Sorry, Bill Nye — it's time to move over. (Just kidding. I love you, Bill).
A few week ago, we published a list of nerdy books that would make you an annoying know-it-all at parties. We forgot that it's 2017 and no one reads anymore. So in the spirit of your 21-st century, goldfish-sized attention span, we put together a list of our favourite nerdy YouTube channels.
Make us proud and annoy everyone at your next party with these facts.
Tom Scott
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
Okay, maybe this one isn't purely science, but it's close enough.
Tom Scott travels to places around the world and tells short, often historical, stories about seemingly unimportant things. From the origins of the Bluetooth symbol to a town without wifi, Scott will tell you all about things you might not know (but should).
Minute Physics
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
I know you hated physics in high school — it was boring chalk equations on a blackboard. MinutePhysics is neither. With a whiteboard, some markers and a little animation, creator Henry Reich explains concepts in physics, astronomy and engineering in easily digestible and interesting three(ish) minute videos.
ASAP Science
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
In the same vein as MinutePhysics, AsapSCIENCE creators and power-couple Mitch Moffit and Greg Brown take on science concepts from hallucinogens to how to wake up without coffee. AsapSCIENCE isn't afraid to take on more, um, adult topics like orgasms and whether you should shave your pubes or not.
They also have a second channel, AsapTHOUGHT, which they describe as “science with a social conscious.”
Crash Course
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
“Learning should be fun,” or so brothers John and Hank Green think.
The brothers behind everything from SciShow (which is next on our list) to vlogbrothers and The Fault in Our Stars comes Crash Course, a YouTube channel with almost 700 educational videos. Crash Course breaks down their videos into playlists of different topics — from history, to science, to literature, to philosophy.
While some of the videos are high school focused, they can definitely help out with 100 (and maybe some 200) level courses.
SciShow
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
Another John Green endeavour focusing on education and science, SciShow explains science's news and concepts. While they focus on new and noteworthy research, the channel also dispels science myths and answers science-y questions, sometimes even from viewers.
Vsauce
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
While Vsauce isn't strictly about science, it'll definitely give you things to talk about (and bore people with). Host Michael Stevens takes big ideas (think human extinction and the moon kind of big) and works through them, explaining the science, philosophy and thoughts behind these topics. It's a channel full of thought experiments, in-real-life experiments and the occasional guest.
Just be ready to have your mind blown.
Kurzgesagt — In a Nutshell
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
I have a love-hate relationship with Kurzgesagt. On one hand, their videos are gorgeous, amazingly-told and super interesting. But you have to wait so long for the next one because the videos are so meticulously produced, they take forever to come out.
As much as I love to hate the channel, you can't really stay mad at it. Their videos cover topics across the scientific perceptive and while they aren't unified in theme or built into curriculum like Crash Course, it doesn't matter. Pick one at random and find yourself sucked down an (educational and colourful) YouTube black hole.
The Brain Scoop
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
Women are underrepresented in science. Unfortunately, this problem seems to have been transmitted to the YouTube science community and this list (yup, we suck). That's not why I picked The Brain Scoop — I picked it because it is awesome. Emily Graslie hosts the show, works for the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and has a masters in museum studies.
Graslie and Brain Scoop focus on biology, conversation and ecology (and use museum specimens as props), but the show covers everything from the origins of humans to how to deal with periods on field expeditions.
Numberphile
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
Think math is boring? I agree. Well, I did until I saw Numberphile. The channel is all about numbers (duh) but in a way you've never seen before. Whether it's printing out a mile of pi or explaining how to tie your shoes really fast, Numberphile is unlike any math you've seen before.
Smarter Every Day
[Sorry, video not found. You can contact webmaster@ubyssey.ca to fix the issue]
How hard do you think it is to ride a bicycle that has its controls backwards? Doesn't sound so hard right? Wrong, and engineer and Smarter Every Day host Destin Sandlin proves it. Sandlin explores the world around us through science, explaining concepts with experiments and demonstrations. Plus, watching people fall off a backwards bike repeatedly is hilarious.
First online
Share this article
