Journey to Nothing

[LastThursday]

Instead of talking about myself, I thought I'd talk about myself.

These days I watch a lot of YouTube. Whilst it's probably an addiction, it's not all bad. I do like to keep up with things this way, but also suck in new knowledge along the way. It's also entertainment, which in itself is not to be underestimated. I'm sure at some point I'll stop watching YouTube so much, but not yet.

I think I'll cover a different thing each day, and maybe someone else will get the same kick out of it that I do.

First up music. I do play mostly piano well, but have also been known to play clarinet and guitar (badly).

 

Andrew Huang is a phenomenon. A part of me wished I was that dedicated and creative.

 

Rick Beato is like the internet godfather of everything rock and pop music. I especially like his breakdowns of popular songs.

 

Adam Neely is equally interesting for his expositions on music theory.

 

For the piano nerd in me, these two do it for me for different reasons, I so wished I had the talent and dedication.

Nahre Sol

 

Annique Gottler - mostly technique and Chopin, but amazing and entertaining nevertheless

 

I grew up with synth music and have a soft spot for it, and Claudio Passavanti has a real passion and sense of humour

 

Charles Cornell, love his breakdowns and enthusiasm - more keyboards!

 

Who doesn't like a bit of rock history, this guy covers it all, Adam Reader

 

More history, Warren Huart, deep dives into the history behind songs

 

I do also like guitars, and Paul Hermosin is fantastic, and does a little history as well (in Spanish, so switch on the subtitles for English)

 

And last but not least recorders (!!) An instrument we all butchered when we were six, and one which nobody ever actually plays, but Sarah Jeffery does

 

Edited July 20 by LastThursday

[LastThursday]

I missed one guy off the YouTube roll call yesterday. David Bruce is kind of understated, but is very good at explaining different aspects of music theory.

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And on to today's list. Languages.

I have a deep love of languages and linguistics. I'm bilingual in Spanish, in fact Spanish is my mother tongue, who knew? To this day I find it astounding that the hole in my face I use to eat and kiss with, can also make sounds that mean something to others. I very nearly did linguistics for a degree.

 

Paul Jorgensen is very good at explaining the basic grammar and syntax of a language or comparing related languages to give you a flavour of how it works

 

If you want a bit of history behind Spanish or Latin or specific areas of linguistics then Elena Herraiz is very entertaining (in Spanish, switch on subtitles)

 

Simon Roper is like some guy next door, but he's also a bit of a polymath and covers a lot of English language history and linguistics

 

This guy speaks Latin and Ancient Greek fluently and he covers lots of areas related to those, very informative. Luke Ranieri.

 

Jackson Crawford covers Scandinavian and Old Norse language history among other things and again very insightful

 

Julie Maksimova is similar to Paul Jorgensen covering lots of different languages and some linguistics

 

Rob Watts covers mostly English language etymology, and occasionally related subjects

 

And Joshua Rudder covers all sorts of language related things and has catchy animations and voice over, you'll learn something new

 

[LastThursday]

More on my YouTube enumeration journey. 

This next category is a slightly weird one for me. Despite being on this forum and consuming much of Leo's content, I don't really actively watch stuff about spirituality and religion, mysticism etc. I did so more in the past whilst I was ramping up with my knowledge of these things, and I went through the mill of BATGAP, Alan Watts, Rupert Spira, Mooji, Eckhart Tolle and Sadhguru. But in general I find YouTube content on this sort of stuff just a bit too New Agey and cringe. So here's my small selection that I still watch regularly. If you know of any more good ones, then let me know.

 

Dr Justin Sledge covers matters around the occult and mysticism and alchemy, mostly medieval stuff. There really is a wealth of knowledge there

 

Jeffery Mishlove interviews a huge range of guest in lots of different areas of the paranormal, occult and more fringe stuff. I think it's ultimately a reboot of an 80's TV programme in America, but I don't know the history of it.

 

I like the approach of looking at religion in a more academic way, and Dr Andrew Henry does exactly that, well researched and educational

 

 

[gettoefl]

always love your content, you are quite the polymath yourself, did you consider posting on tiktok to get more eyeballs on this? am sure lots would love it and you would get lots of dialogue going ...  perfectly understand if you want to keep it here as tiktok can become a taxing chore if you're on it alot ... for me it's my daily guilty pleasure

[LastThursday]

Thanks, I'm more of an armchair polymath lol, although I do dabble in my own way. I've got to admit to never having used TikTok, I may investigate. I'm not sure if I'm trying to be altruistic here or just taking some sort of stock inventory of who I am, or indeed trying to inspire myself in some way. Maybe all of it. I'll keep going until I exhaust the thread of whatever it is I'm doing. Enjoy!

[LastThursday]

I'm not sure what to call today's list of YouTube videos. It's sort of society, culture, philosophy and ideas. I've slowly grown into this sort of thing of late, so my understanding is still embryonic; I was never much interested in it when I was younger. Saying that in secondary (high) school I found sociology a breeze and got one of my highest marks in that subject. I remember typing an essay for it on my word processor computer (which I still have!) I wonder if I can find it hmm...

 

Abigail Thorn covers philosophy and society and is well researched and dresses up for the occasion, good fun and gets under the skin of how things work

 

If you're interested in society, culture and media then Tom Nicholas is your man, again well researched and informative

 

The Institute of Art and Ideas covers all sorts from philosophy, consciousness, politics and culture in interview format, if you like it highbrow

 

Dr Fatima Abdurrahman discusses subjects around science and academia and culture, she has a sharp wit and a different take on things from conventional views, learn something new

 

Alice Capelle covers culture and media and a bit of politics and is well researched and even handed

 

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And, I missed Dr Geoff Lindsey off my languages list. He covers all things related to English and its linguistics and you'll realise things about English you never did before

 

 

Edited July 23 by LastThursday

[LastThursday]

I always did enjoy stories of ancient civilisations. I got given a big fat book of the history of the world when I was a kid and I was captivated by it, in fact I still have the book (thanks Mum). The quintessential ancient civilisation is ancient Egypt, with it's deep history and superb monuments. It's only when you go in person and see the great pyramids for yourself do you realise the immensity of it, it truly boggles the mind, it certainly did me. And then you realise that something else was going on there outside the mainstream view of history. And believe me, I'm the last person to be a conspiracy theorist.

The following videos mostly go into that side of ancient history and are mostly about Egypt, but with other sites around the world too.

 

Ben van Kerkwyk does a great job digging into the mysteries of ancient Egypt, he clearly believes in a history of high technology (convincingly), so bear that in mind

 

Douglas Rennie discuss in more of a documentary format his ideas on all things Egypt, sensible and level headed

 

Matt Sibson discusses his own ideas about ancient sites, mostly Egypt, but other places too and has a slightly more academic bent

 

David Miano is an academic, and his no-nonsense approach is refreshing - often (and reasonably) debunking other channels. He covers lots of ancient history and sites, and also visits them in person, great stuff

 

Jahannah James is more speculative and admittedly a bit woo at times, but she's enthusiastic and has good ideas, she also has a side line as an actor (or is that the other way round?)

 

Tina Wan covers a lot of ancient history mysteries, and expounds on her theories about them.  Alternative, but reasonable sounding

 

Thomas Rowsell is well researched and no-nonsense at times, occasionally going out into the field and covers lots of mostly European pre-history

 

And for very ancient (pre-historic) history Stefan Milosavljevich is your man. His humour and enthusiasm shine through, mostly genetics and studies of ancient humans, and more of an academic

 

[LastThursday]

Is there no end to my YouTube odyssey? Today up, artchitecture and construction. 

I was a dab hand at technical drawing at school, and I think I would have made a good architect, although it's an underdeveloped muscle. And, some of my best times have been building big things out of wood and power tools, albeit rarely. There's definitely something latent there...

 

For your current massive infrastructure projects around the world, Fred Mills takes you through the ins and outs of how these places and structures get built, super interesting and highly polished videos

 

Dami Lee is an architect who covers more the psychology and design behind buildings and speculates on different ways of living, some interesting angles there

 

If you want a hands on look at how large habitations are made in all aspects then Paul Marshall takes you through it, some projects he does nearly completely by himself - astonishing

 

The minimalist in me somehow can't get enough of the idea of tiny homes, could I live in one or even make my own...?  Bryce Langston visits them on your behalf

 

Kirstin Dirksen let's the people do the talking, and visits a huge range of different and quirky dwellings to get a real feel for how differently people live

 

Brooke Whipple builds her own huts and and out of the way viviendas (her partner also has a construction channel) and generally explores the outdoor life:

 

 

[LastThursday]

No list today. But in a case of YouTube synchronicity, this came out an hour ago. Surely they're reading my journal?

 

Sabrina Cruz, Melissa Fernandes and Taha Khan answer all the questions you've often wondered about but never thought you'd get the answer to, love the channel (if you reading this...)

 

Edited July 26 by LastThursday

[LastThursday]

YouTube is of course incestuous, or is that promiscuous? I don't know what I'm talking about. Here's the reaction to the reaction lol

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In today's suite of YouTube videos is the outdoor category. I do relish a good hike in the countryside, and very rare spot of camping. I'm not sure where my love of walking comes from, no-one else in my family is interested in that sort of thing. I kind of just started one day some time in my twenties and never looked back. However, I do like exploring new places and like the freedom and tranquility of it.

 

Claire Conybeare (I think that's her last name!) does all sorts of camping expeditions by herself in the British countryside, with a little bit of a breakdown of her equipment, well shot and narrated, and a quirky sense of humour

 

Steve Wallis's shtick is stealth camping, and he's camped in some questionable places only once getting caught. Good entertainment

 

Tom Davies best known as GeoWizard occasionally does crazy stuff in the British countryside, or in more urban locations - apart from his more usual  GeoGuessr videos, again very entertaining

 

Paul Whitewick is newer to me, he does mostly historical stuff and walks the British countryside, and I always learn something interesting

 

Isabel Page recounts stories about her life in the woods and being self-sufficient, incredibly well shot and narrated. I always feel so peaceful after these videos!

 

More incredibly shot videos and stories from Jonna Jinton who lives in the icy wilds of the north of Sweden.

 

[LastThursday]

Normal service will be resumed shortly. But until then I continue my tour of YouTube channels I watch regularly. Today's genre is sort of self help, introspection, philosophy on living, those sorts of things.

 

Alain De Botton, in his own right a philosopher and author, narrates animated videos on all aspects of the philsophy of being human, great and insightful stuff

 

Tom van der Linden often covers the philosphy of how to live, but through the medium of film, and it's a powerful approach. Incredibly well thought out and composited videos have you tugging at your heart strings

 

Lana Blakely is a Swedish YouTuber who covers the many facets of how to live life, and has the wisdom to back it up

 

If you want cinematic videos and an exposition on just being alive then Nathaniel Drew takes you through his life abroad

 

Matt D'Avella is more on the self help and productivity side of things, he's always entertaining to watch and I always come away feeling that I should try the things he's advocating

 

 

[LastThursday]

On today's red carpet of YouTube celebrity is technology and gadgets old and new. I do like to keep up with technology and see where things are headed. From a young age I always enthralled by technology and the past forty years (and longer) has been an unending roller coaster of innovation, what a joy to be in the middle of it. And I do like a bit of history around this sort of thing too.

 

For your everyday and household technology past and present, Alec Watson takes you through it all with some amount of entertaining wit and sarcasm. Very informative and rigorously researched nonetheless

 

For more of an in depth foray into the history of consumer tech and more Matthew Taylor gives his opinons and overviews. There's stuff there that you didn't even know could exist

 

Fran Blanche revives and and tears down interesting and obsolete tech, and explains how it all worked and sometimes philosophises about engineering in general. Love it.

 

Anastasia N (last name unknown) covers the bleeding edge in semiconductor design, and is a chip designer herself. Very informative and fascinating stuff

 

Dr Károly Zsolnai-Fehér (watch the videos for the pronunciation) covers the cutting edge of computer graphics and related subjects like AI. I like his enthusiasm, and support for the field

 

I'm a real nerd about vintage computer tech and own a few pieces myself. David Murray resurects and covers many aspects of old computer tech, and sometimes forays into non-computer tech

 

Adrian Black gets his oscilloscope and soldering iron out and fixes old computer kit and talks you through all the interesting detail.  If I retired and only did this, I'd be a happy guy

 

Christian Simpson covers all sorts of old computer tech and sometimes modern uses for them. Terrible puns and dry wit and a talking dog, very entertaining

 

Neil Thomas loves old tech so much he created a museum in the Gloucestershire countryside. I must go. Lots of stuff about old gaming consoles, arcade games, and old computers, with a bit of history and interviews thrown in.

 

Peter Leigh covers a lot history of computers, games and related things, in true Brit style

 

[LastThursday]

On today's smorgasbord of YouTube delight it's the turn of science. A lot of the stuff I like to watch is mostly popular science, because it's the most digestible. Indeed, a lot of the ideas I've heard a million times already, but I still get something from each retelling, because some of the ideas are truly hard to grasp in their entirety and it's fun to get different angles on a thing. Anyway, for the meat...

 

Arvin Ash covers lots of different aspects of science with a strong physics bias. He's clear and easy to understand and the animations are very well done

 

The GOAT of science YouTube is Derek Muller, who covers all aspects of science with catchy animations, interviews and visits different institutions, great stuff

 

Destin Sandlin covers science in general, but often with a more engineering focus. His slow motion videos and personal visits to different manufacturing facilities are excellent for seeing science in action

 

Mahesh Shenoy has a smaller following and covers physics, but I find him enthusiastic and clear in his explanations and animations. 

 

Mithuna Yoganathan covers lots of ideas in physics with props and does her own experiments. She's very clear and measured in her delivery

 

Jeroen Vleggaar covers lot's of ideas in physics specifically to do with light. He goes into in depth explanations, doing his own experiments and getting to the meat of "why". Excellent stuff.

 

Jade Tan-Holmes covers lots of more popular side of maths and physics, with props and quirky animations. Clear and enthusiastic

 

If you like to see the latest in science then Sabine Hossenfelder is your woman. She's a jobbing scientist so knows what she's talking about and often is no-nosense with a dry sense of humour. 

 

Steve Mould often has a quirky take on science making his own elaborate props and really trying to "do" science in its most pure sense, with his own ideas and deductions, good stuff

 

Matt O'Dowd is also a jobbing scientist and similar to Arvin Ash covers lots of ideas in science, often with more of a space theme. Clear and understandable

 

Dianna Cowern covered a large number of topics in science often going out into the field - until she came down with long term illness - hopefully she is able to return one day. Excellent stuff

 

[LastThursday]

I always miss someone, I'm the same with forgetting stuff on shopping lists. So to add to yesterday's list:

Dr Ben Miles goes over general topics in science and is one of my newer channels that I watch, well researched

 

A slightly off-the-wall Nick Lucid explains different facets of science with good animations and good explanations

 

Sixty Symbols set up by Brady Haran, interviews all sorts of scientists in their natural habitat and covers lots of physics related stuff

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The first time I saw Jupiter and its pinpricks for moons through a telescope I was awed - I was a scrawny pre-teenager. And I saw the rings of Saturn through a telescope for the first time just last year. Space is fascinating and alien and when you realise it's basically infinite, it blows the mind.

 

For tours through different aspects of the solar system and space Alex McColgan takes you through it all. Great narration and polished video sequences

 

Dr Becky Smethurst is a black hole scientist (how cool). Incredibly well and thoroughly explained videos on all aspects of space, and the latest space news, with the occasional interviews of scientists in the field - excellent

 

For all things space from a more theoretic and speculative place Professor David Kipping takes you through it. Great videos

 

[LastThursday]

Give, me, more, YouTube.

Today is all about travel and exploring other cultures. There was a lot of this on TV growing up and how other people go about their lives has always picqued my interest. One way or another I've been to many places on the globe, India and Thailand being unique experiences.

 

Thomas Brag and others take you to many different places around the world and immersing themselves into their cultures. Quality videos and reportage and good energy

 

If you're interested in all things Japan then Norm Nakamura lives there and explores a different facet in each of his videos. High energy and entertaining, I especially enjoy his night strolls through Tokyo.

 

Benjamin Rich likes to take you to many places you may not have even heard of. Watch him bluff, shmooze and blunder his way around, sometimes in very dodgy places. He even got thown out of Russia.

 

For a reverse take on foreign culture (I'm British), Alanna Naps goes through the ups and downs of a Canadian learning to be British. Often hilarous and very down to earth, her food tasting videos are great

 

The history of London is bottomless, intricate and long. Julian McDonnel walks around it in his hat and walking stick explaining it all with good humour. I especially like his off the cuff chats with the locals, and of course I grew up there.

 

 

[LastThursday]

I think I'm nearly finished with my YouTube extravaganza, but still there's... maths! I fell in love with maths when I encountered my first calculator at six years old. Even though I don't actively practise maths much nowadays, I find that I'm still way ahead of the average Joe in that department. At work, if they need someone to work out a formula for this or that, I'm the oracle.

 

Alex (last name unknown) tackles sometimes tricky mathematical ideas and uses props to get to the heart of them. Dense at times, but easy to follow once the ideas click, but no less excellent for that

 

If you like good animations and a bit of algebra, then Burkard Polster explains complex maths in simple ways with a bit of light humour thrown in

 

Numberphile hosted by Brady Haran talks to many varied mathematicians, each episode covering a different aspect of mathematics, in a digestible format

 

Matt Parker both comedian and mathematician tackles all sorts of maths both theoretical and applied, often going out into the field to explain

 

Grant Sanderson is the OG of using animation to explain mathematics. He often tackles intricate mathematical concepts and makes them simpler to understand, good stuff

 

Edited August 18 by LastThursday

[MuadDib]

cool.

For applied math, I thought the example of PID controllers used in quads was pretty neat. It's the only place I've personally seen multivariate calculus used in a real-life scenario; I don't get out much when it comes to math.
 

 

[LastThursday]

@MuadDib that was interesting, I always thought these sorts of systems had simple proportional feedback loops, but it's much more sophisticated.

With my engineering hat on, you could take an FFT of the motion to get a frequency response graph, and then apply feedback to attenuate certain frequencies to stabilise the motion. You go from the time domain to the frequency domain, fix the motion there, and then back to the time domain. This is how a lot of digital signal processing works, normally for audio. Anyway, that's getting into the weeds!

[LastThursday]

To round off my YouTube tour (it's been long) I'm going to take you to all the places I missed along the way. In no particular order:

 

More maths. Lots of algebra on a blackboard, but very watchable. Michael Penn guides you through seemingly difficult problems step by step. You'll need calculus level at least to follow

 

For chemistry that shouldn't be done, Nigel Braun films his trials and tribulations of making his fantastical ideas into reality

 

Dave Plummer is a proper ex-Microsoft computer geek. His interests and investigations are varied and covers all facets of computing, with interesting and unusual projects

 

If you're into geo-politics and reportage old and new then Johnny Harris has it covered with slick videos and his love of maps, what's not to like?

 

I have been known to like trains (guilty geek). Reece Martin goes in depth on different transit infrastructure around the world and gives his opinions

 

Geoff Marshal's enthusiasm for trains and buses knows no bounds, he's visited every station in the UK and goes into the field to shoot his videos. Lots of London based videos but many further afield in the UK

 

For your London history of transit Tom Wright (aka Jago Hazzard) winds his way through it with subtle humour. Well researched

 

Dee (last name unknown), covers software development practices and culture and is one my newer channels. Informative.

 

Another Brady Haran channel covers all things to do with computer science, with John interviewing professionals in the field. If you want to know how computers really work look here

 

Laurie Kirk covers software development concepts for modern operating systems, using props and a bit of acting to get the ideas across, entertaining stuff.

 

Adam Savage makes stuff for all sorts of projects, see him in his workshop taking you through the process of prop and model making, high energy at times and insightful

 

Joe Scott mostly covers science related subjects, but sometimes forays into other areas. Good sense of humour and well researched

 

Xyla Foxlin makes rockets (!) and other builds. Excellent energy and great to see the process of making intricate pieces

 

Izabela Pitcher models (and makes) period clothing. If you want to know the ins and outs of how garments used to be made and worn in an every day sense (mostly women's but some men's), then she's your woman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gn5nRX7RuI

(embedding not allowed boo!)

 

If you want to see gender fluidity in action (and how it's a construct) then Jude Howard is a "femboy" who dresses up as a woman. Hilariously entertaining at times and superb editing. And I'm not even 100% sure how I came across this channel...

 

And... that's it folks!!

Edited August 20 by LastThursday

[MuadDib]

I like Nile Reds more down-to-earth and practical videos.

For an engineering hat, I can't go past my Canadian Guru AvE