Why Do Things Exist?

In which John considers a question from his 5-year-old nephew: Why do things exist? Why does anything exist? Why are we here? Also, chickens.

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[vlogbrothers]

p.s. We don't know why anything exists!

[spectrumspectre]

John is just casually giving a five year old his first existential crisis, as all good uncles should

[jacoL]

even though I know that this video is not just for hank's 5-year-old kid, but the fact that you don't ever talk down to the person you're addressing even if you know they are a kid and they won't understand half the things you are talking about is honestly the best part of the vid... as a kid I loathed adults that talked down to me and now I try my best to never do it, even if a child doesn't understand what I'm saying all that means is that more questions will be asked and they'll learn more!

[amyberger]

I have a toddler who is endlessly clapping for himself, delighting in every tiny discovery. When Hank shared the stat that we are currently only about 0.01% of the way through the lifespan of the universe and that it is still so young, I realized that the universe is a lot like a big toddler, continuously clapping for itself, as if to say, “Isn’t this wonderful?!? More, more!!”

[SophieHartstein]

"we are made out of the universe" is exactly what i needed to hear today

[Phoenix]

*Please* make more videos for your nephew _PLEASE!!_ This is the kind of thing many of us adults never got to hear when we were that young. And far too often the answers we did hear came from within a mind-constricting and sometimes frightening religious context. And... Well, it's going to be just plain refreshing to all of us if some of what you & Hank tell _us_ is really for _a small child._ *Thank you!*

[Alexander_D_Shaffer]

Teaching children is kind of like catching someone up who starts at the most recent book in a series. You have all the answers for getting them caught up but you're just as in the dark about what comes next or any questions that remain unanswered so far.

[daevans]

The real question is, why when discussing questions like this,
I'm fixated on if John got new glasses.

[MarcosProjects]

My son's name is Sagan because his eponym Carl popularized the idea that "we are a way for the Cosmos to know itself" :)

[ERowe-fszr]

Four minutes of reasons to be generally in favor of humans. Man, I love us! I love that we question things. I love that we make awesome coffee. I love that we are the universe trying to understand itself.

[RainaRamsay]

I love that 5-year-olds regularly come up with questions that the answer is so obvious, you have a hard time remembering that there was ever a time you learned this... and also with questions that all of humanity has struggled with for all of our existence.

[huburgalula]

So cute to see John make a video response for Orin! Used to be their thing with Hank and now they get to share it with little hank!

[JaredTakesTime]

I don't know why things exist, but I am glad those glasses exist.

[vntagecassette]

When I was really little, I asked my dad why water freezes into ice. His answer was that it gets cold, which makes it solid, but I wanted to know why cold made it solid in the first place. That's how I learned about molecules at age 3, and did a science fair project about them at age 6

[aadisha]

Hey John, I have been reading Anthropocene reviewed recently and honestly it is my comfort book. I know you say that thinking of a human to be more than a human is a treacherous thing but your writing is like a comfortable blanket for me. I guess its good to know someone out there feels the same way you do. College entrances have been scary. Your videos keep the sanity intact. Thanks for what you do. I am so glad that you exist :)

[rejithkumarg]

I just end up teary eyed every single time hank or John talk about the universe in such a beautiful manner

[jaretanderson]

Hank and John gonna be in the textbook for how to nail midroll ad production in Content Creator University courses in 10 years

[messyhair]

John's monologue combined with puff levels are giving me some early Vlogbrothers energy, like 2009 Vlogbrothers

[talia]

Those glasses fit exceedingly well with your newly established fancy coffee-drinking persona. I’m a fan.

[Beligol]

It was thinking about questions like this that pushed me to physics. I can remember when I started asking smaller bigger questions to myself and being able to piece together the answers from what I had learned. Now I get to teach college students the wonder and the glory that is physics.