Subtitle (136)
0:01Here we are: 500,000 subscribers -- well,
actually... by the time I finished this video
0:06it's a bit more than that -- but who knew
that after I promised to do a Q&A that the
0:10When I uploaded my first explanation video
just over two years ago now, I would never
0:14have expented this: over half a million subscribers
and 16 videos with over a million views. Who
0:20knew rapidly spoken educational videos could
be so popular?
0:24Now, as promised -- though slighly behind
schedule -- it's time to answer some of your
0:28## "What's your educational background?" Rodrigo,
Campo Grande, Brazil
0:29I went to school in New York where I earned
two college degrees, one in physics and one
0:33in sociology. After that I moved to London
and earned a PGCE in Science Education, and
0:36became a qualified physics teacher in England.
0:38## "How long does it take to create a video?"
Tracey, Ohio
0:40I've tracked my time to get an accurate answer
and every minute of final video you see takes
0:44me between 10 and 20 hours of writing and
animating to make. So a typical 5 minute video
0:49is 50 to 100 hours of work.
0:52While that's a lot, it doesn't include the
research phase which is difficult to quantify
0:55-- some of the videos I've made I'd been collecting
notes on for more than a year before starting.
0:59## "What was you favourite video make?" Brittany
P, UK
1:01The 2012 video was the most fun by far -- mainly
because I didn't have to do a lot of complicated
1:05research and I got to complain about things
I don't like.
1:08## "What change would you make to the education
system?" Lumbajack Gangsta, Austin, TX
1:10Instead of grouping kids by age, I'd group
try grouping them by ability instead.
1:13The idea that just because a kid is 14-years-old
they're ready for trigonometry is weird. No
1:18other part of human society oranizes itself
this way and for good reason: it artificially
1:22slows down the best and brightest.
1:23## "What is do you think should be in the
curriculum but isn't?" Jamaal, Arizona
1:26Computer programming. I was kind of shocked
and horrified when I started teaching in the
1:29UK to discover there were no real computer
programming lessons.
1:32Of course, there are only so many classes
in the day, and everyone wants their pet subject
1:35taught in schools, so the equally important
question is what to get rid of to make room
1:39for computer programming and, without the
slightest hesitation I'd ditch the foreign
1:42languages classes -- after all, computer programming
is getting us closer and closer to a universal
1:48## "What do you do when you receive pennies?"
johnjac, Owasso
1:49I die a little inside thinking about how political
systems can distribute tiny costs across large
1:54numbers of people to the benefit of a few.
1:56## "What's your favorite element?" Rasmus,
Denmark
1:57I don't have a favorite but I'm irrationaly
fond of Tungsten mainly because my wedding
2:00ring is made out of it.
2:01## "What's the story behind your logo?" Joshua
B.
2:03It's basically a personal flag for my love
of science and technology.
2:05When I first started this channel, I thought
that I would make videos mostly about those
2:08two things, but for various reasons, that
hasn't happened yet.
2:11And besides, it's not like there's a shortage
of good science channels on YouTube.
2:15By the way, If you really like the logo, you
can get it on T-Shirts and now coffee mugs
2:19-- which is particularly appropriate as coffee
is the fuel that without which these videos
2:24## "What do you do in your free time?" Sam
L, Higginsville, MO
2:26I like to horseback ride through the mountains.
2:27Nah, it's mostly just reddit.
2:30## "Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized
horses or 1 horse-sized duck?" techtakular,
2:34One horse-sized duck. The cube-squared law
means the legs of a horse-sized duck probably
2:37wouldn't be structually sound. Easy fight.
2:39## "Are there going to be more "politics in
the animal kingdom" videos?" Oli
2:42Yes, I'm sorry, I know this playlist is unfinished
and, if any of the videos videos I've ever
2:46made can be said to be important, it's these.
2:48I promise at least one more about the single
transferable vote, but I don't make any promises
2:52about when that will happen.
2:53## "Do you think third parties will ever gain
ground in the United States?" Kerl, Florida
2:56The problem isn't politics or voter apathy,
it's the system that creates the politics
3:01The US election system is pretty much the
worst in the civilized world -- often voting
3:05for a 3rd party isn't just a waste it's also
a vote *against* your own best interests.
3:103rd parties really can't thrive under those
conditions.
3:13## "What's one technology you wish to see
before you die?" zigonick, MO, USA
3:15Immortality technology.
3:16## Where do you get your ideas?
3:18It's been my experience that creative projects
are self-sustaining. The more you write, the
3:21more things you want to write about and the
more you program the more programming ideas
3:25For me each video spawns more videos. The
daylight saving one, for example, originally
3:29contained spots for information about longitude
and time zones and the seasons that got cut
3:33but will probably become their own videos
at some point.
3:35Also, I listen to a monstrous number of audiobooks
and podcasts. If you're interested, you can
3:40see some of my favorites here. These help
me keep in touch with the wider world and
3:43expose me to ideas and information that I
would not have come across on my own.
3:47## "If you could live at any time in history
when would it be?" Bonnie, Scotland
3:50Allow me to summarieze all of human existance
with this single graph.
3:53## "What's the best way be successful on YouTube?"
Joe Kowalski, 44074
3:56Make videos people want to watch.
3:57I'm not trying to be glib here but when asked
this question I see many YouTubers talk about
4:01the importance of upload schedules and managing
your social media and colloborations, and
4:05my experience says that's completely backwards.
4:08If your videos aren't interesting, no one
will care that you upload them regularly.
4:12And twitter followers don't get you views,
views get you twitter followers and people
4:15who want to collaborate with you.
4:17I know it's not very helpful advice, but it's
the most truthful advice I can give.
4:20## "What is the most interesting fact you've
ever been told." Stu1278, England
4:23It's difficult to pick just one from an entire
lifetime, but last year Veritasium visited
4:26me in London and walked me thorugh the process
by which trees get water from their roots
4:31That sounds really boring but it was one of
the most mind-blowing conversations I've had
4:35## "How often do you engage with profesionals
while you research?" theLarom, Washington,
4:37For me, being confused and frustrated with
a topic is a vital part of figuring out how
4:41to explain it to others so I'd say 95% of
research I do on my own.
4:45If I'm really out of my depth on a topic -- like
the debt video and the pope video -- I try
4:49very hard to find an expert to look over the
final draft of my script but time constraints
4:53and finding trustworthy experts is sometimes
a bit difficult.
4:56## "What is your favorite internal organ?"
trint99, DFW, TX
4:58The Brain -- because it's the one that's me.
5:00## "Is there any part of science do you want
to be proven wrong?" Jrod N, Massacusetts
5:03Yes, the current interpretations of the ultimate
fate of The Universe all make me sad.
5:06## "Can you answer 10 questions in under 30
seconds?" YouReadMeName
5:09## 1: "What is your favorite scientific study
ever published?" Marie, Reno, NV
5:11Unskilled Are Unaware: Further Explorations
of (Absent)
5:13Self-Insight Among the Incompetent
5:14Link in the description.
5:15## 2: "Hogwarts house?" Zeinoun Awad, Lebanon
5:16Ravenclaw. (I'd hope)
5:17## 3: "Celsius or Fahrenheit?" Kubez
5:19## 5: "Do you wear glasses?" Spartacus McFancy
Pants
5:21## 6: "Favorite empire?" Caleb Glickman, USA
5:22The second one. Those monks were awesome.
5:24## 7: "How can a country be totally self sufficient
-- as in no imports or exports?" Amberjack1973
5:27Simple, resort to a midevil level of technology.
5:29## 8: "Favourite sport?" soccernhlfan, Canada
5:30## 9: "Should science play a bigger role in
politics?" Dip, London, UK
5:32What, you mean the method by which we determine
truth? Yeah, I think it should.
5:35## 10: "Can you answer 10 questions in under
30 seconds?" YouReadMeName
5:38Alright, thanks to everyone who submitted
questions -- it's been fun, Internet.
