The Power of Crowdsourcing: What Mark Rober's YouTube Experiment Can Teach Us

What Mark Rober, 50,000 of his YouTube followers, and Super Mario Bros can teach us about life: pic.twitter.com/gMPeNsdsKy

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

Mark Rober experimented on 50,000 of his YouTube followers.

He asked his followers to play a puzzle, telling them he wanted to prove anyone could learn how to code.

In reality, he wanted to test their response to different scoring mechanisms.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

Mark created 2 different versions of the game.

In the first version, the players didn’t lose any points on a failed attempt.

On the other, they lost 5 points for each failure.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

The players that lost no points solved the puzzle 68%.

Those that lost 5 points on failure only solved it 52% of the time.

As Mark looked more deeply at the data, the reason for this shocking result became clear. pic.twitter.com/Ijf4mYLAF5

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

The group that lost 5 points when losing gave up in 5 attempts.

The group that lost no points when losing averaged 12 attempts.

The 5 (insignificant) points made it a failure and they gave up sooner.

When they didn’t lose points, losing was just seen as part of the process. pic.twitter.com/tX2TPJKdhq

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

Mark Rober coined this the “Super Mario Effect.”

When playing games, we never expect to “win” the first time.

When we fall in the pit, we focus on how to jump the next time.

When killed by a shell, we mark the spot so we can be prepared.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

By focusing on the goal instead of the failure we drastically increase our likelihood of success.

Instead of “penalizing” ourselves for failure, we focus on:

- learning from each failure
- the end goal

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

With a game, we become obsessed with winning, not caring how dumb we look when getting hit by a green shell.

So then, when we turn our life into a game, our success rate goes up.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

When we focus on the goal instead of the failure,

it turns failure & hardship from a bug into a FEATURE.

Rober calls this focusing on the princess and not the pits.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

By adopting this mentality, we:

- stay resilient,
- are motivated,
- & keep learning

We keep playing and playing and playing. pic.twitter.com/orG5SRCIRr

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

So, how do we adopt this mindset?

1. Set clear goals
2. Establish rewards
3. Develop a narrative (journal)
4. Anticipate your failures

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

1. Set clear goals

Divide your life into different areas.

Then break these goals into smaller, achievable milestones.

Then chase these milestones like you’re in a game.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

2. Establish rewards

It’s easy to run from goal to goal without pausing.

But this breeds burnout.

Before setting out on the goal, establish preset rewards.

Not only does it make it fun, but it motivates you to push harder.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

3. Develop a narrative

Use journaling to create a story around your goals and life.

The story will not only help make it fun, but it’ll help you refine how you tell your life story to those around you.

Identify the major plot points and track them on a life timeline.

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

4. Anticipate your failures

Don’t ruminate, but anticipate: where and how could you possibly fail.

This will help you:

- preplan a way out
- help you remember it’s expected

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

That's a wrap!

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— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023

Meant to share the video, because it's a gem.

Encourage you to watch it: https://t.co/7pK17m1vAZ

— Kurtis Hanni (@KurtisHanni) April 6, 2023