It's very fitting for the video I guess; I have more than I'd ever thought, but I can't help but dream of what could come next. Is it right or wrong for me to still hold such desires after such kindness bestowed already? I don't think I'll truly ever know. I just know with each one of these I feel more and more like myself, and I never want to stop.

I'll see you in some posts next week, and then one of my favorite videos ever.

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 227

ProfessorViral

Do you ever wonder if the greatest you could be is already a past version of yourself?

I've been good all weekend, and didn't check numbers. But, I finally did tonight, and it led to me looking back a few years. In 2024, a *low* view day was 10,000. This year, the *average* is maybe 5,000. I'm not sad about it, I love what I'm producing, but there is some anxiety to it; is my greatest success already behind me, before all this was even sustainable as a job? Could I have done something different, or was it all out of my hands?

(Don't worry, this is more of a calm wonder with some undertones of worried about the future than any sort of depression. I do have a few non-anime videos coming up though, so not having something guaranteed to raise the numbers for a couple weeks feels... well, worrying)

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 96

ProfessorViral

Tomorrow's video is one I really love, a mix of psychology, history, and the usual analysis, taking a look at a book I'd have never picked up on my own and how it explores the struggle to meet the human definition, a struggle often abused for power.

A year or so back, my dad got a collection of some of H.G. Wells most notable works (you've probably seen me cover The Time Traveler) and I promptly stole it for a few months to read at work. The story that stuck with me the most was The Island of Doctor Moreau, a story about a shipwrecked man discovering the cruelty inherent to his own species; not in the normal way, where we harm each other so easily, but the cruelty inherent to *being* human, of existing as creatures with instincts and desires which are pushed down to make way for meaning and purpose. Wells presents this case by abstracting it from humans for a moment, placing it onto other creatures, before revealing the true intent, creating a deeply engaging tale about how we might be trying a bit to hard to be "human," and giving evidence as to why that struggle exists through Moreau's historical context; the vivisection debate of late 19th century England, which revolved around the perceived character of "men of science," a debate which, had it gone the other way, could have seen us witnessing unethical experiments much more often. Surprisingly early for it's time as well, the book correctly shows the failure of punishment, in line with the body of knowledge operant conditioning is today. And you know what inspired this whole thing? The Trials of Oscar Wilde. That connection I'm saving for the video.

It really is one I love, and I hope you will too. I know it won't do well because it's not on anime, but I'm very proud of it. It's been up since Monday for financial supporters, and the next video will hopefully be up more than a weekly early, a look at one of my favorite stories of all time, FFX.

Thanks as always for your time.

-(Signed, the name I thought of while I was driving and thought was really good, and then forgot by the time I'd gotten home)

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 179

ProfessorViral

Do you ever wish that you could swap bodies and minds with someone else for a day, and then return to your own remembering what it was like? I often wonder what it's like in others people's heads. What if it's an entirely different experience of thought and feeling? What if mine isn't common? What if desire, hunger, everything feels entirely different?

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 57

ProfessorViral

Have you moved significantly far from where you grew up (I guess defined as flying being the most reasonable means of travel), or have you stayed close? I've moved a decent amount in my life, but always around the same city. I occasionally thought of going further, but it always felt very difficult to leave the connections that sustained me behind, knowing that I'm terrible at texting/message/etc. Plus, 90% of places would be a step down in affordability, so it never seemed feasible as someone who's "dream job" income would remain the same, rather than adjusting up to a higher priced area.

1 month ago | [YT] | 58