The Zipf Mystery

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/ tweetsauce
/ electricpants
WordCount.org www.wordcount.org/
How many days have you been alive? www.beatcanvas.com/daysalive.asp
random letter generator: www.dave-reed.com/Nifty/randSe...
Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: / obscuresorrows
Word frequency resources:
[lemmatized] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_co...
www.uow.edu.au/~dlee/corpora.htm
www.wordfrequency.info
www.anc.org/data/anc-second-re...
www.titania.bham.ac.uk/docs/
www.kilgarriff.co.uk/bnc-readm...
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktio...
ucrel.lancs.ac.uk/bncfreq/
[PDF] www.wordfrequency.info/files/e...
[combined Wikipedia and Gutenberg] www.monlp.com/2012/04/16/calcu...
corpus.byu.edu/coca/files/100k...
corpus.byu.edu/
corpus.leeds.ac.uk/list.html
books.google.co.uk/books?id=j...
www.ling.helsinki.fi/kit/2009s...
Great Zipf's law papers:
colala.bcs.rochester.edu/paper...
www.ling.upenn.edu/~ycharles/s...
arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0412004...
www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/c...
Zipf’s law articles and discussions:
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/a...
io9.com/the-mysterious-law-tha...
plus.maths.org/content/os/lat...
judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/...
plus.maths.org/content/myster...
www.datasciencecentral.com/pro...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipf%27...
other Zipf’s law PDFs
ftp.iza.org/dp3928.pdf
arxiv.org/pdf/1402.2965.pdf
arxiv.org/pdf/1104.3199.pdf
www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~jim/zipfjrh.pdf
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
polymer.bu.edu/hes/articles/pg...
in untranslated language: arxiv.org/pdf/0808.2904.pdf
pages.stern.nyu.edu/~xgabaix/p...
www.hpl.hp.com/research/idl/pa...
statweb.stanford.edu/~owen/cou...
arxiv.org/pdf/1310.0448v3.pdf
www.kornai.com/Papers/glotto5.pdf
Zipf’s law slides:
www.slideshare.net/guest9fc47a...
Pareto Principle and related ‘laws’:
www.squawkpoint.com/2013/03/pa...
billyshall.com/blog/post/paret...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_...
Random typing and Zipf:
www.longtail.com/the_long_tail...
health 80/20: archive.ahrq.gov/research/find...
Principle of least effort:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princip...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisfi...
www.pnas.org/content/100/3/788... [PDF]
csiss.org/classics/content/99
self organized criticality:
journal.frontiersin.org/articl...
Hapax Legomenon:
campus.albion.edu/english/2011...
www.dailywritingtips.com/is-th...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapax_l...
[PDF] www.aclweb.org/anthology/J10-4003
www.wired.com/2012/01/hapax-le...
oed.hertford.ox.ac.uk/main/con...
oed.hertford.ox.ac.uk/main/con...
Learning curve: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learnin...
Forgetting curve:
www.trainingindustry.com/wiki/...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgett...
Experience curve effects: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experie...
Forgetting
and zipf's law: act-r.psy.cmu.edu/wordpress/wp...
public.psych.iastate.edu/shaca...
marshalljonesjr.com/youll-reme...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgetting
/ it_only_takes_three_ge...
music from:
/ jakechudnow
www.audionetwork.com

[@finnberuldsen4798]

Finding a Vsauce video in your subscriptions feels like finding $20 on the street.

[@manueldom123]

+Finn Beruldsen Well said! I need more $20 dollar bills.

[@samherport7586]

it really does mate

[@veazix]

+Finn Beruldsen Both get the reaction: "Ummmm... YES."

[@oducks5820]

Its $20 worth of knowledge.

[@joseph_lacy]

So true

[@gemworm]

In group chats: 80% of the talking is done by 20% of the members

[@abeke5523]

All these comments made me realize that holy fucking shit the 80-20 rule is actually everywhere

[@_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_]

Holy shit you’re right

[@small_SHOT]

It is confirmed that *y o u e x i s t*

[@skthechef8075]

Facts

[@floofyliu8819]

Big brain big brain

[@twodogstar2565]

It's extremely hilarious to read the list of 100 most used words in order and try to sound like you're actually trying to explain something to someone

[@earlbilbrey8058]

But it is kinda eerie to think about it as a comprehensible statement of some sort. Kind of thinking of it as an unarguable statement that we are all collectively making. 🤔

[@macizogalaico]

@@earlbilbrey8058 every couple of days someone, somewhere, invents dadaist poetry again

[@frogg_tv4774]

it does sound like when i try to explain things to someone-

[@SteeZy644]

Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like?

[@Thiesal-4]

TOATAIIITIFYWWOAHBBT

[@coolerman_13]

"by focusing on 20% of what's wrong, you can expect to solve 80% of the problems" mind blown

[@Aranwaar]

I focused on 40% now i solved 160% of my problems

[@tomomalley50]

@@AranwaarNoob, I’m doing 100% for 400%

[@tomomalley50]

@@phil_bean shut up

[@venga3]

But being able to identify what that priority 20% should be is the real key.

[@MouminDaherAbtidon]

It's not ANY 20% but a specific 20%.

[@Silvertarian]

Explains why 20% of employees do 80% of the work.

[@joeyrozic1100]

+Bulkbs Jokes

[@John----Smith]

+Bulkbs because they must follow pareto's law, which is a management directive in almost all companies.

[@AlterVayne]

+Walders1 It doesn't. Here we have 20% of the EMPLOYEES and 80% of the WORK, These are separate objects. You cannot sum up two percentages of different objects.

[@Italianchef26]

+Bulkbs It makes sense to me. A small quantity of workers (a small quantity of words) are responsible of a large quantity of work (make up most of what we say). I know it was intended as a joke but the rule still stands I guess...

[@foil767]

Communism...

[@Botpointo]

Group projects: 80% of the work is done by 20% of the students

[@nicoyazawa2051]

Damn

[@KYR4T0NIN]

Or the other way around since they don’t finish the project

[@eclecticsoffy]

It actually do be like that

[@thomasbraeuning1918]

e. g. one student

[@_judge_me_not]

15.4% of your sentence is "the"

[@rohitsinha3600]

I love how he says the most used words in English as if it's a sentence of a good ol' English poem.

[@RudyHH2]

i am not sayin' most script'd

[@UnclePengy]

Verily, t'was iambic pentameter!

[@Qaptyl]

ye olde english poem

[@PazEr80]

Last week I attended a lecture at university about power laws and preferential attachment processes. It's crazy to think that I already knew everything because 8 years ago teenage me was binge watching Vsauce. Thanks Michael for making us smarter in the most entertaining way, honestly no one does it like you. You will never be forgotten.

[@ladyalicent705]

In a classroom 80% of the talking is done by 20% of the kids.

[@obamabinladen4109]

Lord Davrox more like 3% of the kids

[@LilCheesyBean]

Obama bin Laden, that’s just the one kid that every teacher hates

[@mmabagain]

In a classroom 80% of the homework is done by 20% of the kids too.

[@GORNK]

or are 80% of the kids done by 20% of the talking?

[@charlesballiet7074]

yea well most chimps are taught to regurgitate information. Thinking for yourself requires that rare spark of intelligence

[@harrys4698]

80% of Michaels hair is on 20% of his head

[@Cpt_Crack]

Whoops

[@LilLeanCuisine]

Nice one

[@gavinwarner3480]

Savage

[@bsigns1935]

nice...

[@eraldylli]

He looks hot, well... warm.

[@mostlyghostey]

I think one of the most wonderful things about our "Zipfian Mind" forgetting things, is the chance to experience them "like new" all over again. It's comforting to remember that even if you can't remember all of a book you read, you can have the joy of reading it again and being surprised by the things you forgot.

[@jimmycryz]

Same with Vsauce videos, I watched this video in 2018, 2020 and now in 2022 and I never remembered anything from the past viewings.

[@monicarenee7949]

@@jimmycryz I remember watching this video before but couldn’t even remember it was about so I rewatched it

[@kamilocastillo5816]

That's called nostalgia

[@cherriberri8373]

My issue with that is then i just start remembering stuff as i read and so that isnt even true :(

[@digletwithn]

@mostlyghostey the = 6.9% (58 words total; 4 occurrences)

[@lezbeehonest0294]

14:40 I've always loved when in conversation, someone uses a word that's out of fashion or hasn't been used in a while, and within like 3 minutes, someone says it again. Or when I watch a streamer that has an article or something on screen and they choose a word from the visible text. Like our brains just latch onto words.

[@cara-seyun]

I believe this is the explanation for why there is so much plagiarism online People aren’t even aware they are copying someone else

[@enderboy1824]

“The of and to, a in is I. That it for you was with on. As have, but be they.” -Michael This was my senior quote

[@sudokuzcalkami]

sounds Shakespearean

[@enderboy1824]

@Vahe Mayilyan The almighty loaf

[@enderboy1824]

Vahe Mayilyan pretty old meme

[@UrWifiIsSlow]

It was mine too

[@utkarsh3012]

Or is it?

[@awaken6760]

20% of this video left me 80% confused.

[@ToddFarenbourgh]

80% of this video contained 20% of the Information :-D

[@mozillafoxer8489]

+Simon Tiersch *cough* the *cough* other *cough* way *cough* around *cough*

[@ThePlumAbides]

20% of this comment contains 80% of my reply

[@CorieandMosesVideos]

+Simon Tiersch Lol! Or is it that 80% of the information was given in 20% of the video? .> 0.0

[@Gabu_]

+Kevin Simmons uhhhhh... pls, help. I'm stuck inside my mind now, and I can't find the way out.

[@Darknight24x]

Every time I see this video, I always forget that quote at the end. "I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I've eaten; even so, they have made me." Thank you Michael. 😊

[@colby722]

Watching this nearly a decade later. Probably my 20th time revisiting this exact video. By far my favorite video on KZbin. Absolutely beautiful composition and every part makes me think deep every time I watch it. I love this video

[@d-bro5695]

You and me both mate - I try to educate people about Zipfs Law frequently, but usually just redirect them here. Come to think of it, I’d probably redirect about 80% of them here and explain it sufficiently to the other 20%….

[@grfrjiglstan]

And now there's 58,800 Google results for 'quizzaciously' - and a subreddit. Way to go, Michael, you saved a word from obscurity.

[@seigeengine]

+grfrjiglstan No. If the rule holds then quizzaciously becoming more popular won't have any net effect.

[@AquariusRisen]

That's funny; my Web search didn't come up with anything.

[@Zerepzerreitug]

remember to search for it with quotation marks. With them, it's only 110 results so far.

[@artyknotswastaken]

+Arturo Gutierrez Ah, 327

[@mariahmerry]

+grfrjiglstan Btw, the word in in Wikipedia now as well lol

[@mlgeorge.]

Fun fact: He had said 16 words before the first “the” he said

[@ramananprv4756]

!!! Why doesn't this comment have more likes

[@slinkerdeer]

@@ramananprv4756 because this video is from 2015

[@b4o450]

But the comments are 3 days ago

[@spadeney3722]

MLGeorge AND THAT IS ABOUT 5.88% OF WHAT HE SAID (in those 17 words) AND HE SAID ABOUT 6% OF WHAT YOU SAY WILL BE “THE” coincidence? I THINK NOT

[@x_Fr0stee_x]

No mans sky. 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

[@freddyjosereginomontalvo4667]

I cannot remember all the Vsauce videos I’ve seen any more than all the meals I’ve eaten, even so, they have made me. Thanks, Michael and your team for everything, and thanks to all of you human friends for everything the truth is that in spite of me, being a lonely person, I love every second that I pass with all of you. And as always thanks for making majestic videos Michael.

[@GothicOctopus]

Fun fact: I remembered the top most used words and often tried to quote them in order but for YEARS I could not label this video. It made me so happy to stumble upon it again

[@ibperson7765]

That IS a fun fact

[@wthisthishandlething]

@@ibperson7765 indeed - who dosent like a good ending

[@ibperson7765]

@@wthisthishandlething Word

[@evanmclellan9014]

80% of my attention is on 20% of the screen

[@boozer01]

Ronald McDonald Nigga I'm gonna kick the McShit™ outta you

[@bliss7470]

Your profile picture is very appropriate for your comment.

[@mangetsuderdeutschgamer6580]

Nigga you too woke for me

[@Whyolent]

tbh that is probably correct

[@w00fsicle36]

1000 likes in just three months... I'm impressed.

[@Reivax2007]

The most used words are now: hey, vsauce, Michael, here.

[@person7038]

The most words you said in that sentence are “ , “

[@neeevirus]

@@person7038 that is not a word. A word is made up of letters. That is a special character. You can't even say it since it doesn't have a pronunciation. That said the most words I said in this reply was "is", not ".".

[@maddog3006]

Ikr

[@person7038]

@@neeevirus Ik I was kidding

[@neeevirus]

@@person7038 I had a slight feeling you were kidding, but I still went and replied like that sorry for not getting the joke

[@billyma6]

i always wondered how zipf would apply to languages like mandarin where it isn’t expressed in itemized components like letters

[@chonpincher]

There's a good paper on this at dsd.future-lab.cn/members/2015nlp/readings/zipf's%20law/JCLC_18(1).4.pdf

[@ayellowllama9602]

Aren't characters itemised components?

[@coldguto]

just finished a paper work for university, in which the teacher linked the basis of work as this exactly video. that's how important you and your crew are to us, michael.

[@sagesarrazine6270]

Fun fact: Marine biologists have found that Zipf's law also applies to dolphin click patterns. Dolphins have their own language

[@dollcefina]

I knew it!! 🐬🐬🐬 (By which I mean that I _suspected_ so, not that I already knew the fact, haha.)

[@4merly]

@@dollcefina Fun fact, you typed 16 words before typing "the". (idk if intentional)

[@Nukestarmaster]

"So long and thanks for all the fish"

[@JL1009]

@@sagesarrazine6270 16.

[@-Danny]

Although yes, it's true that they have a language, it's not Zipf's law that confirms it. Going back to the paperclip example, you can see how random events in a set can result in this pattern. There's nothing intelligent about the way he picked each paperclip to link. Do we have enough information to say we discovered a paperclip language? ...maybe if you tried hard enough you could create it, but the data itself says nothing.

[@jswp5]

80% of the information I take from these videos comes from the first 20% of the video

[@hamimseam2591]

jswp5 ikr

[@lennartweber2228]

jswp5 20% of the information i picked up here will stay in my mind, while i will forget 80% again. imagine watching this vid over and over again. u will never remember everything 100%. now think about the tv series sherlock. SUPER HUMAN PROVEN

[@adamkowal4381]

all i need to know is how often the word sauce is used in english

[@zanon__]

Moist.

[@cockbreath01]

2:08 you never even made it that far?

[@MatsueMusic]

I watch this video every time the world feels too chaotic to remember that this moment is just an outlier.

[@irenecheca6575]

Thank you for all the resources you posted in the description, much appreciated. Gonna try to use your video in my class on Language Variation and Change.

[@iwllkllyoo1]

so, theoretically, 80% of views on KZbin are on 20% of the videos?

[@RetroLPGames]

+Thadeus Crimson And - theoretically - 80% of views on KZbin are made by 20% of the users. I wonder if there actually is official data about it, shouldn't be to hard for Google to get it...

[@peterseagrave4051]

80% of the videos are created by 20% of users. Well, in theory.

[@markwelschmeyer2426]

+Thadeus Crimson and like 8% on Gandom Style

[@markwelschmeyer2426]

+Thadeus Crimson this could also mean that the "top" you tube commenter comments twice as next as the 2nd.

[@kaskade333]

I read somewhere that 99% of the views are on 30% of the videos

[@direwolf029]

Obviously the programmers who made the simulation we live in got lazy and decided to write one law to cover the ratio of everything

[@isore3090]

I think those "programmers" is just God

[@thomasgreenhill2482]

@@isore3090 naw god doesn't exist

[@Christina-pq7kn]

Yeah. If god were to exist as such an all powerful tyrant, then why doesn’t he change people who feel so privileged as to correct someone else’s beliefs. Like you Alikare.

[@isore3090]

@@Christina-pq7kn why are atheists so ignorant, rude and conclude to opinions without thinking. Since when is stating my/your own opinion seen as "CoRrEcTiNg SoMeOnE's BeLiEf"? I think God is testing me with all these ignorant people like you, sorry bud next time, think and read comments clearly before commenting something stupid

[@masony6489]

@@isore3090 you can't even spell "programmers" right, how are you talking?

[@CircuitBoy1010]

About 80% of my brain exploded with 20% of information on this video.

[@unfinishedsketch.]

Sir, this is a Wendy’s

[@randomuser3053]

Michael; the only man who can answer 16 questions when we only asked one

[@Alienguy500]

clearly he "answer"s more than we "ask"

[@shyeskyeskyeksye]

80% of the answers come from 20% of the questions

[@thaddeusphish4113]

​@@shyeskyeskyeksye my brain is to broken to read this

[@ROMANXA5]

1 minute of watching him and i learn more then a whole year of school

[@rickastley3033]

he'll answer 8 questions when asked only 2

[@ajr993]

80% of comments are created by 20% of users. Seems legit.

[@M_Lars]

A lot may not have accounts...

[@wow-jc4ez]

+Matthew Larsen user is disccusible word

[@rashotcake6945]

20% of girls are fucked by 80% of guys

[@robo3007]

+Rashotcake That is actually a statistic I've heard before

[@rashotcake6945]

+Robin Powell how about 20% of my dick's length causes 80% of the pleasure a girl feels when I'm hooking up

[@giulioiannelli9556]

You should have counted the words used in the video

[@thattimestampguy]

7:15 Ease vs Understanding 11:42 Built Into Humanity 13:04 The Path Grows more common depending on how many people access it and how easy it is to access 15:47 50-100 Words frequently. Every other word 1 time. 18:37 Oleka

[@Vsauce]

Hey Vsauce! FYI: 181 million / 5555 is 32583.2583258... the "=" should be a "≈" How I missed that is a mystery -- but it's not as big as the Zipf mystery!

[@steelwolf411]

+Vsauce yes

[@humvy23]

+Vsauce Thank you for your art Michael.

[@antoinecedriccc2]

+Vsauce You should do a video about the six degrees of separation theory!! Anyways love your vids.

[@ItsMatic]

What about Cern or H.a.r.p Something about portals or wormholes into different dimensions do an Vid on that ? .

[@rayankhalil2495]

ummm okayy??? #FuckThisShitImOut

[@vidulab3977]

5:06 The way one of my teachers explained the 80 20 thing: 80% of the noise in a classroom is caused by 20% of the students.

[@ChangedNames]

•brain explodes•

[@weichenplays]

The

[@gressorialNanites]

If that is true, s/he needs to speak up. The students in the back need to hear hir too.

[@bursteh1135]

Maybe she has ears, And if she actually has ears, we're doomed.

[@zaxxro2547]

Can you speak up? I can't hear from back here

[@steveson129]

Fun fact : you can say the word "of" for this whole video sp that the graph changes from 1/2 to 1/2+x

[@MAJ0ROCEL0T]

I come back to this video often. Its honestly so existentially comforting somehow.

[@BitcoinAndChess]

Andrei Jikh just did a video showing a newly discovered Power Law: Bitcoin. It's price is predictable. Check it out.

[@denisdrc5836]

Once you've read the dictionary, every other book is just a remix

[@isleofbirb]

Denis DRC once you’ve seen the alphabet, every other word is just a remix

[@whiteslate]

Isle of Birbs once you’ve seen a straight line, every written letter is just a remix

[@curiousman4452]

@@whiteslate once you’ve seen a periodic table, the whole world is just a remix

[@RASHY616]

Denis DRC woaahhh

[@x_Fr0stee_x]

@@curiousman4452 once you've seen matter and energy, the whole observable universe is just a remix.

[@mmandible5470]

“I cannot remember all the books I’ve read anymore than all the meals I’ve eaten, even so they have made me” is perhaps one of the most beautiful sentiments I’ve ever heard

[@Luxifer66]

according to zipfs law, by now you must have forgot it.

[@abra_escaped]

Why thank you captain risk of rain 2

[@MysteriusSushi]

“I cannot remember all *the* books I’ve read anymore than all the meals I’ve eaten, even so they have made me” is perhaps one of *the* most beautiful sentiments I’ve ever heard

[@StdDev99]

I'm glad I have forgotten this video because I've enjoyed it again 6.5 years later like I'm seeing it for the first time

[@nickoldberg1752]

I'm so glad he ended with that bit of positivity because it was getting to existential crisis a bit about how much of our lives we forget

[@BBQDad463]

Thank you for this video. It was thoroughly fascinating.

[@func_e]

This is why I love this channel. the rabbit holes never cease

[@emzy_9442]

I know what I must do. I must make an entire book that says the word sauce over 100 million times

[@snoopydog1163]

disturb the balance restore *sauce*

[@newboy6736]

when you do that it goes up the word rankings and gets divided by a smaller number so it dosent even make too much of a difference in the grand scheme of things

[@theosouris7063]

Reject logic. Return to the 2009 YTP.

[@xylobomb7527]

I will do the same, but with *SUS*

[@ahmed4363]

Now add V

[@ThatMumboJumbo]

This video made me uneasy for some reason.

[@hailmusix5225]

Because 80% of the government is 20% Illuminat :o

[@Fatherlake]

+Mumbo Jumbo HEY MUMBO!!! A SURPRISE TO SEE YOU HERE! im a subber btw

[@morgancook4288]

isn't it weird the same people you like also like the people you like ?

[@evren.builds]

+Mumbo Jumbo It`s just that you`re living in a computer program nothing to make you uneasy...

[@AdroSlice]

Wow. Interristing to see you here, of all places. I'm glad you have interrest such cool things though.

[@slide0549]

This one video made the results for quizzaciously go from one to ~4,420 in 7 years.

[@michaelbiljon8249]

This is my favourite video on KZbin. I really want a follow up to this. Like, do we know any more about this phenomenon in the past 7 years?

[@nulcheck]

Lays really takes the 80-20 thing to heart with 80% air and 20% chips in the bag

[@auritro3903]

Lol

[@auritro3903]

Like 69 lol

[@unlimiteddd]

Boom! ʕ-ᴥ-ʔ

[@swallow_skyla3602]

LOL

[@GigaChad-tv7xl]

Fun fact: there's actually no air in crisps bags! Instead, it's nitrogen gas. It has to be there, because it keeps the crisps fresh. If it were air, the crisps would turn stale.

[@recrucity]

The most used word people use while watching VSauce: “What?”

[@geometryjosh21]

The most used phrase in vsauce videos is: or is it... OR IS IT . . .

[@lewwylemons]

@@geometryjosh21 vacuse? (edit: congrats you fixed it) (edit again: actually you didn't its vsauce not vsause)

[@embee5375]

Haha I just added this video to my playlist called "What?"

[@user-rd8xy6zv5z]

And that's crazy

[@rainbowlemew]

The word least used while watching Vsauce: FBI, open up.

[@junbird]

Shout out to my professor, who showed us the beginning of this video during class for introducing the topic at hand. Would have never expected of watching Vsauce during a university lecture.

[@justinhamilton8647]

19:23 youre so right… I always thought I could never forget my friends and teachers from school and now I can hardly remember anything

[@TheCarolgibbons]

I've always said I wear 20 percent of my clothes 80 percent of the time.

[@nathanbullaft]

Clever one 😂

[@mariomaxy1140]

Taking that into account, you’re saying you have 20 pieces of clothing... Wow, loser!

[@joelackers5104]

Mario Maxy he could have 5 pieces of clothing

[@edme8865]

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... 5 outfits and 5 days, that would mean wearing the same outfit for 4 days straight. bump it up one level. 30 outfits for 30 days. Starting to reach on the number of outfits, but continuing on. That means wearing 6 outfits for 24 of those 30 days. This seems it could be achieved by cycling through those 6 outfits four times during the month, or once a week with wearing one of the non-six outfits on the 7th day and washing those six outfits. This would make 12 of those 30 outfits actually used, however... bump it up one level. 365 outfits for 365 days. A far stretch on the number of outfits. That would mean wearing 73 outfits for 292 of those 365 days. This still seems plausible until considering the number of outfits. So... Try time to try the magic interentz search box. One survey list average articles of clothing as 103, another as 142, and another recommends 10 outfits. Try 142. Divide into shoes, bottoms, tops, underwear and that is 35.5 sets. Now times 20% is 7.1 outfits. There is the argument of how the shoes, bottoms, tops, underwear give multiple permutations of outfits, and this is correct. Yet by following that argument out goes into automatically disproving the 20-80 claim because of not filling the 20% of clothing by either not using that 20%(going commando?) or using more than 20%(outfit matching requirements-pajamas do not mix with button up work shirt). So, the 10 outfits is the most. Revising the above... 10 outfits for 5 days--little problem with "25 hours in a day" concept. Otherwise seems great. 10 outfits for 30 days--each outfit would have to be worn for 3 days, straight. Not to be confused with the breakdown of 30 outfits for 30 days. 10 outfits for 365 days--each outfit would have to be worn for over a month. Not too certain if even homeless people do this.

[@inanjarif1388]

@@edme8865 There is the alternative option of,you know, *_cleaning the outfits_*

[@miguelisaurusbruh1158]

"I cannot remember the books i've read anymore than the meals i have eaten, even so, they have made me" That gave me chills, one of the best things i've ever heard

[@lordneojacks]

I know. I do complaint as I spend a lot of time reading and watching educative videos but can't seem to remember all details of them. EDIT: Interestingly enough... I do remember this part of this video..

[@klb9672]

@@lordneojacks yeah it irritates me too when I think about it.

[@DuffManWool]

To me too, great quote. Sadly We will forget about it soon

[@enjybadran7876]

@@SoloLevellor I'm a darktuber & you can't catch me nananananana you are banana

[@FloraMHorta]

Same here, it brought tears to my eyes for some reason.

[@peyton_tucker]

I tried the paper clip thing and it worked

[@crazyhayden]

I never knew that word was and still is a popular word to a degree of that size! I wonder whether a sentence could be constructed without using it, though I believe it'd be quite challenging for any writers attempting such an activity. Zipf is such an interesting phenomenon to be talked about, and I hope to see more of it! Wait a second, this sentence seems awfully devoid of a specific word. Oh well, probably not concerning to me or anyone else reading.

[@emilykalunga3510]

Shakespeare: 0:27 people in 1610: 😍😍😍😍🙌🙌🙌😭😭😱😱

[@mambodog5322]

Also English teachers throughout the galaxy

[@emilyrobinson1610]

This made me laugh pretty hard

[@elliotsmelliot]

Holy shit bro this is honestly the best shit I’ve seen today

[@calebmurray4438]

Shakespeare: 0:27 English majors now: 😍😍😍😍🙌🙌🙌😭😭😱😱

[@silverninja5218]

Dam that poem spoke to me, everything that I or other people say cant surmount to this. That shit was fire!🔥🔥

[@XXXXD]

I just realised that by knowing only top 100 words in english you practically know 50% of the language .

[@labinsocarivan5736]

😱

[@cysis7537]

So most of the words are useless.

[@RK-ep8qy]

@@cysis7537 yh tbf, I mean what exactly does "the" tell you? Not much

[@ckhb059]

So if i learn 100 of the most used words in French i then know 50% of the language and I may still have a hope of not failing my gcse French test

[@CAMSLAYER13]

@@cysis7537 some are vestigial others are too specific for common speech

[@MikeSims70]

Yet when it comes to remembering how a book made us FEEL, that is rarely ever forgotten... as is true with just about every emotional response to any significant event in our lives. The gritty details of what made that event what it was may be easily forgotten, but the emotional impact that it had on us, is almost never forgotten. We may be intellectually Zipfy, but our feelings don't seem to be as much so ... unless they are, while their interpretation can help us recall more details about something ... perhaps the relevant details of an event in our lives is somehow condensed into a very small piece of information that is then easy to store in mass quantities ... our emotional response to events.

[@JamesLewis2]

The note that the list of most frequent words is lemmatized should have made clear that this is only for verbs: The list still separates "a" and "an", "we" and "us", etc.

[@nownothingwillbewrong2958]

0:27 me talking to a girl be like

[@geoffreyloaiza8281]

Omg lol

[@hunterobrian7761]

that makes two of us

[@FestivalofFreaks]

Me trying to talk to anyone

[@warwick802]

Lmao

[@twistedgwazi5727]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAN FUNNY RELATABLE XDDDDDD 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ThisNameIsVeryClever]

"They don't think it be like it is, but it do."

[@alimarvi5356]

- Black Science Man

[@SuperGreenpuppet]

+Ali Marvi LOL

[@shadowblack10]

+Ali Marvi I'm black and I thought that was hilarious lmaoo

[@firepants20]

+Ali Marvi Thank you for this. I totally saw it coming, but it just had to be done.

[@catbat6264]

Lmao

[@chaboychit]

Still one of my favourite Vsauce videos if not my favourite. And also the video I found out we have the same birthday. Happy 38th in 3 days, Michael! It'll be my 24th.

[@zagyex]

this video is in my top 10 videos on youtube. I watched it accordingly many times.

[@jesserusso5455]

This explains why whenever you learn a new word you all of a sudden start hearing it everywhere for like weeks after

[@yamanbusmaje]

actually true, happend to me recently ... i felt like im living in a simulation, like where the hell that word was 20 ago and why I'm seeing it and hearing it everywhere

[@summerwoodsmusic]

@@yamanbusmaje That’s the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon….I’d love to see that get its own VSauce video!

[@profile1157]

Bro soo true

[@KanarisTM]

Yep.

[@GenericProtagonist118]

Sus.

[@qwertylyn8382]

Damn, that's alot to take in late at night before bed

[@bxvtriz]

Qwerty Lyn i literally share the exact same struggle right now

[@tacokitten]

lol I am literally typing this at 11:00 at night at night and I feel the same way

[@MrMista-zk6rz]

Qwerty Lyn i feel u now

[@akirasousuke7660]

Dude... 3:14 AM here.

[@uwumarii]

12:07 here and in tired af. Why are we doing this to ourselves

[@nickfosterxx]

A suitably profound close, beautifully done, would never have thought of that.

[@MadDunhill]

i've seen hundreds of vsauce videos but i think Zipf's Law is still the most mind blowing thing i've ever heard. makes it feel like we're living in some kind of simulation lol

[@z01nk3d6]

My phone is at 20% 80% of the time

[@JonathanLaliberte1]

why phone is at 80% 20% of the time

[@Smudge7Four]

I feel that!!! 20 % rn

[@ThePremiumGamer]

so your phone is at 80% 20% of the time

[@pocketinfinity4003]

Androids are at 80% 80% of the time.

[@Mrunibro]

Pocket Infinity you made me check my battery% after reading it. It was at 80%. i.imgur.com/juX40TJ.png

[@Vsauce]

And just like that there are already TWO Google results for "quizzaciously." Now, within the Google-search-result corpus, quizzaciously is technically a "dis legomenon." Next stop? "tris legomenon," then "tetrakis legomenon," and beyond!!!

[@FlamJongUn]

pentakis, exakis etc!

[@MadeinHell2]

+Vsauce Such a thing happens to google whacks all the time. It is a sad thing to see go.

[@maxkoller6315]

hahaha I love you mate :)

[@ArceusDX]

+Vsauce I just checked the Oxford English Dictionary site, Quizzaciously has disappeared.

[@thethanmanland2]

+TheOneTemor omg illuminati confrimed

[@gumarks_]

About that last quote Michael mentions. I guess that many of the things you do/experience, including that large amount of things you will definitely forget some time later, will, even unconsciously, forge who you will be in the future. Maybe you can't remember one specific thing that happened to you five years ago, but there's a chance that it was significant enough to give you some kind of knowledge or slightly shape your personality a certain way. Even if you don't remember that it happened, its repercussions in you are still there, it's part of you.

[@rezapanahi249]

Amazing. The paper clips part was mind-blowing.

[@TNCROCx]

zipfs law 🤝 fibonacci sequence : being everywhere

[@nightmare3885]

Wasnt it fibbonaci? My entire life was a lie

[@Pal42_]

@@nightmare3885 i have a theory that the Italian language and an English speaker's memory can't work together. Everytime someone tries to spell an Italian name it always ends up having double letters in the wrong spots

[@CeleryBruh]

@@Pal42_ ferrari or ferarri?

[@dylanpham9995]

Pareto’s principle: am I a joke to you?

[@WellBeSerious12]

That is an archaic and stupid system.

[@bryantadam7960]

Agent Smith: Michael is the one. Eliminate him now. Michael: Or am I?

[@valentinborisov6605]

Vsauce theme starts playing

[@joshnajothi4100]

We

[@boppe2235]

"Am I the one? ... dot com is a website that allows you to find out if you are the one or not. Just another DONG, something you can do online now guys"

[@canuckeraust]

Oracle: maybe

[@mikeriner9893]

I have watched and shared this multiple times over the years

[@afaceinthestreet]

An absolute classic, this video!

[@foxyninjaa]

My mum always used to say, "Education is what you remember after you've forgotten what you've been taught"

[@joshuaarnold1895]

You mean that “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell”?

[@foxyninjaa]

@@joshuaarnold1895 XD precisely

[@Qaptyl]

@@joshuaarnold1895 dont forget to wear goggles and have no exposed skin mixing water with crayons is dangerous

[@joshuaarnold1895]

@@Qaptyl what? XD Is this what you learned in school??

[@Qaptyl]

@@joshuaarnold1895 well they always put warning in the beginning of the school year but never even use anything toxic

[@KanatiGD]

POV: you’re trying to get the 5,000 second long ad

[@staswasyl1912]

lol relatable

[@mariomario-ih6mn]

yeah

[@ricobingcang6228]

Yeah

[@mikethehistorian]

Frrrr

[@imthiccanddoingvideosandso4569]

lol yessss

[@Granola-ld1by]

18:07 i love that you played your theme song here

[@shaneclark8903]

The ending music is Lonely Night by Dave James & Keith Beauvais. Hopefully this saves time for others.

[@4TheRecord]

I had a Scottish manager and his most used word began with an f.

[@7Dimensi0ns]

Hahaha brightened up my day =P

[@profprostate8683]

Nigga?

[@maxwellli7057]

@@profprostate8683 wow big funi

[@maxwellli7057]

@Adithya Nair always have this dude too

[@mimiminecraft5362]

Pedro Dumper wtf

[@Icewind007]

When a nuke lands, 80% of the damage is in 20% of its blast radius.

[@egg9709]

80% of the comments are from 20% of the video's existence

[@david203]

A nuclear weapon doesn't land. Waiting until it lands to explode would result in less damage.

[@kahlzun]

@@david203 but a lot more penetration or fallout. Depends on whether you are seeking blast radius or denial of area..

[@boostplease7450]

Dont nuclear weapons go off in the sky?

[@seemelater5056]

is that's why 80% of anime is 20% hentai?

[@frogg_tv4774]

Michael never ceases to amaze me. i didn’t know i was so predictable

[@SusDoctor]

80% of this video is words. 20% is Vsause tunes

[@quentinbell5617]

Quizzaciously “Quizzaciously” is an English word that means “in a mocking manner.” The word was once one of the rarest in the world (which is known as a hapax legomenon- when a word only appears once in a body of text…or in this case, a Google search) until a notable KZbinr, Vsauce mentioned it in one of his videos.

[@punchjudy]

Which begs the question, did Quiznos go out of business?

[@chaoticsilver8442]

Not according to the screens at 17:35 "Given to a quizzing., of a quizzing character., one who is quizzed." (The Oxforda Dictionary) and at 17:57 "bantering., quiz., to question., interrogate." (Elder Speak) Somehow... Michael fudged up.

[@Mini-ir9sn]

The second the was the 16th word of what you said

[@horsham9816]

666 likes😳

[@Ommelanden]

Michael should start a charity for abandoned words who sadly never get used

[@carval2001]

Poet: "The of and to a in is I that it for you was with on as have but be they" English teachers: SO INSPIRATIONAL

[@explodamite2]

it really is, right??

[@Solteratube]

Works for me.

[@yousufansari4962]

@Hubert Farnsworth lmaooooooooooo

[@carval2001]

@Hubert Farnsworth its a joke lol

[@tommytwotacos8106]

Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like?

[@chromosundrift]

love this channel! 7:56 "occurenaces" is a pretty rare word!

[@wagnerramosmidichannelabso514]

occurrences*

[@vanillotl]

Because of this video, quizzaciously is now on wikipedia. Good job, Michael 👍

[@Kimpes]

20% of the comments get 80% of the likes

[@andrewmcclintock7582]

Yep.

[@ryantyler8685]

This ones true, though.

[@goofyboy2627]

Capitalism

[@gnera666]

and 80% of the comments get 20% of the dislikes :P

[@martiddy]

80% of the spam is made by the 20% of users.

[@justanothermcytfan7988]

Sauce is the 5,555th most used word, and is a five letter word. V is 5 in Roman numerals. WHAT

[@hensolo8825]

So V5,555, or 55,555, is 5 numbers long. Coincidence?

[@justanothermcytfan7988]

....or is it?

[@th3br0wncray0n2]

What is real?

[@hulyan8944]

*v s a u c e mindfuck m u s i c*

[@bellasizemore2433]

This has me shook..

[@jahongirsalimov8515]

Hey, Michael, Jahongir here. I am from Uzbekistan. I watch your videos almost every day. At first, when I started watching your videos, my aim was to just learn English language from native speaker in a natural way. But then my perspective towards you totally changed. When I was a child I was thirsty to learn something new. I had always looked for a new interesting facts. One day I found something that can satisfy my thirsty, curosity to understand the world and discover the all mysteries for myself. It was your your channel. Thank you for all things you have been giving. I always stay curious.

[@tasilovonheydebrandtundder6851]

The only thing I can think of is that if it were otherwise, the close concordance of one piece of text to another, such that it can be most easily understood (remember that English is flexible enough for an idea to be presented grammatically in many different ways) and cohere with its fellows, requires that word selection, use and sentence positionality must closely resemble each other.

[@user-rd7jv4du1w]

In fandoms: 80% of the toxicity comes from 20% of the fanbase

[@MusicalInquisit]

I think it's more the other way around, depending on the fandom.

[@user-ix6lu9rn1m]

Musical Inquisitor if 20% of the toxicity comes from 80% of the fan base then that’s just a different way of wording what the original comment said

[@MusicalInquisit]

@@user-ix6lu9rn1m Yes, but it means different things.

[@user-ix6lu9rn1m]

Musical Inquisitor no, not really if 20% of the fan base is 80% of the toxicity then 80% of the fan base is 20% of the toxicity

[@MrVasteel]

@@MusicalInquisit nope, Walker is right

[@crudboy12]

I love how Michal singlehandedly revived "Quizatiously"

[@adonis22_75]

I'm three months in the future of this comment...and now there's a website, subriddet, wiki page, and a Utube music video...

[@elijahzufalligeanordnung1843]

Alexander Supertramp r/woooooooosh

[@emiliadg39]

@@elijahzufalligeanordnung1843 lolol riddet are www.reddit.com/r/wooooooos u just got wooshed!!!

[@cuz9892]

umm... please spell the word correctly you goober

[@onkara4363]

This video is soooo quizzaciously fascinating

[@jewelaloo7831]

Not far into the video, but there's a real fun exercise in my line of work (I'm an artist) called the 80/20 rule! Basically when you draw or paint something in 20% of the time you usually do (basically a quick-sketch) you can get 80% of the work done. It helps your brain go into overdrive and make you focus on what you want quicker.

[@arjaycook7612]

What really messed me up is the realization that 80% of your memories come from 20% of your life.

[@Zilicon]

20% of your memories come from 80% of your life

[@MaNu3Lo]

That is exactly the same thing if 20% of memories come from 80% of life, there are still 80% of memories left from the 20% of life remaining

[@rulerworld1289]

Stole my comment😡

[@arjaycook7612]

@@rulerworld1289 Sorry, didn't see it.

[@sprtrnds7880]

@@MaNu3Lo I'm pretty sure that's what he meant

[@petrosstefanidis6396]

That was quite a quote at the end. "I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

[@RobinMichael64]

Yep, that's a quote I can fancy will be one of the 20% of quotes I've heard that I will actually remember.

[@rjhikups78]

Deep thoughts

[@SWISS-1337]

It's strange, because you can't remember a book word for word, however, as you reread it, you remember almost every part of it.

[@lumiel777]

I read Horus Heresy. You hyave been warned.

[@dawoomaheshwari9333]

yes a very very very good guote!

[@RuminaNero]

I feel like zipf's law occurs as a pattern in relation to all these concepts. The path of least resistence, compromises in how we do things (ie efficiency and practicality between opposing forces), mathematics of random chance in language, the 80/20 principle. To use an example from another video - it seems like the bachristocrone of reality. Reality is *not* purely random, nor are humans. But its a concept that applies to BOTH randomness and patterns. And it's one that is an incredibly applicable, practical pattern to apply to many things, human or not. We find it everywhere because, like a bachristochrone its the easiest most practical and best compromising pattern to apply to many many things.

[@ajbemrose8259]

I’m pretty sure everywhere I’ve ever worked, 20% of the employees did 80% of the work.