Thunderf00t
Philip E. Mason | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1972 (age 51–52)[2][3] |
| Alma mater | University of Birmingham |
| Known for | Criticism of creationism and religion, criticism of third-wave feminism, criticism of pseudoscience, advocacy of the scientific method and atheism, and his work on the reaction of alkali metals with water. |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry, physics, nuclear physics |
| Institutions | Cornell University Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic |
| Thesis | Novel Architectures in Polymer Chemistry (1997) |
| Doctoral advisor | I.W. Parsons[1] |
Philip E. Mason is a British videoblogger using the pseudonym Thunderf00t. He produces YouTube videos criticizing creationism, religion, and feminism. He works as a scientist in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry .
Early life
Mason received a BSc (1993) and PhD (1997) in chemistry from the University of Birmingham.[1] From 2003[4] until at least August 2010, Mason was affiliated with the University of Bristol.[5]
Career
Mason worked at Cornell University's department of food science until 2011, where he studied the molecular interactions between water and sugar molecules,[6] as well as molecular modeling with regard to proteins and guanidinium solutions. As of winter 2013, he was working at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic as a member of a research group headed by Pavel Jungwirth.[1] Mason was the lead author in a paper, published in Nature Chemistry, that argued that alkali metal reactions with water can cause a Coulomb explosion.[7][8] Mason has co-authored 34 scientific papers, of which he is the lead author of 20. As of December 2014[update] he is still actively publishing research.[9]
Online activities
Through his YouTube account Thunderf00t, he has made a series of videos entitled "Why do people laugh at creationists?", focusing primarily on Kent Hovind's arguments in public seminars. Sociologist Richard Cimino has described the tone of these videos as "that of the professional, well-educated, and articulate British academic expert exposing—in voiceover—the irrational behavior and attitudes of the believer."[10] Mason (originally known only as Thunderf00t) debated the creationist VenomFangX, a YouTube blogger who supports creationism, in a series of public exchanges that lasted almost two years. Mason is also known for responding to arguments made by Ray Comfort and intelligent design proponent Casey Luskin.[11]
References
- ^ a b c "Phil Mason". Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ Mason, Phil (9 May 2014). "Thunderf00t and Venomfangx Reunion -Live". Thunderf00t/YouTube. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ^ Thunderf00t (24 July 2009). "The Thunderf00t - Ray Comfort discussion (Part 4)". Retrieved 13 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Mason, P. E.; Neilson, G. W.; Dempsey, C. E.; Barnes, A. C.; Cruickshank, J. M. (8 April 2003). "The hydration structure of guanidinium and thiocyanate ions: Implications for protein stability in aqueous solution". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 100 (8): 4557–4561. doi:10.1073/pnas.0735920100.
- ^ "News". University of Bristol. August 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ Experimental molecular dynamics studies of water structuring by sugars
- ^ Philip Ball (26 January 2015). "Sodium's explosive secrets revealed". Nature.com.
- ^ Mason, PE; Uhlig, F; Vaněk, V; Buttersack, T; Bauerecker, S; Jungwirth, P (26 January 2015). "Coulomb explosion during the early stages of the reaction of alkali metals with water". Nature Chemistry. doi:10.1038/nchem.2161.
- ^ Pluhařová, Eva; Fischer, Henry E.; Mason, Philip E.; Jungwirth, Pavel (30 January 2014). "Hydration of the chloride ion in concentrated aqueous solutions using neutron scattering and molecular dynamics". Molecular Physics: 1–11. doi:10.1080/00268976.2013.875231.
- ^ Cimino, Richard (2014). Atheist Awakening: Secular Activism and Community in America. Oxford University Press. p. 99.
- ^ Farley, Tim (November–December 2009). "Skepticism via YouTube". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
External links