THE VIDEO SHELF · a4 paper sizes
A4 Paper Is Too Perfect
CGP Grey explains the elegant ratio of A4 and the metric paper sizes, then zooms out across scales from the Planck length to the observable universe.
Why HN readers recommended it
Loved for its zoom-out tour of physical scales and recommended alongside other paper-size and scale-of-the-universe discussions.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- CGP Grey
- Topic
- a4 paper sizes
- Format
- explainer
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 2
- HN mentions in dataset
- 5
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2024–2026
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.
You beat me in posting this (I searched for "CGP," first — you mispelled so I didn't see your comment). ---- My favorite CGP Grey video is Metric Paper... , which explores the vast (but limited) world we live in, from plancs to observable universe. …
ProllyInfamous on Hacker News · 2026-01
In A4 Paper StoriesZoom out, too: [CGP Grey - Metric Paper] < [VIDEO] > - among my favorite videos Yet even Plancks remain analogue ...
ProllyInfamous on Hacker News · 2026-04
In God Sleeps in the MineralsCPG Grey has a video [0] that goes into some, let's just say deeper , detail into metric paper that is well worth a watch if you haven't seen it. 0: [VIDEO]
jihadjihad on Hacker News · 2026-01
In A4 Paper Stories
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.