THE VIDEO SHELF · luck and success
Why Being Delusional is a Superpower
Veritasium examines the role of luck in success, with simulations and examples showing how small advantages and chance can compound. It argues that top outcomes are disproportionately luck-driven while still crediting effort.
Why HN readers recommended it
Linked in threads about meritocracy, careers and startups as a reminder that luck shapes who ends up on top.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- Veritasium
- Topic
- luck and success
- Format
- explainer
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 9
- HN mentions in dataset
- 20
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2020–2024
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.
Semi tangent: I would really recommend watching "Is Success Luck or Hard Work?" By Veritasium [VIDEO]
O_H_E on Hacker News · 2021-03
In High IQs are associated with mental and physical disordersAbsolutely. His "gravity is not a force" video led me through a whole range of emotions from "this is ridiculous" to "actually..." to "holy crap, I've been wrong about this my entire life". In terms of sheer brain-breaking... this is my favourite: [LINK] But this …
cgrealy on Hacker News · 2021-08
In The 3x+1 Problem [video]I love Veritasium. Derek has done a number of videos that are awesome like this. The videos are great and educational, but he also manages to subtly weave in an almost spiritual subtext to them as well. For example, in this one, you learn about …
travisgriggs on Hacker News · 2021-11
In How imaginary numbers were invented [video]
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.