It's Okay To Screw Up Sometimes, We Hope

We're all human, and therefore occasionally make small errors. Sometimes these can have slightly bigger consequences. Here's why last week's video was a filler video.
MATT: / unnamedculprit | TOM: / tomscottgo
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[@mattandtom]

We’re both aware there’s a glitch in the shot of the robin at the start. Given the video title, we decided to leave it! - Tom

[@jackielinde7568]

Matt and Tom - No problem on the glitches. They happen. Suggestions: 1) CHECKLISTS - If you're finding yourself making a lot of little, annoying mistakes, it might be time to just type the whole process out as a checklist, and get into the habit of following that thing religiously. AND THERE IS NO SHAME IN WRITING OUT AND USING A CHECKLIST! Virtually every commercial and military pilot has four checklists in their cockpit they follow (Startup, takeoff, landing, and shutdown). Some planes (like the old Corsair F4U fighter from WW2) have the checklists as a part of the cockpit. 2) MISTAKES - You're going to make them. Everybody does, and Matt is correct. You need to say, "Well, that happened and there is nothing I can do about it. Onto the next thing." I heard somewhere (and this may be anecdotal and not factual) that people have an error rate of about 3 to 5 percent. With that said, (and built in limits on time travel, thanks to String Theory's description of the temporal dimension) you can't go back to fix them. You can only move forwards in time and work with what's coming up.

[@TheSpiffyNeoStar]

Also there's a robin behind the bench (right hand side) through most of the middle of the video. I like to think it's the same robin as from the start :)

[@frostyboyken]

Patrick Daly - The robin was patiently waiting to use the bench-loo.

[@maddlybezerk]

why does the tree look weird on the top left?

[@clubby7893]

It took me a while, but its lower half is behind a fence

[@georgeturner2552]

Number of times Tom predicts he will be distracted by robin: 1 Number of times Tom actually was distracted by robin (apart from the prediction): 0 Number of times Tom predicts he will be distracted by jogger: 1 Number of times Tom actually was distracted by jogger (apart from the prediction): 2 Number of times Tom predicts he will be distracted by Matt's devastatingly perverted and yet oddly captivating smile: 0 Number of times Tom actually was distracted by Matt's devastatingly perverted and yet oddly captivating smile: 1 Number of professional presenters making competent, polished, well-edited videos about important things: 0 Number of hours spent watching this nonsense: VERY MANY INDEED.

[@teridactyl1250]

Number of hours spent watching this nonsense: ALL OF THEM

[@orbitstay]

words can't describe how much i love this comment

[@moikkis65]

Journalism

[@frostboi77]

best comment :)

[@adalaza]

🎶There's a hole in this bench🎶

[@BBC600]

Need to come up with a full music video for that!

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

I was so resigned to the obvious response to this old comment that it was mildly disconcerting not to see it. As such... *Ahem...* We Flew A Kite In A Public Place album when??

[@LivingDeathGuy]

🎼we flew a kite in a public place🎼

[@avisheh942]

lmao remember when matt said we would never hear him sing? yeah, me neither.

[@aDifferentJT]

Dear Liza, dear Liza

[@c.james1]

"He's been TWAT past twice" - now that is a Freudian Slip if I've ever heard one! Haha

[@rowan3424]

"...that was not a fake double take, by the way, I did not expect that face," from That Picture, from That Video, and if you have been affected by That Face from That Video please call the number on screen now.

[@desia.brimou]

Rowan we'll never let that die

[@rowan3424]

rosemary it must live forever!

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

It just occurred to me how different American robins are from English robins, which until now I’ve only ever seen in the illlustrated Peter Rabbit I had as a kid. Yours are small and compact and gray and yellow-orange and so cute the word “borb” must have been coined specifically for them. Ours are half again as long, black and red-orange with eyes that look like holes in the universe, sleek and fierce like “my uncle is a falcon and if you don’t watch out I’ll send him after you.”

[@kaloethina]

You're not wrong in the least. American robins are jerks, too. (Had a few swoop me when I went out to the store the other day.)

[@katierandall9191]

English robins are lovely wee things. Whenever my mum's out working in her garden there's one that comes and bobs next to her, waiting for any worms that get dug up 😍

[@kathrynblodgett1969]

I love your description. I'm American, and I think most Americans would like to have their robins/themselves described like that.

[@Howtard]

Robins are known to be friendly towards gardeners, following them around like Katie described. It's amazing how birds come to recognize you over time if you're working in the garden; I've seen other species of bird wait to watch how the robins react, only coming down from the trees after the robins have come up to you.

[@blindleader42]

Yes, American Robin is a Thrush. Nearly its entire underside a bright orange-red. European Robin is a Flycatcher, though it was once classified as a thrush. I suspect thrush family was split at some point into True Thrush and Old World flycatcher

[@GeorgeFarren]

It's okay to screw up sometimes... Unless you're a skydiver.

[@ragnkja]

I hope all a sky-diver's screw-ups happen within a safe distance of the ground (like in a vertical wind tunnel), and a heart surgeon's all happen while practicing and not during real surgeries.

[@zyaicob]

Interestingly it's necessary to screw up all the time if you're a screwdriver. Skydiver-❌ Screwdriver-✔

[@catfish552]

At some point, you guys should get an actual barrel and scrape the inside of it with various implements.

[@mukrifachri]

"Don't Shoot for the Moon and Miss" "It's OK To Screw Up Sometimes" Sounds good...

[@LostieTrekieTechie]

Fail fast, make small mistakes so you can learn from them without losing much.

[@harrytodhunter5078]

I think the “barrel scraping” comments were mostly just jokes. We know you guys always put out quality content

[@ragnkja]

Harry Todhunter Said comments were also about ideas, more than about quality. Besides, it was only “less good” compared to their other videos, not compared to KZbin videos in general.

[@EddieHart]

If you have one with crap video, and one with crap audio, why not put the good video and audio together as a blooper video 😂😂

[@ethan6287]

Eddie Hart plz mat tom

[@RainaRamsay]

+

[@Anoburn]

Did ... did Matt just sing?

[@mrsuperguy2073]

Yeah he did. I could've sworn he said we'd never hear him sing as well

[@607]

Yeah, I loved it! :D

[@rambard5599]

Well, he wasn't being serious about it. He just spoke in a sing-songy way.

[@epac]

Never seen a more perfect thumbnail before.

[@musicalaviator]

No that was a Srew up 😂

[@liamconnor3560]

Tom was not expecting... That face from this video...

[@pyrommph]

''I forget things, 'cause that's how forgetting works' This is the most motivational phrase I have ever had the bless to hear, and probably the only one that really has had positive permanent consequences on me.

[@dascientist8443]

This is fine and all, but that's another song that we need a full version of (along with "We flew a kite in a public place"). Also, what is the protest clock?!

[@mrsuperguy2073]

Da Scientist well I believe the screen annotation over that video said something about the protest clock being too dangerous to actually do and they didn't wanna give people ideas... I think at least. But I do still wanna know what it is.

[@TomOConnor-BlobOpera]

The way I look at it, is it's ok to screw up sometimes, as long as you don't screw up the same things twice. Always make new mistakes.

[@suzannep]

I don't watch your videos for perfection, I watch them because they are fun, spontaneous, and honest. I'm pretty sure an audience who watches two guys sit on a bench and chat isn't looking for the typical "perfect" video :-) I love your chanels and content!

[@johnh10000]

This is why aircraft pilots/captains use checklists! To ensure the aircraft dose not do unexpected things!!

[@linawhatevs8389]

Prrotip: remember how many things are on your checklist. It's way easier to remember, and you notice immediately if you've forgotten something.

[@carahenney626]

8:22 auto subtitles: "Thanks for bleep smut." Yep.

[@TSutton]

Anyone else think it looks like there’s a translucent yellow square just above the left of Matt’s head?

[@maddlybezerk]

T. Sutton yea

[@steve196t4]

Was the misspelling on the video preview intentional?

[@mantasvilcinskas]

looks like it is

[@AshArAis]

thatsthejoke.jpg I'm not trying to be mean, I just love Rainier Wolfcastle

[@chrisneary8538]

I hate the fact I didn't even notice that until I read this comment

[@nickbreakfield1257]

Do people not say "There's no use crying over spilled milk" anymore?

[@alyburr6645]

Tom Scott: "I can't sing" Also Tom Scott: "Try that again and I'll harmonize"

[@keyz182]

Bench Commode sounds like a bad Depeche Mode tribute act.

[@altaccout]

Beautiful beautiful grey hair.

[@peterwood2104]

The odd blip here or there every now and again is absolutely understandable and only natural; especially given the amount of quality content you guys put out.

[@loqkLoqkson]

I've found that the more corporate a job, the more they demand that mistakes be eliminated. Working as a technician, corporate came around and explained how to eliminate mistakes by just concentrating all the time as part of the 6 sigma system. Conversely, in all of my science and hard engineering work, mistakes are expected, with supervisors expecting mistakes and accidents followed by fixes for those mistakes rather the elimination of human fallibility through inhuman concentration.

[@jessicamenschel6775]

little robin popping into the corner of the video it's so cute!

[@jackdalton2538]

We heard Matt sing!!!

[@terryd0g]

You might find that making checklists for your gear helps prevent mistakes (and I realize that sounds obvious and unhelpful, but hear me out). There is an excellent book called "The Checklist Manifesto" written by an emergency room doctor about developing checklists to prevent silly mistakes in critical situations. The idea is that by writing down the small but crucial things, people don't have to work as hard to remember them all and can focus on the complex and challenging parts of the work. The list that they implemented in the hospital was very short, began with basics like "confirm identity, procedure and site with patient" and apparently prevented several screwups. They're used extensively in aerospace and nuclear industry where mistakes can be catastrophic. You should check out the book and see if you can apply some of its ideas to your own work.

[@AceSkates]

The jogger!

[@Zinaerys]

Screwing up is a part of life, the important thing is what we do after the screw up.

[@CableFlame]

And FWIW, yes, you can sing. :) That sounded great, and we'd love to have both a harmonized version, and any more singing you care to share with us.

[@AmruthaViswanath]

Gotta love Tom when he gets embarrassed.

[@KiraFriede]

Just use the bad audio one and do a "Google does my voice-over" kind of thingy

[@AKknapper]

Making mistakes will happen. It's not fun, and owning to them can be soul crushing. The thing to remember, like Matt pointed out, is that you can't change the past. What you can change is the future. Learning from the mistakes of others is preferable, since it comes to little cost to yourself. The times that you learn the most is from mistakes you make. As long as you remain cognizant of the past, and apply it to the future, there is no shame in screwing up. Again, another humble video from you, and yet another reason for people to use you as a role model. Thank you for your content!

[@Evmeistah]

I'd be super interested in a series of video tutorials on film and audio from you guys. I know that's probably been done dozens of times on KZbin - poorly. Whereas you two are exceptionally good at delivering information.

[@yannick1984]

Yes, indeed. I'd love Tom to record the video output of his computer as he edits Citation Needed for instance, and then comment what he's doing.

[@raeh.3329]

Honestly, i would still watch a dark, grainy, and barely audible park bench episode.

[@neilisbored2177]

0:51 "He's been twat past twice"

[@andrewkovnat]

Let it be known that I eat no pineapples. Thank you grandma.

[@valuial_]

Those who work make errors. Those who work a lot make a lot of errors. But those who don't work at all make the biggest error. It's okay to screw up sometimes. It's human.

[@BoterBug]

I totally get the idea of, "We use this all the time so we don't check it as much as we maybe should." I used to be a wedding videographer; audio recorders would be wrong somehow about 5-10% of the time. And because of backlog, we wouldn't find it (and have to reconstruct the specifics of the situation) until a month or more later. So we'd learn from it, but who knows how many more times we'd be doing it wrong in the interim? Dial it in, piece by piece, but you still get complacent sometimes.

[@reide96]

At long last, Matt singing without a silly voice! Sounded pretty good, too.

[@DanieleGiorgino]

That's so sad, I would have liked to watch Faceswapping with a live audience. Your bit on emojis and Unicode with an audience is great.

[@snowy3618]

I gotta say: I only just noticed the typo in "Screw" on the thumbnail, and I've watched this video at least five times.

[@TMWriting]

I've made a few small errors in my job recently, tiny slip ups that I should have caught and were a headache to clean up, and this video actually helped kind of set me back into a good mindset about myself. Thanks for that guys, I really do appreciate this video. :)

[@lovemusicreplay]

I hope that as this channel grows that this mentality that humans make mistakes stays on, I think we live in a society where sometimes failure is deemed unacceptable (or I see a lot in areas of my life), and that needs to change. Thanks for sharing this, it made me feel better about myself, not in a degrading way, but in an accepting way, more accepting.

[@AnasHart]

Tom, write a program that will send you a notification on your phone everytime you're at a park that tells you to check all the equipment setup :D

[@desia.brimou]

This video is more rambly than usual. I love it!!

[@Kw1q51lv3r]

"We fell into a pattern and we just did the things rather than checking the things" And that's why pilots have checklists, everybody

[@mdkc]

Well said. Very topical in the medical profession at the moment with the Hadiza Bawa-Garba case...

[@NoNameAtAll2]

Well, now we can finally believe that Tom's hair becomes gray

[@youmoyan4870]

Thanks for posting this video, I recently f**k uped a bit in my work. Seeing this let me give myself a break. After all, we are all human.

[@jimcobb2116]

I would suggest that rather than relying on memory and habit, write it down as a checklist. Anyone who says "I don't need to write it down, I will remember it" really needs to write it down.

[@pergamon96]

Panicking about uni work right now. This was a very therapeutic video to watch

[@TissueCat]

The videos with bad audio might be unrecoverable, but the one with bad video you could just release as a sort of podcast. We'll still listen to it.

[@TissueCat]

This show is basically just a podcast with video anyway.

[@KentRailPhotography]

The last minute of the video has literally made me laugh my arse off.

[@goranandersson3544]

"There's a hole in the bench. Feels like we ought to have known."

[@lovemusicreplay]

I hope that as this channel grows that this mentality that humans make mistakes stays on, I think we live in a society where sometimes failure is deemed unacceptable, and that needs to change

[@ClarinoI]

Watching this right after I watched the park bench about you guys not being able to sing. You were right.

[@redonyx5428]

Have y'all every thought about having a physical checklist to follow so you don't forget things? I am a forgetful person. My forgetfulness has become a bit worst since I had a seizure and my brainmeats got a bit scrambled so I find having a list when I have to do technical things like writing a script or setting up something helpful, even if it's something I've done numerous times.

[@lizzieseverson7362]

I would love to see the videos you filmed as a podcast!

[@mymotheristhebest304]

Oky unrelated to the video.. Tom's fingers are so beautiful and elegant.his hands look soft.. better than mine

[@thekenneth3486]

In my old job, I was photographer for my company. When video became the current wave, it was natural for them to stick a video camera into my hands and expect miracles. What you have described here exactly explains why I utterly hated video, sucked at it, and loathed doing it. "I'm a STILL kind of guy", I tried to explain.

[@ShadowDrakken]

Sounds like a physical checklist might be in order, and go back to the checklist again if you change scene in any way.

[@carstorm85]

I laughed a lot more than I should of at Matt's summery of the vid!

[@ColinJonesPonder]

Regarding the end: it's a good job there were no ducks around 😂

[@davimurph]

The one and only paid filming job I have ever had didn't have proper audio because someone (me) pressed recorded once, which put the recorder on standby, but didn't press it again to start the recording. That was only one of the things that went slightly wrong with that job.

[@rawovunlapin8201]

So last video Tom told us we can't trust video sources and now he tells us it's OK to mess up. This all added up to something, but my mind just blanked.

[@maui.tech.0415]

I love your videos and I have watched every video atleast three or four times.

[@Rubrickety]

When you make a silly mistake which costs some time or money, just say to yourself "At least I didn't cause a half-billion dollar spacecraft that people have spent entire careers working on to crash into Mars."

[@Knight_Astolfo]

You guys should do a pub sing!

[@mpitt79]

Yes, you can screw up. As much as you want, as long as that leads to a video which gives me the giggles for 8 straight minutes. Keep it up, you're great!

[@mvwinf]

I’ve NEVER been early to y’all! Love it!!

[@desia.brimou]

Madi welcome to the club, bud!

[@nickjs5773]

Hope that guy later that day did well in his audition

[@KillerSpud]

Lessons in signal to noise ratios.

[@whoeveriam0iam14222]

you should learn from your mistakes. it's sometimes hard to not hate yourself for really tiny things that you would excuse other people for but since it's you doing it it is somehow the end of the world

[@SimonClarkstone]

whoeveriam0iam14222 A thing that might have helped in many of these cases would be the habit of testing everything before starting the real filming. (Or maybe they already do that and it wouldn't work like I thought.) OTOH you'd need to drag previewing equipment around everywhere you filmed so it's not easy. IIRC this is where Numberphile got their video a while back of mathematicians taking about breakfast - it was all test footage before their interviews. And moments later in the video Matt mentions this.

[@whoeveriam0iam14222]

my comment was just about general mistakes. not necessarily videorelated. you know that time when you had a hard time getting your change into your wallet in the crowded supermarket and then you dropped a coin too. everybody forgot about it 10 minutes later but you still remember it years later when you can't sleep

[@robertlinke2666]

that is why for aircraft you ALWAYS are to follow the checklist, to check if everything is Aok. not all pilot's follow it, and if that happens and something goes wrong, it is on him/her/they

[@ragnkja]

Yes, it is perfectly fine to screw up, especially when you learn from them.

[@callofdutymuhammad]

UGHHH ALL THE FILMING JARGON

[@MrLevtastic]

There's a hooooole in this beeench!

[@Idellle]

When I was in schools media class, we had a written check list (for dummies) but it helped a lot.

[@gabrielzoldan1820]

I cried. As a "maker" of things - videos, audio, etc - this video was just what I needed to hear today

[@thesnowedone]

Bench Commode would be an awesome superhero name and his superpower would be- ... oh...hrm. Okay, perhaps not the best superhero name. :3

[@harrystone6852]

Matt sang on bench!

[@JairamWaddell]

Bench Commode is clearly Barry Scott's alter ego who sells toilet cleaner rather than a general cleaner/bleach

[@JoshuaHillerup]

I'm sure you know this already, but there are free apps that make it really easy to create and go through a checklist on your phone

[@_xzvf2557]

We heard Matt sing!

[@philipjohnson3225]

The Technical Difficulties, experiencing technical difficulties.

[@gertjannolten4849]

You know what, compared with self-isolating talkshow hosts, you're doing just fine :)

[@CalvinLiangTheGeek]

Might wanna read the Checklist Manifesto or make a checklist for things like these.

[@Howtard]

Today I learned that Tom thinks Barry Scott is a superhero.

[@ConditionOfMan]

Are you guys going to have to start making CGP Gray style checklists?

[@kriskehrer6410]

8:48 no, Bench Commode is clearly a Prog Rock band.

[@adamrasmussen3521]

The ONE thing separating a jogger from a runner is whether the person cares about it or not. No matter how slow they are, their technique or how much time they spend in their shoes - if they care, they are a runner by heart.

[@crispoman]

Matt Gray's mind: _NOT_ *Built For Science*

[@basztiancooper]

according to youtube notifications this was uploaded 20 minutes ago ... well done .

[@vladolkhovetsky1070]

Now I want the full song of “there’s a hole in this Bench”