Why Do You Make People Look Stupid?

Hey Youtube, you said you wanted to talk. What's up?

Why do you go around making other people look stupid?

What do you mean?

What's water made of?

Water.

Hahaha, what makes water?

Water.

Ok, what elements does it take to make water?

H2O.

So what does that mean?

That it's water.

OK, OK, so that was one example.

Really.

Carbon dioxide, everything emits carbon dioxide: trees, human beings.

I guess like um animals.

So trees are contributing to the...

Definitely, but it's yeah, definitely.

So trees are I guess the, one of the original primary sources of, emitters of CO2.

So trees are just like anything else on this Earth that emits carbon dioxide.

I could do this all day.

Enough. Enough.

You know what I think?

I think you do it to feel superior.

Oh, yeah, maybe that's it.

Maybe I'm just an egotistical jerk who delights in humiliating other people.

Well that fact certainly hasn't gone unnoticed by your viewers.

You come across a little condescending in these interviews.

You basically set up every single question to make the other people look like idiots. :/

This guy is a pretentious douche bag.

I f^&%ing hate this youtube channel.

It makes every single person it interviews look like a complete retard.

Not everyones a physicist so get the %$^& over it.

Stop!

Alright, my viewers don't own me.

Actually, you should have read the T's and C's more carefully.

By seeing your ads, your viewers do, in fact, own you.

Aw, man!

Yeah, now, c'mon -- between you and me -- how selectively do you have to pick through your interviews to make people look that dumb?

I mean some of them.

If you want to see the complete interviews, then why don't you click the annotation?

You can judge for yourself.

Did you ever think that the reason I start with misconceptions is because I wrote my PhD on how to design films to teach physics?

And I found that if you just say the correct stuff, trees get most of their mass from carbon dioxide...

Yep, pretty much covers it.

Viewers don't actually learn anything -- they just feel like they're learning and they become more confident in the things they thought beforehand.

So what you're saying is you make people look stupid so you can teach others -- how noble!

But that's just it!

I don't think these people are stupid.

There's a difference between being unknowledgeable and being unintelligent.

I mean I'm unknowledgeable about lots of stuff.

And science can be hard -- for the particular reason that it's counterintuitive.

So I think we should acknowledge what everyone is thinking, what most people are thinking, and use that as our basis for teaching.

But if you actually believe that, then why does your face light up with glee every time you hear a misconception?

Because in that moment I realize that I can be useful.

I can help people learn the truth -- and that's the point of Veritasium -- to help people understand the truths of the natural world and seek the truth in their own lives.

As Richard Feynman said, "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool."

This guy is a pretentious douche bag.