The Russian Reversal
Вставка
- Опубліковано 19 бер 2018
- In which John Green discusses the Russian Reversal and other transpositions.
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The point about corn was brilliant.
oh hey it's destin from smartereveryday. what's up destin from smartereveryday?
The Russian Reversal sounds like a cool new dance move.
*chokes on coffee*
WARNING: do not drink coffee while trying to attempt a Russian Reversal
This needs to be a thing
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It sounds like a great parlor trick.
I love the way your comment section is always so non-toxic.
Nerdfighteria for ya..
Yay for echo chambers.
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Okay them: I HOPE YOU GO to a very nice place and have a very good day.
I'm think I have Canadian ;.;
Cyanide.
In Soviet Russia, Hank asks "Who the Eff are You?!"
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slow clap
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Mark 2:27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath."
Hmm. Does that mean that observation of the sabbath is more about us needing rest and not about us not being allowed to work? Makes sense. God's plan is both eternal and practical where it will be.
@@WanderingWind71 I was once told something to the effect of "The Sabbath is a day on which you are *allowed* to rest, not required to."
Do you control the microbes in your body, or do the microbes in your body control you.....
Also, do you sneeze to get rid of the virus, or does the virus make you sneeze to spred itself around?
wisegirl_ 1227 I’d argue that you definitely do not control the microbes in your body, so...
😬
You have some control over your microbiome, to the extent that you have a bit of control over what you touch and what you eat. But yeah, even for those choices, the microbes are driving the ship most of the time.
Considering how much what we eat and what we do (regular exercise and whatnot) can affect the microbiome, and conversely, the kind of effect the microbiome can have on our physical, emotional, and mental health, that is a question for the ages, wisegirl_ 1227. Thanks for asking it :)
Neither. Our bodies and microbes interact, but I wouldn't say there is much controlling going on.
We can control the microbes in our bodies by vetting the food they have access to, determining the use of antibiotics, probiotics, and prebiots. We can choose to exercise which has implications for physical and mental health, which impact our microbiom.
Our microbiom plays a role in determining our cravings. There are studies that even suggest that our microbiom can affect our mental state through the vast nural network between our brain, and our "second brain", our gut.
as a non-american, i had never heard this until my tween years, when my friends and i discovered meme indexing websites and spent way too much time on them, i had always thought of the russian reversal as an internet joke, but look at how back it goes.
lorenabpv, heard that first time
I had no idea that's what those types of phrases were called. o_O
Oh my gosh. I am so excited for the large amount of Russian reversal jokes that will be in these comments. Thank you for essentially creating a joke gold mine.
In Soviet Russia, joke gold mine creates you.
Well, look on the bright side.
You beat me to the joke
in Soviet Russia.
In America, you drive car; in Soviet Russia, car drive you.
@Remy4489
With all this talk of self-driving cars, you sure it's not the other way around?
I love how you guys (mostly John??) takes a kinda silly topic and goes to completely to town on it. In some cases over analyzing and then coming to a more than life like conclusion. I love it!
The world is more than it seems. That includes kinda silly things; like Russian Reversals
N.A +++
Every topic is what we make of it
I so deeply hope that you’ve listened to and/or read The Anthropocene Reviewed. It’s this dialled up to eleven and it’s great.
Haha no worries friend, I did as soon as it came out! @@nolongervisible5850
Is a purple-striped polo worn by John? Or is John simply there to give shape to a purple-striped polo?
Find out in the next episode of the "Russian Reversal and its Deep Philosophical Implications Which None but John Would be Clever Enough to Point Out!" show
I'm ready to subscribe to that podcast
as a fashion design student i believe it's the latter. we're mannequins with the opportunity to wear art, and it's a privilege.
Go to Rethinking Civilization - Crash Course World History 201. He has this polo shirt on :)
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I have for some time now wondered if I have stuff or if the stuff has me. I’m certain it’s not original with me, but I expend time, energy and money maintaining the stuff and am considering having less of it to be bossed around by......
“Memed to near extinction” 😂
I wonder the average lifespan of a meme
@@MattPalka not long really, unless you are trollface
@@MattPalka Depends. Pizza john: 10 years, any other meme:2 weeks at most.
@@sylvy16 I love how we all have evolved what it means over time
Thank you for making something with a title including "Russia" that DOESN'T make my head explode.
In Soviet Russia, your brain explodes the title including "russia"
I don't have a dog-- the dog has me.
Pugs Rock I think in this case you both have each other.
Anticontent Haha, that's so sweet.
Pugs Rock + 🐶
I think you misspelled cat
+ my dog definitely walks me.
There's a writing assignment I've been stuck on for a while now, the subject being paradox, and I think this video has jumpstarted my ideas! Thanks John.
The Russian Reversal really puts into perspective on just how in control we feel, and just how we forget that we are being controlled. I see this a lot in video games where it feels like you have power over your character and everything is free will, but in the end you are still guided to the intended ending. It definitely feels scary, but also in a way beautiful on just how human lives are impacted by large, and even minuscule things.
I love how nerdfighter comments can be just as deep and insightful as the video
I wouldn't really describe it as deep and insightful, more like a tortured metaphor
the thing with video games is its more about what is more important the journey or the destination, the moment to moment decisions you make is usually far more important than the surrounding structure the developers make and most games where the story is more imortant than gameplay give you multiple ending so your choices have larger affects.
That makes sense, but the fact that there is an ending for your decisions is remarkable
In capitalist America the internet tweaks you.
Only you John Green, could make my favorite middle school joke into a deep statement on self.
In Soviet Russia, favorite middle school joke makes John Green into a deep statement on himself!
Turtles All the Way Down better win every book award this year. You’ve impacted so many people, John. You truly are a voice for a generation that is trying to find one.
While I don't mind the book getting any rewards, I wonder why it has more importance over it having already impacted many people. Isn't that the highest reward of all to begin with?
It wasn't *that* good
Ketraar I agree, but more awards bring more popularity to a novel, sadly. And with this, more people, many of which will find themselves in this book, will learn that they aren’t alone. I agree with your thought though, thank you for taking your time to respond.
Does John impact nerdfightaria, or does nerdfightaria influence John?
It's true that more awards bring more popularity to a novel! But Turtles All the Way Down has sat at the top of the NYT bestseller list for a while, and will probably continue to sit on the NYT bestseller list for a while yet. And there are many more books worthy of awards than there are awards (sadly). So while I would be happy to see TAtWD win an award or two, and I agree with you that it is award-worthy, I'm just as happy to see those awards go to other equally amazing books that haven't caught the attention of the book buying public in the same way, for whatever reason. It's nice when awards can call attention to excellent books that have escaped the public eye. (I'm not telling you not to root for Turtles -- root away! I'm just gently pushing back at the idea that it needs more attention than it's getting, as evidenced by that fact that it's a consistent NYT bestseller.)
In America Hank Green's book "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing" comes out on September 25th, 2018 and is available for preorder now.
In Soviet Russia it's the other way around.
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This is gold
So, September 25th’s book “Hank Green” is out now, and will be available for preorder on An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Got it.
@TheBrain0110
I thought An Absolutely Remarkable Thing's book, Hank Green, came out on preorder for September 25th?
I’m suddenly suspicious that everything in my life I think I have control over may really be controlling me. 😳
Laura Lumos +
Laura Lumos +
*side eyes my cellphone, dog, and refrigerator* 😒
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Did you make this UA-cam comment or did this UA-cam comment make you? Actually, I think this one’s kind of obvious
Just yesterday my wife yelled out, "Epilepsy doesn't have me. I have epilepsy." The way she said it reminded me of Rorschach in Watchmen: "I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me."
John has been on a LONG, UNINTERRUPTED STREAK of excellent videos lately and this is no exception.
Around a decade ago, I read this _fascinating_ article about this russian citizen who ended up inventing the light emitting diode (LED) DECADES before it was invented in the West. He was rightfully passionate about it, and in trying to raise awareness for it, he took a long train ride through the russian winter while almost completely broke. In the end he ended up dying of starvation, and it took ages before his invention became appreciated for the marvel that it was. Again, it was a _fantastic_ article; very well written, very well researched, and worded in a way that you genuinely cared about the life of this innovator. It left you imagining how different the world would be if his invention was indeed noticed and taken advantage of. And then I scrolled a little too far, and the #1 comment, fully abusing the markup abilities of that particular webpage comment feature, was the line: "IN SOVIET RUSSIA, STARVATION DIES OF YOU!!!!" It made no sense. It's possibly the worst Russian Reversal joke I have ever seen. But in spite of that, the unexpected nature of that...dare I say, post-modernist humor, still stands as one of the most surprisingly hilarious experiences in my entire history of the Internet.
Take this story as you will.
A huge part of my life right now is learning about the things that control me and choosing how to respond to that knowledge.
The Russian Reversal is perfectly applicable to my job :) I am a high school teacher, and I can assure you that it goes both ways. Teachers teach students, sure, but students - or at least my students - also teach teachers - or at least me :) - every single day. It's a real perk, I gotta say :)
Since you've mentioned it, the Boss Baby concept makes more sense as a picture book; I just hope you like the book and not the movie because I was so irrationally upset that it was nominated for an Academy Award. Also, the use of the reversal method for corn reminds me how fracking weird of a story Zombicorn was.
I was kinda hoping this would be a Russia situation explanation, but I throughly enjoyed it anyways.
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It's a kind of reassurance he's trying to offer in light of recent revelations about the propaganda mercenaries known as Cambridge Analytica.
Same :(
Lmao I thought so too
Lol me too
It’s this kind of thoughtfulness that got me into these videos 6 or so years ago. I haven’t been subscribed in a long time (just because I’ve been focusing on life outside UA-cam in general) but I’m so happy and amazed that you guys keep making such awesome videos!
The videos on this channel are always so profound and beautiful to me. I learn something every time I watch them. Not because I immediately take what you say at face value but because you encourage myself and many others to learn and research and think more critically about the world around us, our culture and even the words we use. Thank you for that.
FRENCH THE LLAMA THIS VIDEO WAS INTERESTING ! Thanks for making Tuesday's and Friday's the best of all the days. DFTBA
That is the best exclamation I have ever heard. Mine is usually “bananagrams”, but yours is better
Gamerboy7153 thank u ! watch the old vlogbrothers vids and you'll hear 'French the llama' a ton 😂 nice to hear from fellow nerdfighters
Wow, this was very interesting. I love how your videos always make us think things we don’t usually think on a daily basis.
I always love it when these videos shine the light of introspection. Thanks John. :)
Wow this was an excellent video. Thanks John, it’s now one of my favorites!
Not gonna lie, I had to google "what's a false dichotomy". Thanks for making videos that sometimes unintentionally (but mostly intentionally!) make us smarter. 💛
Thanks and thanks again!
Ooh false dichotomy is a super useful thing to keep in mind in politics, especially two-party politics. I like that it's a psychological trick that isn't complicated to explain. It's as easy as the example of asking a toddler to pick between putting on the shoes or the boots, either way they have adequate footwear on now and they forgot about the third option (nothing) or all the other options (inadequate footwear). And the hard part is noticing it's happening, once you do, it's as easy to break as "why not both (neither/other choices)?"
OMG the false dichotomy is everywhere these days, but especially in politics. It give so much power to the author of the argument by being able to not only define your position but also define your opposition. Plus it makes for grand narratives that are easy to grasp - the archetypal "hero" moment (at least in American culture) is generally a character making a dichotomous choice.
Also related is a false equivalency, where similarities are used to obfuscate differences. Usually employed by a guilty party in hopes of making their opposition look just as guilty.
Weirdly, I read this comment at the exact moment in the video he said "false dichotomy". That was weird.
I think you really make the best use of all of your little obsessions. I enjoy these videos so much :)
That moment when you thought the video was going to be about the Russian hacking scandal and you got real mad about that until you realize that the video has pulled a reversal on YOU ._.
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Damn, another excellent video John.
I sometimes come into these videos like I’m not sure I’ll enjoy them and have some anxiety about it... and then I am always extremely pleasantly surprised by how humorous and enjoyable they are.
Thanks John (and Hank)
Today has been crappy and I've been looking forward to this vid all day. Hi john :)
I saw the title and got real nervous for you! Loved the reversal component in TATWD. The perception of a lack of agency is relatable to all humans at some point, I think. Still, make sure that two-tier authentication is up to speed. Don't want to miss any Vlogbrother videos!
John this was a beautifully put way to describe shared responsibility and perspective’s impact on who shares more of that responsibility - something I couldn’t find the words for. Thank you!
Best video you've done in years (not that the other ones weren't great). Keep up the good work!
One of my favorite quotes for at least three decades is "Laugh at life or life will laugh at you." I didn't even realize until this video that this was a Russian Reversal, but once he started explaining what they were, I recognized it instantly.
(BTW, I have absolutely no idea where the quote came from. I wish I could jump back in time to the late 80s and ask myself.)
In Soviet Russia the Russian reversal reverses you...
Myyy..... braaaaAAAAiiiiiinnn!!!!!!!! AAAAAGGGHHHHHH!
--reversal Russians you?
I am never disappointed with a vlogbrotherd video, always thoughtful and insightful
"Either those curtains go, or I do." -Oscar Wilde (supposedly)
verdatum that’s a zeugma not a Russian reversal
I don't know if that's really a zeugma, just an ultimatum. A Zeugma is when a word is used in two different ways, like "On his fishing trip, he caught three trout and a cold." Trouts and colds are both "caught"-- but one is literal, one is metaphorical.
Either way, I just learned what a zeugma is, so thanks for that!
it being an ultimatum doesn't change the fact it's a zeugma. I (do) go [depart]. the curtains go [removal of the curtains].
I have finished reading your book today. It made me feel so many things. I was so touched and amazed by your ability to describe pain and emotions - even if you can only describe what it's like more than what it is. I can't describe what it made me feel, but I can describe what it was like - it was like going through a narrow and dark tunnel and still seeing glimpses of colour along the way.
Thanks you for giving me new colours to see,
...you really do start seeing them everywhere...
(or do Russian Reversals see you everywhere?)
Can I just say, that I love your videos and you (both) and that I studied the English language for two years (in Germany) and your history videos were parts of my American history course at university and I always enjoyed and genuinely loved and appreciated them because they actually helped me a lot. Also I can deeply relate to so many things you guys talk about and it is always such a joy to see posts or videos or quotes from you, because they never fail to make me laugh, smile or think and I just felt like you should now that.
Brilliant video once again John. Really makes me think conciously...
vlogbrothers has been on about a 2 week streak of above average content. i love it!
Thank you for your interesting and entertaining videos. I like this one a lot.
oh my god i love this video it made perfect sense from beginning to end. beautiful
Goodmorning Hank, it's tuesday. I always want to say that once. Btw, thanks for another fantastic video. I consider vlogbrother a great source of materials for my English study. Thanks again
"Radio Moscow, you're on the air."
"Hello, my name is Rabinovich. Is it true that the jews sold Russia out?"
"Yes it is, you &#*@!!!"
"Do you know where I can get my share of the sale?"
your videos are always interesting
John thank you for giving me a video that took me out of my world of vloggers and beauty youtubers as entertainment. You've made my day a thousand times better!
I did not know about this joke until this video and now I can see examples everywhere! Thank you for an awesome video
My favourite is from a text that I had to read for Archaeology, about "following the cut" during excavation: "We cannot deny our own role in shaping cuts, but that is not to say that cuts do not also shape us" which is just very philosophical for a text about practical archaeology and excavation methods.
Very insightful video. Thanks for sharing.
Wow I really liked how deep this one went. John good job here
This was a very "John" sort of video. I like it a lot.
While I have to say I respect the serious videos made on this channel, it's videos like this that keep me subscribed.
Videos that, on first glance, seem to be complete nonsense but as you watch you feel like you've learned some sort of.. something.
I'm not sure what this video taught me per se, but I'm glad I watched it.
Thanks for making a video about something I can honestly say I would have otherwise given no thought to.
It’s so nice to see you, John. How is Willy?
One of the best vlogbrothers's videos we've got in a long time
One thing is sure Bearded John is not just for Pizzamas!
Wow - I haven't thought about this since high school~ Thanks for the flashback John.
In theoretical life, you control your actions. In actual life, actions control you.
In actual life your actions are you
Connie Robinson very interesting.
This video was somehow exactly what i need today, i don't really understand why, but it is.Thank you John.
Every video from John is so profound o.O
In the famous song changes by David Bowie it is said "Time may change me, But I can't trace time."
Hello dear John Green. I am your reader of your wonderful book "the blame for the stars." This book fills me with such emotions! Thank you so much for writing, but still one question torments me. What happened next with Hazel and her family? On the Internet there are so many sequels to your wonderful book. But which one is correct? (Book -Blame the stars)
The rhetorical device here is know to rhetoric nerds as antimetabole (a sub category of chiasmus)-- I usually use the example you cite from Richard II when explaining it, but sometimes use JFKs "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." I hadn't thought of the Soviet Russia joke! That's much more likely to be recognizable to a broad audience. Thanks John!
PS if you're not aware of rhetoric.byu.edu/ you should be. It's an amazing resource.
Oooooooo, antimetabole is an even more entertaining word than chiasmus. Thank you.
I usually watch your videos while preparing dinner, John. Actually, I watch them when I don’t want to listen to your podcasts. Anyway, sometimes I get so caught up in them that I forget to keep chopping the carrots and today was such a day. I’m off contemplating life while my soup is cooking on its own.
I'm sorry John, but you have to say it in a Russian accent for the joke to be effective
This is a great episode!
This was really insightful!
You know John, I have most of your books but your best works are your videos.
Thanks for producing thought provoking and informative content.
In Soviet Nerdfighteria, Awesome not forget to be YOU
One of the best ones yet.
John,
Can you do another video about the penny? There was a wall street Journal Debate this week and I was wondering if you might want to talk about the points brought up on both sides of the argument.
I just got Turtles All The Way Down today from my library and I’m super excited. I am only fifteen pages in and love it with all my heart.
Love being early to vlogbrother!
great video john
This was done just 2 days ago in an All Time 10s list of the origins of 10 jokes.
An important part of solving John's conundrum. If you are not the customer, you are the product.
This is my absolute favorite type of vlogborothers video.
You talked about corn's authority over humans as the conflict in Zombicorns! :) I love how you can take a seemingly funny concept into a life insight!
Or in the Oceans Ate Alaska song titled 'Clocks', "I'm killing time, while time slowly kills us"
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One of my favorite uses of this is in the matrix when neo says power comes from having the off switch
One of my favorites of said genre (although not a proper reversal) is "In Russian marching band, we make our sets inside the 50-yard line". Our band had a ton more too.
Didn't show up in sub box, but got notification. Will UA-cam ever not be broken?
Elinesof I don't think that counts as being broken.
I watch hours of useless but enjoyable media every week. But for at least 8 minutes a week I can count on the vlogbrothers for enjoyable and thought provoking content. Thanks guys, dftba.
I think this video is one of my favorites
this was such a cool video!!
There's something about John using "memed" as a verb that just makes me die of laughter.
John, this comment is completely unrelated to your video, although I do find it terrific. I thought you would like to read about the last couple of days I shared with a stranger in Timisoara, Romania. On Wednesday, we sat next to each other on a bus for a total of six hours, comparing Romania and the USA. We found out that we, as individuals, were actually very similar. The next day we met up at a local mall and ate lunch together. She surprised me with a traditional martisor and I surprised her with my favorite book (Turtles) translated into Romanian. Today we said goodbye to each other and she gave me one more gift-a paper turtle and a written line from your book, which she had already finished. “You’re both the fire and the water that extinguishes it. You’re the narrator, the protagonist and the sidekick. You’re the storyteller and the story told. You’re somebody’s something, but you are also your you.” Thank you for giving me these words to share and receive and thank you for giving us Aza.
Does john make the types of blogs we like or are the bolge that we like made by john.
Great vid!
I expected this to be about the news lol, but this was just as good!