“Neither click-rate nor retention alone matters; the product (or geometric mean) does.” — what the data says

What the check does

Define combined = sqrt(ctr_z × retention_z) per video. Regress total views on combined vs on CTR and retention separately. Agrees if combined- only regression has higher R² than either-alone.

The reading

Not testable yet — the data it needs hasn't been wired up here. Awaiting Round 4 retention-curve-derived precision.

How the verdict has moved

First checked Sep 11, 2026; the verdict has not moved since.

Where the belief comes from

Combined-quality folklore.

Checked against

Every figure on this page is checked against @theartharrison’s tracked data, through Oct 22, 2026. The tally above reads 5 pooled public channels’ files.

Keep reading

The rest of the record

This belief sits in a ledger of fifty, each one re-checked every day. These surfaces carry the rest of it.

Back to the belief ledger

Every belief on record, what changed in the last 90 days, and the verdict words explained.

How the record is made

The path a number takes from YouTube to this page, every condition attached to it, and what the projections have been worth.

Benchmarks

What channels in the shared pool actually run at, and how a video's views build day by day.