Online science education resources

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In this thread I will list good online science education resources as I happen to come across them, and I would like to request that others here also use this thread to recommend good online science education resources.

For now: I recently came across an excellent Youtube channel, Kathy Loves Physics & History, about the history of various discoveries in physics. Kathy Joseph also has a website that includes the scripts of her videos, for those who would prefer to read them.

She made a video pooping on Tesla and made fun of him because she didn't understand his math. According to my calculation, his math was correct but I'm not 100% sure. Anyway I dislike her channel because of that.

What, specifically, are you referring to as "his math"? Are you talking about 2-phase motors vs. 3-phase motors, as discussed in the video Why Nikola Tesla is SO Famous (and Westinghouse is not)?

For science education I often start with Wikipedia for general knowledge then onelook for vocabulary then google or google scholar for current info and more details.

Another science-oriented YouTube channel I've been looking at recently is Paul M. Sutter, devoted to physics and astronomy.

According to the channel's About page: "Paul M.Sutter is a research professor in astrophysics at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science at Stony Brook University and the Flatiron Institute in New York City. He is also known around the world as the host of several shows, such as How the Universe Works on Science Channel, Space Out on Discovery, and his hit Ask a Spaceman podcast."

His videos aren't very interesting visually, but his verbal explanations are very easy to understand.

What age / grade level are we talking about for science education? Supplementing school or homeschooling or self taught?
The common core curriculum can be found online. Elementary school handouts. You tube can be good buy it may depend on what you are aiming for.

We bought “The Magic School Bus” on dvd during COVID-19 and have liked Great Courses on dvd, purchased or from the library.

Starting with Wikipedia first is good if one is looking up a very specific topic.

Some science YouTube channels are good as a way of developing a general introductory intuitive understanding of the more complex topics.

YouTube science video channels are not a substitute for more-detailed, more-academic treatments of the same topics, but some of them can be an excellent intro.

For most of the science video channels I've encountered on YouTube, the target audience seems to be adults with at least basic scientific literacy.

I would recommend watching them before studying more-detailed academic treatments of the same topics.

Here I will list some science education YouTube channels.

One of the older and better-known ones is Veritassium. I'll list some others later.

Thanks for that.

I am on the hunt for additional podcasts to listen to when I am exercising. It incentivizes me, where otherwise I might get bored with walking and wind up not going out at all.

I will ask ChatGPT this morning for ten recommendations for science podcasts and leave it fairly open-ended. I am thinking mainly about physics, but who am I to turn down biology or microbiology? So many sciences, so little time.

I have been wading through the archives of "The Ancients" with Tristan Hughes, about ancient civilizations, but feel like I need a little variety in my intellectual diet. Yes I like history, but I need a percentage of science too in order for balance.

Please let us know about any especially good science podcasts you find.

In the meantime, another good science YouTuber is Up and Atom. Deals with physics, math, computer science, logic, and some philosophy.

Here you are Mona, courtesy of ChatGPT & Me. I have not reviewed or censored any of these podcast recommendations, they are straight from the AI and their Left Coast engineers. Don't say I never gave you anything for Christmas. All of them quite frankly sound fascinating to me and I will begin perusing them on my walk today when the weather warms up.

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Radiolab
A storytelling podcast blending science, philosophy, and culture through captivating narratives.

Science Vs
Tackles myths and debates using evidence-based research to uncover the truth.

The Infinite Monkey Cage
Witty discussions with scientists and comedians on intriguing science topics.

StartUp Podcast: Science Rules! With Bill Nye
Bill Nye dives into science topics and answers listener questions.

Nature Podcast
Features research highlights, interviews, and updates from Nature journal.

The Naked Scientists
Accessible explanations of cutting-edge science and listener Q&A sessions.

Ologies
Fun interviews with experts on diverse "-ology" fields, from virology to paleontology.

Brain Science
Explores neuroscience and psychology with in-depth conversations and updates.

Stuff You Should Know (Science Episodes)
Engaging overviews of fascinating science topics and phenomena.

Short Wave
NPR’s bite-sized episodes exploring quirky and relevant scientific topics.

Is the Kahn accademy still going?

There is much discussion on Quora (there's a free version) on science subjects, especially Relativity Theory.

Looks like Khan Academy is still going.

I would not consider Quora to be a reliable source, although it may be useful as a source of clues to be pursued further.

An excellent interactive educational website, for math, physics, and computer science, is brilliant.org.

If you are actually serious about on-line learning, MIT has an Open University site from which you can download and watch lectures in a wide variety of classes including many scientific classes. Note that not all classes on their site include videos of the lectures.

Just watching the lectures is not enough, though. From their FAQ:

If you really want to learn the science, get the textbook and work your way through it (reading AND doing the problems, especially those assigned for the course) along with watching the lectures. If you can't get that particular textbook, you should be able to do with a first rate textbook on the subject in question.

Here is the link to the page: https://ocw.mit.edu

For example, here is an Introductory Biology class that includes the lecture videos: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/7-016-introductory-biology-fall-2018/

The textbook for the course is: Sadava, D. E., D. M. Hillis, et al. Life: The Science of Biology. 11th ed. W. H. Freeman, 2016. ISBN: 9781319145446

Sometimes, you may be able to find the textbook on the Internet. If you can't find it on-line, one option might be to find used copies of the textbook and order it. Those books are expensive, though. It appears that the list price is in the $250 or more price range.

An older version might work. https://www.thriftbooks.com has an older version from 2012 used in good condition for $13.69. and an older version from 2009 for $7.19.

The big downside is finding someone to answer your questions and to review your homework and tests.

Keep in mind that these are generally going to be more advanced versions of the same courses from elsewhere.

One thing that is very important if you are serious about learning this way. You MUST set aside time on a regular basis to concentrate on this. Probably an hour a day will be enough. Read the reading, watch the lecture, and do the problems may take two or three days.

But if you are serious about learning, you should learn far more this way than from watching some old youtube videos. The best podcasts will do little more than make you think you learned something without you learning anything but a few buzzwords.

Yes, courses like the ones you recommend are best for serious in-depth learning.

The more popular science-oriented YouTube channels I've linked to are good for getting a preliminary intuitive feel only. But that preliminary intuitive feel can be a very helpful intro for subsequent more serious, more in-depth learning.

For those who seriously want to learn science (and/or math), I would recommend the following steps:

1) Start with popular-science (or popularized math) YouTube channels to get a basic intuitive feel for various scientific (or mathematical) topics.
2) Then move on to interactive learning sites like brilliant.org.
3) Then move on to online lectures from actual college courses, together with studying the textbooks and trying to solve problems on your own.

Starting with steps 1 and 2 will likely make it a lot easier to understand step 3. Getting a preliminary intuitive feel is obviously not enough for a real science education, but it IS an important first step, IMO.

In my experience, when I was in high school, reading popularized science books helped me do well in my high school science and math courses and in subsequent college courses. One especially helpful book, with the title Mathematical Aspects of Physics, contained a dumbed-down intro to calculus. And calculus is one of those topics on which I would definitely recommend getting a dumbed-down intro before going anywhere near an actual textbook or lecture.

I strongly suspect that many (not all) people who think of themselves as being "bad at math" may really just be people who never were given a good-enough intuitive feel for various math concepts before they were taught the techniques.

Also, with the more serious college-level science courses, it's important to make sure you acquire the necessary math background first.