So recently I came across this great video series by a physics professor, Martymer81. He’s talking about a nuts-as-balls pseudoscience purveyor known as “Spirit Science”. I didn’t actually look at SS’s videos at first (it’s pretty dumb), but I figured he might be like a mid-scale crap channel. I mean, holy shit. The things he talks about are crazy. Like, Atlantis, martians, 50-foot-tall egyptians, and space jews. No, really. So then I go look at one of his videos… And notice the view count. Over 1.2 million views. More likes than dislikes. 233,000 subscribers.
This would just be annoying and frustrating and sap my faith in the human race if it weren’t for the fact that this little fucker has a very large video on the healing powers of crystals. And constantly badmouths traditional medicine. And earns money selling shit like orgon accumulators and healing crystals.
Ugh. Call it fish in a barrel, but how the fuck is this a thing? How are there 233 THOUSAND people who can listen to 15 minutes of pure word salad with absolutely nothing backing it up and think, “Yep, this sounds convincing and rational, let’s give this guy more attention!”? I just don’t get it. At all.
I think you are jumping to the wrong conclusion here. I have watched a lot of crazy crap on YouTube and the web over the years, it does not mean I found it convincing and rational.
Mostly I laughed, or cried for our future, or just WTF did I just watched!?
And by posting his link here, you have just giving him more attention.
I suggest that while 233k people “clicked” that video, that doesn’t necessarily mean 233k watched all 15 minutes. Hopefully, some of them watched 15 seconds and bailed.
I thought Mort was pretty funny at times. And 233k is the number of subscribers, not viewers. Views range, depending on the video, from around 200k to over 1.2 million.
Meh
There’s 3 billion people on the planet. The fact that 1 million dumbshits manage to show up for a dose of stupidity anywhere on the internet seems quite plausible.
Sorry, I thought in the pit I could get away with pulling a number out of my ass.
But notice, great job of estimating on my part. I was only off by a factor of 2 give or take the population of China.
Lots of kind, seemingly-normal people believe all kinds of woo. Especially as they get older. I used to get frustrated when my mom (a NURSE) started talking about astrology, government coverups, and homeopathy like they were the gospel truth. Now I just let it wash over me like so much liquid bullshit.
Somebody is jealous that someone elses’ video series has more subscribers and viewers than their video series on, “How to Attract and Keep Quality Women.”
I often wonder if nurses are especially susceptible to this stuff. I’ve noticed a disproportionate number of nurses-in-training undergo drastic changes during their schooling towards all sorts of woo, stuff they laughed at before. I always wondered if it was some way of coping with all the depressing shit they have to deal with as a routine part of their jobs. I’ve noticed similar, but not quite identical, patterns with firefighters, soldiers, and such too. Like they see so many people get hurt and suffer and die that they have to reach out and hold onto something unbelievable because it makes the reality less blunt.
Views range, depending on the video, from around 200k to over 1.2 million.