Phil Mason

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Philip E. Mason
Born 1972 (age 43–44)[1][2]
Fields Chemistry, Physics, Nuclear physics
Institutions Cornell University
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Alma mater University of Birmingham
Thesis Novel Architectures in Polymer Chemistry (1997)
Doctoral advisor I.W. Parsons[3]
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.

Philip E. Mason is a British scientist best known for his YouTube channel, Thunderf00t. He has a PhD in chemistry, and studied multiple areas of biochemistry. He produces science videos and social issue videos about politics, religion, and feminism.

Early life

Mason received a BSc and PhD in chemistry from the University of Birmingham in 1993 and 1997, respectively.[3] 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, where he was working with a research group headed by Pavel Jungwirth.[3] 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 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]

Ian Steadman of the New Statesman criticized his videos about popular YouTube feminists, including Anita Sarkeesian.[12] Mason's Twitter account was temporarily suspended on 19 September 2014 for allegedly violating Twitter's "abusive behaviour" with his criticism. Mason speculated that a short-lived campaign had been mounted against him.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ Mason, Phil (9 May 2014). "Thunderf00t and Venomfangx Reunion -Live". Thunderf00t/YouTube. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Thunderf00t (24 Jul 2009). "The Thunderf00t - Ray Comfort discussion (Part 4)". Retrieved 13 Jan 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Phil Mason". Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "News". University of Bristol. August 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Experimental molecular dynamics studies of water structuring by sugars
  7. ↑ Philip Ball (26 Jan 2015). "Sodium's explosive secrets revealed". Nature.com.
  8. ↑ "Coulomb explosion during the early stages of the reaction of alkali metals with water". Nature Chemistry. 26 Jan 2015. doi:10.1038/nchem.2161.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Cimino, Richard (2014). Atheist Awakening: Secular Activism and Community in America. Oxford University Press. p. 99.
  11. ↑ Farley, Tim (November–December 2009). "Skepticism via YouTube". Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  12. ↑ Steadman, Ian (27 August 2014). "Tropes vs Anita Sarkeesian: on passing off lame anti-feminist nonsense as critique". New Statesman. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Strickland, Derek (20 September 2014). "Twitter Suspends Anita Sarkeesian Critic for 'Abusive Behavior'". Bright Side of News. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  14. ↑ Mason, Phil (16 September 2014). "Thunderf00t suspended from twitter- 'Sarkeesian strike back' #Gamergate". Thunderf00t, YouTube.

External links

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