The Dark Story of Phrenology

[@pliktley1]

"A famous french scientist and racist" with no change in intonation, just said as one full statement, is gold

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Ohh dude, and Cuvier totally deserves it. He was involved in the mistreatment of an African woman named Sara Baartman, whose story has become quite famous.

[@pliktley1]

@@PatKellyTeaches it's just the fact that is isn't even "editing Kelly here!" Or just a caption in the video. Great

[@Hi_Im_Akward]

He regularly says this, very matter fact and I'm here for it. It's apart of the history and even if someone brought immense change and insight we still need to talk about the shitty things they did too.

[@FriedEgg101]

I love how unflattering some of the artwork is. Like the artist had no trouble portraying how grotesque they found it.

[@UberNuber]

You wanna talk about racism. The US' original plan to nuke Japan involved my grandfather done up in yellow face with his eyes taped back, smuggling the little boy nuke into Japan via his asshole. He got it ready (we have a family heirloom photo of him with the device fully ensconced), but it was found to be too racist to go forward with that plan

[@jeffr.6169]

"...the doctrine of the skull." Metal AF.

[@PatKellyTeaches]

🤘🤘🤘

[@SendPeaches]

Gosh your channel is criminally underrated. Hopefully by commenting the algorithm will start putting your fantastic work out for more people! 👏

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I appreciate that. The stories are fun to tell!

[@eloylie]

Absolutely agree, his channel is a diamond in the rough who finally gives people the credibility we all screamed for, for years, just to get put down online by illiterate dude bros who think that "this is cool science, it cant be rascist!!! you are making it uuuup" and im so glad people who are doctors speak out on these things, factually, and without judgement, so no more young people get it twisted.

[@nichole9677]

I LOVE this channel. My dad sent me the rabies vaccine one the other day and I'm freakin HOOKED

[@phinhnanthasone1231]

Deeming someone else inferior doesn't justify harm, hurt or even death

[@NoSaysJo]

how brave of you

[@herodontus]

imagine u got a pimple on ur scalp and suddenly you're considered wise af

[@Aquarius444K]

this had me rolling omg. Imagine these racist mf's meeting someone with cystic acne of the scalp LMAO

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

Anyone else remember when there was that fad in the 2010’s about just having a random ceramic phrenology bust as like a “witchy” decorative doodad? That was really weird

[@hedgehog3180]

Your taste in Gundam characters is excellent btw.

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

@@hedgehog3180 thanks

[@HandyMan657]

I remember that fad from the 80s

[@mangot589]

We had it in the 70’s, too😄

[@TheVigilo]

The pacing of these videos is always so perfect, concise but still full of info to keep me interested. Thanks for another banger

[@PatKellyTeaches]

That means a lot, thank you! My earlier work was *too* fast paced, so I'm glad the slower, more deliberate tone is appreciated!

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

We had a family saying, if someone wasn't quite all there, "They need their bumps felt!"

[@pinacolada1393]

In my family that's why we always carefully guard an infant's soft spot.

[@mariekatherine5238]

Americans still love this kind of stuff! Who doesn’t know their astrological sign, temperament type, or Myers-Briggs initials? Aquarius, melancholic, INTJ.

Oh, not just Americans. Check out blood type 'astrology' in East Asia. And the Chinese Zodiac.

[@harriswong2137]

Really enjoyed the clear flow. You deserve way more credit for your work!

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I appreciate that!

[@empatheticrambo4890]

This reminds me a lot of “correlation isn’t causation” problems that still pop up in bad science, statistics and propaganda about race, culture and economics.

[@dathunderman4]

They didn’t really understand that back then. Also correlation on its own doesn’t equal causation, but in science today we can only find causation through correlations. It’s that we don’t only use correlations, we also have to randomly assign the variables and sample groups, have a big enough sample size, use statistical models to analyze the relationships, etc. I mention all this because some people misunderstand and take that “correlation isn’t causation” thing too far because correlation is a part of finding causation, it just can’t be the only thing. It’s impossible to find causation without correlation, and some people seem to miss this due to the way the “correlation =/= causation” fallacy is phrased.

[@hedgehog3180]

@@dathunderman4 Well in modern science one of the important requirements is showing a theoretical link. It's not enough to simply find a statistical correlation, you must also be able to explain why there is a link with solid theory based on what's already accepted and that link needs to be falsifiable. That's one of the big ways in which we avoid these kinds of fallacy today, a correlation in modern science is on it's own just seen as cause for further investigation but doesn't say anything on its own. However if you can explain the correlation with theory and said theory makes clear quantifiable claims about what the results should look like and the results do look like that and it is possible to test the theory then we can conclude that something is going on.

[@michalsoukup1021]

Correlation is enough to get researching. It is NEVER enough, not ever, to form a conclusion!

[@sidebongy3219]

i truly could not believe that you didnt have over 1MIL subscribers !?!? Your videos are so damn well made, clear, concise, and entertaining !!! Wishing you all the success in the world!

[@naijatops6013]

All the way from Nigeria!!! A top fan!!! Your videos have been helping me through medical college. Thanks

[@PatKellyTeaches]

That's the best to hear, thank you! And best of luck in your studies

[@m.gaiolas457]

What a great video! You're exactly what I've been looking for in the terms of educational content in the past few years. Good job!

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Awesome, thank you! What are some of the other channels you watch?

[@m.gaiolas457]

@@PatKellyTeaches Well, pretty much everything educational. Tom Scott, Vsauce, Veritasium, 99% Invisible, J.J. McCullough, Vox Atlas, Linus Bolman, CGP Grey, 3blue1brown, LLeMiNo, among many others.

[@aste4949]

I would've loved to get to sit and draw at Mütter Museum's wall of skulls for hours. It was stunning in how much shape variety there is from person to person. It's a bit embarrassing and dumb to admit, but my friends and I realized we were so used to stock skull shapes and hadn't really imagined there was so much variety in proportions and shapes.

[@ToothlessCats]

Here because Spencer Henry from Obitchuary Podcast said you were the shit 🎉 you didn’t disappoint!

[@PatKellyTeaches]

That’s so nice to hear! I’d never heard of the podcast before, but it seems up my alley. Thank you!

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Thanks again to the Mutter Museum for helping me out with footage from the Hyrtl Skull Collection. Go check out their KZbin Channel while you're at it.

[@chrissighful]

Its always fun to learn more about a subject that I already knew about. But was sure I didn't know enough in. Excellent video.

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Glad you enjoyed it! I felt the same way -- I wanted a more detailed understanding of a topic I only knew a little about

[@filipeborela515]

I think your content is hugely underrated. When I look at it and compare it to your numbers it simply does not match up. Im a doctor and only came across your channel 1 week ago. Ever since I've seen your subscribers grow by 1 thousand per day, approximately. Now I think things are going to start improving for you. 2 years of absolutely amazing content, everytime, and less than 20 thousand subscribers? I was aghast. Wish you the best. Don't let it get the best of you. You are definitely bound to succeed. And I am here to watch and help you with it. Congratulations, professor.

[@davecasler]

Please stop cutting out the pauses. So doing makes your narrative hard to follow. The right pause is as important as the right word. Great channel, I am subscribed.

[@Lee-ox2vn]

As a person with ADHD, I'm so glad he cuts pauses! But to each their own

[@melinacosindas1574]

Hi there I really enjoy your videos both for entertainment and study purposes and I would love it if you could do some anatomy palpitation videos for structures like bones and muscles. You have really helped me learn everything I need to know for my anatomy exams and that is very shocking for me due to my difficulty memorizing information because of my dyslexia. So again thank you very much for your help and I hope you see this! ❤

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Thanks for the kind words. Best of luck with your anatomy study!

[@diogenesoliveira6473]

Loved the dig at the lobster insanity

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I'm glad someone appreciates that reference

[@zisaletter4602]

that little end jingle is the most cheerful music ive ever heard overlay the word 'eugenics' spoken anyway good vid! this is basically the old fashioned version of buzzfeed quizzes that tell you when youre going to get married and to whom

[@darrylday30]

Society has rejected phrenology and eugenics yet still embraces quackery such as homeopathy. Why? There must be factors more powerful than science driving bus. I want to learn more about this.

[@michalsoukup1021]

Homeopathy is not used to justify racism, they are both bad science, but only one is dangerous to every human being.

[@Coastal_Cruzer]

Homeopathy is commonly regarded as pseudoscience though

[@taliwalt5332]

ATTN: KZbin This channel rocks.

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I appreciate that, thank you

[@hyperactivehyperbole]

Been binging your playlists since I just discovered your channel, omg where have you been?! Addicted!

[@MMOchAForPrez]

I'm very disappointed you didn't use the scene from Django where Candy was doing a phrenology master class to show how phrenology was actually used back then.

[@7DK7DK]

Good production value and interesting content

[@DevenGarcia]

This is a great video, very informational!

[@mothiiee]

Unfortunately this is coming back on tiktok... ive seen it myself its so bad

[@nickbarber2080]

"You need your bumps felt" was a saying from my childhood (UK,1960s/70s) meaning that you were insane.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

As a dyspraxic, I can truthfully say that you can acquire new bumps and lumps on your cranium. I've fractured my skull in two places, what can I say, dyspraxia and motorcycles don't mix.

[@MBurn0002]

Love this channel. Great video!

[@brianedwards7142]

In the very earliest Sherlock Holmes stories he makes mention of physiognomy denoting criminal types but nothing written after 1890.

[@qsmh4938]

ngl phrenology or something like it still lives on - especially on the internet. online forums where insecure people congregate, be it incels, 4chan trans people, pro anorexia ppl, are absolute cesspits of people telling each other that their bones are inadequate. the shape of someone's skull is what makes them unattractive, the bones dictate your entire fate. don't worry about changing your personality and outlook, your brow ridge sucks. bones are so unchanging, it makes them a great foundation for these insecurities to attach to.

[@philswift1]

Plenty of weirdos on tik tok do this

[@evanl6819]

Idk if I’d call any of that phrenology personally since they’re not suggesting the shape of the skull has anything to do with the person’s personality, but rather their attractiveness yk?

[@DanuuJl]

"Oh you have a well shaped skull", was it a kind of compliment in the 19th century, I wonder?

[@weshard1]

15:54 As a Welshman, it’s nice to see we’re in the top 3..

[@Keklan572]

Literally Victorian astrology.

[@sforza209]

From scholars to skullers.

[@nowie4007]

Wow , this was really interesting to learn about ❤❤, i hope you also do one video on the history and impact of eugenics as well❤❤, this is the most interesting medical related KZbin channel i have discovered, so i hope you get the attention you deserve ❤❤

[@TommyMaverick]

Your videos are so good. I'm surprised I've never come across it before haha and what's best is I accidentally clicked your video under someone else's

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I appreciate that dude, thank you. More coming soon!

[@DIABETOR]

“You can alter your mind and body with what you eat” “Digestive power is controlled by the brain” So I guess Taco Bell was invented by a phrenologist who really took digestive power seriously

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I cannot confirm or deny if Lorenzo Fowler wanted his followers to think outside the bun.

[@ΆγιοςΧίλαριος]

The 69 (NICE) criminals commentary is super chill :)

[@PatKellyTeaches]

NICE

[@wannabecriminalman]

“Uh, sir, Phrenology was dismissed as quackery 160 years ago.” “Of course you’d say that, you’ve the Brain pan of a stagecoach tilter!”

[@ClassyGyal]

Oh i love your channel. New sub and im about to binge all the videos.

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Clearly you have great taste! Welcome to the channel

[@ClassyGyal]

@@PatKellyTeaches 🤣🤣🤣Clearly💅💅

[@mangot589]

I do have to say this. When Victoria and Albert got Bertie (Edward VII), “tested”. He wasn’t wrong 😂

[@tanyadrochner2105]

This is so good! I just found your channel and I’m binging all your videos. Great work and thank you for sharing with us!

[@meawen7261]

looking forward to the debunking and rejection of the pseudoscience of chiropractors!!!

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Someday. Although for that one, I'd like to actually interview a bunch of chiros ahead of time

[@andreasquitieri3066]

Great video :-) In Italy, Cesare Lombroso popularized these ideas being the father of criminal anthropology. He collected hundreds of skulls, too. I visited his museum in Torino.

[@JW-vi2nh]

Another fantastic video. Educational and entertaining. Thank you!

[@ettinakitten5047]

4:22 One of my undergrad psych profs pointed out that of these principles of phrenology, literally only the very last one - that outer skull shape reflects brain shape - has actually been found to be incorrect. Each of the other principles is actually mostly accurate. But that one inaccuracy led them totally astray.

[@eloylie]

I'm looking forward to the essay on Eugenics. Sadly, I have to say, as a German, this is something thats important to me: Here in Germany, those bogus oldtimey "science" books are under special publication protection, so no one republishes them, resells them or prints them. We can't even read them. I know a bit about them because I studied Science of Education, and as we all know, Hitler, sadly, is a big part of European (If not the worlds) recent history and therefore, any field of science is impacted by the climate he produced at the time. (For people reading, Hitler loved conspiracy and eugenics and those go hand in hand, sorry not sorry.) I'm glad there is censorship on those books because if they weren't under wraps here, then people would publish them freely and widely and make them out to be something they are not, like its happening in the USA. Just because some countries are free, doesnt mean that the people who live there aren't...sneaky with Hitler stuff. Nazi ideology gets repackaged and repurpused (See, the tiktok trrends on conspiracy or "blackpill" or the "face reading" trends, all based on these outdated, rascist beliefs, but under the guise of science) and its horrifying to see. My country does everything so this shit doesnt get to the people who want to weaponize it and still, people would rather cry about censorship than about what actually happens in reality when you allow a large portion of the population to publish bogus science. Many videos on your channel show the exact trickle down effect that happens when this "knowledge" gets passed off as cool, trendy or "scientific". I just wanna shed light on the issue that back then people thought phrenology was good and cool and trendy and quirky and nowadays, there are people who pick up Nazi books, dont look at the FUCKING PUBLISHING DATE and then RUN WILD with it. And thats just me thinking in good faith, because bad faith would be saying they know its written by nazis, during the nazi era.

[@nicoledoubleyou]

Censoring it doesn't keep the ideas from spreading, I've never understood why people think this. All you do is make it seem like there's something worth knowing, making it seem cooler, more interesting, giving people reason to think there must be something to it, if they're hiding it so hard. And then fringe groups get obsessed, and none else knows enough about it to know what's true and what isn't, no one debunks it properly, so it spreads. If there weren't so much censorship about this stuff, more people would be educated on it and able to understand that it's not science and would know how to debunk it. You literally express the problem if censorship in your comment but it doesn't dawn on you that censorship didn't fix the problem it just made people get sneaky about it which is literally human nature. You tell someone they can't do or learn about something they are gonna want to know why and be intrigued and think about it more than if you taught them about it, explained why it was bad, provided proof, and then let them decide if they still want to dedicate their energy to it.

[@eloylie]

@nicoledoubleyou also my bad that i didnt talk about the common knowledge that i assume everyone knows how germany, compared to the US doesnt undermine and hide their history but has thorough education and prevention on how false eugenics and nazi ideology is ingrained into our school system from ages as young as 12.

[@EarlGreyLattex]

​@@nicoledoubleyoulook up the paradox of tolerance. Your point missed this bit

[@EarlGreyLattex]

I agree with you

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

I wonder what equivalents of phrenology we accept unquestioningly today.

[@wonder7798]

Curious if the Typhoid was inflicted upon him and the very people, the ones who took over

[@LassetUnsSpielen]

Phrenology could be used in modern age again to create video game characters

[@Davidbirdman101]

Those old cartoons are hilarious man! I love that wacky British humor.

[@LeonardCummler]

What does phrenology say about naturally occurring human horns? My second cousin grew cutaneous horns from where he rubbed his warty fingers across his forehead. I think the horns grew from him thinking evil thoughts with dirty hands! Now he’s living on the edge of town and is into cave spelunking. I fear one day he will crawl all the way down into hell and fit right in with the devils and demons down there. Wash your hands and say your prayers or else this could happen to you too! He refuses to let me try to angle grind his deformity off of his head even though his health insurance doesn’t cover de-horning! My priest is too freaked out to help and now the zoo won’t return my phone calls. -Lenny

[@fakeplaystore7991]

Yeah, imagine thinking that violent behavior could ever be race based. That would be total nonsense, specially in fiery but peaceful times like these.

[@worminterface4019]

3:49 not the time, man

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Agreed. I wouldn't make that joke if I were writing the script today

[@Horokiwibirb]

​@@PatKellyTeaches no don't, continue We need a mix of cultured humor every now and then

[@JNorth87]

Man, science sure made some missteps in the past.

[@Anon26535]

Hot take: phrenology isn't *wrong* exactly, people just used it as an excuse for a lot of made up shit to justify their bigotry. The truth is that a lot of hormones and other things that can affect bone structure do have demonstrable effects on the development of the brain which can affect personality.

[@TroyBrownTV]

Great vid

[@buddleiabee]

Is this recorded on 1.25 speed? My settings are on normal. It sounds too fast. Cant follow.

[@PatKellyTeaches]

My bad. My editing is much slower and deliberate these days

[@scooby7877]

5:06 should have been I hear that skullers have baptized the child before it has come into the world

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Lol, touché

[@allyabernathy4098]

5:00 the absolute pleasure in your voice as you read that 😂😂😂 great band name honestly 😂🤘💀

[@okcomics1635]

The governor of Oregon seems to agree with Morton and the like.

[@Hi_Im_Akward]

I didn't know these weird phrenology images were from this sudo scientific, but I've always hated them, even if they are meant to be funny.

[@XOPOIIIO]

Scientific racism gone not because it was dismissed scientifically, but because it is impossible to make any studies in highly politically censored field. It doesn't mean scientific racism is a viable discipline, but it means we can't prove is it viable or not, because only one side of the question can be vocal.

[@arzentvm]

wheres the eugenics vid i cant find it ?

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I haven't made it yet, but hopefully will this year

[@wonder7798]

Wonder is the bulging eyes were because of thyroid

[@michalsoukup1021]

I do not think that it is unfortunate when phrenologists gets typhus and dies, not at all.

[@bellytripper-nh8ox]

THERE IS **NO** SUCH TERM AS **PHRENOLOGY!!**

[@trevise684]

u sure those lines are dotted?

[@dannykeeler4018]

Did people try changing the shape of their head because of this

[@daemon.running]

Ah so this is like Gen Z and Astrology.

[@JimsMaher]

99% Invisible, episode 498, The Octagon House (07/05/22)

[@PatKellyTeaches]

I'm familiar with 99PI! In that episode, they mention that one of the Octagon houses is here in San Francisco, and it is indeed, unsettling

[@jarozita2715]

Fun fact: this subject is still covered in criminology major courses to this day. Not always as a bygone era "science."

[@MichaelWills-v5o]

Isaias Extension

[@EcclesiastesLiker-py5ts]

The origin of the sort of racism is Darwinism, and Darwinism is fundamentally racist. If we are just evolved monkeys then you can look at the outside of people, their skin, for example, and judge them on that basis. Darwinism encourages biological determinism, which inherently leads to racism.

[@ParadiseLordRyu]

Yeah, I guess you need appeals to emotion to disregard evolution.

[@jessiedevore3523]

😁 for the algorithm.

[@PulsatingShadow]

I think faculty psychology is very likely to make a comeback.

[@dathunderman4]

It kind of is. You see this with the advent of MRIs. Psychologists are basically using similar logic from phrenology to say “more blood flow in this region, which is the region we see most activity in when people are thinking creatively, therefore this person is likely to be more creative.” I studied psychology in undergrad and I was consistently let down by the explanations my professors would give to very far reaching conclusions. Had to study something else for grad school because I was a bit turned off by the the way psychology is currently being studied, especially since the average person reads these far-reaching conclusions found in a study without any ability to read/evaluate the methodology used.

[@Nohname]

​@@dathunderman4you know what youre talking about

[@weebcourse1018]

3:50 nice

[@iLOVEpicklesBRO28]

My mom developed broca's aphasia from brain cancer before she died. Its INSANE

[@DeportedDomingo]

FBI crime statistics by race.

[@a13m34]

Wasn't the FBI the biggest exporter of drugs in North America at that time?

[@LordMarcus]

How do we reconcile the thorough debunking of phrenology with the apparent phenomic traits of certain disorders such as Down syndrome? There seems to be a bit of universality to the personality traits and physical traits of individuals with Down syndrome without regard to race or class; is something like phrenology capable of diagnosing the disorder reliably without a genotypical assay of the individual? And why does Down syndrome often-perhaps overwhelmingly-leave people with distinctive and obvious facial and cranial morphologies in the first place?

[@collinbeal]

It isn't the skull that determines Down's Syndrome. Down's Syndrome is chromosomal in nature. So, no, you shouldn't use a quack science to diagnose individuals, nor do you need to. It's known during pregnancy that the baby will have Down's Syndrome. What you suggest is totally useless, and one must question why you would seek a solution for a dilemma that has already been solved with a much earlier and basically completely reliable testing methodology that doesn't involve a eugenics-flavored superstition.

[@LordMarcus]

@@collinbeal Remind me to reply later, I'm too exhausted atm

[@meilim6735]

I think the reason this question reads oddly is that Downs causes a LOT of other symptoms aside from the distinctice facial features (smaller eyes, flatter nose, softer rounder jaw etc). And we can pick it up super early with high reliability... So why would we resort to an inaccurate archaic branch of science to detect it when we already have better alternatives...? The means of testing for Downs during pregnancy are accurate and less invasive than... IDK getting your hands in there to grope a foetus' head?!? (Testing breaks into screening - using ultrasound and blood tests, docs check if baby is at higher risk of having downs. Then if yes, proceed to the diagnostic test - which indeed is riskier and involves DNA testing) If you meant to say the MOTHER/FATHER's skull would be indicative then... no. There is no correlation between skull shape and how the ovaries/testes function. The exception is maybe if one of the parents had a genetic anomaly that creates accompanying changes in the skull shape like Downs - then they could pass that genetic anomaly down. But, uhm, I don't think you need a phrenological test to tell that about the parents, it'll already be pretty obvious.

[@Coastal_Cruzer]

@@LordMarcusreminder

[@EarlGreyLattex]

​@@Coastal_CruzerI'm waiting on their response too. Cause they sound incredibly sketchy

[@whytebearconcepts]

Sounds like Iridology in a way. There's actually a Doctorate available for that.

[@hailholyghost]

"justify some high-evel bigotry", inconvenient facts, in other words.

[@EarlGreyLattex]

It isn't facts. It's bullshit and has been debunked over and over and OVER AGAIN

[@mistydhudd]

Comment for the algorithm. Content too good to not be served up to the masses.

[@mylindacasbarro777]

❤😅

[@ChorltonBrook]

9:20 Who debunked the fad?

[@iamcurious9541]

A comment for the algorithm. You are amazing!

[@camacassie]

How galling...

[@PatKellyTeaches]

Hey ohh!

[@StellaNoire]

Mutter Museum🫛🫛🫛🫛

[@samsungs6lite95]

I have a doctor friend is saying phrenology is how he rec9gnize crazy people... it says a lot about racism in the scientific scholar even today.

[@HandyMan657]

Intelligent design. HA! The things people make up.

[@philswift1]

So basically racist astrology

[@tyrlant2189]

There actually really are differences in ethnicities when it comes to skull size and shape just to be clear.

[@Zantsak]

Good video. It's a pity that you obsess about calling long-dead people racist. Rich people looked down on everyone who was not wealthy. Poor white men were also discriminated against. Please reconsider how you judge the long-dead from a different age.

[@daemon.running]

Hmm. Seems like CRT got some of its ideas from this.

[@arielsclamshellbra]

Lmao crt doesn't actually exist the way fox News tells you it does. If you want to call the teachings of the literally true facts of how the US came about and developed CRT, then sure go for it I guess. But I know I want my kids to learn the truth and learn to confront who they're descended from even if they're bad people, teaching kids anything other than the truth just to make white kids feel better is outrageous.

[@sirennexus1675]

Looks like someone knows nothing about CRT

[@daemon.running]

@sirennexus1675 yeah old cathode PC monitors, and tvs.