Alt text
-
Barges into Youtube
-
Uploads interesting videos weekly for a decade
-
Refuses to elaborate further
-
Heads off into the sunset
Image of Tom Scott flying under a helicopter in a harness
Removed by mod
I’d like him to do more, but maybe he’s done everything interesting enough to make it onto his channel. I’d rather he stop than start making lower quality (in terms of topics) videos.
Maybe he’s just embodying the quote: “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”.
Removed by mod
I’m honestly excited. He mentioned in the video how there will probably be some more experimental stuff, and I really like his experimental stuff. Money, for example, was really good. And there’s still Lateral for us to listen to while we wait.
He’s never been the same since the xnopyt incident…
Which is…?
https://youtu.be/aMgCBYgVwsI without the tracking.
you are my hero for today 🤗
I’m not sure, the video doesn’t seem that controversial.
In case internet sarcasm is sneaking past, the entire thing is a joke centered on the fact that Tom yells out after saying xnopyt. In the original video this is just to say the second word but people typically make edits and jokes that somehow it’s some pain or fear caused by saying xnopyt.
An absolute national treasure. People have been given MBEs or even OBEs for far lesser achievements.
I was thinking about this earlier. I’m not sure the OBE would consider his achievements to be noteworthy. If you look at other notable recipients, they all had careers spanning many decades, and the ones in entertainment all have backgrounds in more “classy” vocations (theater, film, music). I’m not sure they’d consider “some guy posting videos on the Internet” (from their perspective) to be of sufficient pedigree. That, and occasionally poking fun at the government and royalty probably hasn’t put him very high on the list.
However, i think that even if he was offered knighthood, he’d probably decline it, either because he thinks he doesn’t deserve it or because he would be too nervous or embarrassed to accept it.
Brady Haran (numberphile etc.) was made an OAM, the Australian equivalent of an OBE, largely for his YouTube work. So it’s not impossible.
I’d argue that isn’t quite the same thing.
For starters, OAM doesn’t confer the title of “Sir” or “Dame” for some reason despite the award still coming from the Monarch of Australia (i.e. the Monarch of the United Kingdom). It seems to me that this was a deliberate choice to not to “dilute” the title when they created the award, suggesting OAM doesn’t carry quite the same intended prestige as OBE.
Secondly, Brady Haran’s tenure on YouTube is 6 years longer than Tom’s (2008 vs 2014), if we’re talking about regularly posting videos vs just uploading random projects, and Brady’s videos directly promote higher education and academic research through his collaboration with the University of Nottingham. He also worked for the BBC as a journalist for six years before that. This isn’t to diminish Tom’s work, but I think objectively speaking he’s not quite as prolific.
Thirdly, I believe Australian citizens can still receive OBEs as citizens of a Commonwealth realm, so Brady may still receive one down the road, especially if he sticks with it. But if he hasn’t gotten one yet, I doubt that Tom would at this point in time.
All valid but OAMs and OBEs are exactly equivalent, both are the lowest honour and neither confer a title. Only much higher ranks from each honour system KBE/DBE or AK/AD make you a Knight/Dame
When I saw this come up on my feed, I thought to myself that it’s probably one of those “this is my last video… Of 2023.” Kind of things. Some kind of rugpull. But no, he was just saying goodbye to his posting schedule and taking a break.
I wish you the best, Tom. I’ve always appreciated the critical and factual analysis you’ve provided on a variety of topics. You’ve provided everyone with great content and valuable, factual information over the past decade. I’m sad that you’re leaving, but I wish you all the best, all the same.
Thank you.
Genuinely heartbroken but happy for him at the same time.
What’s he doing?
Literally flying off into the sunset. He will no longer make YouTube videos. He said he might make the occasional one from time to time, but he might not.
He’s taking a break for a while, and won’t do something as regimented as weekly researched videos again. He’s still doing Lateral, his podcast, and a few smaller projects like the newsletter.
I’m hoping after he takes his break, he’s able to find a healthy balance where he can create several videos a year when he really wants to, and finds it creatively fulfilling. It really seems like he loves exploring the topics he tends to cover, so it seems unlikely he won’t return at some point. How long the break will be seems to be the biggest unknown.
Edit: Removed tracking, thanks for the reminder
Here’s the link without tracking:
You can delete everything including and after the ? to remove tracking.
only British person I respect
Map Men slander.
Dont forget Steve Mould
They are goated!
Legendary exit for a legendary creator
Godspeed, you magnificent bastard
I absolutely love this man, I will miss the regular content but he will still pop up in other peoples videos im sure. Cheers, Tom!
There isn’t a single downvote in this post, yet. And it has already 1K up vote. It says something about Tom.
im gonna downvote to spite this comment
This isn’t any form of evil, but really a chaotic neutral.
All villains start somewhere
I don’t see a single downvote, or is it my client acting up.
i dont have the heart to actually do it
Congrats, you’ve encouraged 4 downvotes
My wife started to tear up during the final montage. Unrelated, I happened to be sitting under a sprinkler.
I was very sad to see Tom’s video. He has always delivered content as it should be. No bullshit at all, but rather informative, well-researched assessments. I have the utmost respect for people like Tom and can well understand that he simply can’t carry on like this under the current conditions.
Tom Scott is a mother fucking international treasure
He’s like the lawful good version of Colin furze
He’s like the lawful good version of Colin furze
I think this is the best description I’ve seen. Colin Furze is chaotic neutral at best, but I 100% can see Tom Scott being the epitome of lawful good for youtubers.
Colin is my hero but I think his ranking depends on what day you classify him.
Screwdrive tank driving Colin furze is different from high speed rotating chef knife belt colin furze who is wholly distinct from Colin Furze mining company who doesn’t seek out any permits.
I can’t quit figure out whether he would be the best or worst neighbor and existence. Still absolutely love the guy though
Colin Furze takes oil money.
I’m pretty sure he’ll take money from anybody that’ll give it to him if he can make something remarkably dangerous with it and film it.
I hear this gif
Removed by mod
Absolutely zero disrespect intended here, but what does he do? Like, what’s sort of vibe/stuff does he do? Only curious as I’m looking for a channel to peruse…
Mostly short form explainers about interesting subjects, presented in a sort of breathless British TV presenter style. Like a young Attenborough but less posh. Pretty good channel.
Removed by mod
Like a young Attenborough but less posh
*Middle aged, maybe. Certainly not young anymore
I think short form is more like tiktok/youtube shorts length now. I’d put tom scott as medium length.
You’re right, the term has taken on that meaning by now. It’s just relatively short compared to the multi hour video essays I tend to consume the most.
Wasn’t he on conputerphile a lot too? That channel is amazing
Hard to pin Down. Most of his stuff is going to unique and unusual places and customs and why they end up like that. But he also does some pretty great videos on linguistics and computer science.
I would say the best to describe his content is that he is a journalist doing those old school “general interest” style news stories.
My best answer would be for you to go to his YouTube channel, find a video that even mildly piques your interest, and watch him. Like the other person said, he’s hard to pin down because he doesn’t cover one specific field of interest, but he does make sure to research everything he’s talking about. He can even make talking about poorly designed road intersections interesting.
Thank fucking hell! I was looking for a link or YouTube channel name.
You know those shows that your parents might’ve had you watch as a kid that were about exploring and learning about new places? Basically that for adults
Man, i gonna miss him, i 'm surprised no tv channel attempt to grab him.
I bet they have. Tom Scott is just too pure.
I’ve heard in a couple of places that the TV, streaming, and movie systems can’t really make an appealing offer to top-tier YouTubers. YouTubers want the prestige of being a “real” content producer, and not “just” a YouTuber, but non-YT producers can’t offer the level of control one has over their own channel. It’s not even about money, it’s about taking orders from some executive about not only content but monetization as well.
He said once his iconic red shirt and grey sweater started from a weeks long TV shoot he was doing where everyone wore a different color and he naturally ended up with several identical outfits for continuity throughout the shoot
