I’m not saying you can’t watch it, just be especially critical of it. If 20% of a 10 minute video is silly time, did they actually do 8 minutes-worth of research on the topic or did they skim a few sources to frame their idea for silly time? Is their audience there for the ideas or silly time? Some creators will pass that bar, most of them won’t because they’ve self-selected for an audience that doesn’t want to listen to a detailed lecture or read the primary sources themselves. When there’s no silly time, a channel like Red Pen where it’s just a static screen and a lecture, they self-select for an audience that knows the material will enough to engage with it directly and critique all of the little details in their commentary on it. There’s no parasocial celebrity factor to it.
I’m not saying you can’t watch it, just be especially critical of it. If 20% of a 10 minute video is silly time, did they actually do 8 minutes-worth of research on the topic or did they skim a few sources to frame their idea for silly time? Is their audience there for the ideas or silly time? Some creators will pass that bar, most of them won’t because they’ve self-selected for an audience that doesn’t want to listen to a detailed lecture or read the primary sources themselves. When there’s no silly time, a channel like Red Pen where it’s just a static screen and a lecture, they self-select for an audience that knows the material will enough to engage with it directly and critique all of the little details in their commentary on it. There’s no parasocial celebrity factor to it.
taking notes:
-Red Pen
-Type 56
Getting good channel recommendations from comrade happybadger in this thread.