Awesome Philosophy

Everything you experience in life results from your brain doing massive amounts of data processing from your eyes, ears, nose, and other body parts. Kurzgesagt explores the wonderful world of human perception. It’s incredible how our minds rapidly edit together information and fill in the blanks using memories and predictions to create our realities.

“From the perspective of human history, most of us are unlikely.” Pursuit of Wonder uses statistics to remind us that the vast majority of humans never made it past adolescence. The good things we enjoy, as well as the insanity we endure as adults, are novelties. We’re all new to this, so let’s be kinder to each other and to ourselves.

Kurzgesagt simplifies the arguments for and against humans having free will. On one hand, some argue that we don’t have free will because, according to physics, everything is either deterministic or random. On the other hand, others say that such a perspective misses the point: that we are greater than the sum of our parts, whether those be deterministic or random.

Not to be confused with the similarly-named song by The Smiths, modern-day philosopher exurb1a is back to fill our brains with another fascinating perspective on our existence. Along the way, he challenges our perceptions of time, place, and self and explains the basic concepts of metaphysics.

(PG-13: Language) As artificial intelligence tech gets more capable, there are many ethical questions that humanity will have to deal with. Among them is how we will treat AI if and when they become conscious. Philosopher exurb1a explores the challenges we’ll face figuring that out, along with some of the many dangers of AI tech.

Unlike US paper sizes, metric paper sizes like A3 and A4 can be folded into quarters to make smaller standard size sheets. CGP Grey explains the satisfying math of this paper sizing standard, then zooms in and out to see how it relates to the exponential nature of the universe.

Most forecasts focus on weather stats like temperature, winds, and precipitation. But exurb1a’s forecast takes an all-encompassing approach by predicting what will happen to every living thing on Earth, the Solar System, and throughout the observable universe. A fun watch for data and trivia geeks.

In this short science fiction story, Pursuit of Wonder imagines what our distant future might look like when galaxies have moved so far away from each other that the rest of the universe no longer appears to exist. It’s a fascinating philosophical exploration of history and how time and perspective can change everything.

It’s raining… sardines and mackerel? Just a normal day in the Haruki Murakami novel Kafka on the Shore. Anti-Anti’s cool graphic tee is an original design sure to elicit nods of respect from well-read strangers. Screen-printed by hand using eco-friendly ink on comfy 100% combed cotton. It also comes in a slim version for literary ladies.

While stuck home during the pandemic, it’s more important than ever to try and vary your days and mix things. up. In Jan Riesenbeck and Dennis Stein-Schomburg’s strange short film, a man explores the importance of breaking out of routines, while his floating head transforms into some of the many thoughts he expresses.

(PG-13: Language) Modern day philosopher exurb1a offers a rambling, but still captivating essay that covers everything from the history of human civilization, how we’re not really as smart as we think, how not to win an argument, and how compassion is core to our very existence.

“How can we prevent ourselves from getting lost in the funhouse?” Filmmaker and speaker Kirby Ferguson looks at how the barrage of social media and other information sources can affect our perception of what is real, and how you can use your instincts and critical thinking to reduce your chances of being manipulated.

If you think the search for meaning of life was difficult for humans, imagine being a tiny microorganism, scurrying about with billions of others, mindlessly performing its role in the universe. Pursuit of Wonder’s clip ponders just that.

Just 200 years ago, the life expectancy of humans was dramatically shorter than it is today. Pursuit of Wonder pontificates on how we’ve improved our lifespans to date through science and technology, what our future might look like, and how lives are best measured by quality, rather than the quantity of years we have.

exurb1a shares a charming and mind-expanding tale of a tiny ant who finds his way onto the page of a book, and has some big questions about the meaning of life for the giant looking down on its pages.

There’s no question that we live in a vast and incredibly complex universe. The fact that life exists at all has led some scientists and philosophers to ponder whether or not we are all just living in a computer simulation. This TED-Ed clip by theoretical physicist Zohreh Davoudi and animator Eoin Duffy explores that question.