Sep Oct pages cut_SI new design masters 8/1/12 9:54 AM Page 34 Skepticism in the Video Box CHRISTIAN WALTERS Skepticism is not just books and talks anymore. With the popularity of social media services, skeptical discussion and inquiry have moved beyond the written word and the podium. If you like your critical thinking in the form of a quick demonstration that can be as short as a music video, YouTube has you covered. We’re going to look at a handful of popular skeptical YouTubers who have em braced the medium and the bandwidth with creativity, insight, and humor. Captain Disillusion Richard Wiseman One of the most popular and recognizable skepti- Richard Wiseman is a ground as a magician and focuses primarily cal faces on YouTube, Cap tain Dillusion (CD) was professor of psychol- on mind games and optical illusions. His un- created by inde pendent filmmaker Alan Melik - ogy at the University derstanding of misdirection and how the djanian. He’s been producing YouTube videos since of Hertfordshire in the human brain receives and processes informa- 2008, featuring his bright yellow track suit and United Kingdom and tion provides sharp insight into how easy we striking silver face paint. a former magician. can be to trick. Wiseman’s ready sense of Captain Disillusion focuses on investigating He’s also the author humor makes his videos enjoyable and engag- paranormal videos by ex plaining how such effects of eleven books investigating subjects such ing even to people outside the skeptic com- can be achieved. To prove his point, Captain Dis - as paranormal abilities, self-help books, and munity. The videos range from thirty seconds illusion recreates the paranormal event with com- the peculiarities of human behavior. He also in length to about three minutes, so new mon film editing techniques and tools. has a popular YouTube channel (youtube.com viewers don’t have to invest much be fore they Melikdjanian’s lighthearted but thorough ap- /user/Quirkology) boasting 58,000+ sub- get hooked. More information about Richard proach has gained him more than 23,000 sub- scribers and thirty million views. Wiseman is available on his website (www. scribers to his YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/ In his videos, Wiseman draws on his back- richardwiseman.wordpress.com/). user/CaptainDisillusion) and 3.2 million views. As of late 2011, you can subscribe to his videos via iTunes as well (http://itunes.apple.com/us/pod- cast/captain-disillusion/id461797766). Cap tain Disillusion videos post only every few months due Tim Minchin to his high production standards, but Melikdjanian Tim Minchin is an animated video of his ten-minute beat poem has re cently started a series of “Quick D” videos for award-winning Brit - “Storm” describing a meal shared with a New quick hit debunks, which post more frequently. ish-Australian musi- Age alt-med practitioner. The video for CD has taken on some of the most popular im- cian and comedian “Storm” is available at www.youtube.com/ ages in popular culture, in cluding the face on Mars who is gradually de- user/stormmovie. and the “ghost” in the Three Men and a Baby movie. veloping a fan base YouTube is filled with unofficial videos and He’s also tackled persistent viral videos, such as the in the United States bootleg recordings, but Minchin’s official penguin slapping the other penguin into the water— after having devel- channel is available at www.youtube.com/user yes, it’s cute, but it’s an obvious fake (penguin wings oped a following in the United Kingdom and /timminchin/videos. Many of his videos don’t move like that anyway). Australia over the last ten years. He is an ac- (along with his tour dates and store) are also “Love with your heart. Use your head for every- complished composer and pianist, and he is available on his website (www.timminchin.com thing else.”—Captain Disillusion’s sign-off best known for his comedic songs dealing /media/), including his popular song about with skepticism (“If You Open Your Mind Too the child molestation cover-up in the Catholic Much Your Brain Will Fall Out”) and atheism church. (Warning: Tim does not pull any Skeptically Pwnd (“The Good Book”). In 2011, he released an punches with the language.) If you need to let off some steam, Skeptically Pwned might be where you want to be. There are plenty of Scam School groups providing sober, reasoned inquiry into para- normal claims. You can listen to academic and in- Scam School is the eating, putting nails through his nose or hands, tellectual discussions on a wide variety of topics. Or brainchild of Ameri- and mind-reading. His website with details you can go to Skeptically Pwned’s YouTube channel can magician Brian about upcoming shows and his books is at (youtube.com/user/skepticallypwnd/videos) and Brushwood and Inter- http://shwood.com. The Scam School video watch the Ghost Hunters get kicked in the crotch. net television network channel is at www.youtube.com/user/scam Skeptically Pwned is the creation of three Revi sion3. In each school. Scam School has been producing skeptical comedians: John Rael, Matt David, and episode, Brush wood episodes weekly since 2008, and there are Jen Brown. In addition to some judicious kicking, demonstrates and exposes street scams, bar more than two hundred on YouTube now. The they also created the “Shit Skeptics Say” series— tricks, and other types of close magic. The videos are roughly ten to fifteen minutes in a trilogy of embarrassingly familiar high-speed show’s advertising promises that you’ll never length and include a demonstration and break- catch-phrases skeptics swap among each other have to pay for a drink again, but it also teaches down of classic bar tricks and other stunts. regularly. The Skeptically Pwned videos probably you what to watch for to avoid being pranked. Brushwood is also host of the Weird Things won’t convince any non-skeptics to change their Brushwood is an award-winning touring ma- podcast, which discusses supernatural and views, but they might help skeptics decompress gician known for his bizarre tricks, including fire- other strange news items. after a day in the trenches. 34 Volume 36 Issue 5 | Skeptical Inquirer Sep Oct pages cut_SI new design masters 8/1/12 9:54 AM Page 35 Death By Puppets Death by Puppets holds to the philosophy that ed their first video on April 1, 2012, and have This article touched on just a few most of life’s problems are easier solved with been releasing videos every few weeks. Maria popular YouTube channels. There puppets. They produce short videos with a Walters founded Death by Puppets by bringing are plenty of others with more skeptical flavor, with a generous helping of sar- together the talents of artists in the skeptical being added all the time: casm and parody. And, of course, puppets. community. Charles Pillsbury, puppet builder Subjects so far have ranged from a support and lead puppeteer, builds puppets as needed Media Skeptic group for the reality-challenged and a restau- (www.youtube.com/user/mediaskeptic): based on scripts by Steve DeGroof of the Tree rant specializing in quackery to a mockumercial This new channel takes a critical look at featuring an enigmatic chupacabra. They post - Lob sters webcomic. the t ricks and techniques used by the news media and by politicians to sway public opinion. Only a few videos so far The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe but worth keeping an eye on. The Skeptics’ Guide to best known for a two-part parody of Ghost Geologic Records the Universe (SGU) is Hunters, highlighting their paranormal skills in (www.youtube.com/user/geologic one of the most pop- drain cleaning and sump pump installation. records): Geologic Records is the home ular skeptical pod- The other videos satirize targets such as alien casts. The five mem- of noted skeptic and musician George videos, ghost photos, and psychics who talk bers of the Rogue’s Hrab. You will find music videos and to the dead. The videos range from five to ten Gallery have taught a performances of his skepticism-tinged lot of people about skeptical and scientific is- minutes each, and they are based on topics songs and interviews. pulled from podcast episodes—not exactly a sues. One of them, filmmaker Jay Novella, has Healthyaddict also begun producing comedic videos. limiting format, as the Skep tic’s Guide pod- (www.youtube.com/user/healthy SGU Video Productions (www.youtube cast is thorough and operates in a target-rich addict): Healthyaddict is the online .com/user/TheSkepticsGuide/videos) is pro b ably environment. handle for Ashley Paramore, develop- ment director for the Secular Student Qualia Soup Alliance (SSA). Her videos cover her Some of the debates tail and accessibility. He creates animated current work with the SSA and her in which skeptics find breakdowns of common topics brought up with previous work as chair for Students themselves can be non-skeptics and theists—for example, being for Freethought at The Ohio State dry or esoteric. Those good without God, irreducible complexity, and University. discussions can be a the burden of proof. Sick Science little inaccessible for The videos average about ten minutes (www.youtube.com/user/Steve people new to skepti- each and are narrated in a clear and engag- SpanglerScience): Steve Spangler is cism—not to mention non-skeptics unaccus- ing manner. Those who have been involved in a science writer and educator who has tomed to hearing scientific data at all. skepticism for a while will be familiar with created short videos illustrating A secular humanist and artist in the United most of the subject matter, but they are good do-it-yourself science projects, including Kingdom who goes by the name Qualia Soup primers for new skeptics and handy to show making drag-racing cups and light has taken steps to bridge the gap between de- to non-skeptics.