Within Reason #132 Vsauce - Does Anything Exist?
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Nov 30, 2025 
Michael Stevens, creator of Vsauce and a prominent science communicator, dives deep into existential questions alongside host Alex. They explore whether anything truly exists, challenging notions of identity and objecthood using the Ship of Theseus. Michael discusses mereological nihilism, suggesting objects are mere fictions of context. The conversation touches on free will, the evolution of consciousness, and the complexities of memory and identity, sparking profound insights into what it means to exist.
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Objects As Useful Fictions
- Michael Stevens argues many common objects (tables, chairs) are just labels we impose on arranged matter.
- He calls this a useful fiction that evolved because nounifying simplifies survival-relevant reasoning.
Making A Sandwich From Scratch Story
- Michael recounts a project to make a sandwich from scratch that cost $15,000 and took years.
- He uses it to show deep compositional chains lead back to 'inventing the universe' level effort.
Myriological Nihilism Framed Simply
- Michael accepts a myriological nihilist stance: stuff exists but most nouns do not as fundamental things.
- He restricts real ontology to 'stuff' (particles/matter) rather than everyday objects.
