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Revision as of 17:36, 27 March 2015 by NeiiNine (talk | contribs) (→Online activities)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Philip E. Mason | |
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| Born | 1972 (age 51–52) |
| Alma mater | University of Birmingham |
| Known for | Criticism of creationism and religion, criticism of third wave feminism, advocacy of the scientific method and atheism, and his work on the reaction of alkali earth 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 |
Philip E. Mason is a British scientist and skeptical atheist blogger best known for his YouTube channel, Thunderf00t. He has attained a PhD in chemistry, and studied multiple areas of biochemistry. He has produced numerous science communication and social issue videos focused on his views about politics, religion, and feminism.
Education
Mason received a BSc and PhD in chemistry from the University of Birmingham in 1993 and 1997, respectively. From 2003 until at least August 2010, Mason was affiliated with the University of Bristol.
Research
Mason worked at Cornell University's department of food science until 2011, where he studied the molecular interactions between water and sugar molecules, 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, where he was working with a research group headed by Pavel Jungwirth. Mason was the lead author in one paper, published in Nature Chemistry, that argued that alkali metal reactions with water can cause a coulomb explosion. Mason has co-authored 34 scientific papers, of which he is the lead author of 20. He is still actively publishing research.
Online activities
Through his YouTube account Thunderf00t, he has made a series of videos entitled "Why do people laugh at creationists?" It mainly focuses on the arguments made in public seminars by Kent Hovind. 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." Mason (originally known only as Thunderf00t) also became well known for responding to creationist arguments made by VenomFangX, another YouTube vlogger supporting creationism, which resulted in an exchange that lasted almost two years, as well as for responding to arguments made by Ray Comfort and intelligent design proponent Casey Luskin. Mason's criticism of YouTube feminists, including Anita Sarkeesian, has attracted criticism by a minority of critics; Ian Steadman of The New Statesman wrote, "His videos are often masterclasses in substituting smug for substance, with his Sarkeesian critiques particularly good examples. However a larger amount of gamers are known to have actively supported his videos" Mason's account was suspended from social media site Twitter on 19 September 2014 for alleged online harassment. Mason stated that his criticism of Sarkeesian caused the suspension due to a flagging campaign. The account was later reinstated.
References
- ^ "Phil Mason". Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- Thunderf00t (9 May 2014). "Thunderf00t and Venomfangx Reunion -Live". Retrieved 10 May 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Thunderf00t (24 Jul 2009). "The Thunderf00t - Ray Comfort discussion (Part 4)". Retrieved 13 Jan 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 Jan 2015). "Sodium's explosive secrets revealed". Nature.com.
- "Coulomb explosion during the early stages of the reaction of alkali metals with water". Nature Chemistry. 26 Jan 2015. 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.
- Steadman, Ian (27 August 2014). "Tropes vs Anita Sarkeesian: on passing off lame anti-feminist nonsense as critique". New Statesman. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
- Strickland, Derek (20 September 2014). "Twitter Suspends Anita Sarkeesian Critic for 'Abusive Behavior'". Bright Side of News. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- In the video 'Thunderf00t suspended from twitter- 'Sarkeesian strike back' #Gamergate' on his own channel. (16 September 2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a4vaZy0a18
External links
- Video on YouTube
- Thunderf00t on Twitter