HN treats it as the canonical, near-universally recommended lecture on giving talks and presentations.
Topics › Ideas, Learning & Language
The best education & learning videos, according to Hacker News
73 videos about education & learning that Hacker News commenters keep pointing each other to, ranked by how many separate months they were recommended. Part of Ideas, Learning & Language.
Repeatedly recommended in education threads as the definitive talk on why lectures fail and what works better.
HN recommends it for productivity, focus and working-from-home threads, since its advice on breaks and mental modes applies beyond studying.
HN recommends it as an accessible, widely shared critique of schooling, and cites it in threads on ADHD, creativity and education reform.
HN recommends it as a favourite tech talk full of good ideas from forgotten 1980s software, worth watching in full.
HN people cite it constantly in C versus C++ debates as the case for teaching modern C++ idioms rather than C first.
HN treats it as the definitive writing lecture and recommends it repeatedly, with several commenters saying it changed how they write.
Recommended as a balanced take on AI and education, with the point that learning takes work that no technology can do for you.
Frequently recommended in threads on learning, the 10,000 hours rule and deliberate practice as a clearer account of how expertise develops.
The standard link whenever someone claims to be a visual learner or learning styles come up, with sources listed in the description.
HN uses it as the standard counterpoint to the 10,000-hour rule and as an encouraging recipe for starting new skills.
HN recommends it as an efficient, practical approach to adult language learning, with one commenter saying it changed their life.
Cited in threads about teaching kids and beginners to code as research-based evidence that explicit instruction beats pure discovery.
Recommended as a short, clear explanation of growth versus fixed mindset.
HN cites it widely in discussions of tacit knowledge, habit, unlearning and adult versus child learning.
HN recommends it to show Khan Academy's real model of mastery learning and teacher tools, often as a rebuttal to critics.
HN commenters recommend it as a simple, direct entry point for beginners who want to learn computer science, not just programming.
HN treats it as one of the canonical Bret Victor talks, cited whenever discussion turns to better tools and interfaces for thinking.
HN commenters point to it when discussing how to teach children or beginners, as a language-like alternative to formal instruction.
HN recommends it for Kay's blunt critique of today's computing and standard CS curricula.
HN brings it up whenever curriculum fads or Common Core complaints appear, as a funny precedent from the 1960s.
HN points to it as an unusually clear teaching film on how celestial navigation works, and as an example of how good old military training material is.
Recommended to anyone unfamiliar with Papert as a glimpse of his vision for computers in education.
HN refers to it constantly in schooling debates, as a favorite talk or as the basis for arguments about creativity, though some commenters dispute its conclusions.
Brought up in nearly every discussion of AI tutors and the future of schooling as the original Digital Aristotle idea.
Cited in tuition-cost threads for the argument that easy government-backed loans enable high prices.
HN commenters recommend it when asked how to learn better or keep improving.
HN commenters recommend it for Stoll's infectious enthusiasm and his case for teaching kids science, and often mention it in threads about him and his Klein bottles.
Recommended as a concise look at the culture behind outdoor kindergartens in threads on parenting and education.
HN recommends it as the best talk from Sonic Pi's creator, with live-coding examples and technical and teaching insights.
HN uses it in debates on video-based teaching and how confronting misconceptions helps learning, though some find its Khan Academy critique flawed.
Recommended as a glimpse of Papert's vision of computers as tools for learning, shared especially after his death.
HN cites it in Lambda School threads as a revealing interview that lends credibility to Woo's reporting.
HN readers cite Kay's talks for his views on programming languages as user interfaces, thinking beyond logic, and why people struggle with complex systems.
HN commenters call it enlightening for understanding the emotional challenges of gifted kids, especially those who struggle later in school or college.
HN commenters recommend it in college-ranking and higher-ed threads as an explanation of why rankings are a hustle for foreign student revenue.
HN commenters use it as a vivid demonstration of learning by quieting the conscious mind, and recommend it alongside the book.
HN commenters cite it when discussing how gaps in basic knowledge pile up and how mastery learning could fix that.
It is the standard reference whenever a thread turns to rote labels versus real understanding.
Cited in HN discussions of math and CS education reform as an argument that school math is boring because it is taught wrong.
Recommended as a condensed version of Kay's ideas on education and computing, showing kids using software to explore physics and robotics.
HN suggests it as a free lecture for beginners that eases them into writing readable, reusable code.
HN uses it as the canonical explanation from Sussman himself of why SICP ended at MIT.
Pointed to in threads on training absolute pitch in children as a practitioner's account.
HN uses it to teach kids computational thinking and as a joke whenever specs, requirements, or LLM prompts are taken too literally.
HN people recommend it as a look at how to get people to eagerly do useful collective work, and as the origin of Duolingo.
HN points to it in beginner-programming-education threads for its distinction between easy to learn and easy to teach.
Cited in AI-and-education threads as the optimistic case and demo for AI tutoring, and as a source on Khan Academy's LLM approach.
HN commenters use it as a researched, eye-opening reference whenever homeschooling oversight comes up.
HN recommends it as an inspiring pitch for video-based, flipped-classroom learning.
HN commenters find his insights good, especially the idea that games work for learning by doing and for teaching problem-solving, in contrast to gamification.
Cited as a classic, catchy explainer of the US legislative process, and half-jokingly as many people's whole civics education.
Pointed to as a short demonstration of what incremental reading looks like in practice, though one commenter was not convinced by it.
HN uses it as shorthand for how hard it is to write unambiguous instructions, in discussions of programming, tutorials and LLM prompting.
HN links it as a pointed comedic statement of why education is seen as broken and unlikely to be fixed.
HN mentions it as a fondly remembered classic of children's educational television.
Cited as the source for comprehensible input, the principle behind immersion-based language learning methods and apps.
HN uses it as the go-to example of an adult learning to ride a bike, mostly in threads about learning cycling later in life.
HN mostly references it in passing when student loans and predatory colleges come up, with one commenter recommending the veterans benefits section.
HN uses it as a short, clear summary of the fast and slow thinking idea.
Pointed to in threads on spaced repetition, tutoring and education as a thoughtful treatment of what effective learning requires.
Shared as a charming historical look at children learning computing, including kids acting as register bits.
HN language learners cite it as the source of the comprehensible input idea and apply it to vocabulary tools and other learning.
Reached for whenever a thread touches on naming versus actually understanding something.
HN commenters link it as a concise piece of expert testimony in threads on declining test scores and technology in education.
HN cites it in education and AI threads as a history of failed technology-will-transform-teaching predictions.
Cited as a pop-culture image of programming humans or AI tutoring in threads on education, VR and AI.
Cited in immigration and STEM-talent debates as an authority's argument that H-1B is America's secret weapon.
HN references it in discussions of how misconceptions are studied and how interview editing can make people look foolish.
Used as a cited example in threads criticizing the direction of competitive school and college debate.
Shared to end arguments over definitions and terminology, and as a reminder that memorizing names is not understanding.
Used as a reference when discussing inverted-steering analogies and how hard it is to rewire a learned skill.
HN mostly cites it as a source or related clip in math and neural network discussions, not as a strong recommendation.
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