I just need to shout at a void, because this is a topic that’s rarely discussed out of left-wing spaces. I know you guys will understand.

I hate those “edutainment” channels that always end up being a tech guy (not necessarily tech bro, but close) with the added smugness of engineer/programmer syndrome (a condition in which the person thinks they know more just because they know a bit about exact sciences, very common with R*dditors). Cases in point: Veritasium, VSauce, Tom Scott. I don’t know many others off the top of my head, but it’s always someone passing science content without the step-by-step rigour, wrapped in an enthralling narrative with an engaging presenter, which leaves the impression of being correct.

The biggest reason I hate them is because I KNOW, factually, that some of the things they say are WRONG — but they don’t know it’s wrong because they didn’t research it properly, so they’re confidently incorrect, or they simply didn’t care, because they’ve already decided they’re right, because they’re “rational.”

It’s even worse when the subject is social, political, historical or cultural: they use hypotheticals to make an argument against X thing, whilst defending Y thing, but in no way they use actual history in their arguments, and do not notice that their Y thing has worse flaws. Like CGP Grey talking about politics, completely ignoring the economic and class system. It’s some type of post-political/apolitical mental masturbation bullshit of trying to “be above these mundane affairs because I can REASON IT OUT with LOGIC on the internet.”

I know that because I’m not North American, so, sometimes, these YouTubers will say some shite like “oh this [public service] doesn’t exist” or “this thing would never be implemented because it’s mathematically, physically, scientifically impossible” — meanwhile, I live in a place that has these “impossible” things, enjoying these “non-existent” services.

I think it’s also first-world person syndrome: because they don’t see these things implemented in their countries, they think no other country has, or, if it does, it’s not a good sign because a “third-world country” can never be an example of a good thing — “I mean if they were good, they would be in the Global North countries already!”

Maybe it’s the dialectical materialist in me. I can’t unsee the absolute lack of consideration for information that these channels perpetuate. The absolute lack of self awareness when they call out “propaganda” about any other country that isn’t a default anglo derivative, whilst, simultaneously, defending their basic bitch worldview without any analysis, mostly under the assumption of “mine is a more sensible and reasonable position, no, I will not elaborate, no, I refuse to accept the consequences of these positions, the problem is politicians, whatever, and we reason it with science, because one thing has absolutely nothing to do with the other, and if you disagree, you’re biased, I’m not, because I’m reasonable. So what if all my ideas perpetuate neoliberalism? No, it has nothing to do with class, we can sort this out with a debate.”

(I’ve been vague on purpose because I don’t want to go into details, but, you know, most of these topics are: healthcare, how different countries organize their democratic processes, energy and ideology.)