I love going around in 6 feet of snow without clothes

Yes.

I would be fine if YouTube crumbled and was put into second place by a better platform or two.

Yes it’s the best option currently which is why they can do such ridiculous practices.

But once they have actual competition, I expect them to bend over backwards for my attention. Because if they don’t change the current trajectory, they’ll go the way of the other digital giants of the past.

Do not worry about having a viable platform in a future without YouTube. I am 100% sure there will be one.

Why not pay creators directly through Patreon PayPal or equivalent instead of Google as well?

You don’t need a smartphone to make calls.

There is a reason for doing it that way.

I remember complaining to my dad about this exact thing saying that people just look it up in real life. He told me that in the end, the grade that I get will only tell future employers that I am more or less “teachable” compared to others.

What you studied, specifically, didn’t matter. It’s how well you learned the material in a short period of time, then cranked out correct answers in a time-pressure situation.

If you can do that quickly, you get a better grade, which tells people that you are a better candidate for a position.