Why Are Revolutionary Scientists Young?

[@upandatom]

I didn't even know he had a blog channel! It's cool to talk about this kind of stuff sometimes. Will be back for sure :)

[@calvinsylveste8474]

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

[@420dhananjay]

*vlog

[@Jack__________]

I’ve seen hundreds of his other videos and just found (recommended by yt) this channel today.

[@benbarberian1701]

Please Derek start this channel again

[@DougVandegrift]

This is one reason why I had to step away from religion. I love to feel accepted into society and have people talking highly of you, but humanity can't make progress until someone asks questions.

[@llewellRsA]

And does religion prevent one from asking questions? Religion is a term which covers a broad range of thought and theory. Some religions are simply a basic structure of discipline which has a stabilizing effect on an individual,actually helps the individual expand their horizon and even give them an edge. Religion can be both harmfull or detrimental to society all depending on that basic structure of discipline and how it focuses the individual. Mormonism for instance is a great example of a religion which encourages a wider search for truth and knowledge, so Judaism. The reason these two groups have been found to be amongst the best informed and innovative, interesting enough with atheists coming in third on the list so its clear religion is not a burden in some cases but could actually help focus a mind, make it more productive.

[@DanFrederiksen]

you could start by asking questions about why there is historical evidence for Jesus outside the bible. roman records, jewish historians. self flattering thoughtless atheism researching by ignorant declaration is not the high ground.

[@DanFrederiksen]

Deepak Kumar is that what you believe...make me a robot that feels pain and I'll concede that God isn't real. things aren't quite what they appear to be, my simpleminded friend.

[@DanFrederiksen]

Deepak Kumar I was an atheist until age 27 and I'm a polymath genius. I understand quantum mechanics fairly well. Likely a lot better than you, my Dunning Kruger friend.It's not the obvious fact that robots don't feel pain that was relevant. It's that nothing physical can do it, dummy. Dare to think. In silence.

[@DanFrederiksen]

Deepak Kumar You confuse your failure to see with the absence of truth.

[@emlmm88]

I'm not sure I agree actually. Sure, many of the most famous discoveries were made by younger people, but I'd argue that those are really only a very small fraction of the total discoveries. This is especially apparent in mathematics. I'd say that discoveries made by older people tend to be more complicated and sophisticated than those made by younger people, if less revolutionary in a general sense, and as a result tend to be reported on and immortalized less, because they are more difficult for the public to understand. For example, Andrey Markov, who was a brilliant mathematician, and discovered, or created, the Markov Chain (which allows us to find the equilibrium state of a system of probabilities by exponentiating a matrix), did so when he was in his fifties, and it was, and is, still pretty groundbreaking in a number of scientific fields and applications, however it's not super easy to explain, so I'll bet fewer people in the public would know about it. Another example is the Fourier Transform, which is _so_ applicable to so many situations today that it's almost ludicrous that the term isn't common knowledge. Joseph Fourier was 54 when he devised it. Not that I'm saying only old people make great discoveries either; I just think that older scientists tend to go for more specialized and elaborate research in their given field; probably due _to_ their expansive knowledge, while younger people use their creativity to rethink more general assumptions, probably partially as a result of not having the same expansive comprehension of the specifics. And bear in mind, I say this as a _young_ student myself.

[@theoreticalknot4012]

A good point, actually. Young people are popular in about every field, whether entertainment or science- and this certainly ties that together better than the ones suggested in the video. Add in a love for pretty young faces in the media and you won't have many of the boring ol' scientists talking gibberish on the front page, now would you? I even have this sneaking suspicion that if it wasn't for Stephen Hawking's state that not as many people would know his name. I know people who know the guy himself but aren't even aware what field he works in or any of his discoveries. People simply PREFER the easily generalized and pretty- Einstein the crazy old goofy genius, Newton-the-guy-who-liked-apples, Curie the woman, Edison the hoax, Hawking the machine. I'm ashamed to say that I honestly view a lot of those great intellectuals under those titles as a layman-- I know most their theories better than some, but I still fail to view them as more than those titles. To be frank, the confusing old scientist is just too overdone to bring any sparks of curiosity. I don't even know the names of three quarters of the scientists who are in my library, unless they've won a Nobel or are generally "well known" and "precharacterized". With that said, I'm too curious to not ask what Forrier Transformation is, but at the same time too sleep deprived to find out the answer on my own. Mind explaining, or informing me of a place where I could learn about it?

[@theoreticalknot4012]

emlmm88 I do have _working_ knowledge of differential equations, but I've not worked with maths exclusively for a while. It does sneak in a lot, so I probably won't have much time keeping up- and if I do... then, well, I'll just have to try harder to understand it I guess. Just don't expect me to know _everything_ about it.

[@MrStubix]

I don't know if you you still want to know about Fourier transforms but I found this nice article that does a good job explaining.betterexplained.com/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-the-fourier-transform/

[@qwertyuoip1234]

Don't forget, too, that the discovery of the periodic table of elements was made by Dimitri Mendeleev when he was what, 60?

[@europeansovietunion7372]

Also revolutionary theories may be published by young scientists because they are geniuses ; so they are more likely to publish something good sooner rather than later. Then they might stop publishing revolutionary stuff because - as the de-facto experts of their own new field - they might feel obligated to investigate it deeper, instead of trying to find something revolutionary from scratch once again.

[@ggharjan]

Is it just me or does anyone else feel super happy when they watch Veritasium's videos?

[@TheCanon66]

Nah, it's just you. They make me feel stupid and uneducated. Just can't stop watchin'...

[@Anonymous-jo2no]

GGharjan On certain videos Veritasium bore me... I'm just... not quite compatible to these kinds of videos, I'm more compatible to the types of minutephysics, minuteearth, kurzgesagt, etc. Vsauce is an exception, he never bored me.

[@PerpetuallySleepy]

+Anonymous71475 that's interesting! i connect better with veritasium videos because of the conversational way he speaks to the camera :)

[@Gurubashy]

+GGharjan I get depressed just when I hear that at my age, Newton invented calculus, and I am here, struggling with it.

[@mamesushi136]

Yeah, I caught myself smiling while listening to him. I am not sure why, he just seems like a great guy :)

[@1ucasvb]

As an old undergraduate in physics, this notion depresses the hell out of me.

[@DreadKyller]

+1ucasvb well, it's not necessarily about being Young, it's now about being able to think without being influenced by previous knowledge. Even if you have a ton of previous knowledge you can still do stuff well, you just have to be able to ask yourself questions. "I know that people say this is the case, and I've learnt it that way, but it there another explanation". It's not the act that you know stuff that will taint your opinions, it's the mindset that what you know has to be absolute and is correct, if you live with the mindset that "everything I've been taught could be wrong" then you're willing to not let those influences limit where your thoughts go. As the example that was stated in the video about Einstein, people at that time believed that time was constant, if Einstein had believed that then the only two factors that could differ would be space and the speed of light. It's the fact that even though people believed tat time was constant, Einstein wasn't influenced by this, either he didn't know it (doubtful) or he thought "even though others think this is correct, I'm not going to assume it is". Because he didn't assume that it was correct he was able to think about what would make sense if it was false. So even though older people may have more knowledge that they've picked up over the years, it's not the amount of knowledge you have that determines if you can think laterally, it's your willingness to accept that what you know may be wrong and that there could be other explanations. Don't let not being young put you down, you still have the ability to do great things.

[@bethanybrackett112]

Go to college now it's never too late

[@DreadKyller]

Bethany Brackett in all honesty, in many countries collage or university are nearly useless. Yes, they teach you skills and information, however it's information you can find on your own if you really care about the topic. The only real benefit of such an education is that you can to use your graduation as a form of proof that you know the topic, even though every single thing you learned was obtainable in multiple places. If you live in a country where university is free, then there's no excuse, going to university is at that point worth it, but in the handful of countries that commercialize it it's a massive sink of money to learn something other people are learning for free, and that you could learn on your own.

[@jasonisfamous6544]

+Bethany Brackett yes...yes it can be seeing as your grades stay there forever

[@wither8]

+1ucasvb Einstein's general relativity was way more impressive, so 1905 wasn't all that. The 'young genius' thing is gradually changing, as every subset of science increases the corpus of knowledge as a function of time (Newton didn't have to learn about Ricci flow to solve Poincare). At least in mathematics, the trend is gradually going from the 'young genius' of Gauss to those who are older (i.e., Perelman, Wiles, etc). There's a lot of lateral knowledge one has to acquire now that the 'low hanging fruit' has been plucked. To solve something in algebraic topology you might have the 'intuition' at 23 as to which direction you need to take to offer a solution, but often times you have to wait 10 years to find the right component from another subset of study (i.e. youre interacting with a post-doc in combinatorics and a component of his work is the missing link you needed to bring you from A to C). Things are a lot more lateral and a lot less "Ramanujan" than they were 100 years ago or even 30 years ago when my father was finishing his PhD.

[@ProfRandom1618]

Einstein's a good example in another way: His lack of preconceptions allowed him to grasp Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect, and special relativity all in 1905, but the *inertia* of his preconceptions utterly prevented him from being able to embrace quantum physics (which, ironically, his early papers helped to bring into being), right up to his dying moment....

[@ScopeofScience]

I was just going to comment the same thing! He even included an extra and unnecessary variable in one of his equations, because he didn't believe the universe could be expanding (as his original mathematical model predicted).... #SpoilerAlert, it was expanding.

[@ProfRandom1618]

Hear hear! I had forgotten that part!

[@skroot7975]

The Scope of Science Aww man, you just ruined the universe for me. Next time, use bigger spoiler tags!

[@ScopeofScience]

Knurte Farblekund LOL I'm generally a bit of downer at parties - I think it is because I usually say something sciencey before disclaiming SPOILER.. Thats my take on the situation at least..

[@IamGrimalkin]

Well, it was more the Copenhagen interpretation and certain bits of quantum mechanics than quantum mechanics as a whole. He had much to agree with Erwin schrodinger, who created the schrodinger equation.

[@jameswhyte1340]

keeps the sharks out? girl screams by getting attacked by shark 0:35

[@Slutuppnu]

***** Thanks. Made my laugh for the day:-)

[@JackLe1127]

***** No it's the shark screaming getting attacked by a girl.

[@andrewlankford9634]

Veritasium's a land shark.

[@PietSpaans]

I think the situation was kind of alike for Darwin, Einstein and Newton. They were in a non demanding job (sea travel, with a lot of time to contemplate, Newton was at home when Trinity College was closed because of the plague when he took the time to do the math his own way, to understand it more deeply., Einstein was working at a patent office and used his evenings to discuss things with his first wife. They did not have an obligation to publish like the young scientists of today.Maybe we should give young scientists some slack to think things through if they feel that desire. Princeton does just that but maybe the people that come to Princeton are already too old and accomplished to benefit from it. The blanc page hypothesis is not correct at all, Darwin, Newton and Einstein were far from blanc pages, in an earlier comment I already stated that the works of Euclid were Einsteins favorite at 12 years of age, Newton was immersed in the work of Aristotle, Kepler and Galilei, Darwin was a typical naturalist that collected as much biological information as possible. His works are really full of details from all kinds of sources, but mainly on the animal and plant breeding of the day. I think you have to familiarize yourself with the old stuff when still relatively young to make the right type of breakthrough in your early twenties. Maybe if you familiarize yourself too late with the old stuff it becomes too late to change it.

[@mrnarason]

Dirac said he got his ideas during long walks

[@andrewegan1732]

Darwin paid for his voyage on the Beagle.

[@MartinodePueblo]

Hey Derek. I'm 20 years old and was going through an designers block because of too much problems in my concept. This video motivated me so much, you have no idea. I put this video on half an hour ago or something like that. and at 04:57 i turned it off, got all my papers and sketching pen again and made incredible material. Thanks for the motivation! i'm young and i should do as much as possible with my healthy, young naivety! Great vid's on both channels btw! greetings from holland

[@NikoxD93]

Wow I only have a few years left to make a revolutionary discovery!

[@alex-cm9fd]

AshiesN ahahhhhaahahh

[@sykuru2234]

So what's up...done anything yet

[@NikoxD93]

@AshiesN No, I'm far too old now. Sorry! Although I have discovered that times passed very quickly! But I'm not sure that this is so revolutionary :P

[@l.w.paradis2108]

Look up Georg Cantor.

[@arx48]

@@NikoxD93 good to hear you're saying that with a positive mindset!

[@sarahmedouni8844]

dude that driving is sooooooooo unsafe

[@Cellkist]

Not really

[@vim1729]

Cuz u were programmed to think that using other things while driving is dangerous

[@uncreativename9833]

Sh Mj I hope you lose your driving license.

[@ethank5681]

Reported to police

[@archdukefranzferdinand567]

@@vim1729 I was programmed to have more than 10 fucking braincells

[@Heruluin]

This video makes me think about the quote "Nobody told them it was impossible, so they did it."

[@pranav7374]

"keep practicing until its second nature", thats what you taught me today!

[@ellyawesome]

That was pretty cool. I must utilise my young mind to it's full potential!!!! ;P

[@siyacer]

Yep

[@TrainTsarFun]

So many times at work I fix things that others cannot because they know too much. They tend to rule out potential problems because they think they cannot happen. Once a fellow worker spend 3 days trying fix a problem that I resolved in a matter of minutes. He had already ruled out what ultimately was the solution. Another thing I notice with a lot of young people is they think they are smart. I like what Newton said about his accomplishments and what is primary focus was later in life.

[@victorhugomuzi]

+Train Tsar Fun tru

[@boyinapeatbog]

Oh shoot I'm 22 and I don't even know what the heck I'm doing with my life.

[@FFXfever]

On a brighter note; you live MUCH longer than most of the people mentioned in these videos.

[@PNWconnect]

FFXfever Newton lived to be 84 years old. Darwin died at 73. Einstein died at 76. Hawking is still alive at 72. The average life expectancy (for the US across genders) is 79.8 (lower for just males). Probability says that s/he will likely just barely outlive most of them. I believe you were mentally citing the statistic that there has been a dramatic increase in life expectancy over the years, but that is generally attributed to infant/child mortality rates, which have decreased significantly.

[@boyinapeatbog]

Nico Courts You really know how to comfort a fellow. Although, my family does have phenomenal longevity, and I can comfortably expect to hit 90, bar any unexpected illness.

[@Woodledude]

Nico Courts Of course, it should be noted that the average life expectancy is based on, well... People who have already died. It is possible that those alive will be faced with a different average life expectancy than they have been informed of, especially with the way technology is advancing. For instance, development of treatments designed to reverse aging.

[@SideStrafed]

Fletchersaurus i hope i dont live past 70 years oold

[@Nehmo]

Erasmus Darwin (1731 - 1802), the grandfather of Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882), wrote Zoonomia (1794-1796) before Charles was born. Zoonomia contains the essential concepts of evolution, and Charles even gives his grandfather credit. Charles refined the concept, and he presented it to the world, but he didn't claim to originate it. Erasmus's statement, "the strongest and most active animal should propagate the species, which should thence become improved" is almost identical to the concept later called "survival of the fittest".

[@hectorae86]

+Nehmo Sergheyev Except that "survival of the fittest" isn't in Darwin's theory of evolution. Darwin was actually quite clear that cooperating species have a higher chance of survival, but this doesn't fit with the way our economy works, so you're given the chewed up, semi digested and spit out version of Darwin.

[@radusdk]

+hectorae86 Although you're right in that "survival of the fittest" isn't one of Darwins theories (but rather that of Herbert Spencer), I believe you're a bit wrong about that assumption. "Fittest", in this context, means "what fits best" as in what is able to adapt best to the current environment/situation, which is comparable to natural selection - probably also why so many tend to mess up the references.

[@hectorae86]

Radus I never defined the word fittest, so how was I wrong?

[@radusdk]

Context.

[@npip99]

+hectorae86 That's a very poor excuse. You didn't define any of the words you used, so should I just dismiss every word you used as not being potentially wrong? Well then communication would be impossible. If being cooperative helps, well then it's fit. So it is indeed the survival of what is most fit. It's just that "fit" might mean taking part in a symbiotic relationship.

[@lightsidemaster]

"Feel, don't think." "Truly wonderful the mind of a child is." "You must unlearn, what you have learned" etc.

[@romeshsrivastava2474]

The last thing you said made me think........ We have read F=ma so many times that we don't really pay that much attention to it and I think that therein lies another reason for younger scientists to be more creative. Younger scientists would pay attention to the formula and as a matter of fact it was because of the curious equality of gravitational mass and inertial mass that led Einstein to formulate his general theory. When I came to know that acceleration of a body is independent of mass in uniform gravitational field, I was awestruck and got so many questions. My teacher showed me the answer and I believed it...... with some difficulty but I didn't think about it again.............. until I read about general theory and it made me realize that the true answer was much more elegant......... My point is that because younger scientists do not take simple things for granted they ask curious questions that no one has asked before.....And sometimes, the simplest of questions have the most amazing answers..........

[@KartikayKaul]

Thanks. To boost up my spirit to study science I have started watching your videos... Just because they make me remember that I have a tough session ahead.

[@ChewieU]

You really made physics look fun for me and you helped me know what i want to study later (i am 13) i really want to thank you for this. Keep up the great work

[@not_potaytoes_hobbit]

+Peter Appel Dude good luck! I found out that I love physics until I was 21 :S the funny thing is that the day of my high school graduation I said to my mathematics teacher: "finally I am getting rid of mathematics" haha

[@casey6578]

and now you're 19

[@sebastiansantrac]

It really amazes me how you combine stuff like showing the landscape to keep the viewers interested in watching whole video, and then at the same time speak about something we all came to watch the video for. Flawless :D

[@aarontewelde3577]

1:02 "...and in that year, he was 22". Makes me feel so useless not having prepared myself to achieve anything significant at age 20.

[@chonggs]

Well-placed "quiet moment" pauses at the end of these videos! It really enhances the message. Great posts, Derek!

[@MrSilverback62]

Older people are afraid of loss. As they become more and more invested in a particular pathway, they become less and less willing to give it up. People rarely change their basic values after age 30, i.e. science, religion, whatever. Change can be scary. Before a person can move on to something new, he must release the past, i.e. loss.

[@l.w.paradis2108]

The best prose writers tend to write their greatest works quite late. Even age 60, for prose, is far from rare. A few were even older. Yet this has almost never been true in poets, other than for those who wrote plays in verse. See Sophocles.

[@chr0ne692]

I've always been anxious about losing my youthful creativity. It feels like everytime I just accept what is true instead of following a chain of questions, I lose a little bit of creativity and an opportunity to look at things differently than everyone else. It's like I am giving up my unique perspective and will not be able to regain it once I understand the concept the same way everyone else does. Every time I learn a new concept or solve a strange problem, instead of thinking about it my own way and coming to conclusions on my own, it feels like I am following a pre-established conceptual model robs me of my creativity and simeltaneously undermines the validity of the established theory. If it's true, then prove it to me. This goes back to the famous quote attributed to Einstein, "If you can't explain it simply, you dont understand it well enough". I somehow don't think this is embraced by the academic community enough. We should be making explanations so simple that people can pick them up and understand them quickly. You shouldn't need to tell them what's true without room for question, rather just explain how the dominant theory is believed to be true in a concise manner, and the students can make up their own minds, wether they believe it or not. I just don't understand how if the revolutionary ideas in science come from divergent thinkers who are at a young age, then why do we continue to tell them what or how they should think. It's like if Einstein (and many others) stayed in formal school, he would likely have never revolutionized science. That is precisely the cost of what we are doing in academia today. All these young, revolutionary sciencists you mentioned had the same circumstance. They were free to think or reflect about things and come to conclusions they wanted. They were not told what they were going to learn and that it is right and there is no other alternative. If we just give people more space to think about things slowly, we might learn a reaspm why we might be wrong, or an alternative perspective that seems to explain things we previously didn't understand. Academia has an opportunity for billions of fresh eyes to look at the science that has been done, to find any mistakes, inconsistencies, paradoxes, and we don't give the freedom to explore what these billions of people think because we think we already know the answer and that there can be no improvements. I love learning, but I don't like being told what is so. Start from what I believe to be true, and arrive at what you believe to be true, then I will try my best to refute your reasoning. That is science. Now why don't we learn that way?

[@Infinit3Enigma]

I do hope I get my motivation back, im turning 22, and this education system has been messing with my mind :(

[@micke7]

That sounds kind of motivating. Just wait and you'll have perspective on life.

[@Equinoxtrills]

Current education paradigm is based on those made during the age of enlightenment, you should be worry, and you should not be restricted to the current paradigm, teachers, lecturer is not always right, your brain is not bound

[@michaelhedrick589]

Now you’re almost 30

[@reggle1999]

Thank you for explaining a concept that I came to realize long ago, and for making the point that there is also room for the wisdom of some of us more senior folk. The trick is for the seniors to continue to think outside the box and to value the ideas of the younger minds, and visa versa.

[@flitsies]

Or could it simply be that young scientists are studying anyway so as they are researching they make use of old information and revamp it into something more useable for their time.

[@BeshoyNagieb]

One of the best motivating and inspiring channels around youtube. Best of luck

[@celsorosajunior]

Is it safe to drive while holding a camera in one hand?

[@altosack]

Apparently, because we have evidence he subsequently uploaded this video.

[@DarkMage2k]

@@altosack coming unharmed out of a risky situation doesn't mean it's safe

[@hashimwahbi]

The learning method you mentioned is so useful to me because I study advanced and further maths, so when I come across a more complex topic like integrating hyperbolic functions, I won't have to spend so much time on differentiating simple functions. And so it becomes automatic.

[@NihongoWakannai]

I'm 17, so pretty young, and my science classes are super easy right now. A lot of the time I'll just throw out the most random and stupid questions/statements and then discuss them. Of course they're always disproven, answered simply, shown to be stupid etc. but through the process I usually get a better understanding of something, or get a different perspective of something. I've known about Gravity for quite a while obviously, but through questions like "what would happen if you dug a hole in the earth and tried to walk through" I developed a more natural, automatic and accurate visualization of how gravity works. And I feel that's a really great way to discover new ways of thinking, or even make new discoveries. You just make up absolutely unreasonable ideas and see what the result is.

[@Mlai00]

Jozzarozzer You're lucky enough to be growing up in the Internet Age, so you don't have to restrict your curiosity to your science classroom or with your science teacher. You can surf science websites and blogs, and learn all sorts of new stuff. You can teach yourself college-level topics in STEM. You can go to science forums on the internet and throw out your wild questions there. There's plenty of people on the forums who are better and more knowledgeable teachers than your science teacher, and you'll be able to learn according to your interest and capacity, rather than plodding along in the school curriculum which truth be told caters to the lowest common denominator.

[@NihongoWakannai]

Mlai00 i obviously know that considering where we currently are, on a science based youtube channel. Anyways, even the specialized courses designed for the top academic students are pretty easy, so i do just learn stuff from the internet.

[@matthewmartel9295]

Jozzarozzer You have to be careful with responses from the internet; there are a lot of trolls out there. Some have mastered this 'art'. Always make sure to further research any responses to your questions. I had a buddy in college who was able to convince almost the entire class that electronics runs on smoke. "If you let the smoke out, it no longer works".

[@NihongoWakannai]

Matthew Martel yeah i know, i've been on the internet for at least 10 years. Even if people aren't trolling, it's always good to just get different explanations of the same thing so the wording doesn't end up misconstruing the facts, so i always research stuff fully.

[@najeebal-shabibi9394]

Haha, I might just use that in my class to show them their ignorance!

[@erintreez]

love the multi-task, mini-tour of Sydney...now, I must see for myself. In addition to your points, I think the fearlessness and optimism of youth leads to "going there," to take the dare, or follow the impulse. Whereas with experience, we become more cautious, less likely to take a risk, or challenge the status quo.

[@DaanWaardenburg]

Don't vlog and drive when you need to hold the camera.

[@Darkreaper666000]

Great Video!!! I completely agree with you on it all. I have always said those who change this are those who live life without a box. Light cannot reach those who live life in a box.

[@sarahmedouni8844]

i wonder if this has anything to do with the survivor bias ( yes i just came from that video :v)

[@AlintraxAika]

Maybe because when young people make notorious things they get more attention than old ones, like when he said in the survivor bias video that Bill Gates and other successful people who left university makes us think that leaving university is a good thing, but when you see the data it's not like that.

[@panda-bm4de]

I thought so too. And also, there can be a confirmation bias (he names 3 scientists to support the claim, but there can be more people who made some great thing as old guys. He does not mention what percentage of scientists do their main discoveries young vs. old).

[@zes3813]

wrg,idts

[@hansisbrucker813]

Just coming from that video too I was thinking the same.

[@anameyoucantremember]

No, it has to do with the "I picked 4 scientist who made discoveries from an almost endless list of scientists who have made discoveries at all ages" bias.

[@GrungeMaster92]

WOW 0 dislikes. You did it mate. Elegant serendipity and air tight communication. I thought you were a rolling rock but you deliver and they like.

[@Emelineeeeeee]

The things you said about memory were really interesting. I think that explains why I'm not good at multitasking; because I have a very 'step-by-step' mind. (my mind evolved that way because I used to constantly forget things, and screw up simple tasks, so I learned to focus intently on the individual steps of a task). So each task that I do takes up several chunks. I also have a question. I started playing basketball (just shooting hoops) about a year ago. Several times I've gotten pretty good. I say several times, because I get to a point where I'm getting most of my shots in, and not really having to think about it. But the day after I get to my peak, I go out and shoot hoops again, and it's a disaster. It's like over night I've forgotten how to shoot. Does this have to do with the "chunks"?

[@kimleangseu]

Yep that is exactly what happen to me. I played sport like a pro, then the next day im getting suck at it. and it only getting worse ever since

[@rawstarmusic]

Joseph Dember Same happens when I play instruments. I can get to a point where I do everything right but I don't know or what I'm doing. My guess is that different parts of the brain are activated. One path goes through the analyze, estimate and possibly hesitate and the other goes right on unconsciously because there is no analyze.

[@Multihuntr0]

***** Oh god, that's so annoying. Every now and again I'm playing, and I make a small mistake and it's like, "I've played this literally over 100 times, but I cannot for the life of me remember what is next." Then I try to think about which notes I'm supposed to be pressing, and I realise that I don't actually know ANY of them anymore. It's all just stored as reflex actions.

[@rawstarmusic]

Multihuntr0 I practice playing flaw-free and know what I'm doing but t's much slower. Playing very fast it faster than the brain can read. It's like reflexes. I guess when I blend them I will be a competent player. Although Chet Atkins said that Mark Knopfler doesn't know what he's doing but it comes out alright. So he's using the pattern mode.

[@mylifeisnapless]

You're the first peripatetic teacher I can listen to while sitting down.

[@baconofthedarkside]

Good thing I'm 12.

[@General12th]

And now you're 14. Just one more decade...

[@baconofthedarkside]

rip im 15 and i dont remember what this is

[@BigBoss-sm9xj]

Lol

[@coyotedomino]

And now you’re 17, a year older than I am. How’s life?

[@日下部かおる]

almost 19 year old!

[@bmurph24]

"Dealers of Lightning" great book on what happens when you get a lot of young minds together.

[@AronDarling]

100% agreement here too! I was diagnosed with ADHD a while back; yet I am now working on my MBA and have a BS in Electronic Engineering. I also read --on average-- a book a week. Reading and writing were always hard subjects for me; now though, you give me a good non-fiction book or some good problems to work out, I can focus. Not everyone is created with the same gifts, why do we treat them that way for the first 18 years of their lives? Totally waste the early stages of development for so many!

[@carolynmmitchell2240]

Aron Darling sounds like they gave you some adderal.

[@waywardson286]

I like how you described what is essentially training. it's important especially in high risk jobs or tasks so that in an emergency, you instinctually do the right thing without needing to stop and think it through.

[@deday6525]

hi Derek, i have a suggestion. why don't you summarise what your point is at the end of the video, or in your description? for example, in this video, the 2 key points I've grasped is, the young mind does not have prior knowledge to inhibit one's creative and lateral thought secondly, u mentioned about repetition?

[@blueant7988]

Thank you for publishing it! It's motivating.

[@MexicoHecho]

wait..wait..wait bunnies dont lay eggs?

[@thedemonlord8685]

Hecho En México wait they don't?

[@ukko1998]

no they don't, they birth same way as dogs etc.

[@strati5phere]

enjoyed this video and especially the ending. thanks~!

[@gladwintirkey3367]

You guys have to empty your mind be formless , shapeless like water , now water can flow or it can crash be water my friend.

[@rowencoleing3542]

- Bruce Lee

[@cadkls]

I can't empty my mind, I'm simply too smart, I'm always thinking...: )

[@gladwintirkey3367]

Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.

[@kalphitekil]

***** Always thinking isn't a good thing like you seem to think lol.. 'Stop thinking, just do it'. You're probably meaning to boast about how you observe and dissect everything you look at.

[@cadkls]

kalphitekil Always thinking doesn't mean always trying to understand and explain things. But that does take up roughly 80% of my total thinking time. Stop thinking and just do it? That is the single worst thing to start doing in your life ever. I'd like to cross a road, let's not think about the ton and a half cars travelling at 40mph moving past me. Let's just cross the road eh? Yes. Best. Logic. Ever. I want to have this job when I'm older, but it requires this degree and those qualifications etc. So I need to work hard and pick my subjects accordingly. No, let's not think about it and just do it. Let's allow life to take me wherever. I don't really want to do my dream job, I dont mind if i end up working behind a cashier in McDonalds. Best. Logic. Ever. Idiot. And no, actually, I don't mean to boast about how I'm observing and dissecting everything I see in my mind. Because its a fact. I do observe everything, I do try to understand everything nearly all the time. Its what you call curiosity. Or in other words, being human. That's why we have technology today, because scientists had the curiosity to understand the world we live in. Like newtons laws of motion, Einstein s relativistic ideas. Maxwell and faradays work on electricity. The Dirac equation. Stephen Hawking's ideas on the early universe and black holes. All arised from curiosity.

[@bryanleyva3342]

I saw this video about a year ago and re watching this now makes a lot more sense after thinking about it, it relates to what a thought about when I observed people at school.

[@vkorchnoifan]

Have you read Mario Livio's Brilliant Blunders ?

[@autotelictric]

What is it about?

[@vkorchnoifan]

It show no matter who you are you are still capable of making mistakes.

[@Koutsn_]

7:39 that's pretty accurate, 4 is for people who don't work with strategy , and 6 for people who do, 5 is a nice median you picked

[@CHEESYhairyGASH]

is your phd available to be read online?

[@Dr.HazharGhaderi]

It looks really beautiful there man. And an interesting video, thanks.

[@mariovegabotto]

hahahah question!: is there a video where you don't mention inertia? (just joking :p )

[@0432083]

The thing about muscle memory is that our muscles are 'activated' by specific neurons and the brain has the ability of grouping these patterns of activation of muscular groups, that we can call 'synergy'. So, praticing shooting a ball to the basket, for example, can lead you to automate the activation of legs muscles to flex them, followed by the motion of the body and arms, going for the jump and shoot. With training, you will be able to execute the shooting motion pattern accordingly coordinated, with the right time and strenght. So yes, we have a memory for motor abilities, not so muscular.

[@lpr5269]

Dude you're on the wrong side of the car. HAHA!

[@zacherycooke1224]

Advanced stupid.

[@adamcummings20]

Stupidity intensifies.

[@alb9022]

In my world my perception is reality and truth; everything else is false.

[@vamshibhargavCR7]

Gave me a new perspective about this world. Interesting video.............

[@cortster12]

Has someone with crippling depression ever grown out of it to become a revolutionary scientist? Or am I fucked?

[@pandarojo327]

Faraday use to suffer memory lost and depression if im memory serve me. watch the episode "electric boy" of cosmos

[@florianwueest]

Awesome video as always. Important to keep an open mind in everything you do. Also necessary to keep questioning your own knowledge, although it's pretty hard and frustrating to do so. Keep up the good work!

[@nikolaifedorov1877]

Good point, really! That is sad too. Video games and pot will drive all of us back to stone age, eventually, since affect the most dedicated and bright ones....

[@MystyrNile]

ô.ō

[@Sean_735]

A lot of games can be extremely beneficial to learning though. If you get good at playing real time strategies and tactical games, or advanced turn based games like Civ, you'll inevitably develop strong multitasking and advanced logic skills, which can help you learn math and science much quicker than others. Of course, if you play games like GTA, you'll have fun, but you won't really learn much, and it won't have any negative effect on your current learning strength. As for weed, if everyone just didn't smoke it until age 23 or 24, the human race would be fine, since that's when the brain stops developing, and therefore it's development can no longer be slowed and interrupted.

[@MystyrNile]

Yeah, but if they end up wasting way too much of their time on it (or anything, really), then they won't get science done. And i figure that the type of person who likes science is more likely to try drugs, since, you know, they like experimenting.

[@nikolaifedorov1877]

Seanathon Balkmenistan Till 28 years, now days per publication in Science. Hard to imagine anyone to pick up the habit after 28 if never smoked before. Regarding multitasking - do not mislead yourself in competing with computer multitasking. Computer can do this (has hardware) - humans are not. Evolutionary it is one task and fast switch between tasks. There are enough studies showed that quality drops when human try to multitask (type text messages and listen other person for example). Officially only one guy in human history could do it (writing and talking with other person). It was J. Cesar. He had epilepsy and got killed by his "colleagues". Epic failure in foreseeing own future was apparent :)

[@carolynmmitchell2240]

Sean James video games are planted with subliminal messages, no kidding.. they will fuck you up, they spent alot of money in taxes learning how to control our minds and video games is one way they do it.. video games are a waste of life and time.

[@YaserFarid]

The reason why young people are good with discoveries is because I agree their minds are fresh and once they have made something and are recognized for their discovery anything that goes against their idea, they would reject it because their ideas are accepted and then they never come up with anything new. Newton, Einstein and all other young scientist are same, once they have made a discovery, they stick with their ideas even if these ideas might not be right answers for something, so they might remove cosmological constant just so their theory hold.

[@mwauraerick]

Don't you think that choosing Einstein, Newton and Darwin is just another act of survivor-ship bias?

[@alex-cm9fd]

mwaura erick good point, but they were the most revolutionary of all

[@LucaBakiMMA]

Hey Derek :) going to move to Australia after school, maybe see ya there ;)

[@osimmac]

8:10 "driving and vlogging" urrr no. thats just dangerous. You should be focused completely on driving, not coming up with things to say for your vlog while holding a camera or something. Not focusing on driving and doing it wrong is how 99% of car crashes occur. Multitasking is impossible, its been proven.

[@user-ok8vh7zq9s]

"Just in: 99% of car crashes occur while vlogging" Seems reasonable

[@osimmac]

Zurkah Zurkah great quotation mark fail. here, i will help you: "Not focusing on driving and doing it wrong is how 99% of car crashes occur. Multitasking is impossible, its been proven." - Mike Cammiso I didnt say vlogging and driving causes crazes, i said not focusing and driving incorrectly is how most accidents happen.

[@AJ123Brown]

Your videos are fantastic you should be doing tv documentaries I'm being to study science through university and I find your out look and descriptions very insightful

[@cscooperau]

Actually, I think Darwin did have his own preconceptions. He actually did believe at the beginning that life was created in its present form, and he set out to prove that. Only by investigation did he change his mind. I think conceiving of evolution was extremely difficult for him.

[@skyler114]

Darwin's family had 3 generations of people who theorizing about evolution

[@Emelineeeeeee]

The fact is that he did not let those preconceptions overwhelm his curiosity.

[@cscooperau]

Joseph Dember Exactly. I say it was difficult for him because he (by his own admission in his book) believed in creation, and so did his family. As I understand it, the theory put him at odds with several members of his extended family. But reality trumps family bonds.

[@EnterJustice]

I find it amazing we're getting any groundbreaking scientific work done at all. Humans are notorious for persecuting ideas that don't fit what they already believe.

[@isaacgroen3692]

muscle memory is a thing, motions that you make often will be stored in the part of the spine where the nerve going to the muscle in question is coming from. Thats what allows you to jerk your hand away from something hot before realising it was hot. The signal came in from the finger to the spine, hit the automated response, sent a message upwards: we're going to start moving the arm before this message arrives otherwise we might burn ourselves and activated the jerking motion. Your brain can also call on these motions to be executed, for example, when driving stick, changing gears more or less happens automatically, thats because your brain only needs to say to your arm: gear 5 and your arm will know what motions to execute from its memory located in the spine. If you want i could link some papers of people finding the appropriate memory calls buried in the spinal cord somewhere. (or just open a final grade biology book from any highschool :)

[@qorilla]

Don't camera around while driving!

[@smmoom1212]

the way i like to think of it, is that, at one time in human history, we didn't have an explanation for ANYTHING...and slowly as we evloved both socially and physically, we started to ask questions. and subsequently answer them (weather we were right or wrong remains up in the air but either way). so when you look at something, say a desk, you would never in your life wonder "man, how did this get here? who made it? whats this material? ect..ect..". but if you were seeing this desk for the very first time and had never seen anything like it, human nature tends to start asking questions. so if enough people see a problem for the first time, they can all have different answers, and eventually someone will have the one that makes the most sense. but if all people on earth "knew" everything (even if we were wrong), we'd never learn anything new. because all these questions we had asked, were now answered to us. its the wonder, that breeds inspiration, and its inspiration, that brings light to new ideas. but to have wonder, you must know nothing.

[@victoriapownall4871]

Does anyone else think he looks like mans zelmerlow...

[@modernlacuna]

+victoria pownall A cross between Måns and Jon Richardson.

[@victoriapownall4871]

i don't know the other guy ...

[@modernlacuna]

***** British comedian.

[@victoriapownall4871]

AndroZeus oh righty

[@FlyKeven]

You don't just see this trend in the science community, it is also this way with the arts. That is the story behind "One Hit Wonders."My theory is that the person sends the first 20-25-30 years of their life thinking about this new discovery. While there are distractions, their mind keeps going back to that same topic.After 30, it is very hard to stay focused on the next project, before you are expected to move onto follow-up projects. You don't often get 20 years to ponder just one thing anymore...

[@KidEatingClown]

I found this video really ironic, because you apparently believe in so many things and state them as true, but they might not be.

[@teun4767]

He states more than once 'I have a few theories' Note the word 'theories'.

[@blackapple05]

I agreed with your last explaination about muscle memory etc. I indeed facing the same situation as doing some observations.

[@orangelimesky]

I don't think being young had anything to do with why Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein excelled in their respective fields and became revolutionary scientists. You ignored the one fact that it was most likely that both of them had Asperger Syndrome. The interesting thing about this autism is that, even though they would be socially inadequate, they would grasp complex systems MUCH easier than the average human being. People like Newton and Einstein were so engrossed in their work that they remained indoor for days and were able to produce all the work in the Miracle year that you described. Now as for the rest of us, this would be an exceptional case because learning requires a lot more hard work. The other factor why they succeeded at that young age was because both of them found academics to be useless. Newton found the works of the philosophers like Aristotle, Descartes, Copernicus etc. to be more appealing few years before he discovered the binomial theorem and the infinitesimal calculus. Einstein was removed from school because he was considered a delinquent. I see this making youngsters feel a little bad for not doing much, but Charles Darwin didn't stop contributing even though he was 50 years of age when he had written the book "On the origin of species". It is certain that Newton and Einstein were geniuses, but the age had nothing to do with why they did what but it had more to do with their lifestyles, and their living conditions at the time. Our modern society has too many restrictions from education to diverse cultures to politics to social media etc. that EVEN if there is a genius among us, it would STILL be hard to actually bring forth credible material unless they had some stroke of luck.

[@MystyrNile]

Asperger's syndrome however IS in the "autism spectrum".

[@speersword]

I think you missed the point. He isn't saying they weren't essentially geniuses, he is saying that the human brain generally peaks in the mid 20s, Also, that being younger, brings with it less inhibitions. Which would equal the more time, and flexibility to not only think outside the box, but dedicate time to thinking around the box.

[@MystyrNile]

Yeah, i totally missed the point, sorry.

[@orangelimesky]

speersword Once again, that has nothing to do with age. It depends on the individual's surroundings. Some people (most Americans) are exposed to everything these days from all kinds of technology/gadgets/video games/social media itself that I personally have found to shut down a lot of creative/innovative ideas! I remember a time when technology was severely limited to me and I had a wide imagination for art and designing and a very large passion for it. I grew like this for a long time and still have that passion inside, but recently I've had access to "almost" everything and I can notice the difference in my creativity/innovative ideas diminished. Revolutionary scientists see everything as an art, just like any philosopher would agree. Not everything has to be cramped with scientific theories and "standard language". Some people get lucky and are exposed to "specific" things that they eventually grow up with. Just like people in the past. Those that had limited access to schools and exposure to society came up with amazing ideas. I'm not talking about only the scientists in this spectrum. Artists in general, if raised in certain environments that would necessarily feed them the right stimulants would grow them to become masters in that category of art. The age of a man/woman has little to do when you compare them with their diet, lifestyle, social relationships etc. You can be 40 years old and STILL be as active as a 21 year old, mentally and physically if you eat right and live right. Tell me if I'm wrong.

[@JonTanti]

Ace Ventura Some people with Aspergers are able to have relationships and form bonds with people though they may be in a different way to how the majority of people do emotionally... As someone above said it is on a spectrum and, while I am sure there is a cut-off line for diagnostic purposes, that doesn't mean to say that Einstein and other such greats of the field didn't have quite a few traits that come with being somewhat autistically minded. I'm sure some people who are seen to have aspergers may just be high functioning autists anyway and even to that point one can argue that there is no real distinguishing between the two! While difficulties with social situations may be supposedly inherent to a person with Asperger's way of life there are always ways around such difficulties and ways to learn/re-learn how to behave/act in the most appropriate way in that situation. :)

[@brandonderoquefeuillabisto7533]

Okay, I have to say. I love your videos, and they're exactly what I need when I'm taking breaks between revision sessions. But boy... Your comment about the sausage fest made me laugh. Well done 👍🏻

[@favorite89103]

annus

[@alecbird4002]

Ehehehehehehe

[@25RossT]

Buttsex to the ass shit titty balls in niagra falls on the moon

[@carolynmmitchell2240]

Ross Talbert I'll Niagara falls on your moon..

[@matty.h]

That was a great walking tour of Sydney Harbour, never been to the heads before.

[@larrybe2900]

It was interesting to me that an American can drive a car from the right side and have an intelligent talk into a camera.

[@yousufalwaheb8394]

I know, since when are Americans ever intelligent?

[@fredjones5698]

He's Australian, is he not? Derek that is.

[@Icetroid]

+Drkeppy The third he is canadian

[@AustrianEconomist]

he is australian. he moved to canada later, but he is an aussy.

[@bmilano1580]

Great contribution! I hope you got the 10,000 steps for that day :)

[@AnonYmous-jc8yk]

Dude you just looked like a crazy person taking a selfie pole for a walk and talking to yourself.

[@leifharmsen]

I was walking around on those exact same paths, both literally and figuratively, when I was your age in the amazing year 2000. It seems like yesterday.

[@satanspy]

The more interesting question is.. Why were there no black scientists?

[@buzzy610]

George Washington Carver. also, only recently have black people been in a position to do science, and as it takes quite a while for new science to become generally known, those black scientist that there are aren't well known.

[@KrimsonSpeed]

buzzy610 What? Pretty sure the first humans were black and the people in the northern environments only lost that skin pigment to better absorb the Sun's vitamins. Anyway, my theory is that it's the numbers game. If every 1 out of 5 people have dark skin, then 1 out of every 5 scientists would be black, But that's not accounting for how society shapes our world, and how our world shapes us. An observation you can ponder is why has science advanced so well in the North over those near the equator?

[@RealationGames]

SonicTonic22 People living in harsh winter conditions need to more find ways to use tools, to build shelter and to plan ahead, thus more intelligent ones survived. Also probably having less community help in the new areas.

[@RafaelCamposNunes]

RealationGames Neil deGrasse Tyson speaks for itself, cosmos is coming, you should have a look at it

[@demonsXneverXdie]

Neil deGrasse Tyson is black, I think.

[@ColdHeartTV]

I am extremely proud of the users in this comment section. Never have I seen such mature discussions and elegant writing with creative ideas in a KZbin comment section :D

[@driedpancake]

Why Are Revolutionary Scientists white? Why Are Revolutionary Scientists male? I would love to see these videos.

[@BiggusDickus79]

+Seppuku Answer 1: Historical financial privilege. Answer 2: Greater proportion of grey matter in brain leading to better logical reasoning + historical educational privileges.

[@driedpancake]

They are: 1.More intelligent. 2. As a result of intelligence create glorious civilizations and wealth. 3. As a result of intelligence create innovations which contribute to said civilization.

[@charleslarue792]

+Seppuku The pale skin and dangling wobbly-bits act as reflectors and radiators, improving the heat dissipation of the brain. Cool brains run faster, and so think better. This is also why black scientists and women mathematicians frequently ignite if not doused in water on a regular basis.

[@KVQ0]

+Seppuku Define "white" please.

[@driedpancake]

Huey Freeman Of European,Indo-European or Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

[@davidt1152]

I read a paper once that pointed out that while we perceive the great scientists as being young, this was often because the amount of information they needed to gather in order to achieve their level of understanding was equivalent to a bachelor's degree (or less) in their field as it exists now. Most Nobel Prize winners, who many would consider great scientists, are receiving their awards for research done in their middle age years. Why this is was not decided upon, but the theories presented were something like: 1) greater need to acquire information, 2) better general health, and 3) misreading the facts. For instance, Einstein's greatest insights (GR) occurred when he was about 40, and the initial batch were written when he was in his mid-late 20's. Many of the mathematical advancements that he used had been developed by his professor's just a few years before he used them, making the actual insights partially attributable to people as much as three generations his senior. The perception that the great insights come from young people may be more myth, intimidation, and justification of personal apathy, than fact.

[@DougFenrich]

WOW, great video! Did anyone take note that he was doing a lot of walking AND talking and was NOT out of breath. Bro, you're in great shape ! !:)

[@jayducharme]

Nice job having your "revolutionary impact" statement sync up with walking by the cannon. 😁 There are arguments to be made for artists as well; it seems as if revolutionary art is usually created by those under 30 years old. I love a quote by Tom Lehrer, referencing people who have achieved greatness when they were young: "It's people like that who make you realize how little you've accomplished. It is a sobering thought, for example, that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years."

[@mickbrenton]

Excellent proposition! I have to agree that preconceptions (baggage) do hinder real innovation. It's happens not only in science but in music, it, film etc. The young people certainly have the talent and us old farts turn it into money. Great video already subbed!

[@MasqueradeCrew]

I like the random tidbits added in as he walked along the path.

[@BerzerkerCave]

Close but not quite the biggest I feel being young myself is that in your twenties you have entered a period where you have learned a lot about science and are learning much more and as great minds little ideas pop up into their head that spiral into major discoveries.

[@Triforcery]

I'm glad he said that older scientists have their own advantage, because I'll probably be near 30 when I have all the groundwork knowledge down to create theories of more scientific and mathematical importance rather than my numerological/scientific philosophizing.

[@jamiegodman715]

Definitely make some good points. I also think the imagination of a younger person is much more active and it's the ability to imagine what is or why it is that allowed most of the fore mentioned scientists to make their discoveries. Older people set in their ways don't have that imagination anymore.

[@spamboli]

Absolutely correct! i ran out of space. implicit in "are proven by all the knowledge we have now" is that they are subject to change, but also that nothing can be proven as an absolute truth. what i was arguing against is the stance that science haters take when they cherry-pick the theories they deny, while often accepting science that came from the same source. "the universe IS expanding" but big bang is "ridiculous" both theories are codependent on so many points.

[@MrBel23]

Many wonderful discoveries are never known about by the greater public. The ego of all life especially people naturally need positive recognition- when you are young you expect if you do or find something great you can expect recognition but this is still to date paralyzed by the economic system and competitive egoism which most generous youths don't fully understand so they are not discouraged by until later years- but as we age we have the potential to be better than we have ever been should we be able to recognise ourselves- and keep our hearty inspired grip.

[@Elysian_s]

What’s more difficult is to unlearn what you know and then relearn!

[@Yitzh6k]

Breakthroughs in reasoning happen when you're young, and if you're lucky to be thinking about the right thing. Careers are made through hard and continuous work, and can only happen with time. Ive known so many bright people who obsessed about specific things, and have gone nowhere because of it.

[@Pentazoid111]

There are MANY scientists who didn't make their ground breaking work in science until they were in there thirties, mid-thirties , 40s or older(emmy noether, gregor mendel, max planck, corpenicus,ludwig boltzmann, james maxwell, Georges Lemaître,etc); Hell , einstein continued to make big discoveries throughout his life, developing his theory of general relativity,in his late thirties

[@UniqueOneShot]

Yeah, this is true. That's why every (important) concept shouldn't stay unstudied or uncriticized, specially when new theories arise that could break them up.

[@jdryak]

How perfectly wonderful! ......A pregnant and sublimely inquiring mind, and someone who can discourse with abandon in the most articulate and eloquent ways! Thank you for sharing your marvelous thoughts and the many paths taken by your intellectual curiosity.