HackerTubewatch
Surprise me
Frame from The Future Of Reasoning Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

The Future Of Reasoning

12 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
2 HN users recommended this explainer2 months2024 score 2
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN commenters cite it for the social theory that reasoning evolved as a collaborative activity, and one lists it as a favorite video.

Vsauce explores how human reasoning works, drawing on the social theory of reason and the extended mind thesis, made in partnership with Bill Gates around climate change.

“is a fascinating pre-AI-era breakdown of how human reasoning works” (HN, 2024)

2 recommendations · 2 citations · Explainers

4 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@owenpalmer Sep 2024 Recommends
on HN thread Learning to Reason with LLMs
"The Future Of Reasoning" by Vsauce [0] is a fascinating pre-AI-era breakdown of how human reasoning works. Thinking about it in terms of LLMS is really interesting. [0]: [this video]
Breakdown of how human reasoning works.
@purgedreality Oct 2024 Recommends
on HN thread Ask HN: What's your favorite YouTube video, ever?
Journey to the End of Time - [link] Veritasium on Thermite reaction - [link] Problems of a Shared Office - [link] History of the entire world, I guess - [link] Colin Furze Underground Activities - [link] Future of Reasoning - [this video] Sex in Trek - [link]
Listed among commenter's favorite YouTube videos.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@Leftium Feb 2024 Cites it
on HN thread Ask HN: Slow thinkers, how do you compensate for your lack of quick-wittedness?
Read more
> my brain defaults to looking for flaws in arguments rather than reasons to support them May be due to how reasoning is a social activity humans evolved to save time and cognitive load via division of labor. 1. An individual's reasoning workload is reduced by forming a bias. The gaps left by this bias can be filled with others' reasoning. For example if Gail focuses on why a business idea is good and Bob focuses on why that same idea is bad, they reduced the total amount of reasoning required by 50%. 2. If strong reasons are always prepared for everything, effort is wasted when others are easy to convince. So people start with minimal effort, producing weak reasons (why the business idea is good or bad). Gail and Bob keep responding to each other's reasons with stronger reasons only until necessary. After reaching consensus further reasoning is not required. Source: [this video]
Source for social theory of reasoning.
@Leftium May 2024 Cites it
on HN thread Ask HN: Why are comments here overwhelmingly critical?
Read more
This interesting theory might help explain: reasoning is a social activity humans evolved to save time and cognitive load via division of labor. It requires negative feedback. 1. An individual's reasoning workload is reduced by forming a bias. The gaps left by this bias can be filled with others' reasoning. For example if Gail focuses on why a business idea is good and Bob focuses on why that same idea is bad, they reduced the total amount of reasoning required by 50%. 2. If strong reasons are always prepared for everything, effort is wasted when others are easy to convince. So people start with minimal effort, producing weak reasons (why the business idea is good or bad). Gail and Bob keep responding to each other's reasons with stronger reasons only until necessary. After reaching consensus further reasoning is not required. Source: [this video]
Source for social theory of reasoning.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Search
j k
Next / previous video
r
Surprise me
l
Like (video page)
w
Watch later (video page)
?
This help
Esc
Close