There is No Algorithm for Truth - with Tom Scott

How does science get communicated in an age of social media?

In this Discourse, Tom Scott talks about science communication in the age of social media, how to be popular on the internet, and dealing with a world where view counts are often more important than truth.

Tom Scott is a British entertainer, educator, YouTuber, web developer and former presenter of 'Gadget Geeks' on Sky One. He graduated from the University of York with a degree in linguistics. He has a popular YouTube channel with over 1.6 million subscribers and more than 325 million video views as of June 2019.

In more than fifteen years of publishing on the internet, Tom has visited the High Arctic, passed out in a centrifuge, and somehow got three million people to watch a video about why the British plug is a great invention.

This talk and Q&A was filmed in the Ri on 27 September 2019.

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A very special thank you to our Patreon supporters who help make these videos happen, especially:
Andrew McGhee, Dave Ostler, David Lindo, David Schick, Erik Shepherd, Greg Nagel, Jan Bannister, Joe Godenzi, John C. Vesey, Kellas Lowery, Lasse T. Stendan, Lester Su, Osian Gwyn Williams, Paul Brown, Radu Tizu, Rebecca Pan, Robert Hillier, Robert Reinecke and Roger Baker.
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[TomScottGo]

Thank you so much to all the team at the RI for inviting me! The memory of lecturing in the Faraday Theatre is going to stay with me for a long time.

[columbusmyhw]

Came for Tom Scott.

Stayed to hear Tom Scott berate me for coming for Tom Scott.

[das]

I will forever be jealous of Toms ability to keep an audience gripped on every word he says. And with that I now realise what he means by an authoritative voice…

[araw_buwan]

Tom Scott's public speaking skills are to die for. I wonder what practice or journey Tom went through to be THIS good at public speaking? He oozes charisma and authority, and audiences can't help but be captivated by him. I'd love to know how he became such a master at public speaking as an aspiring public speaker myself.

[alex]

Fact: the algo recommended this, i clicked cause i like tom’s vids.
Tom roasted everything about that fact for an hour.
It’s alright. Cause tom is my friend. Im convinced of that.

[neypomuk]

Rare footage of Tom Scott not wearing a red t-shirt

[lowstrife]

It's been 2 years - EDIT: 4 years.

And this video ages better and better. Tom just nailed both the presentation and the framing of his talk.

[thomasrosebrough]

Incredible that this came out pre-pandemic. The part about "antivax" hit especially hard.

[eleanorharman]

Part of me is disappointed and disturbed that Tom is not wearing a red t-shirt.

[justins]

That moment when the algorithm summons you to learn about itself in a video.

[virtualrealitea]

"In more than fifteen years of publishing on the internet, Tom has visited the High Arctic, passed out in a centrifuge, and somehow got three million people to watch a video about why the British plug is a great invention."

That last one perfectly captures the brilliance of his channel XD

[Cloudsurfer]

i actually emailed Tom and he replied to me. i was so stunned and he was lovely. i was just about starting content creation and bless him, i asked thee worst questions... but he replied and was super nice about it. something i am sure he has been asked a million times. i thought that really reflected a lot about what type of person he must be deep down.

[oxybrightdark]

I love listening to my friend Tom Scott. He’s factual sounding, with relatable moments. And he’s my friend and I’m not his.

[andie_pants]

From "Two Drums and an Cymbal Fall Off a Cliff" to presenting from behind that legendary desk. Well done, Tom.

[tfpgjjc]

This guy is so believable. I love how cheekily honest and open he is and all the irony surrounding this.

[MLIOGJXNUYAT]

I watched another video titled "There is No Algorithm for Truth", which discussed the mathematics, information theory, and logic which proved that. So the misguided "algorithm" (in Tom's sense) thought I would like this one. I enjoyed a few of his videos in the past, and knew *that* sort of thing seemed an unlikely topic for him, so I clicked out of curiosity. And was surprised but not disappointed.

[ReidarWasenius]

Greetings from Finland. The Algorithm suggested I watch this video. I had never heard about Tom Scott. He spoke very well and the topic was interesting, so I listened to the end. I will now immediately look up other videos by and with Tom Scott. I am eagerly waiting to see what the Servers feed me...

[TheFlyingSatan]

"You gotta remember, all these big companies, Google, Facebook, Twitter, they are essentially advertising compani-" (Ad cuts in)

[the_weird_one]

From all of 33:44 to 45:45 really hit me like a truck. I realised that I literally only watch Tom Scott because of how charming he is to me as a person. He's so interesting, and funny and I feel like I have a personal friendship. I am barely interested in anything he talks about - I don't care about g - force or an island that has too much power, but I am interested in him. I enjoy all the memes made about him, the community about him. Literally, even look through these comments, all most all of them are about how he doesn't age, or how he only wears red shirts or something of the like. I literally only like Tom Scott for Tom Scott, and not for anything scientific he talks about.

[MaskedNozza]

That was fantastic. As Tom explained, the algorithm is always dangerous and I think we all have a moral imperative to never believe something outright from someone on the internet. Creators have a responsibility to fact-check as much as they possibly can and be honest if something is opinion like Tom was. And we as viewers have a responsibility to double-check and cross-reference what we hear from educators, to inform them when what they say doesn't match up with the consensus or reality, and to protect others from falling into the same mistakes.