Ideas, Learning & Language: what Hacker News watches
9 topics, 676 videos. Pick a topic for a focused list, or scan the 100 best-scored across the whole area below.
- HN treats it as the canonical, near-universally recommended lecture on giving talks and presentations.
- UMBCtube lecture recommended in 9 different months by 9 HN users, 2009–2023Repeatedly recommended in education threads as the definitive talk on why lectures fail and what works better.
- Pierce College District WA lecture recommended in 10 different months by 6 HN users, 2015–2024HN recommends it for productivity, focus and working-from-home threads, since its advice on breaks and mental modes applies beyond studying.
- HN recommends it as an accessible, widely shared critique of schooling, and cites it in threads on ADHD, creativity and education reform.
- HN recommends it as a favourite tech talk full of good ideas from forgotten 1980s software, worth watching in full.
- HN people cite it constantly in C versus C++ debates as the case for teaching modern C++ idioms rather than C first.
- UChicago Social Sciences lecture recommended in 6 different months by 4 HN users, 2020–2025HN treats it as the definitive writing lecture and recommends it repeatedly, with several commenters saying it changed how they write.
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics talk recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2025–2026Recommended as a balanced take on AI and education, with the point that learning takes work that no technology can do for you.
- Frequently recommended in threads on learning, the 10,000 hours rule and deliberate practice as a clearer account of how expertise develops.
- The standard link whenever someone claims to be a visual learner or learning styles come up, with sources listed in the description.
- HN uses it as the standard counterpoint to the 10,000-hour rule and as an encouraging recipe for starting new skills.
- HN recommends it as an efficient, practical approach to adult language learning, with one commenter saying it changed their life.
- Cited in threads about teaching kids and beginners to code as research-based evidence that explicit instruction beats pure discovery.
- Recommended as a short, clear explanation of growth versus fixed mindset.
- HN cites it widely in discussions of tacit knowledge, habit, unlearning and adult versus child learning.
- Khan Academy talk recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2011–2012HN recommends it to show Khan Academy's real model of mastery learning and teacher tools, often as a rebuttal to critics.
- HN commenters recommend it as a simple, direct entry point for beginners who want to learn computer science, not just programming.
- HN treats it as one of the canonical Bret Victor talks, cited whenever discussion turns to better tools and interfaces for thinking.
- HN commenters point to it when discussing how to teach children or beginners, as a language-like alternative to formal instruction.
- CMU Robotics Institute interview recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2017–2024HN recommends it for Kay's blunt critique of today's computing and standard CS curricula.
- Jared Khan comedy video recommended in 3 different months by 4 HN users, 2013–2025HN brings it up whenever curriculum fads or Common Core complaints appear, as a funny precedent from the 1960s.
- NathanielsCAD tutorial recommended in 3 different months by 2 HN users, 2021–2025HN points to it as an unusually clear teaching film on how celestial navigation works, and as an example of how good old military training material is.
- Cynthia Solomon lecture recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2014–2017Recommended to anyone unfamiliar with Papert as a glimpse of his vision for computers in education.
- HN refers to it constantly in schooling debates, as a favorite talk or as the basis for arguments about creativity, though some commenters dispute its conclusions.
- Brought up in nearly every discussion of AI tutors and the future of schooling as the original Digital Aristotle idea.
- Cited in tuition-cost threads for the argument that easy government-backed loans enable high prices.
- HN commenters recommend it when asked how to learn better or keep improving.
- HN commenters recommend it for Stoll's infectious enthusiasm and his case for teaching kids science, and often mention it in threads about him and his Klein bottles.
- SBS Dateline documentary recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2017–2021Recommended as a concise look at the culture behind outdoor kindergartens in threads on parenting and education.
- HN recommends it as the best talk from Sonic Pi's creator, with live-coding examples and technical and teaching insights.
- HN uses it in debates on video-based teaching and how confronting misconceptions helps learning, though some find its Khan Academy critique flawed.
- Seth Morabito documentary recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2014–2017Recommended as a glimpse of Papert's vision of computers as tools for learning, shared especially after his death.
- Infosys Foundation USA talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2016–2019HN readers cite Kay's talks for his views on programming languages as user interfaces, thinking beyond logic, and why people struggle with complex systems.
- HealthyGamerGG explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2021–2025HN commenters call it enlightening for understanding the emotional challenges of gifted kids, especially those who struggle later in school or college.
- HN commenters recommend it in college-ranking and higher-ed threads as an explanation of why rankings are a hustle for foreign student revenue.
- TheCoach demo recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2015–2016HN commenters use it as a vivid demonstration of learning by quieting the conscious mind, and recommend it alongside the book.
- HN commenters cite it when discussing how gaps in basic knowledge pile up and how mastery learning could fix that.
- x1x2x3ct video recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2010–2014It is the standard reference whenever a thread turns to rote labels versus real understanding.
- Cited in HN discussions of math and CS education reform as an argument that school math is boring because it is taught wrong.
- Recommended as a condensed version of Kay's ideas on education and computing, showing kids using software to explore physics and robotics.
- HN suggests it as a free lecture for beginners that eases them into writing readable, reusable code.
- Computação Raiz talk recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2023–2025HN uses it as the canonical explanation from Sussman himself of why SICP ended at MIT.
- Pointed to in threads on training absolute pitch in children as a practitioner's account.
- Josh Darnit demo recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2017–2025HN uses it to teach kids computational thinking and as a joke whenever specs, requirements, or LLM prompts are taken too literally.
- HN people recommend it as a look at how to get people to eagerly do useful collective work, and as the origin of Duolingo.
- HN points to it in beginner-programming-education threads for its distinction between easy to learn and easy to teach.
- Cited in AI-and-education threads as the optimistic case and demo for AI tutoring, and as a source on Khan Academy's LLM approach.
- HN commenters use it as a researched, eye-opening reference whenever homeschooling oversight comes up.
- HN recommends it as an inspiring pitch for video-based, flipped-classroom learning.
- HN commenters find his insights good, especially the idea that games work for learning by doing and for teaching problem-solving, in contrast to gamification.
- TheGreatWorker music video recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2013–2024Cited as a classic, catchy explainer of the US legislative process, and half-jokingly as many people's whole civics education.
- SuperMemo Video demo recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2018–2021Pointed to as a short demonstration of what incremental reading looks like in practice, though one commenter was not convinced by it.
- Josh Darnit comedy video recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2022–2026HN uses it as shorthand for how hard it is to write unambiguous instructions, in discussions of programming, tutorials and LLM prompting.
- iStateOfMind3 comedy video recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2015–2022HN links it as a pointed comedic statement of why education is seen as broken and unlikely to be fixed.
- Sesame Street music video recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2018–2026HN mentions it as a fondly remembered classic of children's educational television.
- Mark Rounds lecture recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2018–2025Cited as the source for comprehensible input, the principle behind immersion-based language learning methods and apps.
- Tom Scott plus video recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2021–2025HN uses it as the go-to example of an adult learning to ride a bike, mostly in threads about learning cycling later in life.
- HN mostly references it in passing when student loans and predatory colleges come up, with one commenter recommending the veterans benefits section.
- HN uses it as a short, clear summary of the fast and slow thinking idea.
- Pointed to in threads on spaced repetition, tutoring and education as a thoughtful treatment of what effective learning requires.
- Shared as a charming historical look at children learning computing, including kids acting as register bits.
- Tarek Hamza lecture recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2020–2022HN language learners cite it as the source of the comprehensible input idea and apply it to vocabulary tools and other learning.
- Yves Messer commentary recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2016–2026Reached for whenever a thread touches on naming versus actually understanding something.
- HN cites it in education and AI threads as a history of failed technology-will-transform-teaching predictions.
- Jay video cited on HN 4 times, 2016–2024Cited as a pop-culture image of programming humans or AI tutoring in threads on education, VR and AI.
- The72tube commentary cited on HN 4 times, 2017–2020Cited in immigration and STEM-talent debates as an authority's argument that H-1B is America's secret weapon.
- HN references it in discussions of how misconceptions are studied and how interview editing can make people look foolish.
- Used as a cited example in threads criticizing the direction of competitive school and college debate.
- Caitlin Spies interview cited on HN 7 times, 2017–2022Shared to end arguments over definitions and terminology, and as a reminder that memorizing names is not understanding.
- Mike Boyd demo cited on HN 3 times, 2018–2023Used as a reference when discussing inverted-steering analogies and how hard it is to rewire a learned skill.
- IAS | PCMI Park City Mathematics Institute lecture cited on HN 3 times, 2023–2025HN mostly cites it as a source or related clip in math and neural network discussions, not as a strong recommendation.
- One of the most consistently recommended lecture series on HN, praised as fascinating, funny and eye-opening about human behavior across many scales.
- UChicago Social Sciences lecture recommended in 14 different months by 15 HN users, 2019–2026HN users repeatedly say it changed how they think about writing, calling it a masterclass useful far beyond academia.
- MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center lecture recommended in 13 different months by 16 HN users, 2017–2023Recommended again and again as the best accessible overview of fusion physics, useful for judging fusion announcements and understanding why high-temperature superconducting magnets matter.
- HN returns to it repeatedly as the best single introduction to understanding clinical depression.
- One of the most frequently recommended online lecture series on HN, praised for giving people vocabulary to examine ethical positions and for Sandel's skilled teaching.
- It is HN's default recommendation for learning linear algebra, praised for Strang's teaching and for building real understanding useful in machine learning.
- Carnegie Mellon University lecture recommended in 12 different months by 12 HN users, 2008–2023Perennially recommended as an inspirational talk for people facing setbacks or choosing a direction, and a source of oft-quoted lines like the brick wall.
- HN people recommend the SICP lectures as a deeper, livelier route into the book and a formative course even for seasoned programmers.
- Seen as a classic and often the moment programming 'clicks'; commenters praise Abelson's opening that computer science is not about computers.
- wonderingmind42 lecture recommended in 10 different months by 13 HN users, 2010–2025A perennial HN recommendation for building intuition about exponential growth, cited whenever endless growth, energy or population come up.
- Recommended as the rigorous, math-heavy original course, deeper than the Coursera version, for learning machine learning.
- University of California Television (UCTV) lecture recommended in 10 different months by 10 HN users, 2008–2022HN cites it often in debates on inequality, cost disease and stagnant middle-class income, praising its data-driven approach.
- Google DeepMind course recommended in 9 different months by 9 HN users, 2017–2026Frequently recommended as an excellent, clear introductory RL course from the lead of AlphaGo, pairing well with Sutton and Barto.
- Missing Semester lecture recommended in 8 different months by 9 HN users, 2020–2023HN frequently calls it the best single video on git because it teaches the underlying data structures.
- HN commenters repeatedly recommend Barkley's lectures as the best introduction to understanding ADHD.
- Bartosz Milewski lecture recommended in 9 different months by 11 HN users, 2016–2026HN commenters repeatedly name it as the friendliest entry point to category theory for working programmers.
- HN regulars treat it as an essential, fun Hofstadter talk for any discussion of concepts, analogy and metaphor.
- Several HN commenters credit the lecture series with helping them through depression or personal collapse and recommend it as long-form learning.
- Frequently recommended as the clearest plain-language explanation of what a computer fundamentally is, with at least one commenter saying it changed how they think about programming.
- HN people recommend it as a masterclass in explaining physics clearly without condescension, accessible without formal training.
- CMU Database Group lecture recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2020–2023Frequently recommended as the best free university course on database internals, praised for depth and Pavlo's presentation.
- John Vervaeke’s Lectern lecture recommended in 7 different months by 6 HN users, 2019–2022HN recommends the series as a thorough, non-dogmatic look at meaning, spirituality and escaping nihilism.
- Yale University lecture recommended in 6 different months by 10 HN users, 2020–2023During the 2022 Ukraine war threads, HN commenters recommended it as a non-Western perspective on Russia-West relations and Putin's motives.
- Eva CollinsAlonso lecture recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2019–2024Frequently recommended as a delightful, influential way to think about story structure.
- Diego Ongaro lecture recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2013–2024Recommended as a clear, lucid way to learn Paxos and Multi-Paxos, ideally alongside the companion Raft video.
- Science Communication Lab lecture recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2016–2021Recommended as a clear, authoritative lecture series on plausible origin-of-life theories.
- Central Washington University lecture recommended in 5 different months by 5 HN users, 2020–2025HN commenters offer it as a dry but fascinating, hype-free introduction to Cascadia earthquake risk and the evidence for past events.
- Timothy Snyder: The Making of Modern Ukraine. Class 1: Ukrainian Questions Posed by Russian InvasionYaleCourses lecture recommended in 5 different months by 6 HN users, 2022–2025Strongly recommended as an accessible, well-taught history of Ukraine and a counter to propaganda narratives.
- Insights into Mathematics course recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2014–2024Recommended as an easy-to-follow math history course that gives perspective on the subject.
Showing the 100 best-scored of 676. Use search to find the rest.