Here's an idea: Lurkers and listeners also gained a lot by simply reading and watching without articulating the inspired thoughts in a forum visible to y'all. This space has influenced many of my conversations completely disparate from the space itself, and its impact is greater than what you may extrapolate from the visible participants. Thanks for all your work and best wishes.
I never joined in on the conversation in the comment sections nor on the subreddit but as Mike said in the video the sheer fact that the comments on these videos have been the exact opposite of the usual TH-cam white noise has always been a heartening thing to see. Also that video on "What is Violence" convinced me to read some Žižek and helped me some a college assignment so aside from being a place to enjoy "over-thinking" for a while it has been a help to my academia. Thanks for all the ideas and here's hoping the thinking never stops!
Seconded! Broke tradition and came down here to the comments section to say the exact same thing. Mike and team, thanks for shaping how I interact with things/ideas/people/the world. You've done a great service. And the same goes for everyone in the community here that that comments more regularly, you do us lurkers an immense favor by being a voice for all our ideas as well. Y'all rock.
The term "critical empathy" is something new to me, however it sounds like something I've been at the very least striving for for a very long time. Now I am what you might call a liberal person, my mom was born in California, she was a punker in the 70's, she has a P.HD in psychology, and she has raised me to be a very empathetic and honest person. I used to have and occasionally do have discussions with my old band director, whose upbringing was the total opposite of mine. And we would debate endlessly about different philosophies, and I think next time we meet I'm going to show him this video, because despite our differences, we both seem to understand the very base of critical empathy. And when we both fully understand critical empathy, then I believe we can begin to understand and agree with each other. Thank you for being the vessel through which I've been practicing critical thought, Mike. You had a good run.
Long time watcher first time writer. (Oo! LTWFTW.) In fact, I've been watching and listening since the beginning, and I regret not being a bigger part of the conversation. However, one of the biggest things Idea Channel taught me was that in experiencing media, I am always a part of the conversation, simply by decoding the messages therein. But beyond the ideas themselves, and even beyond the encouragement to communicate about ideas with one another, I think what has possibly been the greatest thing given to me by the show is the tools I needed to have a better conversation with the people around me; the show was an excellent example of positive tone and language that can be used to facilitate conversations about pop culture and media. 5 years may not seem a long time to many but I was just going into high school and as I've become an adult in the digital world these tools have become more and more useful for me. Thanks.
Been here since 2012. When I first started watching Idea Channel, I'd just started university. Went into one of those programs that stress critical analysis and "overthinking." I can't tell you how much this channel REALLY helped me with digging deeper into various topics and how much thinking I've done as a result; most importantly, how crucial it is to think about and understand people. It's been a wonderful 5 years thinking with and about y'all. Thanks for the great ideas, internet arguments, disagreements and gifs. Peace out Idea Channel. Been a slice.
How unique for a TH-cam channel to have a finale. An appropriately special conclusion to a wonderful, one of a kind show. Thank you for all you have done, and good luck for the future.
In the words of the Green Brothers, "Imagine people complexly", and "the truth resists simplicity". Farewell, this little haven of critical thinking has been a wonderful stay for some time now. DFTBA.
It awes me how big the amount of text, ideas, concepts and interactions have been enhanced by this channel. I love you guys, and I really love to have this big conglomerate of people to discuss what's going on in your heads. And what amazes, awes me, me more is how all what's going on in here is just a small amount of the content and traffic going each day through the internet. Is a similar sensation of the bastness of the universe, in which I can feel so little, but at the same time in this little corner is where I found meaning for myself. Thank you all.
Thanks for all the "thinking and feeling with" to this creative, opinionated, smart, funny, infuriating, and enlightening community. And to PBS, Eric, Andrew, Patrick, Ben, Brian, James, Molly, Jack the Dog, and Mike (and all the others involved with production, road trips or guest appearances over the years)... thanks for the forum and... well, just everything. It's been a delightful and thought provoking ride. Hope to see y'all around the interwebs! Best wishes from belgravia (aka bennycatgirl).😽❤️
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed-and gazed-but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.
It might sound a little bit melodramatic but, I'm actually in tears. This has been my favorite show since I watched Beakman's Lab as a kid. I'm 100% sure this made me choose Social Communication as my major and has driven me towards a better, healthier living by aplying the complex thinking method towards analyling my own life. So, thanks, for the best trip I've ever been on.
Thank you Mike. While most of the conversations went further over my head than the ISS, you taught me two very important lessons. 1. No idea is to absurd to be dismissed out of hand. It should be examined and discussed, then you can dismiss it, but not before. 2. No piece of media is to shallow to have something to say about the world.
Oh hey, Charlotte Rook's comment on this video reminded me of what you've said about positive and negative feedback in targeting systems: th-cam.com/video/sQ0pny1TA6U/w-d-xo.html&lc=z233sbmxboywcdfh404t1aokg5jpxyx5jmpmkpitgfkzrk0h00410 I was trying to remember where you've said it but I couldn't produce a link, so if you could help us out that would be awesome!
I have been watching Idea Channel since I was in middle school, I am in my senior year of high school now. I had never considered just how much of an impact PBS Idea Channel has had on my life, I can definitively say that after watching all of the videos on this channel I have learned how to appreciate media and critically examine it. I would also say that this channel has gotten me to think about topics I never would have thought to consider all the way from what constitutes justice to how the hoodie is more than just a piece of clothing to whether or not Magic The Gather is similar to jazz. I would like to thank Mike and the entire PBS Idea Channel team as well as the PBS Digital Studios for providing me a place to think critically and learn more about the world and expand my world view, as the vlog brothers so often remind me, "Imagine others complexly". I will admit that I am upset that I have to see one of my favorite channels go, but I am also excited to see what is in store for you Mike. I have no doubt you'll do great things! As for my question, I would like to know where we can find all the books talking about various philosophies you mention in your videos or some philosophers and other people you reference in your videos. I want to continue to learn and I want to continue to think critically about media and the world. Don't forget to be awesome (DFTBA) Mike! Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to this channel and it's community.
When I first started watching Idea Channel I found it hard to keep track of what Mike was saying, now I'm fluent in Rugnet-ese (The Dialect of Mike Rugnetta ) and I can happily watch a video at X1.25 whilst drinking my morning coffee. GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE OF IDEAS!
I rarely ever comment on TH-cam, but I feel an overwhelming need to be a small part of this moment. I like to, at least partially, judge my self worth by the quality of friends I keep. The fact that you, as you have mentioned, have successfully established a following of some of the most intelligent and sincere commenters and fans ever to be found on TH-cam is an unsarcastically extraordinary feat, and should be regarded as an objective proof of evidence of the worth this channel has meant to so many of us.
This show was a large part of my transition from adolescence to adulthood, and I truly believe it was instrumental in my obsession with critical, over-complicated, multi-faceted thinking. Without this show, I would still be the person who thinks that anyone who listens to pop music is inherently stupid, I would be dismissive of the greater and deeper impacts of popular culture, and I would not have the toolbox for critical thought that I have now. So thank you for the wonderful years, to the whole team. Thank you so much.
When I was teaching college English at Valencia in Central Florida, the department broke down "critical thinking" into three aspects: (1) influence of context (i.e., examination of the relevance of various contexts in the presentation of ideas), (2) bias (i.e., evaluation of one's own assumptions and the assumptions of other people), and (3) use of evidence (i.e., comprehensive synthesis or analysis of ideas and of the "things" related to the ideas, be they events, experiences, objects, other ideas, or what have you). In this view, one who thinks critically (1) understands the role of context in how an idea is generated, communicated, and received, (2) considers an idea from one's own perspective and from others' perspectives all the while appreciating that what is not said may matter as much as if not more than what is said, (3) not only identifies but also explores the relationships among ideas and between ideas and whatever is left of the world besides ideas, and in doing (1) through (3), opens oneself up to growth--intellectual and otherwise, individual and otherwise.
Thank you so much for the past few years. Mike you've been amazing, you've taught me to think about the world around me, the people in it and so much more. You shaped my views on culture and philosophy, and helped me imagine others complexly. I'm not sure I can imagine a world without this show but I'm sure that your next project will be just as inspiring for us. Best wishes.
This was easily one of the smartest channels on youtube and has brought the standards and views of internet intelligent discussion to another level. You have successfully shown the world that youtube can and is being used to educate and discuss intelligently. Thank you for all of the thoughts and videos. Good luck bro.
After years of watching I finally have a comment that I feel is worth posting!! I love this idea of critical empathy, and those last lines "I hope that you'll continue to think with and about these things and I hope you'll continue to think with and about one another." That attitude and stance of being-with one another in a considerate not only brings personal growth but fosters community and really reminds me of Jean-Luc Nancy and our responsibility to the other. We were able to respond to y'all, to each other, and you even responded back. I'll miss this community!
I cannot tell you how sad I am that Idea Channel is ending, TH-cam has been a huge part of my life for a long time now and Idea Channel was one of the most impactful channels on my life. You challenged me, inspired me, confused me and helped me grow. I only wish I could thank you in person but life is difficult and frustrating so hopefully I can thank all of you at idea channel via the power of the internet. So here it goes. With every fiber of my being both past present and future, I want to thank everyone who has worked on Idea Chanel over the years. I frequently hear that TH-cam doesn’t contain videos worth critical praise or deep thought and I would always redirect those to your videos. Your videos and discussions broadened my horizons in ways I never expected, and challenged and changed my own world views with grace and kindness. Of course I don’t want this channel to end however I know even if the episodes stop the discussion will continue. The community this channel has created is something unlike I’ve ever seen. We will continue to work, think and argue together and hopefully keep Idea Chanel alive in our minds and hearts till the end of time. Thank you again, with love Chris
The end of this channel which I have enjoyed for two years is a sad and bitter event. There are not many like you and this channel. But I wish you and others well and that may more good come from it. I and others have learned a lot from it.
Thanks for 5 years of ideas. Some of them were amazing, all of them were thought provoking. I'd like to ask if you could get the rest of the crew on camera for the comment response video. It would be nice to get a visual idea of those that helped make this show a reality.
Yes! It's not gonna be perfect-lots of folks work remotely, and I wanna try to thank, uhh, everyone? who worked on the show? Even if they've moved on to other stuff. But this *is* in the cards. Thanks for mentioning it!
Firstly, thankyou for the many marvellous videos and engaging explanation of the nature of Idea Channel and its base philosophy Secondly, the idea of 'critical empathy' is basically the essence of what I've found so captivating to your look at media. If you consider media as the portrayal of a possible human experience - if divorced from its meaning, then empathy is initially necessary in order to consume the information presented to us. Indeed, no matter what meaning you draw from it (even if this meaning isn't intended by the author - which you addressed in pt 2), is just a way of looking at human experience, and if this view is created critically it can be used as a 'tool' in order to reshape a person's view of society and the world - which in itself is a collection of human experiences (i.e. the 'tools' in the 'toolbox' of concepts) Not only this, but I often enjoy how you treat very context of the media is important to your analysis. When I watched your finale pt 2 and your comments on how all media, even if it wasn't high culture, contains intellectual meaning, my first thought was 'What about The Emoji Movie, The Room, and other "meaningless"' movies and media' - but thanks to this channel I have realised that the social and intellectual context (even if not intended) provides a whole new level of meaning to a piece of media. Not only does The Emoji Movie, for instance, represent what those who control popular culture think audiences want to see, but the very intellectual background behind the representation of human experiences (which you so eloquently provide) is perhaps essential to its viewing, and interpretation in terms of application to wider society. And just like you said, it matters what ideas we use to think other ideas So, thankyou, Idea Channel, for without you, I may well have dismissed the most important aspects and ideas of texts, and thereby decreased my own human experience of the world, and the understanding of those around me. Thankyou for everything.
I never wrote comments on these videos, but Idea Channel has informed so many of my current beliefs and perspectives. Thank you so much for the opportunity you gave so many people to be able to think critically about all aspects of our world and society! It's been an amazing few years watching Idea Channel, and I'm sad to see it go. ❤️
I didn't expect the final episode to hit so close to me in such a powerful way. Of course these are sad and nostalgic (and almost celebratory of Idea Channel akin to a funeral speech) which makes this series stand-out. However, your introduction of _Critical Empathy_ and Peter Elbow's _Doubting and Believing Games_ is what truly cut through to me. Personally, I've been struggling to deal with my OCD treatment and my Scientific studies (undergraduate Physics) because the latter is so dependent on doubt while the former is crippled by it. I'd sort of lost my way with critical thought as it put extra stress on my treatment. While not a substitute, it's nice to now know of another strand of critical thought - that of empathy and belief - which I can keep in touch with for the short term. Thanks
Oh man. Talk about real-life implications. This is what gives these ideas such power: they really do matter in our day-to-day lives, far beyond their theoretical and abstract realms. Thought is such a powerful tool, and like any such tool, it can be used for good or ill. It could even be said that it's our most powerful tool, given that it's directly responsible for all the other tools we've produced! How we perform our thinking and what our thinking leads us to do is ... well, it's hard to imagine something of much greater importance than that. Given that power tends toward the destructive if used poorly or excessively, I wonder if Elbow's ideas give us a self-protective balancing mechanism we can use to make we don't hurt ourselves and each other with the products of our thoughts. Maybe in addition to thinking of them in balance with one another, we can think about them in nested terms: doubting thought nested within believing thought, and vice versa. I believe you so that I can examine your ideas more thoroughly in a critical way, and I examine your ideas critically so that I can better understand and believe you. (And vice versa.) One has to believe to have material to whittle away, and one whittles away to strengthen the form of that material. The seemingly opposing ends loop around and support each other, just as we can support each other to strengthen our thinking and our ideas.
I really liked the part about the believing game. And you have been one the main reasons why now, I have made that my own game. In order to be able to think criticaly about something you need to embrace it, to see where it goes fully. Only then will you truly understand what it means. You have to accept the premise in order to be able to question it.
Thank you Mike. I've been subscribed to Idea Channel since the early days. I've left comments here and there, but unfortunately didn't make too many serious attempts at conversation (which I sort of regret). Your ideas and those of all the people you pull from and the all the people in the comments have greatly influenced how I think and feel about myself and the world in the most positive. way. Thank you. And I guess I'll see you on twitter. 👍
I'm sad to see this channel end, but thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into it. Idea channel always made me think, it made me laugh and at times it made me feel optimistic and excited about humanity and life when few things did. I'm going to miss it!!
What a capstone to one of my favorite things on the Internet! This episode struck me especially because it has resolved some confusion I've noticed for some time about the modern Rationalist community. I discovered them through a Harry Potter fanfiction and they just get weirder from there. For the longest time, though, I've had trouble describing exactly what they're about. The Linda Elder quote hit the nail on the head, for me. This idea of using all available mental tools to improve one's ability and overcome bias is pretty central to the Rationalist community (epistemic rationality is the phrase they use). Additionally, for some time I have felt like the community is somewhat... stunted. I've been unable to exactly understand what this means, but looking at it now I suspect that 'critical empathy' may be a useful idea in diagnosing the problem (if it even exists). I think that these ideas may be particularly useful. Thanks to Mike and the whole Idea Channel team for such an awesome ride, you guys did more than your share in 'raising the sanity waterline' for discourse on the online and as sad as I am to see this show draw to a close, I'm excited to discover what cool things the collective smart people of the Internet will come up with next.
It really saddens me to see this show finish out. I was never much for comments but I have found such great pleasure in getting to hear the ideas of the community. I hope I can find another river of thought that I can throw my friends into. Thank you. Also when will there be more Reasonably Sound? You have fewer excuses now.
As our friend Ludwig W. once said: "From its seeming to me - or to everyone - to be so, it doesn't follow that it is so. What we can ask is whether it can make sense to doubt it." Well Idea Channel has taught us some very nice ways in/with which it does make sense to doubt it, and for that I am thankful. In particular, a lot of this episode will be going, more or less paraphrased, into my musicology classes. So thanks again. :) [I do philosophy now like an old woman who is always mislaying something and having to look for it again: now her spectacles, now her keys.]
My Thoughts on Your Hamlet Comparison: Hamlet (the play) is seen by some as the epitome of great literature (or if you prefer, Great Literature). Hence, David Ives's fantastic short play Words, Words, Words. (Read it. Watch it. Love it.) My appreciation for Hamlet has grown over the years, though it's problematic, particularly for cultural reasons, to hold it out as a gold standard. That said, I agree that we should look upon Idea Channel as being of the sort of high quality of which Hamlet is thought to be. We should teach Idea Channel in schools, for example. Saying, "Goodnight sweet prince," is paying sweet tribute to Mike Rugnetta, the man who is the face (and perhaps personification) of Idea Channel. I agree that he deserves praise for helping make Idea Channel a reality, especially if praise for him is simultaneously praise for Idea Channel itself. That said, unlike Hamlet (the character), Mike is not dead, and neither is Idea Channel, though the thought of Idea Channel having its own Horatio to keep telling its story (to keep orating, speaking, praying, pleading) gladdens me. Personally, if I were going to cite a death-related quotation from Hamlet, I would choose "The readiness is all." However, I would rather cite a fun line, like "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is / southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw." But that's just my style.
Goodbye Idea Channel! crying to see you go. Been watching since very near the beginning and you've been an important part of my intellectual life. Sometimes the ideas you presented bugged me, like a little insect getting under my skin, usually because they were so challenging to my world view, but even if it took me a few months after the fact to sort out my feelings on such matters, I was always better off intellectually for having made the effort to engage with the idea in good faith. So, thanks for all your hard work and challenging ideas. Best of luck for all involved going forward on whatever projects you tackle next
There have been other critical-thinking or review channels, but none quite like this one, very much for the reasons described here. What could have been one more contemporary of so many other podcasts and radio shows was elevated hugely by not merely engaging with the audience, but fostering a community. It came at it from an oblique angle, but it made people better by getting them to think, and experience, and doubt, and accept, together. Thank you.
That's an interesting way of thinking! I am doing research work on these stuff in education. What do you think children need to develop? I would love to ask you other similar questions for my homework. If you cheer up and leave me your email it would be great. Mine is gabriela.balbuenah@gmail.com !! What other critical-thinking channels you know could help me? Could you help me with ideas?
Since I found Idea Channel last year I've always thrown myself into the comment section trying to find some reasonable and interesting discussions about, well, anything really. I cannot say I was, or am, the most knowledgable person in any of the topics Mike explored, however finding and learning from others who indeed were more invested in them was an amazing experience. Today, for once, I wanna drop the emotional bomb and just state how I feel about all of this. When I found Idea Channel I was just starting college, the friends and family I could have some interesting chats about popular culture and the world at large were left behind, and the internet communities I would do the same were crumbling under the weight of stupid post teen drama. I was desperate for any sort of smart conversation, to the point I would play devil's advocate in really single minded communities just for the sake of having someone arguing with me, to have someone challenge my visions of the world. To be able to think with others. Idea Channel did exactly that. It felt so refreshing to be able to discuss in a civil and reasonable way ideas with others. Not only this helped to improve my general everyday mood but also helped me see the world from a hundred different perspectives, which I can say without exaggerating that played a role in who I am now and how I approach dialogue with others when handling difficult topics. If there is something Idea Channel showed me rather quickly was what Mike describes today. When discussing with others, do not reject their ideas outright. Do not agree to disagree and shut up. Listen to them and understand what notion they are following, for ridiculous it is. Believe in it. And then challenge that belief with the skepticisim Descartes had. Challenge the premises as if they were your own. And make the other part defend it or challenge them with you. Let them see that you respect their position, stupid as it may seem, but that no position is for you above scrutiny, and theirs is not different. From a cold and calculating perspective I can say that this has worked wonders to make discussions, not only less violent and nonsensical, but also have others more open to accept their positions might be wrong. After all, nobody wants to be wrong, but everyone is more willing to accept it if they see that you understand why they believed it. But also from a more humane perspective I can say that this has made me feel a stronger connection with others, and more importantly, with the idea of critical thought in general. So thanks Idea Channel. Stay golden
"Think with one another. Peruse intellectual civility and intellectual empathy, not because these things are the solution to the world's problems, but because they will help you learn and grow. Think about one another, and believe each other. Believe someone when they tell you some piece of culture has helped or hurt them, is meaningful or inpactful even, and especially, if it's in a way you would have never expected." Man, I really wish this idea was common. It's truly difficult to get other to simply believe in each other, but, if this channel has taught me anything, it's that just trying to start a conversation on pop culture topics inherits more insight, wisdom, and believability that I ever would've expected. So thanks. Thanks for ideas given, and the stories told. I'd be a much lesser person had I not subscribed to this channel.
I recently found a paper I wrote in my first year of college where I talked about TH-cam communities, and especially PBS idea channel, that foster productive conversation in the comments as a contemporary counterpoint to Horkheimer & Adorno's idea of the culture industry as mass deception. I guess I was just as excited about this channel when I first started watching it as I am at the last episode... Thank you for this channel & all the conversations!
This was truly a wonderful last episode Mike. I hope to carry on the ideas you've put forward here, and the rest of the Idea Channel crew's. Thanks for everything!
I just subscribed to this channel a couple months ago and I wish so badly that I could've found it sooner(although the one good thing about being fairly new to the channel is I have four and a half years of backlog to watch). There isn't as big of an audience for educational channels on TH-cam and it was a complete surprise to me to find a comment section that was so supportive of each other and willing to help each other think through a problem, which is such a rarity in TH-cam. I know for me personally Idea Channel will be sorely missed, and while selfish me wants you to stay on TH-cam forever, I completely support your decision and wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. Thank you guys.
We'll all miss you Mike! Seriously, we all have been affected by you in a great way. You have been an inspiration for so many people, the same way you were inspired by so many. Please remember that. You made a great thing here.
Thanks for this Mike! I might show this to my college freshman when I'm trying to get them to think critically. Also, I've shown, like, half of your videos to composition students. They've been such a help! Thank you Idea Channel!
Thank You All for doing this. I'm a fairly new subscriber and probably on the fringe of your demographic, but that doesn't matter. I've enjoyed watching your back catalogue and will most likely re-visit many of these ideas.
This channel has given me so much life. I have utilized it in so many different ways. It has been a way for me to binge on thought in a healthy way. It has refreshed old discourse with new material. It has empowered me to believe more in my own ability to marry thoughts and words. Most importantly for me it has been a very effective pathway to thinking and confronting the idea and the existential dread that can sometimes come with not being able to completely categorize life. Furthermore, it is 100% okay that I can't but I shouldn't ever let myself stop wondering. Thank you all. Also signal boosting for Reasonably Sound, Mike's Podcast, because holy cow is it a pleasant and relaxing mode of critical thought.
Mike and the Idea Channel Team, I want to opine that there is no higher calling than what you all have done here with this show. The most important, and most difficult work in the world is to foster the minds of others - not only in creativity, subtlety, and nuance, but also, as you said, in empathy, humility, and bravery. The legacy of this show won't be that you had interesting ideas about pop culture. It won't be that you responded to comments in an unprecedented way. It will be that you all helped show thousands of people that it was possible and crucial to widen their worldviews, to critically examine their own opinions and experiences, and to engage in this process WITH other people. You say that you don't think engaging each other in critical empathy is the solution to the world's problems, but respectfully, you're mistaken. What you've taught in this video, and what you've been relentlessly teaching throughout every episode of this show, IS the answer. There will be no resting on your laurels, for I don't believe you all to be those kinds of people. But regardless of what comes next, I want to make sure you understand this: you've done it. You have made the world a better and lighter place. You should hold your heads high. You have been the change you wanted to see. You should be so, so proud of what you have done with Idea Channel. We, your viewers and friends, will always be grateful.
Thanks for not only filling the void of a bus commute to work, but for also giving me something to think about with each episode. Also, thanks for the info for the MoMA exhibit of video games as art. It was rad, as was this show.
so...I loved this show, I first discovered it because of the Orphan Black inspired idea but stayed (at first) because I REALLY liked your voice, Mike. then it started to resonate with me more and more, but never actually put thought into knowing why; why I jumped and left everything I was doing in order to watch a new episode, why the prospect of an upcoming show made me happy, why the ideas presented made me question myself and start a conversation about those topics with my friends , why I would stay up at night thinking about such proposals... now seeing this I realize that maybe it was me trying to be empathic. I've always considered myself egotistic, in the only place where that would change is literature, and perhaps, now that I think about it, here. To be honest I didn't comment much because english is not my first language and always felt kind of intimidated by the well versed peps, but always read those comments with curiosity and willingness to learn... willingness to BELIEVE. mayyybe now I'm a little more emphatic than before being a fan of this show and this is all because of y'all (inclusive because, as much as I love you, Mike, all the wonderful humans behind the camera and the thoughtful commentators also contributed to make of this an incredible space) I'm so sad it's ending just as I discovered why I was (and still am) so obsessed with this *idea* . FAREWELL IDEA CHANNEL YOU HAVE BEEN A DELIGHT! * *I'm so emotional RN* *
As sad as we all are, Idea Channel did all it should have without failure - it inspired thought in places and in ways, that are often overlooked, and it treated every idea and perspective with respect. Sure, it was never perfect, but it always strived to be better; It lead by example. Idea Channel really was one of TH-cam's greatest places and communities. As goodbyes go, I feel it's less a tearful last stare in the rainfall and more a hearfelt hug, a knowing smile for all the good times, and a Thank You. You did good, Idea Channel. You did Good, Mike.
Thank you! This show has meant a lot to me, and it has been incredibly fun. Great job, and thank you to everyone involved in this show and to the commenters who made this show so smart and fun. Thank you!!!
This was a beautiful series, and I thank you all so much for making it was it was. There are so many things I never would have thought of in a different light had it not been for this show, and the community surrounding it. So again, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you. It was one heck of a ride.
Hi Mike and the folks at PBSIdea Channel. I don't usually comment on youtube videos in general but in the five years that Idea Channel has been doing what it has been doing, it has changed my perspective about what I consider to be worthy of critical thought and has expanded and enriched how I think about all media and helped me develop a more accepting/believing approach to the way I emphasise with people. I find that I have come to better understanding and better conversations with other people, even though I never was engaging with the audience. Something i think I shall change next time I come across a community like this again. Thank you for that.
Thank you for all the amazing episodes over the years. I hate to see it ending, but I love how you've done the ending. These last four episodes (Mario revisited and the ending) were amazing, and a so much better way to end a series than simply not uploading one week. We'll miss you.
I have loved this show so much ever since the day I first discovered it, about halfway through its run. I think I found this when I first caught up with Homestuck in its third to last pause and found the episode about it. Thank you so much Mike, for absolutely everything you have done with us here.
I may not have commented or seen every video in this series, but that doesn't change the fact that it changed my life for the better. Thank you very much for everything you have done!
I've been watching this show from near the very beginning and its become an important part of my media diet. These videos have given me so many things to talk and think about. Thank you so much for all the work and heart you put into this channel.
I didn't think I'd be as effected as I was. Idea channel has been a mainstay in my life for 3 years and it really shaped my view on philosophy, social issues and it's inherent importance. It showed me that pop culture is important and thinking about the things I love can be just as satisfying as the culture itself... so thank you Mike and thank you IdeaChannel You gave me more ideas than you know Also FIRST
Culture is not your friend. Culture is for other peoples’ convenience and the convenience of various institutions, churches, companies, tax collection schemes, what have you. It is not your friend. It insults you. It disempowers you. It uses and abuses you. None of us are well-treated by culture.
Mike and crew, this show has been such a joy for me. I only ever commented one time (not the most interactive type), but I watched every single episode and learned a lot. I feel my critical thinking skills have improved an immeasurable amount directly because of this show. Thank you so much!
Hey Mike, I'm not trying to post a warranting-response comment, just hoping that you will see it, read it, and understand it. I can't remember when exactly I subscribed to the channel, but it must have been around the beginning when I graduated from university in Michigan in 2012 with degrees in philosophy and history. I moved to South Korea at the end of 2012 to teach English and watched the channel to keep my mind in some kind of intellectual state. I was missing the rigorous thought inherent in academia and consumed hours of TH-cam videos, documentaries, and books to make up for it. I often used the premises of your shows as discussion points for my high-level students in Seoul and would proscribe your videos as optional homework. But when I was living in Korea, I realized that my modus operandi of gaining and retaining knowledge was, in reality, a form of consumption that required no active thought or work on my part. I grew content in absorbing others' thoughts and regurgitating them when an opportune time presented itself. After that, I became a little cynical about the weight I put on knowledge (which I felt was singular, biased, and futile), and shifted towards a life of personal experience instead. I quit my job in Korea, moved to Russia at the end of 2015 and adjusted my lifestyle/mentality to one in which I accepted my singular understanding of the world. I landed in Saint Petersburg, where I stopped consuming hours of TH-cam/documentaries in exchange for a shameless life of being happy in my kernel understanding of the world. I am the token "American" among my friends in Russia and I now feel a strange sense of pride in my often-different POV of history, politics, philosophy, culture, etc. But, to be honest, I still feel like I'm missing the community of "overthinkers" that I was a part of during my college years. Maybe it's less important to me now, in my day-to-day life, but I still feel like I am missing something. If my time in university from 2008-12 was active engagement in intellectual thought, Korea was intellectual consumption from 2012-15, Russia has been either been negligence or cynicism (intellectually, again) from 2016-now, then I wonder when a period active, productive thought might come in my life. I feel ready for it, but I think my blades are dull and I am not prepared to rejoin the conversation. But the thing is, I know that I think best I speak. Another teacher-friend of mine calls this "active-teaching," in which an argument is formed and supported as it is conceptualized (often by professors while in front of a class). I'm leaving this comment on your final video because I want it to give me the impetus to progress again, put my brain towards something, and believe that my experience (after living/traveling to different parts of the world) might be recognized and, possibly, impactful to others -- as your channel has undoubtably been. Again, I am not looking for a response, advice, or a shout-out. I'll take the things I've heard and learned from this channel as tools for my own construction. All I ask is that if you ever make it to Russia, you contact me and we sit down for a cup of vodka sometime. Thanks for all the inspiration, Max
Hi Mike. This wonderful episode made me glad for all the hours I've spent watching -- and it made me *regret* some of the hours I've spent commenting. Let me explain. I know that over the years, I have spent most of my time in the comments section playing "the doubting game." And your words made me wish -- at least a little -- that I could re-project all those questions and critiques through a healthier, more empathetic, and more "believing" lens. Yes, I always tried to take your ideas as seriously as they were presented -- and as deeply as they could bear. But maybe this tended to put me in an antagonistic position in relation to those ideas, and even to the channel. I do hope that "doubting" wasn't all I was -- and wasn't all I said. Mike, your work always provoked me; you were provocative. You called me out of myself to meet your ideas and engage them head-on. Regardless of my chosen game, your work made me try to be *better* -- sometimes competitively so, sometimes cooperatively. But now I wish I could have found different and more expansive ways to be better -- and be that better thinker. You always beckoned me in that direction, and with this episode, I can feel something continue to call, even as the channel falls silent. I believe in your believing game. I want to play it more regularly than I do. And I wish I had the chance to have to say more about the range and extent of that game, without falling into doubt. Are there limits to your intellectual empathy? And there beliefs that have no place in your game? Do you ever find yourself tending mainly to belief those you already are predisposed to care about -- believing the "already believable"? Or can you also find yourself provoked and engaged, even by those far outside your playgroup? I hope that you can. And, moreover, I hope that your "believing game" can be this accommodating of an enterprise -- a MMORPG so massive that it changes the very idea of terms and who can play, and on what team. There's a lot of demand for "belief" these days, and just as much refusal to empathize. Your game of ideas and communal thinking may be just the engagement that we require -- one where we can become bigger and better by allowing ourselves to stop being ourselves, if only for a few more turns. Yes, there's an Idea. Your idea. Thanks for sharing it with me.
Thank you for making Idea Channel such a wonderful place for thought and curiosity for these past few years. This channel will always have a special place in my heart!
Thank you so much for all those years and great episodes! This final idea is absolutely what brought me to follow and love this channel. I learned so much just by accepting and trying to understand ideas that seemed so outlandish at first glance. And so many episodes here were an inspiration to great discussion with my friends that ultimately led us to create great bonds. Here's to you and to all of the Idea Channel team to pursue and reach many more great ideas!
Thank you Mike and thank you Idea Channel Team! This is the perfect finale as the final message and lesson is to understand that thinking is more than just an exercise in spinning wheels. We can do great things and change the lives of many people for the better with some critical thought about the world around us. The Family and SU episode not only got me started on watching that amazing series, but gave me so many tools to explain why I love it. Along with that, I also got the tools to help share the messages in a much more progressive light. (ie, adoptive parents, found family, and how to be a good guardian.) There's always something new to learn, and I come away from every video with a new word or explanation for the complex world around me. Thank you for everything.
Thanks for the conversations you inspired with my friends and my boyfriend. I have fond memories of discussing astrophysics over fancy dinner on a boat on the Seine, discussing multiverse theory, and referencing videos of yours and others we were inspired to watch as we conspired what would happen if you could do XYZ in the multiverse. Our friends have told us to consider hosting a podcast of our own because apparently we’re now fascinating to listen to having a conversation! Thank you for encouraging these conversations- culture and other people are so much more fascinating when we think about why we love what we love. I’ve always connected with people over which characters spoke to us and why; thank you for validating that experience.
Okay so uh. I have watched Idea Channel on and off for the past 5 years now. This is it. I'm not sure how well of a comment response this might be, but in response to comment responses I wanted to say how grateful I am to what you've done for my own brain. I always liked to think I was at least somewhat a critical thinker of pop culture and the like for most of my life, but this show was really the first time I felt at home with it. I felt like I wasn't so crazy for overanalyzing my favorite cartoons, or for spouting philosophisms in response to "simple" questions. You gave me a place I could see I wasn't alone in thinking, and gave me tools to think about what I love in a stronger context. I've always tried to comment something when I managed to watch a video on time, but I never got a response back. From you or otherwise. I realize this isn't really anyone's fault or that I'm alone at all on this front, but I can only hope someone could read something I write (here or otherwise) and get half of the smarticism and good vibes I get from any one of your videos. I dunno if this even really argues or says anything and I'm sorry if this just sounds like blubbering nonsense at 2 in the morning, but I wanted to take the last chance to say how I felt. Thank you, Mike. Thank you so, so much. I can't wait to see what you do next.
Here's a comment response, 4 months late! I found this video so important and inspiring that I'm reading everything because I'm hungry for conversation just as you are. And I haven't been disappointed. Even though this is the last scripted video and the vast majority of comments are "Nooo don't go" or "Thank you for being awesome" (which are fine, don't get me wrong, but it's slightly a shame because the subject is so fascinating) I've been finding lots of things that inspire further thinking. Too bad I'm so late to the party! Mike wore an Autechre shirt a few videos ago. I'd been watching this channel for awhile but that really made me perk up. Since then I've been listening to his music on bandcamp. It gave me a whole new dimension along which I could appreciate that fascinating mind of his. I also read the Peter Elbow paper (the first time I think I ever followed up on the footnotes) and found it mind-blowingly great. A whole new way to think about critical thinking. It gave me a framework I'd been clumsily grasping for, connecting vague ideas and contradictory impulses I'd had but couldn't put in relation with one another. 'If critical thinking is so great, why is it so terrible at sparking productive conversation between starkly differing views of the world?' 'Should I be more empathetic to people I vehemently disagree with, or should I try to strengthen my own position via more knowledge and critical thought?' And 'Why does critical thinking tend to drive me to paralysis rather than productive action? Am I doing it wrong?' In my most utopian fantasies we would all band together and continue the conversation indefinitely, here and everywhere. But alas, the forum just doesn't seem conducive to that (or people don't feel like digging through the comments section of a 4 month old video when there are new videos to watch and conversations to have). Thus, like you, I feel like someone on the periphery of a wonderful community, thankful that it exists but not really feeling included (but it's my own damn fault I'm so late).
Thanks for everything, everyone related to Idea Channel! This show will never truly go away for me - I'll take this as "see you later" instead of "goodbye"! Stay curious, lovely humans.
That was the BEST video made by Idea Chanel. Thank you so much for creating such content. Through the last 5 years you help creating a wider vision of the world for me. I hope to ear/see you again soon.
Thank you so much for the years of critical thinking. It encouraged me, subliminally perhaps, to play the believing game and remain a curious person. Thank you.
I still miss this show. It's actually surprising that you only edited it three years ago. It feels a lot longer. Maybe because the internet has a way of making a year ago seem nostalgic. Though I don't think I had really made much good responses to these videos, it did give me a kick of excitement when I was at one point referenced. I think that I've grown considerably in my dialogue aptitude since then, as this show taught me how normal, creative people think; and how a crazy creative like me might reach someone like you guys. Opening the door for me to open up my own blog, and share my own ideas in a way that will make sense to the world. I thank you for this effort that you've all made. It was interesting, it was fun, and most importantly: it was valuable exercise.
I've watched many youtubers thank their audiences, but your words at the end of this video resounded with me quite intensely. Although I've been much more of a lurker than a commenter in the IC space, I've certainly grown and learned from that lurking, and somehow I do feel like we've become friends. Until your heartfelt thankyou message I hadn't realised how much I'll miss this channel. Here's to enjoying your future work - I already listened to all released episodes of reasonably sound a while ago... more please! I look forward to seeing you around on the internet (maybe IRL someday! I'd love that). Peace and love!
Saying goodbye is difficult, it's been a tremendous 5 years, I enjoyed learning, thinking and over-thinking with you. I wish Mike and everyone behind the scenes all the best
This show has helped me a lot with my own growth in a similar way. I've always liked the perspective of ideas existing in a vacuum, in a sense, and that logic is kind of the alpha and omega of intellectual thought, regardless of the arena that the ideas are floating around in (while still taking into account the context of the idea itself, of course). I still think that although feelings are important, the distinction should probably still be made between thoughts and feelings and clarified, especially in heated debates, but what I have learned from this show and applied has really helped in my relationships IRL, and... you know what? I think I have something in my eye...
I agree that it's useful and necessary to try to distinguish between thoughts and feelings, but I also wonder if it's fully possible. I believe there is a component of feeling within every thought, as well as a component of thought in every emotion, but there's also a subtle but crucial distinction between feeling and emotion, at least the way I conceptualize it ... I would go on but this exercise in reading through every comment of a four month old video and replying to each one I find interesting is starting to feel a bit quixotic.
Thank you. Like a lot of other people seem to be saying, I've watched for a long time but never commented - just listened and read and absorbed. But having something like idea channel around to do that with has definitely shaped the person I am and the way I engage with the world around me. So again, thank you.
Dude you are going to make me cry, I cant handle this, this channel, this community, It was a huge HUGE part of my life. I'm going to miss this so much, keep us posted on what you are moving forward with, please. Best of luck to you, and us.
it has always stood out to me that one of the most outstanding pieces of production value Idea Channel brought was the live gif commentary. Some recognisable and good ol favourites, but always perfectly associated and seemingly captured from all forms of media. Could you please shed some light before you go on who's responsible for this and how they do it? do they have an encyclopedia index off all gifs ever made? do they make their own? Please go on!
I found this channel when it was about two years old when I was bored one day and my classes were finished - after watching multiple episodes (while still not being subscribed - I didn't really use that function all that often) I finally decided to give it a follow and never regretted it. I've always been a silent viewer because I didn't know how to put my thoughts into words on here - but there was many times where me and my sister would usually have a chat about our thoughts about one of your videos and it was always enjoyable even if we disagreed sometimes. Keep doing awesome things, we'll be rooting for you!
You will be sorely missed Mike. The ideas you provided us with, the conversations you facilitated and the community this channel helped foster was something special. Each week, these videos made me think more critically about the media I encountered and to experience things in ways I wouldn't have otherwise. Thank you for this thoughtful channel and may you go on to continue being thoughtful in whatever you do next. It's been a wild ride and one I'm glad to have gotten in on the ground floor with.
May these videos live on as a quality archive of the beginning of many people's journeys into opening up to to the world and opening up themselves. Cheers Mike, cheers everyone else.
Man. Idea Channel has been such a mainstay of my internet experience for such a long time in internet years. Even if I didn't keep up to date with every single upload, it was always here when I felt like watching it. It made me rethink my stance on many things and dare I say it, made me become a better interlocutor. I'm gonna miss it and I look forward to seeing what y'all decide to do next. Keep on being awesome.
Well now I'm sad. This show has carried me through some tough times. It's helped me grow from an ignorant troll on the internet to who I am today, which I hope is a lot better of a person. The first episode I ever watched was your episode on Steven Universe, and it blew me away. From then on I've watched as many episodes as I possibly could and introduced this show to all of my friends. I have to admit that sometimes I couldn't make it through an episode if I was tired, but I always went back to watch it. Although this is the end of the show, it's a new beginning for you and us, and we get to use the ideas you gave us to further ourselves and our community. Thank you, Mike and the team behind Idea Channel, for presenting us with a great opportunity to learn and grow. Happy Trails.
It's been a long time since I've started watching this channel, so many cool thoughts and ideas that could sparkle someone's brain into thinking "hmmmm...that's interesting", and seeing the Finale written in capital letters just makes me wanna say thank you! Thanks for being in our subscription boxes for so long. And for leaving these awesome videos scattered thought youtube.
For the record: it's okay if you want to thumbs this one down because it's the last scripted video. I'll understand.
I was thinking about that :)
disliked
The end of a thing is still a part of a thing. This is a good ending. Thumbs up.
I would never dislike an idea channel video thank you so much for such great content it's been an amazing journey
Your videos are never going to get a thumbs down for me.
Here's an idea:
A youtube channel can change your life.
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Here's an idea:
Lurkers and listeners also gained a lot by simply reading and watching without articulating the inspired thoughts in a forum visible to y'all. This space has influenced many of my conversations completely disparate from the space itself, and its impact is greater than what you may extrapolate from the visible participants. Thanks for all your work and best wishes.
alextheape same here. I never really commented or responded to videos, but they always left an lasting impression in my psyche
I've never commented before, but if I did, it would be to say this... :-)
I never joined in on the conversation in the comment sections nor on the subreddit but as Mike said in the video the sheer fact that the comments on these videos have been the exact opposite of the usual TH-cam white noise has always been a heartening thing to see.
Also that video on "What is Violence" convinced me to read some Žižek and helped me some a college assignment so aside from being a place to enjoy "over-thinking" for a while it has been a help to my academia.
Thanks for all the ideas and here's hoping the thinking never stops!
Seconded! Broke tradition and came down here to the comments section to say the exact same thing. Mike and team, thanks for shaping how I interact with things/ideas/people/the world. You've done a great service. And the same goes for everyone in the community here that that comments more regularly, you do us lurkers an immense favor by being a voice for all our ideas as well. Y'all rock.
The term "critical empathy" is something new to me, however it sounds like something I've been at the very least striving for for a very long time. Now I am what you might call a liberal person, my mom was born in California, she was a punker in the 70's, she has a P.HD in psychology, and she has raised me to be a very empathetic and honest person. I used to have and occasionally do have discussions with my old band director, whose upbringing was the total opposite of mine. And we would debate endlessly about different philosophies, and I think next time we meet I'm going to show him this video, because despite our differences, we both seem to understand the very base of critical empathy. And when we both fully understand critical empathy, then I believe we can begin to understand and agree with each other. Thank you for being the vessel through which I've been practicing critical thought, Mike. You had a good run.
So long, and thanks for all the thinks!
.... And Another Think.
Long time watcher first time writer. (Oo! LTWFTW.)
In fact, I've been watching and listening since the beginning, and I regret not being a bigger part of the conversation. However, one of the biggest things Idea Channel taught me was that in experiencing media, I am always a part of the conversation, simply by decoding the messages therein.
But beyond the ideas themselves, and even beyond the encouragement to communicate about ideas with one another, I think what has possibly been the greatest thing given to me by the show is the tools I needed to have a better conversation with the people around me; the show was an excellent example of positive tone and language that can be used to facilitate conversations about pop culture and media. 5 years may not seem a long time to many but I was just going into high school and as I've become an adult in the digital world these tools have become more and more useful for me.
Thanks.
Here's an idea:
This has been a heck of a trip. Godspeed and good luck, man.
Bushflare godspeed, indeed
I should use that word more often
Been here since 2012. When I first started watching Idea Channel, I'd just started university. Went into one of those programs that stress critical analysis and "overthinking." I can't tell you how much this channel REALLY helped me with digging deeper into various topics and how much thinking I've done as a result; most importantly, how crucial it is to think about and understand people.
It's been a wonderful 5 years thinking with and about y'all. Thanks for the great ideas, internet arguments, disagreements and gifs. Peace out Idea Channel. Been a slice.
How unique for a TH-cam channel to have a finale. An appropriately special conclusion to a wonderful, one of a kind show. Thank you for all you have done, and good luck for the future.
In the words of the Green Brothers, "Imagine people complexly", and "the truth resists simplicity".
Farewell, this little haven of critical thinking has been a wonderful stay for some time now. DFTBA.
Daniel Cookman
It awes me how big the amount of text, ideas, concepts and interactions have been enhanced by this channel. I love you guys, and I really love to have this big conglomerate of people to discuss what's going on in your heads. And what amazes, awes me, me more is how all what's going on in here is just a small amount of the content and traffic going each day through the internet. Is a similar sensation of the bastness of the universe, in which I can feel so little, but at the same time in this little corner is where I found meaning for myself. Thank you all.
Thanks for all the "thinking and feeling with" to this creative, opinionated, smart, funny, infuriating, and enlightening community. And to PBS, Eric, Andrew, Patrick, Ben, Brian, James, Molly, Jack the Dog, and Mike (and all the others involved with production, road trips or guest appearances over the years)... thanks for the forum and... well, just everything. It's been a delightful and thought provoking ride. Hope to see y'all around the interwebs! Best wishes from belgravia (aka bennycatgirl).😽❤️
Here's an idea: I'm really thankful there is a backlog of all your videos on the TH-cams. So I'll be watching those. WILL MISS THIS CHANNEL!
I'm crying, this was a awesome ride I will miss this show and the comments. This show really changed the way I think about a lot of things.
Mike,
You were always a ray of sunshine in this dark, ominous world. Thank you.
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
It might sound a little bit melodramatic but, I'm actually in tears. This has been my favorite show since I watched Beakman's Lab as a kid. I'm 100% sure this made me choose Social Communication as my major and has driven me towards a better, healthier living by aplying the complex thinking method towards analyling my own life. So, thanks, for the best trip I've ever been on.
I forgot about Beakman!
Thank you Mike. While most of the conversations went further over my head than the ISS, you taught me two very important lessons.
1. No idea is to absurd to be dismissed out of hand. It should be examined and discussed, then you can dismiss it, but not before.
2. No piece of media is to shallow to have something to say about the world.
I am here,
I exist,
I comment.
same.
Omer Saturn for the most part I lurk but I'm glad for people who contribute like you :)
Where is "The sunset"?
On the horizon my friend
SmarterEveryDay Much love to Destin for making me smarter...idea channel too...y'all should be rock star famous.
Oh hey, Charlotte Rook's comment on this video reminded me of what you've said about positive and negative feedback in targeting systems: th-cam.com/video/sQ0pny1TA6U/w-d-xo.html&lc=z233sbmxboywcdfh404t1aokg5jpxyx5jmpmkpitgfkzrk0h00410
I was trying to remember where you've said it but I couldn't produce a link, so if you could help us out that would be awesome!
TH-cam seems to be truncating the link, so if you click on it, it doesn't take you to the comment, but if you copy and paste the link it will.
I have been watching Idea Channel since I was in middle school, I am in my senior year of high school now. I had never considered just how much of an impact PBS Idea Channel has had on my life, I can definitively say that after watching all of the videos on this channel I have learned how to appreciate media and critically examine it. I would also say that this channel has gotten me to think about topics I never would have thought to consider all the way from what constitutes justice to how the hoodie is more than just a piece of clothing to whether or not Magic The Gather is similar to jazz. I would like to thank Mike and the entire PBS Idea Channel team as well as the PBS Digital Studios for providing me a place to think critically and learn more about the world and expand my world view, as the vlog brothers so often remind me, "Imagine others complexly". I will admit that I am upset that I have to see one of my favorite channels go, but I am also excited to see what is in store for you Mike. I have no doubt you'll do great things! As for my question, I would like to know where we can find all the books talking about various philosophies you mention in your videos or some philosophers and other people you reference in your videos. I want to continue to learn and I want to continue to think critically about media and the world. Don't forget to be awesome (DFTBA) Mike! Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to this channel and it's community.
When I first started watching Idea Channel I found it hard to keep track of what Mike was saying, now I'm fluent in Rugnet-ese (The Dialect of Mike Rugnetta ) and I can happily watch a video at X1.25 whilst drinking my morning coffee. GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE OF IDEAS!
I rarely ever comment on TH-cam, but I feel an overwhelming need to be a small part of this moment.
I like to, at least partially, judge my self worth by the quality of friends I keep. The fact that you, as you have mentioned, have successfully established a following of some of the most intelligent and sincere commenters and fans ever to be found on TH-cam is an unsarcastically extraordinary feat, and should be regarded as an objective proof of evidence of the worth this channel has meant to so many of us.
Take a sip of water everytime he says the word 'thinking'
dont youll drown
This show was a large part of my transition from adolescence to adulthood, and I truly believe it was instrumental in my obsession with critical, over-complicated, multi-faceted thinking. Without this show, I would still be the person who thinks that anyone who listens to pop music is inherently stupid, I would be dismissive of the greater and deeper impacts of popular culture, and I would not have the toolbox for critical thought that I have now. So thank you for the wonderful years, to the whole team. Thank you so much.
When I was teaching college English at Valencia in Central Florida, the department broke down "critical thinking" into three aspects: (1) influence of context (i.e., examination of the relevance of various contexts in the presentation of ideas), (2) bias (i.e., evaluation of one's own assumptions and the assumptions of other people), and (3) use of evidence (i.e., comprehensive synthesis or analysis of ideas and of the "things" related to the ideas, be they events, experiences, objects, other ideas, or what have you).
In this view, one who thinks critically (1) understands the role of context in how an idea is generated, communicated, and received, (2) considers an idea from one's own perspective and from others' perspectives all the while appreciating that what is not said may matter as much as if not more than what is said, (3) not only identifies but also explores the relationships among ideas and between ideas and whatever is left of the world besides ideas, and in doing (1) through (3), opens oneself up to growth--intellectual and otherwise, individual and otherwise.
Thank you so much for the past few years. Mike you've been amazing, you've taught me to think about the world around me, the people in it and so much more. You shaped my views on culture and philosophy, and helped me imagine others complexly. I'm not sure I can imagine a world without this show but I'm sure that your next project will be just as inspiring for us. Best wishes.
This was easily one of the smartest channels on youtube and has brought the standards and views of internet intelligent discussion to another level. You have successfully shown the world that youtube can and is being used to educate and discuss intelligently. Thank you for all of the thoughts and videos. Good luck bro.
After years of watching I finally have a comment that I feel is worth posting!! I love this idea of critical empathy, and those last lines "I hope that you'll continue to think with and about these things and I hope you'll continue to think with and about one another." That attitude and stance of being-with one another in a considerate not only brings personal growth but fosters community and really reminds me of Jean-Luc Nancy and our responsibility to the other. We were able to respond to y'all, to each other, and you even responded back. I'll miss this community!
I cannot tell you how sad I am that Idea Channel is ending, TH-cam has been a huge part of my life for a long time now and Idea Channel was one of the most impactful channels on my life. You challenged me, inspired me, confused me and helped me grow. I only wish I could thank you in person but life is difficult and frustrating so hopefully I can thank all of you at idea channel via the power of the internet. So here it goes.
With every fiber of my being both past present and future, I want to thank everyone who has worked on Idea Chanel over the years. I frequently hear that TH-cam doesn’t contain videos worth critical praise or deep thought and I would always redirect those to your videos. Your videos and discussions broadened my horizons in ways I never expected, and challenged and changed my own world views with grace and kindness. Of course I don’t want this channel to end however I know even if the episodes stop the discussion will continue. The community this channel has created is something unlike I’ve ever seen. We will continue to work, think and argue together and hopefully keep Idea Chanel alive in our minds and hearts till the end of time.
Thank you again, with love
Chris
The end of this channel which I have enjoyed for two years is a sad and bitter event. There are not many like you and this channel. But I wish you and others well and that may more good come from it. I and others have learned a lot from it.
I've enjoyed imagining others complexly with you Mike. Thanks for sharing your perspective with us.
Thanks for 5 years of ideas. Some of them were amazing, all of them were thought provoking. I'd like to ask if you could get the rest of the crew on camera for the comment response video. It would be nice to get a visual idea of those that helped make this show a reality.
Yes! It's not gonna be perfect-lots of folks work remotely, and I wanna try to thank, uhh, everyone? who worked on the show? Even if they've moved on to other stuff. But this *is* in the cards. Thanks for mentioning it!
Firstly, thankyou for the many marvellous videos and engaging explanation of the nature of Idea Channel and its base philosophy
Secondly, the idea of 'critical empathy' is basically the essence of what I've found so captivating to your look at media. If you consider media as the portrayal of a possible human experience - if divorced from its meaning, then empathy is initially necessary in order to consume the information presented to us. Indeed, no matter what meaning you draw from it (even if this meaning isn't intended by the author - which you addressed in pt 2), is just a way of looking at human experience, and if this view is created critically it can be used as a 'tool' in order to reshape a person's view of society and the world - which in itself is a collection of human experiences (i.e. the 'tools' in the 'toolbox' of concepts)
Not only this, but I often enjoy how you treat very context of the media is important to your analysis. When I watched your finale pt 2 and your comments on how all media, even if it wasn't high culture, contains intellectual meaning, my first thought was 'What about The Emoji Movie, The Room, and other "meaningless"' movies and media' - but thanks to this channel I have realised that the social and intellectual context (even if not intended) provides a whole new level of meaning to a piece of media. Not only does The Emoji Movie, for instance, represent what those who control popular culture think audiences want to see, but the very intellectual background behind the representation of human experiences (which you so eloquently provide) is perhaps essential to its viewing, and interpretation in terms of application to wider society. And just like you said, it matters what ideas we use to think other ideas
So, thankyou, Idea Channel, for without you, I may well have dismissed the most important aspects and ideas of texts, and thereby decreased my own human experience of the world, and the understanding of those around me.
Thankyou for everything.
I never wrote comments on these videos, but Idea Channel has informed so many of my current beliefs and perspectives. Thank you so much for the opportunity you gave so many people to be able to think critically about all aspects of our world and society! It's been an amazing few years watching Idea Channel, and I'm sad to see it go. ❤️
I didn't expect the final episode to hit so close to me in such a powerful way. Of course these are sad and nostalgic (and almost celebratory of Idea Channel akin to a funeral speech) which makes this series stand-out. However, your introduction of _Critical Empathy_ and Peter Elbow's _Doubting and Believing Games_ is what truly cut through to me. Personally, I've been struggling to deal with my OCD treatment and my Scientific studies (undergraduate Physics) because the latter is so dependent on doubt while the former is crippled by it. I'd sort of lost my way with critical thought as it put extra stress on my treatment. While not a substitute, it's nice to now know of another strand of critical thought - that of empathy and belief - which I can keep in touch with for the short term. Thanks
Oh man. Talk about real-life implications. This is what gives these ideas such power: they really do matter in our day-to-day lives, far beyond their theoretical and abstract realms.
Thought is such a powerful tool, and like any such tool, it can be used for good or ill. It could even be said that it's our most powerful tool, given that it's directly responsible for all the other tools we've produced! How we perform our thinking and what our thinking leads us to do is ... well, it's hard to imagine something of much greater importance than that.
Given that power tends toward the destructive if used poorly or excessively, I wonder if Elbow's ideas give us a self-protective balancing mechanism we can use to make we don't hurt ourselves and each other with the products of our thoughts. Maybe in addition to thinking of them in balance with one another, we can think about them in nested terms: doubting thought nested within believing thought, and vice versa. I believe you so that I can examine your ideas more thoroughly in a critical way, and I examine your ideas critically so that I can better understand and believe you. (And vice versa.) One has to believe to have material to whittle away, and one whittles away to strengthen the form of that material. The seemingly opposing ends loop around and support each other, just as we can support each other to strengthen our thinking and our ideas.
I really liked the part about the believing game. And you have been one the main reasons why now, I have made that my own game. In order to be able to think criticaly about something you need to embrace it, to see where it goes fully. Only then will you truly understand what it means. You have to accept the premise in order to be able to question it.
Thank you Mike.
I've been subscribed to Idea Channel since the early days. I've left comments here and there, but unfortunately didn't make too many serious attempts at conversation (which I sort of regret).
Your ideas and those of all the people you pull from and the all the people in the comments have greatly influenced how I think and feel about myself and the world in the most positive. way.
Thank you.
And I guess I'll see you on twitter. 👍
So out of all the scripted episodes, which was your favourite?
This one! Going out on top!
(Love your channel, btw.)
oh wow you're just right here
hello abigail you are so cool
I'm sad to see this channel end, but thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into it. Idea channel always made me think, it made me laugh and at times it made me feel optimistic and excited about humanity and life when few things did. I'm going to miss it!!
Can't think of a better way to end it all than metacognition, thinking about thinking.
What a capstone to one of my favorite things on the Internet! This episode struck me especially because it has resolved some confusion I've noticed for some time about the modern Rationalist community. I discovered them through a Harry Potter fanfiction and they just get weirder from there. For the longest time, though, I've had trouble describing exactly what they're about. The Linda Elder quote hit the nail on the head, for me. This idea of using all available mental tools to improve one's ability and overcome bias is pretty central to the Rationalist community (epistemic rationality is the phrase they use).
Additionally, for some time I have felt like the community is somewhat... stunted. I've been unable to exactly understand what this means, but looking at it now I suspect that 'critical empathy' may be a useful idea in diagnosing the problem (if it even exists). I think that these ideas may be particularly useful.
Thanks to Mike and the whole Idea Channel team for such an awesome ride, you guys did more than your share in 'raising the sanity waterline' for discourse on the online and as sad as I am to see this show draw to a close, I'm excited to discover what cool things the collective smart people of the Internet will come up with next.
It really saddens me to see this show finish out. I was never much for comments but I have found such great pleasure in getting to hear the ideas of the community. I hope I can find another river of thought that I can throw my friends into. Thank you.
Also when will there be more Reasonably Sound? You have fewer excuses now.
Thumbs up for throwing your friends into rivers of thought! :D
As our friend Ludwig W. once said: "From its seeming to me - or to everyone - to be so, it doesn't follow that it is so.
What we can ask is whether it can make sense to doubt it."
Well Idea Channel has taught us some very nice ways in/with which it does make sense to doubt it, and for that I am thankful.
In particular, a lot of this episode will be going, more or less paraphrased, into my musicology classes. So thanks again. :)
[I do philosophy now like an old woman who is always mislaying something and having to look for
it again: now her spectacles, now her keys.]
Rest in peace. We have journeyed with you. Watched. Learned. It's the end. So long. Goodnight sweet prince.
My Thoughts on Your Hamlet Comparison:
Hamlet (the play) is seen by some as the epitome of great literature (or if you prefer, Great Literature). Hence, David Ives's fantastic short play Words, Words, Words. (Read it. Watch it. Love it.) My appreciation for Hamlet has grown over the years, though it's problematic, particularly for cultural reasons, to hold it out as a gold standard. That said, I agree that we should look upon Idea Channel as being of the sort of high quality of which Hamlet is thought to be. We should teach Idea Channel in schools, for example.
Saying, "Goodnight sweet prince," is paying sweet tribute to Mike Rugnetta, the man who is the face (and perhaps personification) of Idea Channel. I agree that he deserves praise for helping make Idea Channel a reality, especially if praise for him is simultaneously praise for Idea Channel itself.
That said, unlike Hamlet (the character), Mike is not dead, and neither is Idea Channel, though the thought of Idea Channel having its own Horatio to keep telling its story (to keep orating, speaking, praying, pleading) gladdens me.
Personally, if I were going to cite a death-related quotation from Hamlet, I would choose "The readiness is all." However, I would rather cite a fun line, like "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is / southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw." But that's just my style.
Goodbye Idea Channel! crying to see you go. Been watching since very near the beginning and you've been an important part of my intellectual life. Sometimes the ideas you presented bugged me, like a little insect getting under my skin, usually because they were so challenging to my world view, but even if it took me a few months after the fact to sort out my feelings on such matters, I was always better off intellectually for having made the effort to engage with the idea in good faith. So, thanks for all your hard work and challenging ideas. Best of luck for all involved going forward on whatever projects you tackle next
This show has been beautiful and amazing and I'll miss it so much. Thank you and the whole team for all the effort and passion you've put into this.
There have been other critical-thinking or review channels, but none quite like this one, very much for the reasons described here. What could have been one more contemporary of so many other podcasts and radio shows was elevated hugely by not merely engaging with the audience, but fostering a community. It came at it from an oblique angle, but it made people better by getting them to think, and experience, and doubt, and accept, together.
Thank you.
That's an interesting way of thinking! I am doing research work on these stuff in education. What do you think children need to develop? I would love to ask you other similar questions for my homework. If you cheer up and leave me your email it would be great. Mine is gabriela.balbuenah@gmail.com !! What other critical-thinking channels you know could help me? Could you help me with ideas?
Since I found Idea Channel last year I've always thrown myself into the comment section trying to find some reasonable and interesting discussions about, well, anything really. I cannot say I was, or am, the most knowledgable person in any of the topics Mike explored, however finding and learning from others who indeed were more invested in them was an amazing experience.
Today, for once, I wanna drop the emotional bomb and just state how I feel about all of this. When I found Idea Channel I was just starting college, the friends and family I could have some interesting chats about popular culture and the world at large were left behind, and the internet communities I would do the same were crumbling under the weight of stupid post teen drama. I was desperate for any sort of smart conversation, to the point I would play devil's advocate in really single minded communities just for the sake of having someone arguing with me, to have someone challenge my visions of the world. To be able to think with others.
Idea Channel did exactly that. It felt so refreshing to be able to discuss in a civil and reasonable way ideas with others. Not only this helped to improve my general everyday mood but also helped me see the world from a hundred different perspectives, which I can say without exaggerating that played a role in who I am now and how I approach dialogue with others when handling difficult topics.
If there is something Idea Channel showed me rather quickly was what Mike describes today. When discussing with others, do not reject their ideas outright. Do not agree to disagree and shut up. Listen to them and understand what notion they are following, for ridiculous it is. Believe in it. And then challenge that belief with the skepticisim Descartes had. Challenge the premises as if they were your own. And make the other part defend it or challenge them with you. Let them see that you respect their position, stupid as it may seem, but that no position is for you above scrutiny, and theirs is not different.
From a cold and calculating perspective I can say that this has worked wonders to make discussions, not only less violent and nonsensical, but also have others more open to accept their positions might be wrong. After all, nobody wants to be wrong, but everyone is more willing to accept it if they see that you understand why they believed it. But also from a more humane perspective I can say that this has made me feel a stronger connection with others, and more importantly, with the idea of critical thought in general.
So thanks Idea Channel. Stay golden
"Think with one another. Peruse intellectual civility and intellectual empathy, not because these things are the solution to the world's problems, but because they will help you learn and grow. Think about one another, and believe each other. Believe someone when they tell you some piece of culture has helped or hurt them, is meaningful or inpactful even, and especially, if it's in a way you would have never expected."
Man, I really wish this idea was common. It's truly difficult to get other to simply believe in each other, but, if this channel has taught me anything, it's that just trying to start a conversation on pop culture topics inherits more insight, wisdom, and believability that I ever would've expected. So thanks. Thanks for ideas given, and the stories told. I'd be a much lesser person had I not subscribed to this channel.
I recently found a paper I wrote in my first year of college where I talked about TH-cam communities, and especially PBS idea channel, that foster productive conversation in the comments as a contemporary counterpoint to Horkheimer & Adorno's idea of the culture industry as mass deception. I guess I was just as excited about this channel when I first started watching it as I am at the last episode...
Thank you for this channel & all the conversations!
This was truly a wonderful last episode Mike. I hope to carry on the ideas you've put forward here, and the rest of the Idea Channel crew's. Thanks for everything!
I just subscribed to this channel a couple months ago and I wish so badly that I could've found it sooner(although the one good thing about being fairly new to the channel is I have four and a half years of backlog to watch). There isn't as big of an audience for educational channels on TH-cam and it was a complete surprise to me to find a comment section that was so supportive of each other and willing to help each other think through a problem, which is such a rarity in TH-cam. I know for me personally Idea Channel will be sorely missed, and while selfish me wants you to stay on TH-cam forever, I completely support your decision and wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. Thank you guys.
Sad to see you go.
I won’t lie, I teared up towards the end. This channel has been a big impact on how I and my friends think and discuss topics.
We'll all miss you Mike!
Seriously, we all have been affected by you in a great way. You have been an inspiration for so many people, the same way you were inspired by so many.
Please remember that. You made a great thing here.
man someone keeps cutting dusty onions in this room i have a cold IM ALLERGIC TO AIR DONT LOOK AT ME
Thanks for this Mike! I might show this to my college freshman when I'm trying to get them to think critically. Also, I've shown, like, half of your videos to composition students. They've been such a help! Thank you Idea Channel!
Thank You All for doing this. I'm a fairly new subscriber and probably on the fringe of your demographic, but that doesn't matter. I've enjoyed watching your back catalogue and will most likely re-visit many of these ideas.
This channel has given me so much life. I have utilized it in so many different ways. It has been a way for me to binge on thought in a healthy way. It has refreshed old discourse with new material. It has empowered me to believe more in my own ability to marry thoughts and words. Most importantly for me it has been a very effective pathway to thinking and confronting the idea and the existential dread that can sometimes come with not being able to completely categorize life. Furthermore, it is 100% okay that I can't but I shouldn't ever let myself stop wondering. Thank you all.
Also signal boosting for Reasonably Sound, Mike's Podcast, because holy cow is it a pleasant and relaxing mode of critical thought.
Mike and the Idea Channel Team,
I want to opine that there is no higher calling than what you all have done here with this show. The most important, and most difficult work in the world is to foster the minds of others - not only in creativity, subtlety, and nuance, but also, as you said, in empathy, humility, and bravery.
The legacy of this show won't be that you had interesting ideas about pop culture. It won't be that you responded to comments in an unprecedented way. It will be that you all helped show thousands of people that it was possible and crucial to widen their worldviews, to critically examine their own opinions and experiences, and to engage in this process WITH other people.
You say that you don't think engaging each other in critical empathy is the solution to the world's problems, but respectfully, you're mistaken. What you've taught in this video, and what you've been relentlessly teaching throughout every episode of this show, IS the answer.
There will be no resting on your laurels, for I don't believe you all to be those kinds of people. But regardless of what comes next, I want to make sure you understand this: you've done it. You have made the world a better and lighter place. You should hold your heads high. You have been the change you wanted to see. You should be so, so proud of what you have done with Idea Channel. We, your viewers and friends, will always be grateful.
Thanks for not only filling the void of a bus commute to work, but for also giving me something to think about with each episode.
Also, thanks for the info for the MoMA exhibit of video games as art. It was rad, as was this show.
so...I loved this show, I first discovered it because of the Orphan Black inspired idea but stayed (at first) because I REALLY liked your voice, Mike. then it started to resonate with me more and more, but never actually put thought into knowing why; why I jumped and left everything I was doing in order to watch a new episode, why the prospect of an upcoming show made me happy, why the ideas presented made me question myself and start a conversation about those topics with my friends , why I would stay up at night thinking about such proposals... now seeing this I realize that maybe it was me trying to be empathic. I've always considered myself egotistic, in the only place where that would change is literature, and perhaps, now that I think about it, here. To be honest I didn't comment much because english is not my first language and always felt kind of intimidated by the well versed peps, but always read those comments with curiosity and willingness to learn... willingness to BELIEVE. mayyybe now I'm a little more emphatic than before being a fan of this show and this is all because of y'all (inclusive because, as much as I love you, Mike, all the wonderful humans behind the camera and the thoughtful commentators also contributed to make of this an incredible space) I'm so sad it's ending just as I discovered why I was (and still am) so obsessed with this *idea* .
FAREWELL IDEA CHANNEL YOU HAVE BEEN A DELIGHT!
* *I'm so emotional RN* *
As sad as we all are, Idea Channel did all it should have without failure - it inspired thought in places and in ways, that are often overlooked, and it treated every idea and perspective with respect. Sure, it was never perfect, but it always strived to be better; It lead by example.
Idea Channel really was one of TH-cam's greatest places and communities.
As goodbyes go, I feel it's less a tearful last stare in the rainfall and more a hearfelt hug, a knowing smile for all the good times, and a Thank You.
You did good, Idea Channel. You did Good, Mike.
Thank you! This show has meant a lot to me, and it has been incredibly fun. Great job, and thank you to everyone involved in this show and to the commenters who made this show so smart and fun. Thank you!!!
This was a beautiful series, and I thank you all so much for making it was it was. There are so many things I never would have thought of in a different light had it not been for this show, and the community surrounding it.
So again, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you. It was one heck of a ride.
Hi Mike and the folks at PBSIdea Channel.
I don't usually comment on youtube videos in general but in the five years that Idea Channel has been doing what it has been doing, it has changed my perspective about what I consider to be worthy of critical thought and has expanded and enriched how I think about all media and helped me develop a more accepting/believing approach to the way I emphasise with people. I find that I have come to better understanding and better conversations with other people, even though I never was engaging with the audience. Something i think I shall change next time I come across a community like this again.
Thank you for that.
Thank you for all the amazing episodes over the years. I hate to see it ending, but I love how you've done the ending. These last four episodes (Mario revisited and the ending) were amazing, and a so much better way to end a series than simply not uploading one week. We'll miss you.
I have loved this show so much ever since the day I first discovered it, about halfway through its run. I think I found this when I first caught up with Homestuck in its third to last pause and found the episode about it. Thank you so much Mike, for absolutely everything you have done with us here.
That's a very nice graduation speech.
:(
I wish I could go back and play a bigger part in these lovely shenanigans.
I may not have commented or seen every video in this series, but that doesn't change the fact that it changed my life for the better. Thank you very much for everything you have done!
I've been watching this show from near the very beginning and its become an important part of my media diet. These videos have given me so many things to talk and think about. Thank you so much for all the work and heart you put into this channel.
I didn't think I'd be as effected as I was.
Idea channel has been a mainstay in my life for 3 years and it really shaped my view on philosophy, social issues and it's inherent importance. It showed me that pop culture is important and thinking about the things I love can be just as satisfying as the culture itself... so thank you Mike and thank you IdeaChannel
You gave me more ideas than you know
Also FIRST
+
Culture is not your friend. Culture is for other peoples’ convenience
and the convenience of various institutions, churches, companies, tax
collection schemes, what have you. It is not your friend. It insults
you. It disempowers you. It uses and abuses you. None of us are
well-treated by culture.
Mike and crew, this show has been such a joy for me. I only ever commented one time (not the most interactive type), but I watched every single episode and learned a lot. I feel my critical thinking skills have improved an immeasurable amount directly because of this show. Thank you so much!
Hey Mike, I'm not trying to post a warranting-response comment, just hoping that you will see it, read it, and understand it.
I can't remember when exactly I subscribed to the channel, but it must have been around the beginning when I graduated from university in Michigan in 2012 with degrees in philosophy and history. I moved to South Korea at the end of 2012 to teach English and watched the channel to keep my mind in some kind of intellectual state. I was missing the rigorous thought inherent in academia and consumed hours of TH-cam videos, documentaries, and books to make up for it. I often used the premises of your shows as discussion points for my high-level students in Seoul and would proscribe your videos as optional homework.
But when I was living in Korea, I realized that my modus operandi of gaining and retaining knowledge was, in reality, a form of consumption that required no active thought or work on my part. I grew content in absorbing others' thoughts and regurgitating them when an opportune time presented itself.
After that, I became a little cynical about the weight I put on knowledge (which I felt was singular, biased, and futile), and shifted towards a life of personal experience instead. I quit my job in Korea, moved to Russia at the end of 2015 and adjusted my lifestyle/mentality to one in which I accepted my singular understanding of the world. I landed in Saint Petersburg, where I stopped consuming hours of TH-cam/documentaries in exchange for a shameless life of being happy in my kernel understanding of the world. I am the token "American" among my friends in Russia and I now feel a strange sense of pride in my often-different POV of history, politics, philosophy, culture, etc. But, to be honest, I still feel like I'm missing the community of "overthinkers" that I was a part of during my college years. Maybe it's less important to me now, in my day-to-day life, but I still feel like I am missing something.
If my time in university from 2008-12 was active engagement in intellectual thought, Korea was intellectual consumption from 2012-15, Russia has been either been negligence or cynicism (intellectually, again) from 2016-now, then I wonder when a period active, productive thought might come in my life. I feel ready for it, but I think my blades are dull and I am not prepared to rejoin the conversation. But the thing is, I know that I think best I speak. Another teacher-friend of mine calls this "active-teaching," in which an argument is formed and supported as it is conceptualized (often by professors while in front of a class).
I'm leaving this comment on your final video because I want it to give me the impetus to progress again, put my brain towards something, and believe that my experience (after living/traveling to different parts of the world) might be recognized and, possibly, impactful to others -- as your channel has undoubtably been.
Again, I am not looking for a response, advice, or a shout-out. I'll take the things I've heard and learned from this channel as tools for my own construction. All I ask is that if you ever make it to Russia, you contact me and we sit down for a cup of vodka sometime.
Thanks for all the inspiration,
Max
I'm a little bit in love with your brain and I'll miss this.
I hope you have a life that is as filled with beauty as you are.
Hi Mike. This wonderful episode made me glad for all the hours I've spent watching -- and it made me *regret* some of the hours I've spent commenting. Let me explain.
I know that over the years, I have spent most of my time in the comments section playing "the doubting game." And your words made me wish -- at least a little -- that I could re-project all those questions and critiques through a healthier, more empathetic, and more "believing" lens. Yes, I always tried to take your ideas as seriously as they were presented -- and as deeply as they could bear. But maybe this tended to put me in an antagonistic position in relation to those ideas, and even to the channel.
I do hope that "doubting" wasn't all I was -- and wasn't all I said. Mike, your work always provoked me; you were provocative. You called me out of myself to meet your ideas and engage them head-on. Regardless of my chosen game, your work made me try to be *better* -- sometimes competitively so, sometimes cooperatively. But now I wish I could have found different and more expansive ways to be better -- and be that better thinker. You always beckoned me in that direction, and with this episode, I can feel something continue to call, even as the channel falls silent.
I believe in your believing game. I want to play it more regularly than I do. And I wish I had the chance to have to say more about the range and extent of that game, without falling into doubt. Are there limits to your intellectual empathy? And there beliefs that have no place in your game? Do you ever find yourself tending mainly to belief those you already are predisposed to care about -- believing the "already believable"? Or can you also find yourself provoked and engaged, even by those far outside your playgroup?
I hope that you can. And, moreover, I hope that your "believing game" can be this accommodating of an enterprise -- a MMORPG so massive that it changes the very idea of terms and who can play, and on what team. There's a lot of demand for "belief" these days, and just as much refusal to empathize. Your game of ideas and communal thinking may be just the engagement that we require -- one where we can become bigger and better by allowing ourselves to stop being ourselves, if only for a few more turns.
Yes, there's an Idea. Your idea. Thanks for sharing it with me.
Thank you for making Idea Channel such a wonderful place for thought and curiosity for these past few years. This channel will always have a special place in my heart!
Thank you so much for all those years and great episodes! This final idea is absolutely what brought me to follow and love this channel. I learned so much just by accepting and trying to understand ideas that seemed so outlandish at first glance. And so many episodes here were an inspiration to great discussion with my friends that ultimately led us to create great bonds. Here's to you and to all of the Idea Channel team to pursue and reach many more great ideas!
Thank you Mike and thank you Idea Channel Team!
This is the perfect finale as the final message and lesson is to understand that thinking is more than just an exercise in spinning wheels. We can do great things and change the lives of many people for the better with some critical thought about the world around us.
The Family and SU episode not only got me started on watching that amazing series, but gave me so many tools to explain why I love it. Along with that, I also got the tools to help share the messages in a much more progressive light. (ie, adoptive parents, found family, and how to be a good guardian.)
There's always something new to learn, and I come away from every video with a new word or explanation for the complex world around me. Thank you for everything.
Thanks for the conversations you inspired with my friends and my boyfriend. I have fond memories of discussing astrophysics over fancy dinner on a boat on the Seine, discussing multiverse theory, and referencing videos of yours and others we were inspired to watch as we conspired what would happen if you could do XYZ in the multiverse. Our friends have told us to consider hosting a podcast of our own because apparently we’re now fascinating to listen to having a conversation! Thank you for encouraging these conversations- culture and other people are so much more fascinating when we think about why we love what we love. I’ve always connected with people over which characters spoke to us and why; thank you for validating that experience.
what is the link for the podcast
Okay so uh.
I have watched Idea Channel on and off for the past 5 years now. This is it.
I'm not sure how well of a comment response this might be, but in response to comment responses I wanted to say how grateful I am to what you've done for my own brain. I always liked to think I was at least somewhat a critical thinker of pop culture and the like for most of my life, but this show was really the first time I felt at home with it. I felt like I wasn't so crazy for overanalyzing my favorite cartoons, or for spouting philosophisms in response to "simple" questions. You gave me a place I could see I wasn't alone in thinking, and gave me tools to think about what I love in a stronger context.
I've always tried to comment something when I managed to watch a video on time, but I never got a response back. From you or otherwise. I realize this isn't really anyone's fault or that I'm alone at all on this front, but I can only hope someone could read something I write (here or otherwise) and get half of the smarticism and good vibes I get from any one of your videos.
I dunno if this even really argues or says anything and I'm sorry if this just sounds like blubbering nonsense at 2 in the morning, but I wanted to take the last chance to say how I felt.
Thank you, Mike. Thank you so, so much. I can't wait to see what you do next.
Here's a comment response, 4 months late! I found this video so important and inspiring that I'm reading everything because I'm hungry for conversation just as you are. And I haven't been disappointed. Even though this is the last scripted video and the vast majority of comments are "Nooo don't go" or "Thank you for being awesome" (which are fine, don't get me wrong, but it's slightly a shame because the subject is so fascinating) I've been finding lots of things that inspire further thinking. Too bad I'm so late to the party!
Mike wore an Autechre shirt a few videos ago. I'd been watching this channel for awhile but that really made me perk up. Since then I've been listening to his music on bandcamp. It gave me a whole new dimension along which I could appreciate that fascinating mind of his.
I also read the Peter Elbow paper (the first time I think I ever followed up on the footnotes) and found it mind-blowingly great. A whole new way to think about critical thinking. It gave me a framework I'd been clumsily grasping for, connecting vague ideas and contradictory impulses I'd had but couldn't put in relation with one another. 'If critical thinking is so great, why is it so terrible at sparking productive conversation between starkly differing views of the world?' 'Should I be more empathetic to people I vehemently disagree with, or should I try to strengthen my own position via more knowledge and critical thought?' And 'Why does critical thinking tend to drive me to paralysis rather than productive action? Am I doing it wrong?'
In my most utopian fantasies we would all band together and continue the conversation indefinitely, here and everywhere. But alas, the forum just doesn't seem conducive to that (or people don't feel like digging through the comments section of a 4 month old video when there are new videos to watch and conversations to have). Thus, like you, I feel like someone on the periphery of a wonderful community, thankful that it exists but not really feeling included (but it's my own damn fault I'm so late).
Thanks for everything, everyone related to Idea Channel! This show will never truly go away for me - I'll take this as "see you later" instead of "goodbye"! Stay curious, lovely humans.
That was the BEST video made by Idea Chanel. Thank you so much for creating such content. Through the last 5 years you help creating a wider vision of the world for me. I hope to ear/see you again soon.
I miss this show so much :(
Thank you so much for the years of critical thinking. It encouraged me, subliminally perhaps, to play the believing game and remain a curious person. Thank you.
I still miss this show.
It's actually surprising that you only edited it three years ago. It feels a lot longer. Maybe because the internet has a way of making a year ago seem nostalgic.
Though I don't think I had really made much good responses to these videos, it did give me a kick of excitement when I was at one point referenced. I think that I've grown considerably in my dialogue aptitude since then, as this show taught me how normal, creative people think; and how a crazy creative like me might reach someone like you guys. Opening the door for me to open up my own blog, and share my own ideas in a way that will make sense to the world.
I thank you for this effort that you've all made. It was interesting, it was fun, and most importantly: it was valuable exercise.
I've watched many youtubers thank their audiences, but your words at the end of this video resounded with me quite intensely. Although I've been much more of a lurker than a commenter in the IC space, I've certainly grown and learned from that lurking, and somehow I do feel like we've become friends. Until your heartfelt thankyou message I hadn't realised how much I'll miss this channel. Here's to enjoying your future work - I already listened to all released episodes of reasonably sound a while ago... more please!
I look forward to seeing you around on the internet (maybe IRL someday! I'd love that). Peace and love!
Saying goodbye is difficult, it's been a tremendous 5 years, I enjoyed learning, thinking and over-thinking with you. I wish Mike and everyone behind the scenes all the best
This show has helped me a lot with my own growth in a similar way. I've always liked the perspective of ideas existing in a vacuum, in a sense, and that logic is kind of the alpha and omega of intellectual thought, regardless of the arena that the ideas are floating around in (while still taking into account the context of the idea itself, of course). I still think that although feelings are important, the distinction should probably still be made between thoughts and feelings and clarified, especially in heated debates, but what I have learned from this show and applied has really helped in my relationships IRL, and... you know what? I think I have something in my eye...
I agree that it's useful and necessary to try to distinguish between thoughts and feelings, but I also wonder if it's fully possible. I believe there is a component of feeling within every thought, as well as a component of thought in every emotion, but there's also a subtle but crucial distinction between feeling and emotion, at least the way I conceptualize it ...
I would go on but this exercise in reading through every comment of a four month old video and replying to each one I find interesting is starting to feel a bit quixotic.
thank you for this, Mike, it always makes my night to watch your videos and I'm grateful for all the nights you've kept me company :)
Thank you. Like a lot of other people seem to be saying, I've watched for a long time but never commented - just listened and read and absorbed. But having something like idea channel around to do that with has definitely shaped the person I am and the way I engage with the world around me. So again, thank you.
Dude you are going to make me cry, I cant handle this, this channel, this community, It was a huge HUGE part of my life.
I'm going to miss this so much, keep us posted on what you are moving forward with, please.
Best of luck to you, and us.
it has always stood out to me that one of the most outstanding pieces of production value Idea Channel brought was the live gif commentary. Some recognisable and good ol favourites, but always perfectly associated and seemingly captured from all forms of media. Could you please shed some light before you go on who's responsible for this and how they do it? do they have an encyclopedia index off all gifs ever made? do they make their own? Please go on!
Don't be sad it's gone, be happy it existed.
I found this channel when it was about two years old when I was bored one day and my classes were finished - after watching multiple episodes (while still not being subscribed - I didn't really use that function all that often) I finally decided to give it a follow and never regretted it.
I've always been a silent viewer because I didn't know how to put my thoughts into words on here - but there was many times where me and my sister would usually have a chat about our thoughts about one of your videos and it was always enjoyable even if we disagreed sometimes.
Keep doing awesome things, we'll be rooting for you!
You will be sorely missed Mike. The ideas you provided us with, the conversations you facilitated and the community this channel helped foster was something special. Each week, these videos made me think more critically about the media I encountered and to experience things in ways I wouldn't have otherwise. Thank you for this thoughtful channel and may you go on to continue being thoughtful in whatever you do next. It's been a wild ride and one I'm glad to have gotten in on the ground floor with.
May these videos live on as a quality archive of the beginning of many people's journeys into opening up to to the world and opening up themselves. Cheers Mike, cheers everyone else.
Man. Idea Channel has been such a mainstay of my internet experience for such a long time in internet years. Even if I didn't keep up to date with every single upload, it was always here when I felt like watching it. It made me rethink my stance on many things and dare I say it, made me become a better interlocutor. I'm gonna miss it and I look forward to seeing what y'all decide to do next. Keep on being awesome.
Well now I'm sad. This show has carried me through some tough times. It's helped me grow from an ignorant troll on the internet to who I am today, which I hope is a lot better of a person. The first episode I ever watched was your episode on Steven Universe, and it blew me away. From then on I've watched as many episodes as I possibly could and introduced this show to all of my friends. I have to admit that sometimes I couldn't make it through an episode if I was tired, but I always went back to watch it. Although this is the end of the show, it's a new beginning for you and us, and we get to use the ideas you gave us to further ourselves and our community. Thank you, Mike and the team behind Idea Channel, for presenting us with a great opportunity to learn and grow. Happy Trails.
As an irregular watcher. It was a pleasure to watch you every couple of weeks and having my mind blown in binge watching sessions.
It's been a long time since I've started watching this channel, so many cool thoughts and ideas that could sparkle someone's brain into thinking "hmmmm...that's interesting", and seeing the Finale written in capital letters just makes me wanna say thank you!
Thanks for being in our subscription boxes for so long. And for leaving these awesome videos scattered thought youtube.