5 ms·

Thunderf00t isn't just some average Joe on the street. The guy has a PhD in chemistry and has dedicated a decade to educate the world at large about matters of

• jshevek 10y ago
  Thunderf00t isn't just getting hate from people who take their (otherwise understandable) admiration of Elon Musk too far, Thunderf00t is also getting hate from those who are deeply invested in 3rd wave feminist ideology.
• mdorazio 10y ago
  How does a PhD in chemistry make you an expert in mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics?
  • jshevek 10y ago
    "Expert" is a vague term, but the parent didn't claim that it did. Do you think that one needs to be an 'expert' (whatever that means) in mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics to make meaningful criticism of a project like this?
    • argonaut 10y ago
      Yes. (for technical criticism)
      • jshevek 10y ago
        I hope you don't take that to such an extreme as to think that every line item of criticism in which Thunderf00t applied general science principles to the hyperloop paper under discussion is invalid due to a lack of sufficient technical expertise. Right? Surely Thunderf00t is qualified to make some of the criticism he made? I would agree that there are likely a few areas in which his criticism exceeded his understanding, though I have yet to read a criticism of his criticism that doesn't mis-represent his claims. I still don't see the specific relevance of mdorazio's comment to computerex's.
        • nikcheerla 10y ago
          Read schiffern's comment. I know nothing about engineering so I can't tell if what he's saying is correct or not – but that's the point, isn't it?
        • erikpukinskis 10y ago
          At this depth of the thread we're not discussing whether Thunderf00t is correct in his analysis. Computerex claimed that Thunderf00t wasn't "just some average Joe on the street." His background in chemistry was brought up to show that he has special standing. Mdorazio countered that from the perspective of mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics, he is in fact an average Joe on the street. Doesn't mean he's wrong, just means he doesn't have special standing.
          • jshevek 10y ago
            In my opinion, valarauca's comment is the correct place to start looking at the context, here. V. started the conversation in a way that could easily be construed as an effort to discredit Thunderf00t. To me, Computerex seems to simply be saying "Thunderf00t has sufficient general knowledge of science to make his debunking videos worthy of watching". You mention 'special standing', which suggests an 'all or nothing' approach to categorizing people's status and knowledge, rather than a more reality-accommodating recognition that expertise and knowledge are a matters of degree. Mdorazio did not state what you say they did, they instead asked a leading question in which words were placed in another person's mouth. Further, Mdorazio would be incorrect to state that "from the perspective of mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics, he is in fact an average Joe on the street." because the average Joe on the street, relatively speaking, is not as equipped as Thunderf00t to understand issues of mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics. I'm not saying that Thunderf00t is or is not properly equipped to make each criticism, just pointing out the problem with 'all or nothing' style thinking here. You would be right to question whether Thunderf00t has sufficiently advanced and detailed knowledge to make each and every one of the criticisms that he makes, but this would depend on the specific criticism and the specifics of Thunderf00ts knowledge. As it happens, not even having a PhD in fluid mechanics would guarantee that the critic has the relevant knowledge, nor is thinking through the problem correctly.