THE VIDEO SHELF · knowing versus naming
R. P. Feynman on the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.
A two-minute clip of Richard Feynman on the difference between knowing the name of something and actually knowing it. He uses the example of knowing a bird's name in every language and still knowing nothing about the bird.
Why HN readers recommended it
It is the standard reference whenever a thread turns to rote labels versus real understanding.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- x1x2x3ct
- Topic
- knowing versus naming
- Format
- other
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 2
- HN mentions in dataset
- 7
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2010–2014
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
Can't upvote you enough for this. By the way, Feynman also knows the difference "between knowing the name of something and knowing something": [VIDEO]
ckuehne on Hacker News · 2010-07
In Where does a tree get its mass?> Is this something I should try to avoid with my son, or should I encourage it Avoid. I would avoid spending time learning the names of things. Learn the thing itself, but the name tells you very little. Watch this: [VIDEO]
ars on Hacker News · 2012-12
In Half the Facts You Know Are Probably Wrong
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.