2veritasium here in argentina they will ask for a coin and then grab the wallet once you pulled it up. Amazing videos Derek, I cant believe how much they acctualy enlighten. The cience of Mistakes and learning are quite related, You deal with Caotic but magical forces my friend
jordan zagier 2veritasium It's true! we are faced with these scams early on our lives so we are less likely to fall for these (Tambien soy argentino) First world people often lack this "training", so growing up in places like argentina has its good side.
The obvious quote missing from this video is "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new," attributed to Albert Einstein. However Quote Investigator finds this is probably a misattribution from a 1995 article in a Syracuse University newspaper. So the origin of this quote about mistakes is mistaken.
2veritasium hey i have made mistakes both academically and in life too. But we don't have to worry about it too much. I was lost in my own place. If those people knew who you were they probably wouldn't have stole your stuff. Next time you visit just call me.
2veritasium Mistake maker here! Maybe Just MAYBE someone maybe even me can have a mistake free day. Until then dance in your mistakes like they are ping pong balls filling the air!
I was there in the audience when you demonstrated on the stage, in fact I was the one who asked you to take the picture with me on stage during the break. It was the best science show I have ever witness thank you!
2veritasium hey there Derek! first of all, being an Indian I feel really bad about your experience in India, Please avoid places like paharganj, I don't know why foreigners go to that place, I am an Indian, I moved to delhi 4 years ago and I absolutely detest paharganj. I stayed there for one night because I had no money and nowhere else to go, I left the place first thing in the morning, swallowed my pride and stayed at a friend's place instead. Next time you are here, please stay at my place, I assure you it is safe, with air-conditioning and everything. there is also a fridge full of beer so we can have beer and talk physics. no charges at all =)
Amit Yadav The only plus-point of Paharganj is that it is cheap. just walking on the streets of paharganj makes me feel cheap. Traveller's delight is Hauz Khas Village. Paharganj is just a cheap place to bunk for the night.
Being an Indian i humbly apologize for the bad experience you had in Delhi. There are all kinds of people everywhere. Please dont despise the country. Visit again soon 2veritasium :)
rishabh bajpai Yeah dw, I don't think anyone logical would despise an entire country because one person did something wrong to them, especially if that country has over a billion people.
rishabh bajpai well he never blame the people who did it, instead he blamed himself for not paying attention. that's what wise people do, they reflect on their mistakes, not blaming others.
It's really sad, I had pretty bad experiences in my 4½ months of travelling all around India as well, to the point I don't want to visit again... I met some good people in India, but the bad outweighed the good by a pretty large margin, and I realized just how bad it was after travelling to a bunch of other developing countries where I had really good experiences consistently. I might have just thought it was bad luck if I was only there (in India) a couple weeks, but after 4½ months, it's hard not to conclude the whole country's fucked. I'm not surprised at all to hear about his weird and screwed up experience there.
***** Technically you are correct, I was just paraphrasing Adam Savage, he used the word "option". However I can imagine scenarios where I would fail on purposue, for example when testing the strenght of materials, until they fail. However, if the failure of something is intended, does the experiment fail when the expected failure does not happen? I guess so...
Great video - I am a professional, full-time flight instructor, and have been for the past 8 years. One of my responsibilities is to train other pilots to be flight instructors. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gives guidance on the learning and teaching process and has differentiated between different types of "errors." "Mistakes" are when a faulty plan is properly executed (think of a pilot who does not understand an airplane's system and treats it as if it works the same way a system he or she is familiar with, and gets a bad result). "Slips" result from a good plan which is not fully, or properly executed (consider a pilot who fails to deploy the landing gear - something they clearly intended to do, but got distracted from). I teach that mistakes are remedied by more thorough training, and slips are eliminated by forming good discipline - i.e. checklist usage, etc. As it turns out, mistakes are at the heart of all learning. I never tolerate a student who apologizes for a mistake - we literally learn from our mistakes - embrace them! Thanks for your numerous videos. I use many of them in my teaching.
The story about the canister where you lost your wallet and in hindsight you thought you should have run when everyone else did reminds me of something I once read somewhere... "When you are cool, calm, and collected while everyone else around you is screaming, panicking, and generally loosing their minds... maybe it's because you don't quite understand the situation!"
These stories really added to the picture I have of you. For you it's almost mandatory to help people and you yourself enjoy doing others a favor, often forgetting that this opens up endless ways for exploitation. Most people would've neither cared about the two kids asking for a picture, nor about thanking their teachers for the great work they've done. But you do. And therefore I thank you, for all you've taught me so far and the great work you've done. Keep it up! :)
+MrYogurtGuy so true. Say what you will we're still so primitive. Displaced priorities. Wealth accumulation. Complete and lack of empathy for the suffering. 1% could solve world hunger problems in a finger snap.. but they'd rather exploit the poor and build their riches further.
Everyone is an amalgamation of their parents' DNA plus many genetic mutations; mistakes in the proper copying of DNA. People don't just make mistakes. Mistakes are what make everyone who they are.
I was working in a lab once just after I finished high school, I I had to dispose of an excess of 98% sulphuric acid. It was slow going down the chemical sink due to trying not to overheat the pipework. I thought if I tried to neutralise it I could do it quicker. So I grabbed a handful of NaOH and just before I put it in I thought that the reaction might be strong, I took one pellet of NaOH and threw it from across the room into the container and was nearly deafened by and incredibly hi pitched sound of the reaction that could be heard threw out the building, I made a mistake... But it could have been far worse
matthew mcgrath Sulfuric acid is notoriously dangerous to neutralize. I've only had to do it once, and I knew enough to use weak, buffered bases. Still, it got extremely hot and would have boiled if I hadn't done it very slowly... and you don't want boiling sulfuric acid anywhere near you!
matthew mcgrath I'm glad you caught that one! My high school physics teacher shorted a car battery with a coat-hanger. The coat-hanger fused to the terminals, then got red hot and melted into the battery, spraying acid everywhere...
I am an Indian & a great fan of ur channel. as much as i am happy that u visited my country rather my city New Delhi, I would also like to apologise for whatever the trouble u had to face here.. on behalf of all of the Indians Sorry Derek...
CraftSized Well, that might be technically correct, but I wonder, did they actually tell you or how did you find out? And by any chance, are you from Soviet Russia?
When I freelanced for a table game company, I revolutionized their errata process. What I did was create an entire area in their forums where errata - the correction of errors in published material - was the only topic. I posted up individual discussion threads for each "active" product; not just what's currently in print, but anything that is considered important for the game line. The response was overwhelmingly positive, as fans and creators alike could quickly find corrections, or report problems, in moments. Imagine my chagrin, then, when I finally had a book of my own published and people immediately reported issues with it. Mistakes happen. It's how we deal with them that's key. Retractions, corrections, and updates are not signs of failure. They are a true mark of striving for excellence.
I have a job in the service industry. I strive to make as little mistakes as possible, but when I do, I'm made aware of them immediately. Derek, you're also in the service industry 2.0 - and when we do, we immediately take action to //make the situation right//. You're doing just that my man. Mistakes are how we learn to serve better.
Aw, I am sorry to hear about that bad experience, it must have been a huge annoyance to lost your wallet like that. You know? i actually liked this video, knowing that even guys like you or your teachers can make mistakes. It's good to hear when people acknowledge their mistakes, it helps them and it helps other people at the same time.
The moral of the story is don't trust fucking scum like the working class and people in 2nd and 3rd world countries. Why would you want to stay in a crappy place in the middle of a scummy suburb? There are tourist areas for a reason, so we don't have to sink to their level.
I like the ending of this video, when you speak about life being a series of these fumbles trying to get to a point and never quite getting there, yet we must enjoy the process of improvement. This speaks to me in particular, as I'm constantly working toward being better toward not only those around me, but myself. It's a learning process everyday, and I can only hope those around me can understand and be there by my side as I figure it out on my own.
1337w0n haha, yeah the pockets in the shorts I had on, I had earlier in the day remarked to myself about how shallow they were. I saw this coming, which made it all the worse.
1337w0n i place my valuables in mid pocket of jacket, so if there's slight change of weight, it'll very noticeable. and also taking my wallet out from there is a big challenge
sorry man to hear you lost your wallet in India. I'm Indian living in south India and I love your videos, I watch them everyday!!! I watch Veritasium, Physics girl and Vsauce a lot and you guys have made me love science like never before!!! of course, we're all just human. We all make mistakes and need to learn from them and move on :) Cheers mate. Wish I could be more like you 😊
This year i went to the International Science and Engineering fair as a finalist and my BIGGEST hope was that you would be a guest speaker!! You are my inspiration!!!!
"Everybody knows The demons come and go To have regrets is only human But I just can't escape The memories of mistakes Round and round instead of moving on Until the stars collide Until the stars collide" Sophie Ellis-Bextor - "Until the Stars Collide"
Two weeks ago, CZcams deleted all of the folder that I'd sorted my subscriptions into. It's like they came into my organized library, and dumped all of the books into a big pile on the floor, as a "better way" to stay organized. Frustrated, about a week later, I went though all of my subscriptions and deleted over half so that I could focus on seeing the content that really mattered. When I looked at the 2Ve channel, unused for months, I pondered for a moment. The insight of your regular Veritasium videos is good, but this channel would be the space that you'd put the "why" behind that thoughts you'd share on the regular channel. That "why" is important to me, so I didn't delete 2Ve. At least that's one mistake that was avoided. As always, thank you for sharing.
I don't get the video from India - was it some kind of sound emitter? Was that high pitched whine actually recorded by the video or did you put it in to simulate the ringing in your ears??
One special about Veritasium videos is that you will never feel the topic discussed is getting irrelevant over times. And I get new inspirations when re-watch. Very good content!
The things I learn from this channel are as important to me as the physics that you teach on your primary channel man. Please, share more of your thoughts with us, because you are really good at it.
Maybe the logo at the video ending should say "an element of (probable) truth" :D Not very marketable, but less ironic considering the content of the video
Carlos Vives though the saying 'an element of truth' refers to things that have a bit of truth to them, not things that are entirely 100% infallably true.
Used to work at a science centre in Perth, Australia and do that Liquid Nitrogen Exploding in a Bin Demonstration and the amount of times it didn't work/was taking too long... Feel your pain man. Also thanks for making videos like these, really insightful! I'm hoping to start a medical science/global health based channel one of these days and your videos are an inspiration to get on and do it.
Just to be clear, this does not happen very often in india....i mean one should not freak out everytime going out in india and being curious about things you see there...i think derek just got a but unlucky in this scenario...
Anurag Shukla I agree, I've had no problems when I've been to India. I've been to a lot worse places where I have been ripped off, the worst being at less than 2 km from my house! But I guess it's like most places around the world; people sometimes take advantage of "rich" tourists and occasionally rob them. Cheers.
There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, the some of the greatest scientific and technological leaps mankind has made are from mistakes. But its the small personal ones that are the problem >:¬} I think its only a mistake if you don't learn from it, up until you repeat it, its a learning experience! I am a very learner-ed man >:¬}
As a soon to be Aerospace Engineer student I love watching your science videos because they are awesome but these videos are defiantly the most enjoyable!
Veritasium could you consider making a video of Hyperloop. a "new mode of transportation" proposed by Elon Musk of Tesla "& spaceX .......would be nice
i was saying this because im in the hyperloop team of Virginia Tech who just this weekend got 4th place on the competition at Texas A&M. MIT got 1st place. We are going to build the pod to race our pods next to SpaceX headquarters. We would gladly be happy to give any details to veritasium if he ever decides to do something with hyperloop video interesting fact: MIT team mainly composed of graduates, while Virginia Tech team was all undergraduates and had like 3 graduates to ask for advice. have great day everyone!!
USA students and entrepreneurs won't stop until we create this new transportation system. As well as others around the world. take a look: hyperloop.tamu.edu/media-kit/
That's quite a walk from the beginning of Clarendon Street all the way to the Yarra river. Your video, as always, has a great message. I'm a Physics teacher myself and I have the same attitude as you. As teachers, we are expected to be perfect, not just by our students and the general public, but by ourselves as well. I'm as guilty of this as any teacher (perhaps moreso as I'm a bit of a perfectionist) and yet I love being wrong. When you make a mistake in front of a group of people, it is our natural tendency to try to hide or minimize the mistake as much as possible. Over the years I have learned to revel in the mistakes I make by explaining why I was wrong and what can be learned from this. Students learn more from this than even the most well-planned lesson on the topic. More importantly, this demonstrates to students that it is okay to be wrong and is a good illustration of the nature of Science. Clearly as teachers we want to be right all the time but on those rare occasions when we do make mistakes, the way that we handle them says a great deal about who we are and what our ultimate goal is. Lastly, I just wanted to thank you for all the great videos you put out. I show them to my classes all the time.
pramitbanerjee he got his wallet stolen. If he could get his wallet stolen I'd imagine it's pretty likely to happen to anyone. Therefore, it's best to minimize the potential loss.
that is a very generalized view. You could get your wallet stolen almost anywhere. Perhaps i should make a video tomorrow about how i keep my wallet in my pocket for most of the days and that will be sufficient to convince you to do so yourself?
pramitbanerjee It's not like this is the only story I've heard of someone getting their wallet stolen in a place like India. While yes, you can get your wallet stolen almost anywhere, I think it's fairly obvious it's more likely in some places than others.
true, india is not as safe as japan. But you should not generalize it based on some stories you heard. One should not be blindly trusting either, but don't go to extremes and bring less money than you need. It isn't that unsafe. And that story is from 2005. Since then. many things have changed.
You rock Derek. And it's great that you have the character to say that you make mistakes, it shows the rest of us that there is nothing wrong with being wrong, it's all part of journey, and a way to learn and move forward. I wish more people would come to that understanding, it is freeing, you try more and experience more when you are okay with making a mistake here and there.
Jacob M This is so sad. It would have been a good joke if you didn't explain it but if you hadn't explained it, you would have gotten a ton of "lol you moron just did a mistake" replies and the joke wouldn't have worked either. This is why we can't have nice things on CZcams. I'm actually surprised nobody called you out on the lack of capital letters in your post. However, I will give you credit for not commenting on the more subtle comma splice. That's where the real genius in your comment lies.
***** most people woundn't expect. I live in india and i always carry wallet in my pocket, and sometimes in my bagpack. May be i'll learn once someone steals it. Most people would not expect the worst, even if they may try to predict it. "Oh this can't happen to me" is their way of thinking.
pramitbanerjee You're an Indian right? White people are generally easily spotted and thieves to steal from them more often because they are less accustomed and also more importantly may be storing much more money than a local might.
+Ramchandra Apte This. Indian, Caucasian, African, Asian, whatever, no matter the race, you are a bigger target when you look like a foreigner. Must be a good one too because in a lot of places there will be "local justice" if someone like this gets caught by the witnesses.
I have learned to change the pejorative term “mistakes” into “learning experience” and it’s made all the difference. When things go wrong in my life I don’t chastise myself for having made a mistake, I now ask myself “what have I learned?”.
thts a bad experience and a bad memory.. i am from India and I love physics and a bigtime admirer of your channel, this and the other one... being an Indian I appologize for the incident of theft. i wish your next visit would be more fun then ever.. good work veritasium and 2veritasium..
Sound advice, we spend most of our life in that process, so it is about enjoying it. I also think enjoying it with other people is important. You make some of the most interesting videos I've seen.
thank you - this video is a source of inspiration to not be let down by those little mistakes that we all - or at least you and I - make, but in doing so, learn a lot more
I want to thank you personally for the fantastic videos and expanding my knowledge of science. You've sparked an interest in science in me that I haven't had since I was in early gradeschool. Thank you
Go Derek. everybody makes mistakes it's part of life, but the most heroic thing afterwards is to acknowledge them and correct them... Respect, A fan from Morocco !
Thank you right back at you! Science gets taught at a very mediocre caliber all around the world, which means that a lot of students often lose interest. It's people like you (minutephysics, vsauce and smartereveryday just to name a few) that inspire people and keep the conversation flowing! :) I love your channels and keep up the awesome work
Yesterday I read a saying in German that said "Nur wer stolpert achtet auf den Weg" which roughly translates to "Only the one who stumbles watches his steps". I think that this is kind of fitting to this video. Making mistakes is not something to be ashamed of, but it's important that you learn from them and don't let them bring you down.
Derek, m frm india, delhi and paharganj is about 30mins away frm my house, m so disappointed wid myself that i missed ur visit to india, anyway i m sorry for the loss u had to bear while in the streets of my city. I'd like you to know that delhi has so much to offer you just need the right go to man, it's not about only the noise, the traffic, the rush hour chaos but it is a marvellous illustration of history of india which goes from the delhi sultanate to the mughal period and also exhibits glimpses of the british rule in india, the city is famous for the street food, the markets and the night life. I hope you may visit delhi again and the experience won't feature in a video titled "mistakes" :)
Very motivating video, pointing out that best people like you also have gone through such moments. I feel best ! Thanks a lot ! I recall my friends Facebook status: Wise people learn from their mistakes while Wiser people learn from others mistakes.
Now you are a father. So I am glad you have this attitude bc every parent with which I have ever interacted has told me of their mistakes. Mistake is a another word for an opportunity to learn. The name of a positive mistake is: serendipity (yeah we only call the negatives a mistake). Psychologically this is subtle at only crediting self for the negative. That needs to change. Serendipity belongs to the person taking the action too; it is not something bestowed upon that individual. Either way it is a learning opportunity.
This is so cool, the _exact same_ thing happened to me during a Chinese new year's celebration. They set up this thing and everybody was really quick in getting away from it except for me who had just arrived and thought "great, better view for me!" Then I went almost deaf. It's really hard when telling the story to motivate why I ever thought it to be a great idea to get _closer_ when everybody else backed away. It's just so obvious that it's a very stupid thing to do when you're the only person who doesn't know what's happening. So great to hear you did exactly the same ;)
wow this showed up on my youtube home page like four years after it was uploaded and maaan i needed this video in my life more than ever before because I kinda screwed something up so bad... I just wanna say thanks a lot
I've been watching your channel about 5 days in a row and got addicted and will continue watching, keep it up the videos are simply amazing with a great way of presenting, sometimes too much information can get boring if not presented with kind of character of the presenter and you successfully exposed your personality into inspiring anyone to watch those videos.
They say that admitting your mistake is the very first step to do the right thing. Certainly salute your courage and love of science there. Have a nice day =)
Early in my 40 year practice of medicine, a patient gave me a book entitled "Kill as Few Patients as Possible." I assumed it was a snarky, sardonic title for a Dilbert-ish piece of motivational literature, but No. I gradually realized that it was an accurate representation of the Prime Directive in the work of medical practice. No matter how competently you do the work, mistakes will happen. The best you can do is minimize their impact, and learn from the experience. It applies to every venture in life.
Been feeling so crappy about mistakes I've made recently. Then I saw that you uploaded this, watched it, and now I feel 1,000,000 times better! It's a sign from the HEAVENS! Thank you. hahaha
your videos related to physics are really Good... Can you make a video On "failures" you faced while doing your studies..and how you came out of it and also How you used to "study for physics"..
Those kids that wanted your picture distracted you while someone else picked pocketed you. Sounds like a classic technique.
Overonator yup :(
2veritasium here in argentina they will ask for a coin and then grab the wallet once you pulled it up.
Amazing videos Derek, I cant believe how much they acctualy enlighten.
The cience of Mistakes and learning are quite related, You deal with Caotic but magical forces my friend
jordan zagier 2veritasium It's true! we are faced with these scams early on our lives so we are less likely to fall for these (Tambien soy argentino)
First world people often lack this "training", so growing up in places like argentina has its good side.
In Paris I saw a technique used were someone asked you to sign a petition while someone else came from behind and opened your backpack
Yeah duck them
The obvious quote missing from this video is "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new," attributed to Albert Einstein. However Quote Investigator finds this is probably a misattribution from a 1995 article in a Syracuse University newspaper. So the origin of this quote about mistakes is mistaken.
2veritasium and the quote missing in this video is also a mistake on your part :P
2veritasium "The problem with random quotes found on the internet is that you never know if they are true" -Abraham Lincoln
I once thought I was wrong, but it turned out I was mistaken.
2veritasium hey i have made mistakes both academically and in life too. But we don't have to worry about it too much. I was lost in my own place. If those people knew who you were they probably wouldn't have stole your stuff. Next time you visit just call me.
2veritasium Mistake maker here! Maybe Just MAYBE someone maybe even me can have a mistake free day. Until then dance in your mistakes like they are ping pong balls filling the air!
I was there in the audience when you demonstrated on the stage, in fact I was the one who asked you to take the picture with me on stage during the break. It was the best science show I have ever witness thank you!
Eric Bosung Kim Thanks man - glad you enjoyed it!
2veritasium You just made another mistake. It was his identical twin.
+Kangal *Kim. Sorry. :D
Can you please tell me what Derek demonstrated. Is there any video of it +2veritasium
I feel bad your first experience in my country was so bad. :(
2veritasium hey there Derek! first of all, being an Indian I feel really bad about your experience in India, Please avoid places like paharganj, I don't know why foreigners go to that place, I am an Indian, I moved to delhi 4 years ago and I absolutely detest paharganj. I stayed there for one night because I had no money and nowhere else to go, I left the place first thing in the morning, swallowed my pride and stayed at a friend's place instead.
Next time you are here, please stay at my place, I assure you it is safe, with air-conditioning and everything. there is also a fridge full of beer so we can have beer and talk physics. no charges at all =)
Actually, Paharganj is a traveller's delight..
Amit Yadav The only plus-point of Paharganj is that it is cheap. just walking on the streets of paharganj makes me feel cheap. Traveller's delight is Hauz Khas Village. Paharganj is just a cheap place to bunk for the night.
Being an Indian i humbly apologize for the bad experience you had in Delhi. There are all kinds of people everywhere. Please dont despise the country. Visit again soon 2veritasium :)
rishabh bajpai ikr I felt so embarrassed! GOSH!!!!
rishabh bajpai Yeah dw, I don't think anyone logical would despise an entire country because one person did something wrong to them, especially if that country has over a billion people.
+Mansoor Ahmad yeah.... But tbh, I have to admit, if you are a tourist you really have to be very careful around some parts of the country!
rishabh bajpai well he never blame the people who did it, instead he blamed himself for not paying attention. that's what wise people do, they reflect on their mistakes, not blaming others.
It's really sad, I had pretty bad experiences in my 4½ months of travelling all around India as well, to the point I don't want to visit again... I met some good people in India, but the bad outweighed the good by a pretty large margin, and I realized just how bad it was after travelling to a bunch of other developing countries where I had really good experiences consistently. I might have just thought it was bad luck if I was only there (in India) a couple weeks, but after 4½ months, it's hard not to conclude the whole country's fucked. I'm not surprised at all to hear about his weird and screwed up experience there.
well, the great thing about mistakes with explosions is that you're unlikely to make the same mistake twice.
Especially depending on what kind of explosion it is, amirite?
Aaron Landers That's the joke.
+Aaron Landers That's the joke.
+Aaron Landers That's the joke.
What's this joke I'm hearing so much about
Nice shirt, Derek :)
Hey Joe
Well... the Mythbusters always have some explosives with them, in case something doesn't blow up.
Lesson learned, huh? ;)
***** people in the audience suggested I check what was happening with the bottle of liquid nitrogen. That was a mistake I wasn't going to make.
2veritasium Thank god you didn't... that would have been far too dangerous.
***** They also say that failure is always an option.
Erik Žiak
Hmm "an option"?
A possibility, is what I would say.
Why would you fail on purpose?
*****
Technically you are correct, I was just paraphrasing Adam Savage, he used the word "option".
However I can imagine scenarios where I would fail on purposue, for example when testing the strenght of materials, until they fail. However, if the failure of something is intended, does the experiment fail when the expected failure does not happen? I guess so...
I don't make mitsakes.
Dr. Certifiable maybe not, but you surely make mistakes
The One i.imgur.com/fLh0JgU.gif
The One You saw that was intentional yes?
Dr. Certifiable I think you just made one…
I know sarcasm/trolling/irony is difficult to spot on the internet, but come on guys...
Great video - I am a professional, full-time flight instructor, and have been for the past 8 years. One of my responsibilities is to train other pilots to be flight instructors. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gives guidance on the learning and teaching process and has differentiated between different types of "errors."
"Mistakes" are when a faulty plan is properly executed (think of a pilot who does not understand an airplane's system and treats it as if it works the same way a system he or she is familiar with, and gets a bad result). "Slips" result from a good plan which is not fully, or properly executed (consider a pilot who fails to deploy the landing gear - something they clearly intended to do, but got distracted from).
I teach that mistakes are remedied by more thorough training, and slips are eliminated by forming good discipline - i.e. checklist usage, etc.
As it turns out, mistakes are at the heart of all learning. I never tolerate a student who apologizes for a mistake - we literally learn from our mistakes - embrace them!
Thanks for your numerous videos. I use many of them in my teaching.
The story about the canister where you lost your wallet and in hindsight you thought you should have run when everyone else did reminds me of something I once read somewhere...
"When you are cool, calm, and collected while everyone else around you is screaming, panicking, and generally loosing their minds... maybe it's because you don't quite understand the situation!"
My greatest mistake was seeing this empty comment field and wanting to post first
Im so sorry
Twitchi if that's your greatest mistake you're doing bloody well.
Thank you for not letting your mistakes discourage you from making great things like Veritasium.
Every great scientist made mistakes, but none had harsher criticism than CZcams comments.
These stories really added to the picture I have of you. For you it's almost mandatory to help people and you yourself enjoy doing others a favor, often forgetting that this opens up endless ways for exploitation. Most people would've neither cared about the two kids asking for a picture, nor about thanking their teachers for the great work they've done. But you do. And therefore I thank you, for all you've taught me so far and the great work you've done. Keep it up! :)
Everyone makes mistakes but the problem with society is that most people wont change even when proven wrong.
WhoooLovesOrangeSoda That's probably because mistakes are perceived as something bad, and no one wants to admit that they're at fault.
MrYogurtGuy Which is a mistake again...
+MrYogurtGuy so true. Say what you will we're still so primitive. Displaced priorities. Wealth accumulation. Complete and lack of empathy for the suffering. 1% could solve world hunger problems in a finger snap.. but they'd rather exploit the poor and build their riches further.
Everyone is an amalgamation of their parents' DNA plus many genetic mutations; mistakes in the proper copying of DNA.
People don't just make mistakes. Mistakes are what make everyone who they are.
***** That's deep, man.
***** also mistakes are a way of looking at your risk taking. something also very deep. Derek made a video about risk, and its mindblowing.
MrBashir999
I try sometimes :-)
So that's what my mom meant when she said I was a mistake!
What a nice comfortable message ! I appreciate that
I was working in a lab once just after I finished high school, I I had to dispose of an excess of 98% sulphuric acid. It was slow going down the chemical sink due to trying not to overheat the pipework. I thought if I tried to neutralise it I could do it quicker. So I grabbed a handful of NaOH and just before I put it in I thought that the reaction might be strong, I took one pellet of NaOH and threw it from across the room into the container and was nearly deafened by and incredibly hi pitched sound of the reaction that could be heard threw out the building, I made a mistake... But it could have been far worse
matthew mcgrath Sulfuric acid is notoriously dangerous to neutralize. I've only had to do it once, and I knew enough to use weak, buffered bases. Still, it got extremely hot and would have boiled if I hadn't done it very slowly... and you don't want boiling sulfuric acid anywhere near you!
matthew mcgrath I'm glad you caught that one! My high school physics teacher shorted a car battery with a coat-hanger. The coat-hanger fused to the terminals, then got red hot and melted into the battery, spraying acid everywhere...
Don't worry about your mistakes. Everyone makes them :) And if they don't, they're lying.
True. But i think the biggest mistakes one's can made is to regret
Arun Khanna Mistakes are to learn from. Without mistakes we would stay dumb, literally.
Arun Khanna The only real mistake is not to learn from the ones you've made.
+Arun Khanna You should worry when you ONLY make mistakes :/
+Floris R Have I ever told you the definition of insanity?
I am an Indian & a great fan of ur channel. as much as i am happy that u visited my country rather my city New Delhi,
I would also like to apologise for whatever the trouble u had to face here.. on behalf of all of the Indians Sorry Derek...
I don't make mistakes, mistakes make me...
:(
CraftSized That's no way to talk about your parents!
Mike S LOL.
CraftSized Well, that might be technically correct, but I wonder, did they actually tell you or how did you find out?
And by any chance, are you from Soviet Russia?
CraftSized You must live in Russia.
Well, i know it meant to be a joke
But it's actually true that mistakes make us
When I freelanced for a table game company, I revolutionized their errata process. What I did was create an entire area in their forums where errata - the correction of errors in published material - was the only topic. I posted up individual discussion threads for each "active" product; not just what's currently in print, but anything that is considered important for the game line. The response was overwhelmingly positive, as fans and creators alike could quickly find corrections, or report problems, in moments.
Imagine my chagrin, then, when I finally had a book of my own published and people immediately reported issues with it.
Mistakes happen. It's how we deal with them that's key. Retractions, corrections, and updates are not signs of failure. They are a true mark of striving for excellence.
I have a job in the service industry. I strive to make as little mistakes as possible, but when I do, I'm made aware of them immediately. Derek, you're also in the service industry 2.0 - and when we do, we immediately take action to //make the situation right//. You're doing just that my man. Mistakes are how we learn to serve better.
Whenever I see the logo for this channel I want to call it veriTWOsium.
monev that would have been clever.
Aw, I am sorry to hear about that bad experience, it must have been a huge annoyance to lost your wallet like that.
You know? i actually liked this video, knowing that even guys like you or your teachers can make mistakes. It's good to hear when people acknowledge their mistakes, it helps them and it helps other people at the same time.
The moral of the story is don't trust fucking scum like the working class and people in 2nd and 3rd world countries. Why would you want to stay in a crappy place in the middle of a scummy suburb? There are tourist areas for a reason, so we don't have to sink to their level.
@@David-ud9ju you know what mate .... it's just not cool to call someone scum ..... People might not be as bad as your imagination suggests
I like the ending of this video, when you speak about life being a series of these fumbles trying to get to a point and never quite getting there, yet we must enjoy the process of improvement. This speaks to me in particular, as I'm constantly working toward being better toward not only those around me, but myself. It's a learning process everyday, and I can only hope those around me can understand and be there by my side as I figure it out on my own.
Mistakes are neither good or bad but being afraid of there is very bad. Thanks for your work and your ability to share.
Never leave valuables in pockets that can be easily accessed. Get pants with zippered pockets.
1337w0n haha, yeah the pockets in the shorts I had on, I had earlier in the day remarked to myself about how shallow they were. I saw this coming, which made it all the worse.
1337w0n fanny packs
Bror Svensson Media Well now I feel stupid for buying those ludicrously over-priced security pants.
1337w0n I heard that they can also use a razer blade protruding just to cut the outer fabric. So they cut below the wallet.
1337w0n i place my valuables in mid pocket of jacket, so if there's slight change of weight, it'll very noticeable. and also taking my wallet out from there is a big challenge
sorry man to hear you lost your wallet in India. I'm Indian living in south India and I love your videos, I watch them everyday!!! I watch Veritasium, Physics girl and Vsauce a lot and you guys have made me love science like never before!!! of course, we're all just human. We all make mistakes and need to learn from them and move on :) Cheers mate. Wish I could be more like you 😊
This year i went to the International Science and Engineering fair as a finalist and my BIGGEST hope was that you would be a guest speaker!! You are my inspiration!!!!
Yet another great "element of truth". Thanks Derek.
The road to wisdom: Err and err and err again, but less and less and less.
"Everybody knows
The demons come and go
To have regrets is only human
But I just can't escape
The memories of mistakes
Round and round instead of moving on
Until the stars collide
Until the stars collide"
Sophie Ellis-Bextor - "Until the Stars Collide"
alexds9 I like this.
Two weeks ago, CZcams deleted all of the folder that I'd sorted my subscriptions into. It's like they came into my organized library, and dumped all of the books into a big pile on the floor, as a "better way" to stay organized.
Frustrated, about a week later, I went though all of my subscriptions and deleted over half so that I could focus on seeing the content that really mattered. When I looked at the 2Ve channel, unused for months, I pondered for a moment. The insight of your regular Veritasium videos is good, but this channel would be the space that you'd put the "why" behind that thoughts you'd share on the regular channel. That "why" is important to me, so I didn't delete 2Ve.
At least that's one mistake that was avoided.
As always, thank you for sharing.
The tone of this whole video pleases and inspires me.
Derek, thank you for the channels and the content.
I make life altering mistakes on an hourly basis lmao
I don't get the video from India - was it some kind of sound emitter? Was that high pitched whine actually recorded by the video or did you put it in to simulate the ringing in your ears??
+Jeremy Morton I was wondering the same, and also was the incident related to the steeling as a form of distraction?
One special about Veritasium videos is that you will never feel the topic discussed is getting irrelevant over times. And I get new inspirations when re-watch. Very good content!
The things I learn from this channel are as important to me as the physics that you teach on your primary channel man. Please, share more of your thoughts with us, because you are really good at it.
If you dont make mistakes,you're not doing anything.
Maybe the logo at the video ending should say "an element of (probable) truth" :D Not very marketable, but less ironic considering the content of the video
Carlos Vives though the saying 'an element of truth' refers to things that have a bit of truth to them, not things that are entirely 100% infallably true.
Thank you. I love your work. The raw honesty in this video was unexpected. Keep up the good work!
Wish more Folks could do this!
Learning from Mistakes is key to understanding...
Nice job!
Everyone makes m͏̺͓̲̥̪í͇͔̠ś̷͎̹̲̻̻̘̝t̞̖͍͚̤k̥̞à̸͕̮͍͉̹̰͚̰ẹ̶̢̪s͏̨͈̙̹̜͚̲ ̛̬͓͟
The person who never made a mistake never made anything.
Used to work at a science centre in Perth, Australia and do that Liquid Nitrogen Exploding in a Bin Demonstration and the amount of times it didn't work/was taking too long... Feel your pain man. Also thanks for making videos like these, really insightful! I'm hoping to start a medical science/global health based channel one of these days and your videos are an inspiration to get on and do it.
Thank you, Derek... Mistakes or no, yr still one of my heroes...
Just to be clear, this does not happen very often in india....i mean one should not freak out everytime going out in india and being curious about things you see there...i think derek just got a but unlucky in this scenario...
Anurag Shukla I agree, I've had no problems when I've been to India. I've been to a lot worse places where I have been ripped off, the worst being at less than 2 km from my house! But I guess it's like most places around the world; people sometimes take advantage of "rich" tourists and occasionally rob them. Cheers.
There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, the some of the greatest scientific and technological leaps mankind has made are from mistakes. But its the small personal ones that are the problem >:¬}
I think its only a mistake if you don't learn from it, up until you repeat it, its a learning experience!
I am a very learner-ed man >:¬}
I like your honesty and openness. Keep it up and thanks for sharing :)
As a soon to be Aerospace Engineer student I love watching your science videos because they are awesome but these videos are defiantly the most enjoyable!
Veritasium could you consider making a video of Hyperloop. a "new mode of transportation" proposed by Elon Musk of Tesla "& spaceX .......would be nice
+Christian O Elon Musk is the man.
i was saying this because im in the hyperloop team of Virginia Tech who just this weekend got 4th place on the competition at Texas A&M. MIT got 1st place. We are going to build the pod to race our pods next to SpaceX headquarters. We would gladly be happy to give any details to veritasium if he ever decides to do something with hyperloop video
interesting fact: MIT team mainly composed of graduates, while Virginia Tech team was all undergraduates and had like 3 graduates to ask for advice.
have great day everyone!!
Christian O than the hyperloop project isn't called off? it is still on the march?
USA students and entrepreneurs won't stop until we create this new transportation system. As well as others around the world.
take a look:
hyperloop.tamu.edu/media-kit/
can every student join this project even virtually?
nope, i nevr makes any misteak!
+Jack Le Yes you do, you forgot to spell "nope" and "any" wrong. :-)
***** D:
Derek you are a very bright light.
you are a Gentleman and a Scholar. May all your days be blessed with miniscule problems!
be yourself...
;-)
That's quite a walk from the beginning of Clarendon Street all the way to the Yarra river. Your video, as always, has a great message. I'm a Physics teacher myself and I have the same attitude as you. As teachers, we are expected to be perfect, not just by our students and the general public, but by ourselves as well. I'm as guilty of this as any teacher (perhaps moreso as I'm a bit of a perfectionist) and yet I love being wrong. When you make a mistake in front of a group of people, it is our natural tendency to try to hide or minimize the mistake as much as possible. Over the years I have learned to revel in the mistakes I make by explaining why I was wrong and what can be learned from this. Students learn more from this than even the most well-planned lesson on the topic. More importantly, this demonstrates to students that it is okay to be wrong and is a good illustration of the nature of Science. Clearly as teachers we want to be right all the time but on those rare occasions when we do make mistakes, the way that we handle them says a great deal about who we are and what our ultimate goal is. Lastly, I just wanted to thank you for all the great videos you put out. I show them to my classes all the time.
I nevar make misstakes.
+Caleb Limb mea touo
+Caleb Limb You forgot to spell ''make'' and ''I'' wrong
Note to self, don't bring much money to places like India.
askmiller ..what
pramitbanerjee he got his wallet stolen. If he could get his wallet stolen I'd imagine it's pretty likely to happen to anyone. Therefore, it's best to minimize the potential loss.
that is a very generalized view. You could get your wallet stolen almost anywhere. Perhaps i should make a video tomorrow about how i keep my wallet in my pocket for most of the days and that will be sufficient to convince you to do so yourself?
pramitbanerjee It's not like this is the only story I've heard of someone getting their wallet stolen in a place like India. While yes, you can get your wallet stolen almost anywhere, I think it's fairly obvious it's more likely in some places than others.
true, india is not as safe as japan. But you should not generalize it based on some stories you heard. One should not be blindly trusting either, but don't go to extremes and bring less money than you need. It isn't that unsafe.
And that story is from 2005. Since then. many things have changed.
I appreciate this video. I make more mistakes than I can fix! Thank you for your openness and transparency on the topic.
You rock Derek. And it's great that you have the character to say that you make mistakes, it shows the rest of us that there is nothing wrong with being wrong, it's all part of journey, and a way to learn and move forward. I wish more people would come to that understanding, it is freeing, you try more and experience more when you are okay with making a mistake here and there.
never made a mistake in my life, your strange.
(the 'your' is intentional)
Lol i get it
Genius
Jacob M This is so sad. It would have been a good joke if you didn't explain it but if you hadn't explained it, you would have gotten a ton of "lol you moron just did a mistake" replies and the joke wouldn't have worked either. This is why we can't have nice things on CZcams. I'm actually surprised nobody called you out on the lack of capital letters in your post.
However, I will give you credit for not commenting on the more subtle comma splice. That's where the real genius in your comment lies.
Penny Lane I think you took his comment a bit too seriously...
XPR Mitch You think? ;)
Not trying to be rude but what did you expect? In any city you can expect theft, so this is especially so in a 3rd world country.
***** most people woundn't expect. I live in india and i always carry wallet in my pocket, and sometimes in my bagpack. May be i'll learn once someone steals it. Most people would not expect the worst, even if they may try to predict it. "Oh this can't happen to me" is their way of thinking.
pramitbanerjee You're an Indian right? White people are generally easily spotted and thieves to steal from them more often because they are less accustomed and also more importantly may be storing much more money than a local might.
+Ramchandra Apte This. Indian, Caucasian, African, Asian, whatever, no matter the race, you are a bigger target when you look like a foreigner. Must be a good one too because in a lot of places there will be "local justice" if someone like this gets caught by the witnesses.
Chef Excellence u from which country?
Living in London and watching you record from Southbank makes me feel very homesick. Thanks for the videos Dirk.
I have learned to change the pejorative term “mistakes” into “learning experience” and it’s made all the difference.
When things go wrong in my life I don’t chastise myself for having made a mistake, I now ask myself “what have I learned?”.
thts a bad experience and a bad memory.. i am from India and I love physics and a bigtime admirer of your channel, this and the other one... being an Indian I appologize for the incident of theft. i wish your next visit would be more fun then ever.. good work veritasium and 2veritasium..
Amazing speech, carrying out impressive content in such a simple, causal way. Enjoyed your second channel the most !
These 2veritasium videos are fascinating. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Sound advice, we spend most of our life in that process, so it is about enjoying it. I also think enjoying it with other people is important. You make some of the most interesting videos I've seen.
thank you - this video is a source of inspiration to not be let down by those little mistakes that we all - or at least you and I - make, but in doing so, learn a lot more
I want to thank you personally for the fantastic videos and expanding my knowledge of science. You've sparked an interest in science in me that I haven't had since I was in early gradeschool. Thank you
Go Derek. everybody makes mistakes it's part of life, but the most heroic thing afterwards is to acknowledge them and correct them...
Respect, A fan from Morocco !
Thank you right back at you! Science gets taught at a very mediocre caliber all around the world, which means that a lot of students often lose interest. It's people like you (minutephysics, vsauce and smartereveryday just to name a few) that inspire people and keep the conversation flowing! :)
I love your channels and keep up the awesome work
Awesome video! Thank you!
You inspire. Thanks... a lot!
Make more of these videos! You always talk about really interesting stuff.
2veritasium I like Veritasium videos, but I absolutely love 2veritasium videos. A dose of truth and inspiration in a very real sense. Thanks mate.
Yesterday I read a saying in German that said "Nur wer stolpert achtet auf den Weg" which roughly translates to "Only the one who stumbles watches his steps". I think that this is kind of fitting to this video. Making mistakes is not something to be ashamed of, but it's important that you learn from them and don't let them bring you down.
Derek, m frm india, delhi and paharganj is about 30mins away frm my house, m so disappointed wid myself that i missed ur visit to india, anyway i m sorry for the loss u had to bear while in the streets of my city. I'd like you to know that delhi has so much to offer you just need the right go to man, it's not about only the noise, the traffic, the rush hour chaos but it is a marvellous illustration of history of india which goes from the delhi sultanate to the mughal period and also exhibits glimpses of the british rule in india, the city is famous for the street food, the markets and the night life. I hope you may visit delhi again and the experience won't feature in a video titled "mistakes" :)
You are a great Motivation. You have a motivational speaker persona for me.
love the work you do....
Thank you for doing such amazingly honest videos I realy enjoy learning from you.
Very motivating video, pointing out that best people like you also have gone through such moments. I feel best ! Thanks a lot !
I recall my friends Facebook status:
Wise people learn from their mistakes while
Wiser people learn from others mistakes.
Derek is such a genuine person, he's intelligent and very informative, he's like the perfect tutor! Please replace my Uni tutors haha
Now you are a father. So I am glad you have this attitude bc every parent with which I have ever interacted has told me of their mistakes. Mistake is a another word for an opportunity to learn.
The name of a positive mistake is: serendipity (yeah we only call the negatives a mistake). Psychologically this is subtle at only crediting self for the negative. That needs to change. Serendipity belongs to the person taking the action too; it is not something bestowed upon that individual.
Either way it is a learning opportunity.
Your 2Ve videos are always very inspirational, thanks man!
This is so cool, the _exact same_ thing happened to me during a Chinese new year's celebration. They set up this thing and everybody was really quick in getting away from it except for me who had just arrived and thought "great, better view for me!" Then I went almost deaf.
It's really hard when telling the story to motivate why I ever thought it to be a great idea to get _closer_ when everybody else backed away. It's just so obvious that it's a very stupid thing to do when you're the only person who doesn't know what's happening. So great to hear you did exactly the same ;)
I really needed to hear this today.
Thank you so much.
wow this showed up on my youtube home page like four years after it was uploaded and maaan i needed this video in my life more than ever before because I kinda screwed something up so bad... I just wanna say thanks a lot
Another legendary video Derek! Thanks for walking up my local main street, Clarendon Street! You're welcome any time for a cup of tea!
I've been watching your channel about 5 days in a row and got addicted and will continue watching, keep it up the videos are simply amazing with a great way of presenting, sometimes too much information can get boring if not presented with kind of character of the presenter and you successfully exposed your personality into inspiring anyone to watch those videos.
I love everything about this channel.
You are one in a billion.... great job!
You are obviously a very humble person. Carry on!
They say that admitting your mistake is the very first step to do the right thing. Certainly salute your courage and love of science there. Have a nice day =)
Early in my 40 year practice of medicine, a patient gave me a book entitled "Kill as Few Patients as Possible." I assumed it was a snarky, sardonic title for a Dilbert-ish piece of motivational literature, but No. I gradually realized that it was an accurate representation of the Prime Directive in the work of medical practice. No matter how competently you do the work, mistakes will happen. The best you can do is minimize their impact, and learn from the experience. It applies to every venture in life.
Derek, thanks for your videos. I really like them. Greetings from Cancun Mexico.
Been feeling so crappy about mistakes I've made recently. Then I saw that you uploaded this, watched it, and now I feel 1,000,000 times better! It's a sign from the HEAVENS! Thank you. hahaha
your videos related to physics are really Good...
Can you make a video On "failures" you faced while doing your studies..and how you came out of it and also How you used to "study for physics"..
You are amazing at explaining things. I wish you well.
Well done Derek. Let's celebrate mistakes. Mistakes lead to learning.