The tube seems to clogged with far east videos

[Jasonb]

That would be Youtube having to relearn what things you look at and then loading videos related to those subjects. Starting from scratch you will get all sorts of random ****

[Mike R]

My easy solution, turn off "watch history".  That way you get absolutely no suggested videos when you log in.  Then treat it like a library or the web in general and search for the things you want to see, not the stuff their algorithm is programmed to feed you.  The only retraining required is on your end (how you behave), not theirs!

You will still get a sidebar of suggested videos after watching something, then its up to you to decide if you are going to continue to watch or go back to the shop and build something!

[A7er]

I didn't know about 'watch history'. Thanks!

[petertha]

Ever notice how just inadvertantly swiping accross a video stores it in History? Google calls this feature "Playback in Feeds" (or the Inline Player).  When you rest your mouse pointer on a desktop thumbnail, or pause scrolling over a video on a phone, the video starts silently auto-playing with captions. If you linger on that thumbnail for more than a few brief seconds, YouTube officially logs that video into your Watch History as if you clicked it, sat down, and watched it. The algorithm interprets that tiny pause as a massive signal of interest. If you accidentally leave your cursor parked on a video while reading an email, or pause scrolling to read a long title, the system logs it. Suddenly, your entire home feed shifts to recommend a dozen more videos exactly like the one you only "looked at" for five seconds by accident

If you arent quite ready to nuke your History, apparently you can at least turn off this annoying setting. Video Previews Switch.

[Jasonb]

That is what I mentioned early on anout leaving the mouse over a video. However I will quite often use that feature to see if a video might be worth watching or whether I have just been drawn to it by Clickbate.

I do also sometimes look back through my history to find a video I may have watched a few days ago

So although you can turn things off you will loose the advantages they give as well as the possible disadvantages.

[Mike R]

I have found the "disadvantages" of turning off watch history quite manageable.  One little thing that helps is if you do like a video and think you may want to watch it again, just click on the like button.  That puts the video in your "liked videos" list and is that much easier to find again. Apparently it also helps the creators in some way. Really good videos get saved to a playlist, you can create different ones - "live steam", "Model Internal Combustion Engines", "Home casting", etc.
As I said, you remain in control of what is presented to you to a better degree (still not perfect but such is life).