Russell's Teapot = the crazy watering can?

January 23, 2011 9:22 PM

How "just another homework assignment" (slyt) can (maybe even without the creator's knowledge) easily explain an analogy first coined by the philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) "Russell's Teapot" (wiki)
posted by MrBCID (17 comments total)

That video is fantastically done.
posted by flatluigi at 9:30 PM on January 23, 2011

"Brilliant! True Iconoclasm.

Now do it again with a penis."

Somehow captures the essence of the most brilliant youtube comments, and also why they should be avoided.

I love the video. Even when I think an idea and a song are completely played out, they come together in new ways.
posted by poe at 9:34 PM on January 23, 2011 [2 favorites]

That is pretty good, all right.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:35 PM on January 23, 2011

But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense.

Nearly the entire internet disproves the inference of this sentence.
posted by 0xFCAF at 10:05 PM on January 23, 2011

Shot in Jesusalem. Excellent!
posted by growabrain at 10:49 PM on January 23, 2011

That was excellent!
posted by painquale at 11:15 PM on January 23, 2011

This is REALLY good. If it used an original soundtrack it would have been absolutely perfect. Fuck it. Great stuff thanks for sharing.
posted by Arthur Phillips Jones Jr at 11:19 PM on January 23, 2011

I don't get the Russell connection, except maybe at the end. Isn't this asking "what if everyone had the same unverifiable supernatural beliefs?" rather than offering the suggestion that having unverifiable beliefs shifts the onus of proof?

It does look a bit like a teapot I suppose, and I don't read Hebrew, so perhaps I'm missing something?

Very well done video though.
posted by GeckoDundee at 12:50 AM on January 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Man that video is extremely well made. A student project? You heard Vania's name here first...
posted by Hartham's Hugging Robots at 2:11 AM on January 24, 2011

Yeah, I saw this a few day's back and at first I thought it was going to run with a Russell connection but... it doesn't, really, does it? The way I read it is simply: believing in and worshipping silly things is not a good idea, and it's being nicely cheeky by saying that the silly thing might as well be a jug as a god.

Anyway, it reminded me of this old video about the relative efficacy of praying to a jug of milk.
posted by Decani at 3:51 AM on January 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Well shit. Seems I linked to a Christer's "debunking" of the jug of milk video (and typically pisspoor it is, too). How irritating. Anyway, the first bit was the bit I was referring to.
posted by Decani at 3:53 AM on January 24, 2011

Would have been pretty good with a Flying Spaghetti Monster too. But maybe would have lost some of its gravitas in that case.
posted by memebake at 4:24 AM on January 24, 2011

I approve of this video.
posted by DU at 4:39 AM on January 24, 2011

It irks me (for geekish reasons) that they didn't use the Utah teapot.
posted by oonh at 4:49 AM on January 24, 2011 [2 favorites]

Interesting to watch his earlier video: My Watering Can
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:22 AM on January 24, 2011

Man, I was really hoping that teapot had some topological gimmick. Like, what appears to be the handle is actually the spout and vice versa. I mean, that would gather some worshipers worthy of the Russell name.
posted by pwnguin at 1:27 PM on January 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nobody asked, but the answer is: it's an IKEA PS VÅLLÖ watering can.
posted by mhum at 2:53 PM on January 24, 2011 [1 favorite]