The Annoying 'That's Bad' in Science YT Videos

[bland]

Just about every science related you tube use this patronising expression such that it's almost de rigueur. I find it mildly irritating and distracting as I can hear it coming halfway through whatever they are saying. Everyone from Arvin Ash to Sabine (bee) Hossenfelder and everyone in between including all the space oriented channels.

It usually follows an explanation of the dire consequences than can eventual in a particular circumstance. That should be enough, but then comes the inevitable 'and that's bad', sometimes 'and that's not good' for variety.

/whinge.

 

[256bits]

OK I'll bite.

What's bad?

 

[kuruman]

OK I'll bite.

What's bad?

I don't understand either and that's bad!

 

[Bystander]

What's bad?

I don't understand either and that's bad!

Think about it.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Meh. It's a tired joke employing bathos to lighten the mood. I don't see it as patronising at all. It's just clichéd.

 

[berkeman]

https://quotegeek.com/quotes-from-movies/ghostbusters/206/

Egon: Don’t cross the streams.
PeterDonis: Why?
Egon: It would be bad!
PeterDonis: I’m fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean “bad”?
Egon: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Raymond: Total protonic reversal.
PeterDonis: That’s bad. Okay. Alright, important safety tip, thanks Egon.

 

[bland]

Don Lincoln, pbs spacetime, and lot of other otherwise excellent sober presenters. The one that predicated this thread was the latest information on the Webb, when it got to the bit about why they have heaters, 'because there will be water trapped in the carbon fibre which will outgas and if that settles on the mirror it will freeze solid... wait for it... 'and that's bad'.

It more often used in absolutely preposterous ways like if you do x then all your blood will boil and you will explode... 'and that's not good'.

Now whenever dire consequences are alluded to you can hear it coming a mile away.

 

[kuruman]

Now whenever dire consequences are alluded to you can hear it coming a mile away.

And is that good or bad? I'm asking because I never had a pet peeve like that and that's good, I think.

 

[jedishrfu]

It comes with promoting your videos. Science videos in particular can only gain interest by implying some sort of catastrophic event will happen or maybe not.

Even newspaper copywriters did it with their article titling. The most famous being Mark Twains take on a tragedy that has yet to happen. (couldn't find a good reference but remember the headline vaguely)

 

[fresh_42]

This is a rhetorical figure. If you agree on the obvious you are more likely to agree on all of it. Since the rest is nothing the listener can agree upon by their own judgment, it kind of brings them to be convinced it was right. And there is of course the small effect of funniness. It is hard to be funny while talking about scientific facts. But humor is another trait for listening. In fact, this little linguistic figure combines all three classical rhetorical means:

Roman rhetoric distinguished three types of effect and designated them with the terms "docere/probare", "conciliare/delectare" and "movere/flectere".

My proposal is to give up those articles and videos for good if you do not like that they all use the same figure. They are no substitute for a good textbook anyway. And you won't find "that's bad" in a textbook.

 

[russ_watters]

It comes with promoting your videos. Science videos in particular can only gain interest by implying some sort of catastrophic event will happen or maybe not.

Or something wonderful is going to happen. Definitely, soon.

 

[jedishrfu]

You can see a lot of these ploys in the boringly addictive TikTok videos like:
- wait for it and then there’s nothing
- says part 1 stops short and says part 2 …
- person mulls a few seconds then the reveal
- what just happened which leads to nothing happened
- ask a question pop up some answers and say nope

 

[OCR]

.

"Well, that ain't good". . .
--Buster ScruggsLol. . . 'tweren't neither. .

.

 

[Averagesupernova]

I really do wish my life was so void of things to p!ss me off that something that insignificant would irritate me.

 

[Jarvis323]

I can understand the annoyance. I would lump it into the larger pattern, where entertainment becomes formulaic and everything ends up following the same optimal formula, designed to be addictive. And for some, it turns out that the optimal style isn't their cup of tea. It doesn't make me angry, but I feel like it probably has a deleterious effect. I felt the same way when reality television took over, and, as an example, instead of the non-optimal National Geographic programming about wildlife and world culture, we get optimally addictive hit shows about big-foot and weird and dramatic staged beefs between odd ball characters that do something only tangentially related to nature.

 

[fresh_42]

I can understand the annoyance.

The problem with this thread is, that I started to recognize it! It wasn't annoying until now. I recently watched a show on astronomy and someone explained the merger of two black holes and what it meant if such an event was nearby ...

 

[Jarvis323]

The problem with this thread is, that I started to recognize it! It wasn't annoying until now. I recently watched a show on astronomy and someone explained the merger of two black holes and what it meant if such an event was nearby ...

It's strange the effect that consciously thinking about something can have.




Some additional things you can do to make life more annoying: read about orange/cyan color grading theory, and then pay close attention to the color grading in each movie you watch, play close attention and try to analyze the background music on reality shows, play close attention to the speaking styles of news reporters, you-tubers, etc, and try to find similarities, pay attention to the special dings/chimes in video games after task completion, and at the end of short viral videos.

 

[phinds]

What, does NO ONE here watch South Park ??

 

[fresh_42]

What, does NO ONE here watch South Park ??

Lousy graphics.

 

[phinds]

Lousy graphics.

Deliberately

 

[fresh_42]

Deliberately

I also do not watch it deliberately.

 

[fresh_42]

What, does NO ONE here watch South Park ??

I have checked. I could stand it for 5 minutes. It is just childish fecal humor. Not mean enough, not black enough, and not DADA enough for my taste. It looks as if its only purpose is to annoy the bible belt. Our level of tolerance in Europe is significantly higher than that. The life of Brian is repeated at least once every year and no one bothers.

The techno concert on the other channel is better.

 

[BillTre]

My son watches South Park. Some parts he really likes.
It is those that I occasionally see, due to him.
Probably more fun than watching the whole thing.

 

[fresh_42]

My son watches South Park. Some parts he really likes.
It is those that I occasionally see, due to him.
Probably more fun than watching the whole thing.

The show I looked into was all about menstrual cycles transformed into a bleeding lower back due to an infection and then made fun of becoming an adult. Childish nonsense.

 

[BillTre]

My approach is more selective.

 

[fresh_42]

My approach is more selective.

I keep being a Monty Python fan instead. Maybe my expectations are too high. I prefer humor that is funny on at least three levels, satire, or so silly that it is Dadaism. An animated Jesus (South Park) isn't funny, only embarrassing flat. I think there is a significant difference between breaking taboos in Europe and in the US. However, if I go on explaining what I mean, I will get shouted out as anti-American again.

Guess it's time to follow the advice of another mentor:

Really, you should get a hobby...

which has been meant as the polite version of p*** *ff.

 

[BillTre]

I like Python too.
Have never seen what you describe. I probably would not watch it at all unless I get trusted recommendations.

By the way, one of my favorite songs (Galaxy Song):

 

[phinds]

Jeez, I didn't mean to start a rant on South Park, I was just pointing out (indirectly) that "that's bad" is the recurring phrase of a character on it. 95% of the time it's "drugs are bad, OK?" but the other 5% is what ever he's talking about is bad.

 

[bland]

I really do wish my life was so void of things to p!ss me off that something that insignificant would irritate me.

It's a blessing, I have to admit.

The reason though I find it probably more depressing than irritating is that in the same way reputable news sites get drawn into clickbait, so I have watched sober science writers become ever more jocular as if that's what is required. It's been like a tide has swept over everyone the past couple of years.

Smolin doesn't do it, and Brian Cox in The Quantum Universe shows how to make an accessible popular science book without dumbing down or the need for constant little jokes. Hossenfelder also didn't do it in her Lost In Math but now it's de rigueur on her channel.

 

[Melbourne Guy]

I felt the same way when reality television took over, and, as an example, instead of the non-optimal National Geographic programming about wildlife and world culture, we get optimally addictive hit shows about big-foot and weird and dramatic staged beefs between odd ball characters that do something only tangentially related to nature.

And when those reality shows tell you what's coming after the ad break, have the ad break, then tell you what happened before the ad break? Surely that's more annoying than YouTube hosts throwing in a conspiratorial "...that's bad" to build the tension? At least you can leave comments on their YouTube clips to suggest they stop doing it. TV is all one way traffic

 

[Swamp Thing]

... The need for constant little jokes. Hossenfelder also didn't do it in her Lost In Math but now it's de rigueur on her channel.

Like this post if Hossenfelder's "telephone ringing" annoys you.