Which ideas get more video attention can be pretty random.
At the low attention extreme, I’m most known for my work on prediction markets, yet these are the most viewed videos of me on that:
5K views, 18min, Center for Study of Public Choice, Introduction to Prediction Markets
6K views, 79min, Epicenter Podcast, Futarchy, Prediction Markets And The Challenge Of Disruptive Technology
32K views, 14min, Rational Animations, Prediction markets: can betting be good for the world?
At the other extreme, while most videos on my first book Age of Em have only a few K views, one of them is my most viewed video on any topic:
1494K views, 12min, TED, What would happen if we upload our brains to computers? (148K more views at YouTube)
88K views, 19Min, TEDxTallinn, The Next Great Era: Envisioning A Robot Society
My second book Elephant in the Brain sold far more copies, but videos on that are far less popular:
45K views, 12min, TEDxAsburyPark, The Elephant in the Brain.
40K views, 42min, Learn Liberty, Lecture – The Elephant In The Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life.
However one other person’s book review on that on did much better:
261K views, 13min, Ali Abdaal, What Motivates Us In Life?
Many news articles have mentioned my great filter concept over the years (several in the last week), but I’ve only ever once been invited to talk on it:
126K views, 17min, TEDxLimassol, The great filter.
My work on grabby aliens has not yet resulted in a talk invite, or substantial media coverage. But videos on it have been very popular. This one (+ a sequel) now has the most views:
1001K views, 13min, Rational Animations, Humanity was born way ahead of its time. The reason is grabby aliens.
263K views, 20min, Rational Animations, Will we grab the universe? Grabby aliens predictions.
But I predict this next one will soon overtake it, as it has gone halfway there in only 5 days.
454K views, 21min, PBS Space Time. What If Humanity Is Among The First Spacefaring Civilizations?
Even so, this one (+ 3 excerpts) will likely long remain the winner in terms of views times video length:
590K views, 253min, Lex Fridman. Alien Civilizations, UFOs, and the Future of Humanity
338K views, 25min, Lex Fridman. UFO sightings explained
249K views, 18min, Lex Fridman. Universe is full of aliens
145K views, 38min, Lex Fridman. Alien civilizations are expanding rapidly
These on grabby aliens are less popular, but still pretty popular:
96K views, 32min, Issac Arthur. Grabby Aliens & The Fermi Paradox
55K views, 80min, Paras Chopra, Aliens Exist and They’re Coming Towards Us
49K views, 170min, KONCRETE, Why Discovering Advanced Alien Life Would Be Bad For Humanity
My debate with Curtis Yarvin (aka Mencius Molbug) was sorta popular:
36K views, 72min, Foresight Institute, Robin Hanson and “Mencius Moldbug” Debate Futarchy
Finally, for comparison my videos on vouching and the sacred are far less popular:
0.7K views, 11min, Foresight Institute, Deflecting The Sacred
0.2K views, 75min, Minds Almost Meeting, The Sacred
0.4K views, 60min, The Stoa, Who Vouches for You?
0.7K views, 54min, Paralelni Polis, Who Vouches for You? A Radical Crime Law Proposal
Added 11a: Someone just added many of these videos at BitChute.
Two factors at play:1. Ideas within the Overton window (Fermi Paradox solutions, aliens being real, brain-computer simulation) will be more popular than ideas outside it (vouching, futarchy).2. Video is the domain of physical attractiveness and youth due to its basic visual nature. People like Ali Abdaal and Lex Friedman have the ability to leverage their advantages in those areas independent of the content being presented and have been rewarded with increased engagement as a consequence.