A Physics Prof Bet Me $10,000 I'm Wrong
16,333,042
Published 2021-06-30
For more information about the Veritasium Science Communication Contest check out -- ve42.co/contest
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The wager agreement: ve42.co/wager
Prof. Kusenko's slides: ve42.co/Kusenko
My rebuttal: ve42.co/rebuttal
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Huge thanks to Xyla Foxlin for building the model cart, and making the instructions so accessible to the public. Check out Xyla's video -- • Building the Vehicle Physicists Calle...
A massive thanks to Bill Nye, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and Sean Carroll for witnessing the signing of the wager.
A huge thanks to Prof. Alexander Kusenko for being a man of honour -- it's a difficult thing to change your mind, especially in a public forum.
A huge thanks to Prof. Mark Drela for the interview and help making sure we got the physics right.
A massive thanks to Rick Cavallaro for making Blackbird, all your insights, analysis, data, and general help with these videos -- it was so fun to work with you on this crazy project -- check out Rick's channel ve42.co/Rick
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References
M. Drela. Dead-Downwind Faster Than The Wind (DDWFTTW)
Analysis (Jan 2009) -- ve42.co/Drela
2013 AAPT United States Physics Olympiad Semifinal Exam -- ve42.co/AAPT2013
Rick's treadmill footage -- ve42.co/Treadmill
Rick's multiple explanations of how Blackbird works -- ve42.co/DDWFTTW
Blackford, B. L. (1978). The physics of a push‐me pull‐you boat. American Journal of Physics, 46(10), 1004-1006. — ve42.co/Blackford1979
Ruina corrects errors in the above paper: ruina.tam.cornell.edu/research/topics/miscellaneou…
Forum discussions -- ve42.co/forum Blog -- ve42.co/blog1 and retraction ve42.co/BlogRetraction
Bauer, A. B. (1969, April). Faster than the Wind. In First AIAA Symposium on Sailing. -- ve42.co/Bauer1969
Bauer's Obituary -- ve42.co/BauerObituary
Gaunaa, M., Øye, S., & Mikkelsen, R. F. (2009). Theory and design of flow driven vehicles using rotors for energy conversion. In EWEC 2009 Proceedings online EWEC
Md. Sadak Ali Khan, Syed Ali Sufiyan, Jibu Thomas George, Md. Nizamuddin Ahmed. Analysis of Down-Wind Propeller Vehicle. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 3, 4. (April 2013) ISSN 2250-3153.
The Manim Community Developers. (2021). Manim – Mathematical Animation Framework (Version v0.13.1) [Computer software]. www.manim.community/
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Special thanks to Patreon supporters: Mike Tung, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Ismail Öncü Usta, Bill Linder, Paul Peijzel, Crated Comments, Anna, Mac Malkawi, Michael Schneider, Oleksii Leonov, Jim Osmun, Tyson McDowell, Ludovic Robillard, Jim Buckmaster, fanime96, Juan Benet, Ruslan Khroma, Robert Blum, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Vincent, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Alfred Wallace, Arjun Chakroborty, Joar Wandborg, Clayton Greenwell, Pindex, Michael Krugman, Cy 'kkm' K'Nelson, Sam Lutfi, Ron Neal
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Written and Edited by Derek Muller
Animation by Mike Radjabov
Manim equations by Jonny Hyman
Filmed by Emily Zhang and Raquel Nuno
Music from Epidemic Sound epidemicsound.com/ and by Jonny Hyman
Additional video supplied by Getty Images
Produced by Emily Zhang, Petr Lebedev and Derek Muller
All Comments (21)
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Derek, can you just turn Veritasium into a gambling channel where scientists with opposing views put money on the table and face off to try to convince one another of the true answer? I'd watch that.
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"You have a much lower error rate than most youtubers" is probably the highest mark of approval you can get from a uni professor !!!
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Kusenko, you legend. Anyone who speaks his mind in a situation like this, gets corrected, and controls his ego like advanced human, putting fun and progress first is the MVP.
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Kusenko has my respect, losing bet in your own science and keeping it civil and admitting he is wrong is truly respectful. he has the balls
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the world needs more scientists, disagreeing about something and the only thing that happens is a very civil discussion.
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Wow, I forgot that rational and intelligent people who can have a disagreement, openly listen to arguments against their point of view, and then admit they were wrong and change their minds still exist. It's such a rare thing nowadays.
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i love that the professor only was challenging this point because he thaught "you made a mistake here which you dont often do and i dont want you to accidently spread misinformation since you usually are a very trustworthy source"
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Professor Kusenko gets my respect. Being able to accept being wrong and pay out the bet shows a lot about his personality. His students are lucky to have him as a mentor.
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The professor is a true man of science. He was wrong, admitted failure, and learned something new! If only all scientists were so pure.
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He disagreed, he still disagreed and then he realised that he was wrong and conceded his position. If only matters of politics and other public debate would be handled in such professional manner…
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Awesome understanding and explanation. The best part of this explanation is that it is mathematically and physically robust because of those equations of power. This is why Veritasium is my favorite YouTube channel, a consistency of good quality content that can be seen in every video. And with this, this video has become my favorite video on my favorite YouTube channel. Well done!⛵⛵
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Being wrong is the best thing to happen, providing the opportunity to learn what one didn’t know before. Being respectful and humble about being wrong is championship caliber!
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Are we not gonna talk about how he can just summon Neil degrasse Tyson and Bill Nye at his will
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"Disagreement in science are not problems, but they are opportunities for everyone to learn something" - Derek Muller......Nice one👌👌
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I really appreciate the graciousness of both parties. As stated at the end, 'Disagreements don't have to be a problem (source of friction between sides) but an opportunity for everyone to learn.' If only the politicians could apply that principle, how much better the planet would be.
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Those "wheels over ground speed VS propeller through air speed" explanation, the lever analogy, and the demo of the moving board with the big and small wheels contraption are all excellent. Thanks!!
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"You have a much lower error rate than most people on YouTube." That is low-key the best endorsement from a physics professor I've ever heard.
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Being wrong is painful, accepting that you’re wrong takes courage. Bet or no bet, I admire the professor and veritasium
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I love seeing people come together on things like this! Need more of this these days. ❤
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I am amazed by the quality of the scientific reasoning and open-minded approach in all those videos !!! It is far beyond my limited math/physics abilities but I love it !!! So great work Derek !!!
