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The world is based on mathematics. I once got an O-level GCE in Eng. Lang. with an essay on that |
YouTube understands me well. For six years it has helped me learn how to sing. V is a terrific teacher but she is a soprano and I’m a baritone. If I need a baritone version of say, Schubert’s Du bist die Ruh, which I’m studying with V, YouTube has a slew of examples.
But I have other interests. When I open YouTube its all-knowing algorithms offer me “trailers” of many subjects in which I’ve previously shown an interest. For example: Putin’s rhetoric in his public announcements, technicalities of indoor wall climbing, stand-up sections of Jimmy Kimmel’s TV chat show from LA, dialogue between airline pilots and air traffic control, how a light-emitting diode works, “The Ten Things All Flat-Earthers Say”, many aspects of motor-bikes, etc.
Please, please don’t jump to conclusions. Showing an interest in something doesn’t mean I support its aims. Googling serial killers isn’t proof I always carry a machete. Only that I disapprove of ignorance.
But YouTube goes further; it identifies topics which I only dimly perceive. Things I might respond to if only I were a better version of myself. Linear algebra, for instance. Not to be confused with plain algebra.
It’s harder. Fundamental in modern presentations of geometry, it is often used for dealing with first-order approximations. Already I detect – telepathically – your eyes glazing over. Me? I’m flattered YouTube has this view of me. I click on The Big Picture of Linear Algebra by an MIT professor.
Quickly I’m lost. But the professor, Gilbert Strang, is a good teacher as the video’s comments proclaim. He backtracks and summarises. Uses conversational English. Tiny flashes of comprehension occur. I’m no mathematician. If only I’d taken that other road when I was 16… Ah, Wilderness.
Books couldn’t have done this. YouTube, I wouldn’t be without you.
I used to get irritated by youtube algorithms but then a clip popped up just so explaining very slowly and in excruciating detail how to put the oven door back on after cleaning. Saved my life. If only I could find it again now.
ReplyDeleteSabine: the hinge on an oven door - all oven doors it seems - is unique in its function. Looks simple, but flatters to deceive. Apart from the fact that everything one touches is covered with what looks like glazed-on black lacquer but which transfers itself eagerly on to human skin. That clip was a brief glimpse of secular paradise. Count yourself lucky
ReplyDeleteJust like you, I really enjoy YouTube – you can find anything on it. If I read something briefly in the media I can go to YouTube and search, and voila! they have it. Just like today – I heard about this fellow landing a plane without such knowledge, I placed “man lands plane after pilot passes out” and immediately YouTube had a 2:48 min segment showing CNN reporting on it. My only problem is my cat Mitsouko. I had the bad idea to show her a cat video on YouTube and now as soon as I open my iPad she jumps in front of it. There are so many videos for cats, her favorite are those showing snakes, lizards or strings. Then she tries to catch them on the screen and it becomes dark. Then it’s my turn … every day is like that! YouTube is also very handy. I have a new espresso coffee maker but misplaced the owner’s instruction. Went on YouTube, placed the name and model of the machine – and they demonstrated how to use the machine. Another thing is when I read a book I keep my iPad close by, if a town is mentioned I find it on YouTube and it helps with the story. Quite useful, really.
ReplyDeleteVagabonde: Delighted to hear from a fellow "confessor". The internet has spawned all types of groups, many with a secretive attitude towards what they regard as their "guilty secret". To gain knowledge from books is thought to be a noble practice worth shouting about; whereas these same people remain silent about the source of knowledge derived from the internet.
ReplyDeleteAnother snobbism: people who sneer at kids "fiddling with their phones" when they should be reading "a good book". Seeming to forget that the kids could actually be reading that book on their phone. Or, for that matter, using the phone or PC to pursue the most abstruse reaches of the physical world (eg, my accidental encounter with linear algebra) packaged in a way that makes the subject far more accessible than books do.
Be careful your cat doesn't acquire its own computer. Or form a feline media channel.
My Grandchild has done wonders with Makeup application thanks to Tutorials on U-Tube. I'm pretty sure there's something for everyone on there, I've only infrequently delved.
ReplyDelete