At a Tool concert in NH about 15 years ago Maynard started chanting, "Think for yourself, question authority" repeatedly. He kept going until the whole crowd (myself included) was saying it with him. He'd say it, then the crowd would repeat it. This went on for what felt like forever, and kind of seemed ridiculous after a while. Finally he finished with these words: "Think for yourself....." "Question authority....." "And don't ever repeat something just because someone else said it." I laughed as hard as I ever had in my life as they closed with Opiate. Message received. Tool is the greatest band in the universe.

Tool was like, "don't overthink or over-analyze", and Tool fans were like "hold my beer".

Tool: "Overthinking, overanalyzing, separate the body from the mind." *Tool fans have entered the chat*

and here I am playing power chords in 4/4

how math used lateralus to create tool

Maynard pooped 5 times during the recording of Lateralus, 5 in itself is a Fibonacci number. When he flushed, the poops spiraled down in a perfect Fibonacci spiral. And it was awesome.

When you zoom out on the lyrics, it's actually a commentary on this very thing: to not overanalyze, to embrace random, to embrace that not everything has to be perfectly placed.

Funny how the lyrics warn against overthinking and overanalysing

I feel like we’re doing exactly what Maynard told us not to do. Overthinking and over analyzing. 😂

When the song is longer than the video explaining it 😂

I was 21 and in college when Lateralus came out. I remember my friends saying TOOL had mellowed out and one guy said they "forgot how to rock." I on the other hand, loved this album and is arguably my favorite of theirs. TOOL is a creative force and are so intelligent as well, as evidenced by this song.

Maynard: accidentally drops acid once. Maynard after the fact: lateralus

People see this and grasp the complexity of just 1 song and wonder why new albums take so long lol

whats interesting to me is the way this song came together due to the bands unconventional writing methods. Basically Justin came up with a short riff and Danny noticed it was the beginning of the fibonacci sequence. The band has always used sacred geometry in their music and it is one of the common threads in their style.... So they basically wrote the instrumentals with this sacred geometry in mind and then handed the music off to maynard to write lyrics afterwards. Adam Jones told maynard how the song was based on this sacred geometry, which inspired maynard to write the lyrics with the same theme. This song is a prime example of tools unconventional writing style which is one of the key factors giving them one of the most unique sounds in all of rock. No band sounds even close to tool. We are so fortunate that some strange luck brought together four dudes that are totally different from eachother in every way yet are able to cobble together contrasting sounds, rhythms, and musical tastes to create such special and influential music.

No matter how many times I hear it, the final verse and chorus of this song makes the blood in my veins chill.

Thank you for including Danny Carey footage with the fake mustache

But 1:37 minutes is 1.616666667, which is 1.617, not 1.618. Overthinking, overanalyzing separates the body from the mind.

Polyphonic :The v-sauce of music

The irony of creating such a complex, layered arrangement and write a chorus about overthinking. #maynardsatroll

The brilliance of Tool is beyond genius.

just imagine that all of this was a coincidence lmfaooo

Correction, how Tool used Lateralus to create Math

The reference at the beginning is literally what he says. It's the reason why all "The White Stripes" videos use those colours. When you're born the first two colours you're able to see are black and white, then you develop the sense to see red and yellow. Then you gradually develop the ability to see the rest, except some people don't and that's where colour blindness comes from. It has nothing to do with aboriginal paintings or stones. It's what you're able to see when you're born and how you're vision develops over time.

English teachers when they find an old poem be like:

Overthinking and Overanalysing this song is the true genius of this song. Your doing exactly what the song is about.

Tool really deserves a place in the rock n roll hall of fame Update: To be honest fuck those shit awards, that is way under them

For what it's worth I feel that, when it comes to Tool in general and this song in particular, it both is and isn't "that deep" simultaneously. They clearly put things together with some precision, with the syllable count, the length of the intro, and the 9-8-7 chorus, but there's still plenty of room within the rest of the song that is just a great song alongside the meaning, and those don't have to contradict each other. The chorus lyrics about overthinking, to me, don't necessarily repesent a specific _amount_ of thought and analysis as a problem, but rather the mindset. If your analysis takes away from your ability to feel the song, both the carefully constructed aspects weaving together and the more fluid, spontaneous ones, you're missing the point. The Fibbonacci elements are cool theming, but the point of the song is still to listen and enjoy it. There's a lot of dialogue with prog,, and especially with Tool, that falls into the "technician vs. performer" debate. Specifically, both fans and critics of the band often consider their music to be meticulously crafted, each tiny detail imbued with specific intent. The line typically falls with fans calling the result deep and meaningful, and critics saying it's overcomplicated to the point of taking away from the experience, or that the attempt to create meaning falls flat. And... I find both sides to be at least somewhat wrong, because the very terms of the argument feel hollow. Yes, there are elements that are intentionally crafted a certain way to give a certain meaning... but there's still plenty of performer too, things that flow naturally and imbue meaning in more vague or emotional ways. The idea that any musician is pure technical skill with no feeling, that even something as made-to-be-subtly-complicated as Lateralus is therefore emotionally void, is incomprehensible to me. It doesn't matter whether it's as deep as the rabid fans say or not - it's only meaningless if you refuse to find any, and boiling the song down to the Fibbonacci sequence strips away a lot of the things that can provide it. It can add to it in context, but the song as a whole is more than just what was put in as the skeleton of the piece. It isn't worthless to look at the rest with an analytical lens too, so long as at the end of it all you don't lose sight of the feelings it gives you, regardless of artist intent.

This entire album is a mathematical tour de force. I spent many,MANY, nights (into mornings) with nothing but a note pad and headphones listening to it over and over again. I actually STILL do,and feel I've only grasped MAYBE 20% of all that's actually hidden in that album. Truly, a band that ALWAYS makes you think further then just what's lain out in front of you!

When you're smart enough to attend math college, but still want to play in a band.

My dad has always told me about Tool using stuff like the Fibonacci sequence in their music but I never understood how that could be translated into music, this video does the perfect job of explaining.

The word “TOOL” consists of 4 letters. The 4th number in the Fibonacci sequence is 3. Lateralus was their 3rd studio album. The two “O”s in “TOOL” can also look like zeroes, which is not in the Fibonacci sequence, but sounded out together sounds like “OOOOO”, which is what people say when they hear this song. The letter “T” in tool is the 20th letter of the alphabet, and the 20th number in the Fibonacci sequence is 6765. Maynard was born in 1964. ‘64 is 3 years before ‘67 (the first two numbers of 6765), and the 3rd number of the Fibonacci sequence is 2, which is the number of parents Maynard was born to. And Danny Carey is 6’5” (the last two numbers of 6765) The “L” in “TOOL” looks like a 1 when lowercase. The first number of the Fibonacci sequence is 1, which is the amount of Maynard James Keenan’s that exist in the world. Mind blown!

I’ve never watched a video that I found so informative and interesting and completely and utterly hilarious at the same time. Your enthusiasm is much appreciated.

Tool = Full Metal Alchemists

the best thing is that we're finally getting a new Tool album

Producer: How much mathematical intricacy are you going to put in your songs? Tool: _strange drum starts playing_ Yes Yes Math, thought Intricate In the universe The spiral is growing inside

"overthinking, overanalyzing separates the body from the mind." "You cannot know it, but you can be it, at ease in your own life." Timeless wisdom.

When you realize that the video discussing the song is shorter than the song itself... It's not a bad thing. I like Lateralus. I'm just amused.

One more point: The length of the album is 1:20:30 The album itself is a spiral

when an analysis of a song is shorter than the actual song

Easily one of the most creative, talented, powerful, profound, mind altering bands that have ever lived.

Either he made way too much sense or these edibles are amazing..

Just had the pleasure of seeing Tool twice over the last weekend. Once at a music clinic they put on and second was at a music festival called Northern Invasion. Best weekend of my life.

My dude like you should get some award or some kind of recognition for the description in this video I am floored I want to just share it everywhere and watch it over and over your amazing do more

I wonder what will aliens think when they find a copy of Tool's Lateralus after ravaging the Earth. They'll regret having destroyed the race that created such a masterpiece.

Maybe it's the DMT..

The Fibonacci sequence and its significance is tied to the Cult of the Pythagoreans. The golden ratio, golden triangle and the Pentacle are all symbols created by the Cult of the Pythagoreans, ironically they are created to creating music, the music scale, octave and even time measures as well. Maynard makes me wonder if he is Pythagorean as well...

We have to be honest, TOOL is like Sin Cos Tan, random and unconstitutional but always badass

I feel that Tool will always be on a level of its own because no other band can match their entertaining sound, deep lyricism, and Shakespearean wordplay. Such an amazing group, regardless of whether you like metal (I love it) 💯

This is one of the best videos on your channel. Truly impressed with your work here.

"There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres."- Pythagoras

I'm not a Tool fan, but as a mathematician and musician who's always been trying to incorporate mathematics and physics in my music, I'm astonished. Amazing work.

Published on the 15/05/2018 = 3/2018 = 0.0014866204 - not even close to the golden ratio.

You reuploaded it on Lateralus' 17th birthday, that's cool!

This video got me into Tool Thank you, thank you so much for that!

I've been looking for this video. Ty for making this.

I have loved this song for ages and today is the first day that I have seen the video and I had my mind blown all over again. I can't tell you overjoyed I am right now. It makes me appreciate Tool on another level. Their music is like the gift that keeps on giving.

Tool's best album.

Man, I read How Tool used meth instead of Math. Pretty accurate though

This was really informative and nice. Thank you!

Hands down my favorite Tool song. Using the Fibonacci was brilliant.

For the first few years of listening to this song I didn't even realize there was polyrhythms, it just felt really nice to my ear, natural and fluent

Tool are an incredible band across the board, but in the creation of Lateralus they were touched by the divine. It's a masterpiece on par with anything created by Mozart, Beethoven, The Beatles or anyone else you could name. I have it in my will that I want it played in full at my funeral.

Truly a great video! And show how amazing this band really is!

Glad I'm not the only person to piece this together exactly as above. The Lyrics have some Developmental Neuroscience behind them too. We are born blind. Then our vision creeps in and develops along the lines stated in the lyrics. As light hits our eyes, the rods and cones get the signal to proliferate in that exact order.

This is actually pretty cool considering how today is the seventeenth anniversary of the album "Lateralus"!

Laterlus is the bestest song ever written. Period. It took me fifteen listens to get it, but there's no longer any doubt. LATERALUS IS TRANSCENDENT. Like no other song. Mathematics are real and truly do affect perspectives.

Wonderful piece, thank you for this

Subscribed, I've never heard another person relate. Thank you.

Oh this mainstream math. They should have used Lucas numbers

Polyphonic, you're riding the spiral with this one

Wow. I knew a lot of these connections between the penning of Lateralus and Fibonacci numbers, but this video was amazing.

So sick! Great work 💜

how tool created math using lateralus

Probably the first time I've found math to be cool.

Awesome video. Beautifully made.

A perfect dissection and explanation. Thank you sir, for your mutual appreciation of this masterpiece. 🌙💫😌

God this man is so utterly convincing in every one of his videos.

Maynard disliked this 324 times.

Best analysis of this masterpiece I've seen yet.

Wow! Great job! Loved it

I struggle with ADHD, and when I first heard Lateralus it really connected with me. As everything builds up then ebbs away in the song it feels like the constant struggle of maintaining mental focus the neurotypical people take for granted, for my type of ADHD I struggle with being hyper focused on things then shortly being completely disinterested in it, constantly looking for my next thing to hyper fixate on. And the lyrics only further deepen that connection with me. I guess it's just another way of looking at the message. Still to this day s my favorite Tool song, though Pneuma is a very close second.

Im groovin' to the background music

I love how I can now relate this to technical analysis since I recently nerded out on that.

I guess not many realize that music is and always has been a mathematical equation. This is a very good breakdown of that process. Understanding music theory is a wonderful way to learn how and why your favorite music is your favorite music. I would suggest anyone who loves music to learn a bit of it's theory. There are reasons people lean to certain styles and writings in music. Everyone has their own beat they gravitate towards. Most just don't take the time to find out why. 'Dance to the beat of a different drum' is stepping out of ones internal beat to enjoy that of another. Harmony when done correctly. A perfect love song.

one of the best analysis videos. Keep the good work on mate. Make one on Dream Theater.

I love tool even more now. best band in the entire universe

This is very fascinating! I had no idea!! Tool is brilliant!

Big thanks man! Well done \m/

And then there's singers singing about their butt.

Never even heard the song (yet), but quite interesting; I'll have to check it out now. I will say this, tool is in good company on this stuff. Leonardo DaVinci was aware of Fibonacci as well as the golden ratio; he integrated it in to much of his work...and he was truly a renaissance man; artist, sculptor, mathematician, engineer and architect.

Dude great video !

I really think it's a song about an out of body experience that was cut short - like he tried to induce the OBE, and felt the beginning of his consciousness spreading out just before the moment of success, only to be forced back into his body. The vibrations I experienced when I tried this were almost the same as a musical rhythm.

simply said... it´s a masterpiece

Maynard said in the recent interview all this stuff about the golden ratio was accidental...

Such an extremely beautiful piece of music!

Amazing! Just saw Tool last year in L.A. and it was an amazing experience! It felt as though I was watching something sacred or almost alien.

This is easy to follow and doesn't seem insane 2:25 onward, "hold my beer"

Do a vid over the story behind Rush's 2112

One of my favorite songs... amazing!!

I loved this, thanks!