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Comment by geocrasher | Hacker News Reader

He is definitely knowledgeable, but strikes me as too much of a fanboy to be taken seriously. I have a hard time taking his videos all that seriously. And it's not about his knowledge, it's about his presentation.

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I take him seriously (although frankly there's no requirement that it all be serious) and enjoy some of his stuff but it's true that sometimes the screaming glee level and emotional outbursts are way beyond my comfort zone, landing somewhere between cringe and get me out of here.

Reminds me of the launches I have seen where I really wanted to soak in the thumping sound of the rocket engines, but the people nearby are just screaming at the top of their lungs… "America!!!" as if that's helping anything at all.

He's also friends with a previously Tesla-focused YouTuber (name redacted, but rhymes with "Ken Mullins") who imho sold out to affiliate and sponsorship deals to the point where I lost all respect for him (the friend) and can no longer trust a word he says. So I have a suspicious eye on Tim's fire hose of cash harvesting mechanisms, but he seems to be staying legit so far. And he does have fantastic content. Also I'm not saying he doesn't deserve the cash he's earning; he puts it to good use and has a growing staff, as I understand it.

Classic SpaceX fanboys, always making 90 minute documentaries about the history of every Russian rocket engine.

If you can pick your video to base your assessment of my comment on, then so can I:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7STa-tiQajQ

And by the way, I never mentioned SpaceX

I watched the first 5 minutes of that video and it just seems like someone talking about something they’re interested in, in a relatively normal way. He’s definitely a spaceflight fan but I didn’t see anything that unusual in the part I watched

Did you link the wrong video? You linked a top 10 list that SpaceX did not win.

Take seriously? Ok let’s use his last Russian rocket program history piece….what exactly did you feel was factually inaccurate about it?

> And it's not about his knowledge, it's about his presentation.

They're not quibbling with the factual content.

Weren't you aware? learning is #SeriousBusiness, no fun allowed.

It's not about fun it's about getting past the "ZOMG SPACEX!!!!!" stage.

I know you are getting a lot of snarky comments, but honestly I know what you are saying. I can't watch his channel for whatever that gushiness thing is.

I appreciate that. Thanks.

Worth checking it out again, he toned it down a lot recently IMO. Still prefer Scott Manley, but only astronaut gets the level of access like that. I mean Elon showed him basically everything in front of a camera.

There's definitely reason to watch his channel, and that particular two part series was one I consumed in whole. Loved it. HUGE takeaways from it.

It is a different type of learning. Eg overview and fun facts vs deep understanding.

Different strokes for different folks.

I never said anything about his accuracy.

I guess some people's exuberance can turn people off, but honestly its great in my opinion. Why should someone's joyful exuberance for something make his educational content not worth watching? The guy is obviously just very passionate about spaceflight and people who are pushing the boundaries of science/technology. I think 99% percent of the people I talk to approach this kind of stuff with mundane indifference and cynicism, so I think seeing someone genuinely passionate and excited by it is a breath of fresh air.

I sincerely appreciate his passion. It just goes over the top for my personality and keeps me from really getting into it.

Yeah fair enough, I totally get that.

I find he toned down the fanboy aspect a bit. A few years ago, he could have been part of SpaceX marketing department.

He still loves SpaceX, and to be fair, who doesn't. You may not like Elon Musk, his fanboys, the outrageous claims, and the way the company is run, but most of the exciting news in rocketry for the last decade are about SpaceX. But for the last few years, it is clear that he makes some efforts to be impartial and focus on the technical aspects.

And you should watch the videos he made with Elon Musk when he visited SpaceX. I expected little more than an ad for SpaceX, and it turned out surprisingly technical and hype-free.

I did watch both those videos, and they were excellent! Well, Elon's parts were excellent. I still found the questions to be more on the fanboi side than the engineering side, and that's okay. It's his brand, he can do what he likes.

I prefer Scott Manley's approach to things, and so I watch him instead. And when he says that EverydayAstronaut has a great video, I go watch it :)

I understand the sentiment: he comes across as one of those "hype guys" who's always talking about get-rich-quick schemes, but he's honestly incredibly knowledgeable about rocketry. He toured Starbase with Elon and asked questions that belayed a deep understanding of the mechanics involved.

> too much of a fanboy to be taken seriously

I would be really interested to know why "caring too much" is a disqualification.

Based on what he's said elsewhere, it isn't "caring too much" that's the issue, it's just his style. Scott Manley isn't any less enthusiastic about space or SpaceX, but his style is a lot less 'hyper'.

Maybe a better comparison would be that Everyday Astronaut's style is a lot like 'new YouTube', fast paced, with a strong emphasis on being exciting etc, including the stereotypical big YouTuber slick studio setup etc.

Scott Manley's style is more of 'old YouTube' (fits given how long he's been doing things), a more casual and slow paced but still informative style in a sort of standard framework that isn't all too flashy, just casually recorded from his room.

Personally I too prefer Scott Manley's style over EA's, although I'll still watch EA for interesting enough content. With Scott's videos I can watch them essentially whenever I see them, while with EA's videos I feel like I can only enjoy them when I'm feeling energetic, as otherwise the style feels kind of draining.

In the end though, it's down to personal preference.

I completely agree, but the fanboy aspect isn't really my main sticking point, it's his tone that feels like he's teaching elementary schoolers something.

He's teaching literal rocket science to the masses.

Isn't that the point of the channel? Making astronomy accessible to "Everyday" people?

I've seen this kind of comment before about his presentation, and I don't really understand it. It's true that he's a fanboy and that's especially visible in his video interviews/visits with Elon Musk, but the style of those videos is markedly different from the more educational ones which are often trying to cover a topic with a lot of detail while remaining relatively accessible.

I watched the video version of the article linked here this morning, and don't recall any part that was fawning over anyone or anything in particular.

What is it about his presentation that puts you off?

I don't know what the right word is for it. I used "fanboy" but maybe there's some other better word. Somebody else above used "gushiness" I think and that sounds about right.

It's like having a friend who won't shut up about a new sushi place they found. Yes, the sushi is amazing. Yes, the staff is nice. Yes, the atmosphere is great. And I could enjoy it more if my friend would stop making a big deal about every little thing about it.

Edit: Just skipped through the video this thread is about and that vibe just won't go away. I don't feel like I'm being informed, I feel like I'm being sold. The information itself is very, very good!

For what it's worth, the Professor of Rock on YT has the same vibe for me.

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