Top 100 Videos Hacker News Recommends

The top 100 YouTube videos on HackerTube, ranked by how often Hacker News commenters recommended them since 2007. Each entry shows why HN sends people to it.

Ranking: separate months recommended + 0.5 × months with a strong recommendation

The ranking

#1 Vectors | Chapter 1, Essence of linear algebra
3Blue1Brown · course
HN's go-to recommendation for learning linear algebra intuition, repeatedly credited with making concepts click and complementing textbooks.
“the most welcoming and informative introduction to the topic I've ever seen”
17 recommenders · 14 strong · 2018–2026
#2 Ruby Conf 12 - Y Not- Adventures in Functional Programming by Jim Weirich
Confreaks · talk
HN recommends it repeatedly as one of the best and most entertaining programming talks, and as the talk that makes the Y combinator click, even for people who do not use Ruby.
“perhaps the most entertaining and interesting technical talk I've ever seen.”
17 recommenders · 9 strong · 2013–2026
#3 Indistinguishable From Magic: Manufacturing Modern Computer Chips
Andor Gafotas · talk
HN repeatedly calls it the best in-depth introduction to IC manufacturing, a sense-of-awe talk by an independent engineer, while wishing for an updated version.
“This talk on YouTube is the most in depth explanation of IC manufacuring I have seen. I highly recommend it to anyone, no matter their background.”
19 recommenders · 8 strong · 2016–2024
#4 How to Speak
MIT OpenCourseWare · lecture
HN treats it as the canonical, near-universally recommended lecture on giving talks and presentations.
“drop what you're doing and watch it now”
17 recommenders · 10 strong · 2020–2025
#5 The spelled-out intro to neural networks and backpropagation: building micrograd
Andrej Karpathy · lecture
HN treats it as the best starting point for really understanding backprop and neural nets, because Karpathy explains the why with intuition and builds everything in code.
“It's especially useful because he explains the why and provides intuitive explanations instead of just talking about the what and how.”
17 recommenders · 10 strong · 2022–2025
#6 8 Bit & '8 Bitish' Graphics-Outside the Box
GDC Festival of Gaming · talk
HN repeatedly recommends it as a master class in limited-palette pixel art and palette cycling, from an artist behind Loom and Monkey Island.
“I recommend this talk to anyone who is interested in the details and history of working on limited colour palette games!”
13 recommenders · 6 strong · 2018–2026
#7 How Python was Shaped by leaky Internals, Armin Ronacher, Flask framework
Видео с мероприятий {speach! · talk
It is HN's standard answer to why Python cannot easily get much faster, and is recommended by people who work on JITs and alternative runtimes.
“This excellent talk describes how the semantics of the "add" operation are much more complex than generally described.”
15 recommenders · 7 strong · 2017–2025
#8 AT&T Archives: Similiarities of Wave Behavior (Bonus Edition)
AT&T Tech Channel · lecture
HN repeatedly calls it the clearest introduction to waves and transmission-line behavior, better than modern explainers.
“By far the best introduction to the subject of waves of any sort.”
12 recommenders · 8 strong · 2014–2026
#9 In Search Of A Flat Earth
Folding Ideas · documentary
HN treats it as the definitive, compassionate documentary on why people fall into conspiracy theories.
“probably the best documentary I have seen on conspiracy theories.”
17 recommenders · 9 strong · 2020–2026
#10 1. Introduction to Human Behavioral Biology
Stanford · lecture
One of the most consistently recommended lecture series on HN, praised as fascinating, funny and eye-opening about human behavior across many scales.
“Best course I've ever done.”
15 recommenders · 8 strong · 2012–2026
#11 How The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio
Principles by Ray Dalio · explainer
HN repeatedly recommends it as the best layperson overview of debt, credit and economic cycles.
“it’s the best layperson explanation of debt I’ve ever seen”
18 recommenders · 4 strong · 2014–2026
#12 RailsConf 2014 - All the Little Things by Sandi Metz
Confreaks · talk
HN treats it as a top-tier programming talk for learning refactoring and for the wrong-abstraction principle, recommended repeatedly over a decade.
“this talk captures all the important values in a single example.”
15 recommenders · 7 strong · 2015–2025
#13 But what is the Fourier Transform? A visual introduction.
3Blue1Brown · explainer
HN's default recommendation for understanding the Fourier transform intuitively; many say it was the explanation that made it click.
“this was the first thing that ever really made sense to me”
16 recommenders · 7 strong · 2018–2025
#14 Around The Corner - How Differential Steering Works (1937)
US Auto Industry · explainer
Held up as a marvel of pedagogy and the best explanation of differentials, recommended again and again.
“this video explaining differentials is from 1937 and is a marvel of pedagogy”
17 recommenders · 7 strong · 2013–2024
#15 The Soul of Erlang and Elixir • Sasa Juric • GOTO 2019
GOTO Conferences · talk
It is HN's favorite pitch for Elixir and the BEAM, credited with convincing many people to adopt them.
“Watch this if you want to understand why so many people fall in love with it.”
16 recommenders · 7 strong · 2019–2024
#16 Essential Ideas for Parents
Jason Salotti · lecture
Repeatedly called the best way to understand ADHD, and recommended to anyone before commenting on it.
“Here's the best explanation I've ever seen of the subject”
9 recommenders · 9 strong · 2015–2025
#17 "Simple Made Easy" - Rich Hickey (2011)
Strange Loop Conference · talk
HN treats it as the canonical talk on software complexity, shared constantly and recommended to every programmer regardless of language.
“is a must-watch (even if you never touch Clojure)”
14 recommenders · 6 strong · 2022–2026
#18 The Quantum Conspiracy: What Popularizers of QM Don't Want You to Know
Google TechTalks · talk
HN commenters repeatedly recommend it as the talk that finally made quantum mechanics click, especially for programmers.
“This is the video that finally made it click for me[1].”
11 recommenders · 4 strong · 2012–2025
#19 Try to Rule Fairly and You'll Be Overthrown
CGP Grey · explainer
HN treats it as the standard short summary of how power and political incentives work, applied to governments, companies and workplaces.
“CGP Grey's excellent Rules for Rulers video”
15 recommenders · 4 strong · 2016–2025
#20 LEADERSHIP LAB: The Craft of Writing Effectively
UChicago Social Sciences · lecture
HN users repeatedly say it changed how they think about writing, calling it a masterclass useful far beyond academia.
“it's a masterclass in understanding what writing actually is, and what it does for you”
15 recommenders · 6 strong · 2019–2026
#21 What the heck is the event loop anyway? | Philip Roberts | JSConf EU
JSConf · talk
HN commenters repeatedly name it as the best explanation of the JS event loop and the first thing to watch before tackling async code.
“The tool he created to display the event loop in real time is fantastic.”
16 recommenders · 5 strong · 2015–2025
#22 But what is a neural network? | Deep learning chapter 1
3Blue1Brown · explainer
HN treats it as the standard first stop for learning neural networks, praised for making the math intuitive.
“the visualisations and explanations of the math/concepts are so amazing”
16 recommenders · 5 strong · 2017–2025
#23 A Better Default Colormap for Matplotlib | SciPy 2015 | Nathaniel Smith and Stéfan van der Walt
Enthought · talk
HN's go-to recommendation for colormap and color-perception questions; commenters call it funny, brief, clear and a favorite talk.
“This hilarious SciPy2015 talk[1] convinced me to switch to the Parula color scheme.”
15 recommenders · 6 strong · 2015–2026
#24 George Lakoff: Moral Politics
University of California Television (UCTV) · lecture
HN commenters repeatedly say it changed how they hear political speech and recommend it for understanding why opponents are not simply stupid.
“Changed how I listen - to anyone - forever.”
3 recommenders · 8 strong · 2016–2024
#25 Heat Pumps: the Future of Home Heating
Technology Connections · explainer
HN's default recommendation for a friendly, thorough introduction to heat pumps and why they are so efficient.
“Start here for a good introduction to heat pumps and how they are so efficient”
17 recommenders · 2 strong · 2021–2026
#26 Micro Men - 720p (2009)
gimpymoo · documentary
HN recommends it often as an entertaining and authentic dramatization of Sinclair versus Acorn, the story from which ARM grew.
“'Micro Men' is an excellent TV drama”
15 recommenders · 4 strong · 2015–2026
#27 The Beauty of Bézier Curves
Freya Holmér · explainer
HN repeatedly calls it one of the best math and graphics explainers on YouTube, praised for bridging game dev and math.
“it's genuinely one of the best math/graphics/explainer videos ever made”
16 recommenders · 7 strong · 2021–2026
#28 The Century of the Self (Full Adam Curtis Documentary)
David Lessig · documentary
HN recommends it often and strongly as an eye-opening account of marketing psychology and the engineering of consumer society.
“For the first time in my life I feel like I understood the “why” of how things work in American society.”
13 recommenders · 6 strong · 2016–2026
#29 The Tragedy of systemd
linux.conf.au · talk
The most-recommended balanced take on systemd, from a BSD perspective, handed to anyone caught up in the systemd debate.
“is an interesting talk on this topic from the view of someone (Benno Rice) in BSD land. Highly recommended.”
16 recommenders · 5 strong · 2019–2025
#30 Rich Harris - Rethinking reactivity
You Gotta Love Frontend · talk
The most recommended introduction to Svelte, credited with sparking its adoption.
“you can (and I heartily recommend doing so) watch the "Rethinking reactivity" video here”
15 recommenders · 5 strong · 2019–2026
#31 "Making Impossible States Impossible" by Richard Feldman
elm-conf · talk
HN repeatedly recommends it as a talk that changed how people model data, with ideas that apply well beyond Elm to any typed language.
“the talk is Elm lang focused, but the concepts still apply to other languages.”
9 recommenders · 5 strong · 2017–2026
#32 Dominion (2018) - full documentary [Official]
Farm Transparency Project · documentary
HN commenters push it, often forcefully, as the video to watch to see what factory farming really involves, and some say it changed their diet.
“this documentary made me re-evaluate my diet.”
10 recommenders · 7 strong · 2019–2024
#33 D/A and A/D | Digital Show and Tell (Monty Montgomery @ xiph.org)
FL Studio · explainer
HN calls it the gold-standard debunking of audiophile myths and the stair-step misconception, and recommends it as a primer on digital audio.
“might be the best explanatory video I have ever witnessed”
15 recommenders · 5 strong · 2017–2026
#34 SM64 - Watch for Rolling Rocks - 0.5x A Presses (Commentated) [OUTDATED]
pannenkoek2012 · explainer
Held up as a legendary deep dive into game internals, explained lucidly and with humor, and a gateway to the channel.
“This guy literally has a PhD in SM64. It's insanely complicated, and surprisingly lucid.”
13 recommenders · 7 strong · 2016–2024
#35 8-bit computer update
Ben Eater · other
HN repeatedly recommends the series it launched as the best way to understand how a CPU works, praised for Eater's clear teaching.
“I think I learned more from Ben Eater’s “Building an 8-bit breadboard computer” series [0] than my intro to computer architecture course at university.”
14 recommenders · 6 strong · 2017–2023
#36 MIT's Pathway to Fusion Energy (IAP 2017) - Zach Hartwig
MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center · lecture
Recommended again and again as the best accessible overview of fusion physics, useful for judging fusion announcements and understanding why high-temperature superconducting magnets matter.
“This has been by far the most informative source on Fusion I've seen and gives a clear picture on how to evaluate claims like this.”
16 recommenders · 4 strong · 2017–2023
#37 Stanford's Sapolsky On Depression in U.S. (Full Lecture)
Stanford · lecture
HN returns to it repeatedly as the best single introduction to understanding clinical depression.
“This is the quintessential video for understanding clinical depression.”
14 recommenders · 7 strong · 2009–2026
#38 The Continuity of Splines
Freya Holmér · explainer
It is the go-to recommendation for anyone who wants to genuinely understand Bezier curves and splines, and commenters repeatedly call it one of the best programming-related educational videos.
“is (IMHO) one of the best educational videos on a programming topic, full stop.”
10 recommenders · 8 strong · 2022–2026
#39 Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do? Episode 01 "THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER"
Harvard University · lecture
One of the most frequently recommended online lecture series on HN, praised for giving people vocabulary to examine ethical positions and for Sandel's skilled teaching.
“Two lecture series I always recommend, and feel like everyone should watch”
11 recommenders · 6 strong · 2013–2025
#40 Video explains the world's most important 6-sec drum loop
Landon Proctor · documentary
A perennial HN recommendation, brought up whenever sampling, copyright or music history comes up, often described as a must-watch.
“this is an excellent 20-minute video about the history of the Amen Break”
15 recommenders · 8 strong · 2011–2026
#41 CppCon 2015: Andrei Alexandrescu “std::allocator...”
CppCon · talk
HN repeatedly recommends it as an entertaining, mind-opening talk on allocator design and composable generic programming.
“It really opened my eyes to how one could very elegantly make a very complex and high-performance heap allocator”
7 recommenders · 7 strong · 2017–2025
#42 Jim Simons (full length interview) - Numberphile
Numberphile2 · interview
HN recommends it as the best readily available interview with Simons, notable for his emphasis on luck and a humble approach to success.
“the full length one is very good. it gives an understanding as to why simons has been so successful.”
11 recommenders · 3 strong · 2015–2024
#43 Reverse emulating the NES to give it SUPER POWERS!
suckerpinch · talk
Praised as a brilliant, deadpan and inventive hardware hack, and a good starting point for Tom7's videos.
“are a must watch.”
12 recommenders · 5 strong · 2018–2025
#44 Sugar: THE BITTER TRUTH
University of California Television (UCTV) · lecture
The most-linked YouTube video on HN, recommended as an in-depth explanation of fructose metabolism.
“This is one of the best nutritional videos I've ever seen.”
13 recommenders · 5 strong · 2010–2024
#45 Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business with Jason Cohen
Rob Walling · talk
It is the go-to talk HN commenters recommend to anyone asking about bootstrapping, SaaS pricing, or choosing bootstrapping over VC.
“This talk is the holy grail on this topic”
13 recommenders · 8 strong · 2020–2024
#46 How Self-Driving Cars will Destroy Cities (and what to do about it)
Not Just Bikes · commentary
Frequently recommended in autonomous vehicle and Waymo threads as the main counterargument, a long but worthwhile video essay on how self-driving cars could affect cities.
“It's long, but well worth an hour of your time.”
17 recommenders · 5 strong · 2024–2026
#47 Light Years Ahead | The 1969 Apollo Guidance Computer
TNMoC · lecture
HN calls it mandatory viewing on the AGC, praising the speaker's enthusiasm and the clear account of restartable, robust software design.
“The guy is really, really into it and it just makes the presentation amazing.”
11 recommenders · 6 strong · 2021–2026
#48 Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005
JoshuaG · talk
HN returns to it for years as an inspirational talk to send to graduates, founders and anyone at a career crossroads.
“This is no doubt one of the best speech i ever heard.”
13 recommenders · 6 strong · 2007–2015
#49 Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists
Microsoft Research · talk
It is HN's most frequently recommended starting point for quantum computing because it avoids pop-science hand-waving and needs only basic linear algebra.
“This video is the simplest explanation that I have found for Quantum Computing”
12 recommenders · 2 strong · 2018–2025
#50 Juice it or lose it - a talk by Martin Jonasson & Petri Purho
grapefrukt · talk
The go-to recommendation on game feel and polish, cited by HN as one of the best talks for anyone making interactive things feel good.
“Gotta be one of the best talks for anyone trying to make things interactive that also feel good.”
12 recommenders · 4 strong · 2013–2025
#51 Lexical Scanning in Go - Rob Pike
GoogleFOSSSydney · talk
HN returns to it for years as an elegant introduction to writing a lexer that is easy to follow even without a parsing background.
“It's far more interesting than it sounds, and even if you don't know much about lexing/parsing it's easy to follow.”
13 recommenders · 4 strong · 2012–2025
#52 “Hello, world” from scratch on a 6502 — Part 1
Ben Eater · tutorial
HN repeatedly recommends it as the best hands-on way to understand how a CPU and a computer work from first principles.
“It is highly recommended if you want to dive down into computers and digital logic on first principles.”
11 recommenders · 6 strong · 2019–2026
#53 William Byrd on "The Most Beautiful Program Ever Written" [PWL NYC]
PapersWeLove · talk
HN repeatedly recommends it as an amazing talk that derives the essence of Lisp and shows miniKanren-style program synthesis.
“I can't recommend the talk Dr Byrd did on this enough”
11 recommenders · 4 strong · 2017–2026
#54 What Bodies Think About: Bioelectric Computation Outside the Nervous System - NeurIPS 2018
The Artificial Intelligence Channel · talk
HN regularly calls it mind-blowing and recommends it as an introduction to Levin's work on bioelectricity and regeneration.
“I highly recommend this video from Levin. It was my introduction to his work.”
12 recommenders · 8 strong · 2018–2024
#55 Lec 1 | MIT 18.06 Linear Algebra, Spring 2005
MIT OpenCourseWare · lecture
It is HN's default recommendation for learning linear algebra, praised for Strang's teaching and for building real understanding useful in machine learning.
“I highly recommend the MIT 18.06 open course on linear algebra - the lectures are first rate.”
11 recommenders · 5 strong · 2011–2020
#56 Detergent packs are kinda wishy-washy (Dishwashers Explained)
Technology Connections · explainer
HN repeatedly recommends it as the definitive, mind-changing explanation of dishwasher use, even though it runs over 30 minutes.
“I highly recommend you watch this video by Technology connections[1], I too used to think I had to rinse my dishes before putting them in the machine.”
15 recommenders · 5 strong · 2021–2025
#57 "Testing Distributed Systems w/ Deterministic Simulation" by Will Wilson
Strange Loop Conference · talk
HN treats it as the canonical talk on simulation testing and a mind-blowing example of how far rigorous testing can go.
“this is one of the most amazing talks on distributed systems”
12 recommenders · 5 strong · 2014–2024
#58 What Happened to Horses Is Happening to Us
CGP Grey · explainer
HN has recommended it for a decade as the standard explainer on automation and unemployment, though skeptics later cite it as an example of overconfident predictions.
“Excellent video on the subject: CGPGrey - Humans Need Not Apply”
11 recommenders · 5 strong · 2014–2026
#59 Behind the Scenes of iOS Security
Black Hat · talk
HN repeatedly recommends it as the deepest public look at how iCloud Keychain and Apple's device and cloud security are designed.
“if you haven't watched the talk at Black Hat I'd highly recommend it”
9 recommenders · 7 strong · 2016–2026
#60 🚀 TDD, Where Did It All Go Wrong (Ian Cooper)
DevTernity Conference · talk
HN repeatedly calls it the best talk on testing, and many say it changed how they approach tests, mocks and the meaning of a unit.
“This excellent talk completely changed the way I approached testing. Every developer who writes tests needs to watch this now!”
11 recommenders · 5 strong · 2018–2024
#61 Bret Victor - Inventing on Principle
Rui Oliveira · talk
It is HN's go-to recommendation for the case that programming environments should give instant feedback, and it appears in nearly every thread on live coding, visual programming or developer tools.
“My mind was blown when I saw this video 2 years ago”
12 recommenders · 5 strong · 2013–2025
#62 This Is Phil Fish
Innuendo Studios · commentary
Commenters repeatedly name it the best explanation of how internet fame, mobs and outrage work, and cite it in threads about harassment and public figures.
“possibly the most important video on youtube - is "This Is Phil Fish"[1] by Innuendo Studios.”
5 recommenders · 5 strong · 2014–2025
#63 James Burke Connections, Ep. 1 "The Trigger Effect"
DRS_Education · documentary
Heavily recommended as a masterpiece of popular science and the classic illustration of how fragile interdependent systems are, trotted out in every blackout or supply chain thread.
“It's a masterpiece of popular science production made better with the grainy film patina of the 70s and 80s.”
12 recommenders · 5 strong · 2019–2026
#64 How To Design A Good API and Why it Matters
Google TechTalks · talk
HN repeatedly names it the best resource on API design, a staple answer to any 'how do I design an API' question.
“Absolutely far and away the best resource that I found was this Google TechTalk by Joshua Bloch”
12 recommenders · 3 strong · 2011–2025
#65 elevated by Rgba & TBC | 4k intro (FullHD 1080p demoscene demo)
Demoscene High-Quality Videos (Annikras) · demo
Held up as the landmark demoscene production and a counterpoint to software bloat.
“It demonstrated that 4k was more than sufficient for impressive effects and music”
7 recommenders · 7 strong · 2013–2025
#66 Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC
BBC · explainer
HN commenters send it as a short antidote to cynicism, showing long-term global progress and the shrinking gap between rich and poor countries.
“Spend five minutes and watch this. Amazing presentation my Hans Rausling”
10 recommenders · 3 strong · 2010–2023
#67 Mechanical Computer (All Parts) - Basic Mechanisms In Fire Control Computers
Excelsior10000 · documentary
HN commenters repeatedly recommend it as a beautiful, approachable explanation of analog mechanical computation, and many have rewatched it.
“It illustrates the problems and solutions near perfectly, and I've watched it way too many times.”
13 recommenders · 4 strong · 2014–2025
#68 The Problem with Time & Timezones - Computerphile
Computerphile · explainer
It is the go-to funny, accessible explanation of why you should never implement datetime handling yourself, linked in nearly every timezone thread.
“a must watch for developers just starting out with Timezones”
12 recommenders · 2 strong · 2014–2026
#69 The Value of Values with Rich Hickey
InfoQ · talk
HN commenters cite it as the talk that convinced them of immutability and functional programming.
“is what finally sold me on the benefits of pure functional programming and immutable data structures.”
10 recommenders · 4 strong · 2014–2023
#70 Project Code Rush - The Beginnings of Netscape / Mozilla Documentary
The Documentary Network · documentary
HN commenters recommend it as an intimate, embedded look at late-90s web history and the spirit of building something important under pressure.
“Code Rush, which is an awesome documentary for anyone interested in the history of the Web”
13 recommenders · 2 strong · 2015–2026
#71 Bret Victor The Future of Programming
Joey Reid · talk
HN treats it as a classic, near-mandatory talk on how programming tools and paradigms stagnated and which older ideas deserve revival.
“Take a look and you will be amazed of how good (or revolutionary by our standards) some old technologies were.”
12 recommenders · 5 strong · 2017–2026
#72 Jan Willem Nijman - Vlambeer - "The art of screenshake" at INDIGO Classes 2013
Dutch Game Garden · talk
A perennial recommendation for anyone learning game feel and juice, praised for showing concrete steps that turn a bland prototype into a satisfying game.
10 recommenders · 4 strong · 2014–2025
#73 DON'T PANIC — Hans Rosling showing the facts about population
Gapminder Foundation · lecture
HN repeatedly recommends it to counter overpopulation alarm with data on falling birth rates.
“I can highly recommend this lecture by the late Hans Rosling”
8 recommenders · 4 strong · 2017–2021
#74 Music Theory and White Supremacy
Adam Neely · commentary
HN recommends it as the canonical video on how music theory is really the theory of one Western tradition, with the raga example.
“The canonical video on the subject”
11 recommenders · 4 strong · 2020–2024
#75 Why Electronic Voting Is Still A Bad Idea
Tom Scott · explainer
HN treats it as the go-to layperson-friendly argument against e-voting and links it in nearly every voting-technology thread.
“Tom Scott still has the best argument against e-voting IMO [1].”
11 recommenders · 4 strong · 2020–2026
#76 Velocity NY 2013: Richard Cook, "Resilience In Complex Adaptive Systems"
O'Reilly · talk
HN people cite it constantly as the clearest explanation of normalization of deviance and how complex systems drift toward failure.
“One of the most important talks I've ever seen is Richard Cook's”
4 recommenders · 6 strong · 2017–2021
#77 Why Isn't Functional Programming the Norm? – Richard Feldman
Metosin · talk
HN treats it as the standard answer to why FP isn't mainstream and why languages succeed.
“This talk by Richard Feldman is an excellent discussion about why Functional Programming is not the norm”
12 recommenders · 2 strong · 2019–2025
#78 Overwatch Gameplay Architecture and Netcode
GDC Festival of Gaming · talk
HN treats it as the best real-world AAA example of ECS and game netcode, and cites it constantly in discussions of data-oriented design.
“This Overwatch GDC talk is the best breakdown/example of data-oriented ECS in a AAA game that I know of”
16 recommenders · 6 strong · 2019–2025
#79 AlphaGo - The Movie | Full award-winning documentary
Google DeepMind · documentary
HN commenters call it a moving, well-made human story about AI and Go that works for non-technical viewers and does not date.
“I consider AlphaGo - The Movie [1] to be a timeless classic that will never feel outdated.”
10 recommenders · 6 strong · 2020–2025
#80 Maybe Not - Rich Hickey
ClojureTV · talk
HN commenters send people to it whenever nulls, Maybe/Option or static typing come up, as a thoughtful dissent from the type-system orthodoxy that changes how some people model data.
“Rich Hickey's "Maybe Not" should be watched by anyone who thinks nulls/nils/undefineds are okay.”
14 recommenders · 5 strong · 2018–2025
#81 But how does bitcoin actually work?
3Blue1Brown · explainer
The go-to recommended video for newcomers wanting a clear, visual explanation of how Bitcoin and blockchains work.
“this video is the best explanation for how mining and blockchains work IMO”
15 recommenders · 4 strong · 2017–2024
#82 We Were Taught to Call Death a Blessing
CGP Grey · explainer
HN commenters repeatedly recommend it in longevity and aging threads as a concise, fun case for fighting aging.
“CGP gray's videos on YouTube are maybe the most concise and fun to watch materials I've seen on the subject.”
12 recommenders · 4 strong · 2018–2025
#83 Don't Talk to the Police
Regent University School of Law · lecture
HN treats it as the canonical video to link whenever talking to police or interrogations come up.
“If you don't know why, you must watch this”
13 recommenders · 2 strong · 2017–2026
#84 Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
Carnegie Mellon University · lecture
Perennially recommended as an inspirational talk for people facing setbacks or choosing a direction, and a source of oft-quoted lines like the brick wall.
“If you haven't watched this, it will change your life.”
12 recommenders · 2 strong · 2008–2023
#85 TIMELAPSE OF THE FUTURE: A Journey to the End of Time (4K)
melodysheep · documentary
HN people recommend it as a stunning, mind-bending and existentially humbling view of deep time, and it appears on lists of favorite YouTube videos.
“does a great job with visuals and voiceovers about what will happen over the next trillions x trillions of years”
13 recommenders · 2 strong · 2019–2025
#86 Treating the Farm as an Ecosystem with Gabe Brown Part 1, The 5 Tenets of Soil Health
Living Web Farms · talk
HN commenters call it their favorite introduction to regenerative agriculture, and several say it changed how they garden or farm.
“Gabe Brown's talk is my favorite introduction to regenerative ag”
12 recommenders · 4 strong · 2019–2025
#87 Solving Problems the Clojure Way - Rafal Dittwald
Clojure/north · talk
HN repeatedly recommends it as a fantastic demonstration of procedural, OOP and FP approaches to the same problem, and of functional core and imperative shell.
“I urge you to watch this fantastic video which illustrates procedural, OOP(lite), and FP approaches to a sample problem”
10 recommenders · 4 strong · 2019–2025
#88 The great porn experiment | Gary Wilson | TEDxGlasgow
TEDx Talks · talk
HN commenters frequently recommend it as an eye-opening case against heavy porn use, though it is contested science.
“Here's an enlightening video on the detrimental effects of porn on the brain.”
10 recommenders · 4 strong · 2012–2023
#89 Transformers, the tech behind LLMs | Deep Learning Chapter 5
3Blue1Brown · explainer
HN treats it as the go-to visual introduction to transformers, and many say it finally made attention and embeddings click.
“what bade me finally understand the transformer architecture [0] and attention [1], are 3Blue1Brown's videos.”
13 recommenders · 6 strong · 2024–2026
#90 Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio
Principles by Ray Dalio · explainer
HN commenters recommend it as a clear framework for placing the current US and world situation within historical debt and empire cycles.
“definitely watch this video and read Dalio's book (I bought 2 copies)”
10 recommenders · 4 strong · 2022–2025
#91 Lecture 1A: Overview and Introduction to Lisp
MIT OpenCourseWare · lecture
HN people recommend the SICP lectures as a deeper, livelier route into the book and a formative course even for seasoned programmers.
“I watched and cannot recommend it enough, even for seasoned programmers”
10 recommenders · 5 strong · 2019–2026
#92 YouTube's copyright system isn't broken. The world's is.
Tom Scott · explainer
The default link in copyright and takedown threads, recommended as an excellent, comprehensive explanation of why automated enforcement and the law work as they do.
“Tom Scott explains the situation and the solution best.”
13 recommenders · 5 strong · 2020–2024
#93 Debugging Under Fire: Keep your Head when Systems have Lost their Mind • Bryan Cantrill • GOTO 2017
GOTO Conferences · talk
A perennial HN recommendation for outage and postmortem threads, praised as funny, educational and one of the best postmortems anyone has seen.
“The best postmortem I've seen was actually a conference talk”
8 recommenders · 3 strong · 2018–2025
#94 Children Of The Magenta Line
Mossie Fly · lecture
HN brings it up in any thread about autopilot, Tesla FSD, self-driving cars and crashes as the classic lecture on automation dependency.
“if you haven't seen this amazing talk, you should definitely give it a watch”
11 recommenders · 3 strong · 2021–2026
#95 Republic, Lost | Lawrence Lessig | Talks at Google
Talks at Google · talk
A perennial HN recommendation whenever lobbying, SOPA, taxes or political corruption come up, with several commenters saying it changed their views.
“That video has changed my point of view on the entire subject and has allowed me to start striking at the root.”
10 recommenders · 4 strong · 2011–2017
#96 London Swallowed a City but Couldn't Digest It.
CGP Grey · explainer
HN's go-to short explainer for the City of London versus London, cited in many finance and UK threads.
“CGP Grey has a delightful video explaining this”
12 recommenders · 3 strong · 2012–2024
#97 Preventing the Collapse of Civilization / Jonathan Blow (Thekla, Inc)
DevGAMM · talk
It is the standard link in HN threads about software decay, lost knowledge and fragile technological civilization.
“Anyone who finds this concept interesting to think about and hasn't seen this video may enjoy it”
14 recommenders · 1 strong · 2020–2025
#98 Conway's Game Of Life in APL
Dyalog · demo
Recommended whenever APL or array languages come up as the quickest way to see why the paradigm is so striking.
“Try watching this video; it will only take you 8 minutes”
11 recommenders · 5 strong · 2010–2024
#99 Finding the Missing Memristor - R. Stanley Williams
The Qualcomm Institute · talk
Recommended for years as the best technical introduction to memristors from the person who found the physical device.
“I encourage folks to watch this tech talk by HP Research Labs on the discovery of the memristor and implementation details.”
12 recommenders · 6 strong · 2010–2024
#100 Winners Take All | Anand Giridharadas | Talks at Google
Talks at Google · talk
HN commenters recommend it as a pointed critique of philanthropy and win-win thinking, delivered inside Google itself, and cite it across threads on wealth, tax and tech power.
“I strongly encourage everyone - especialy anyone employed at Google - to watch it.”
9 recommenders · 5 strong · 2018–2026