While we do enjoy YouTubers who do commentary, create skits and cook, those creating maths and science content that is easily understood are among our favourites on the platform.

We’re not saying that knowing how long 52 factorial would take to calculate will put on par with folks shooting rockets into space, but these channels will – at the very least – get your mind thinking about things in different ways.

To that end, we have picked five YouTube channels we highly recommend you subscribe to if you have even a passing interest in science, maths and understanding the great big world around us.

Atomic Frontier

Earlier this year, when Tom Scott took his yearly break and invited guests to make videos on his channel while he was away we were introduced to James from Atomic Frontier.

This channel takes a similar approach to Tom Scott’s channel in that James is on location talking about something incredibly interesting that will make you go “that’s pretty awesome”.

The channel was started in 2013 and it is criminally undersubscribed with 158 000 subscribers as of time of writing.

The videos cover a wide gamut but have their footing is strongly in science and explaining why things that seem odd aren’t all that odd. We recommend starting with “We’re Missing Six Sea Monsters” (embedded below) and binging the wealth of content on this channel from there.

Matt Parker/Stand-up Maths

What happens when you mix comedy and maths? Well then you get our favourite maths teacher, Matt Parker.

We hated maths in school but somehow Parker has managed to make the complexities of the subject easy to understand through practical applications that you would likely come across on a day-to-day basis.

If you’re a student that is currently struggling with maths, we highly recommend watching Parker’s content. While much of this content is very high level, the way it’s presented makes it easier to grasp, even Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Given how space mad this year has been we recommend watching Orbital Maths at NASA with Chris Hadfield embedded below but we also highly recommend watching his talks at the Royal Institution here.

Kyle Hill

You may remember Kyle Hill from his tenure at Because Science where he used fantastic illustrations to educate you about science theory using examples from popular culture. The creator has since left Nerdist behind and started his own channel using his name.

His channel still uses popular culture as a jumping off point for many videos but more often than not, Hill is just talking about an event or theory that he is passionate about. When Hill does touch on something such as the Mantis Blades from Cyperpunk 2077, he often makes or enlists somebody to make the object to test it in the real world.

For the most part however Hill presents his videos from THE FACILITY which is mostly a CGI space that doubles as the name for his Patreon account where fans can support him.

Picking one video to showcase is tricky but we think it’s best to start with “How to Read a Scientific Paper” embedded below.

Astrum

Are you more obsessed with space than a billionaire? Then Astrum is a fantastic channel for you.

The videos here are relatively short and make the complexities of space easier to understand. Astrum has helped us understand what makes exoplanets so special, how Opportunity became the little rover that could and what happens when galaxies collide.

The channel is the creation of Alex MacColgan and the combination of his soothing voice and the calming soundtrack he uses has us watching his videos during work, even if we find ourselves getting distracted now and then.

The visuals are a mix of CGI and photographs captured from various exploratory missions.

Truth be told we could have linked any of the hundreds of videos on the channel but we’re embedding a closer look at Europa because it’s an incredibly fascinating moon.

Veritasium

We cannot mention science and maths without mentioning Derek Muller and Veritasium.

This channel has been a part of our subscriptions since we first got hooked on YouTube and the content has grown from strength to strength.

While Muller’s content is mostly centred around science and mathematical concepts, every so often he will break out and do a video that looks at something like clickbait or a conspiracy theory about light bulbs.

You’ll stay for the science but Muller’s well researched videos are what keep us coming back. Videos take a vlog style with interviews and diagrams interspersed throughout.

If you’ve ever wanted to find out more about the world around you, consider giving Veritasium a watch.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]