The Creator of Vsauce Wants Us to Stop Underestimating People’s Intelligence - Facts So Romantic

Michael Stevens’ videos range from 10 to 30 minutes and blend philosophy, mathematics, and science together: “Which way is down?” and “How to count past infinity” are good examples.Vsauce / YouTube Red

What does the science educator of today look like? With the rise of streaming technologies, would-be educators no longer need a network deal to reach an audience. Case in point: Michael Stevens.

Stevens created Vsauce, a YouTube channel originally focusing on games that amassed a large following—over 18 million subscribers and 1.2 billion views after 10 years. Publishing on YouTube gave Stevens the freedom to experiment, so he began to explore his lifelong interest in science, inspired by the science educators of his own childhood, like Mr. Wizard and Beakman.

Today his videos range from 10 to 30 minutes and blend philosophy, mathematics, and science together: “Which way is down?” and “How to count past infinity” are good examples. Stevens’ success spurred the creation of Mind Field, his YouTube Red series that focuses on how we study our psychology. Recently, Stevens has been touring with Mythbuster Adam Savage for Brain Candy Live and preparing for Mind Field’s second season, which