2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser

There is no RationalWiki without you. We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity.

Fighting pseudoscience isn't free.
We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can today with PayPal Logo.png!
Donations so far: $5273.29Goal: $10000

Professor Dave

From RationalWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Dave Farina, in the flesh.
Like and subscribe
YouTube
Icon YT bullshit.png
Up next
I just want to raise the bar of scientific literacy in the world! Because I'm rooting for humanity, as it were.
—David Farina, on his Patreon

David James "Dave" Farina, more well known as Professor Dave, is an American Italian science educator, YouTuber and former lecturer.[1][2][3][4] He received his Bachelors Degree in Chemistry from Carleton College in 2005. After this, he taught biology, physics in various settings and lectured chemistry (specializing in organic chemistry) at an accredited university.[5][6][7][8] In 2011, he began to pursue his Masters studies in synthetic organic chemistry at Cal State Northridge, and completed most of his course on synthetic organic chemistry and finished on Science Education to get the degree.

In January of 2015, he started "Professor Dave Explains", aiming to create educational videos for all subjects with a focus on making them succinct and with animation that aids in comprehension. He later received his MA in science education from Cal State after pursuing it in 2018, as the education would allow him to make higher quality educational YouTube videos.[9][10]

"Professor Dave Explains" has over 362 million views and as of December 2024 has 3.5 million subscribers.[11] He has videos ranging from economics, psychology, and much more. He also has teamed up with Emile in order to create an AP Chemistry course.[12] On 30th April 2021, he self-published a book called Is This Wifi Organic?[13]


Views

Religious

So your God is a beta, wouldn't you agree?
—Farina, talking with Jesse Lee Peterson[14]

Farina is an atheist.[15] He has expressed a dislike for Christianity when Jesse Lee Peterson tried to spew his misogynistic rhetoric and in a debate with Kent Hovind[16] when Kent tried to cite the Bible as evidence against evolution. He also espouses support for separation of church and state.[17].

Politics

Farina believes that racism is a significant issue in America. He believes that black people are disproportionately killed by police officers based on the data he has seen. He maintains that there are many subtle ways in which America's issues relate to racism[18]. He also believes in a massive redistribution of wealth in order to financially assist those who are under the poverty line.[19] He has described Donald Trump as a "disgusting, narcissistic, ignorant, extremely unintelligent buffoon that has turned America into the laughing stock of the world" and has criticized him for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as telling people to inject bleach within themselves as a cure.[20] He supported Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential election[21]. His political views are not expansive, as he doesn't follow politics — preferring to spend his time on his main interest, that being science.[22] He has also criticized Israel for its genocide against the Palestinian people.[23][24]

David has been accused of being a communist by some of his opponents, for example, the co-hosts of Real Science Radio - a Christian pseudoscience YouTube channel/podcast.

Debunks

Perpetrators of hoaxes in all other realms, prepare yourself. I'm coming.
—David Farina, after making his last Flat Earth video[25]

Farina has tackled lots of pseudoscience, including the Flat Earth, COVID-19 conspiracy theories, the Electric Universe and Electric Sun, James Tour's criticisms of abiogenesis, Ben Davidson and his "pseudoscientific doomsday cult"[26] Suspicious0bservers, Young Earth creationism and Pierre-Marie Robitaille.[27] Robitaille has responded to Dave's criticisms with his own video. (Knowledge of MRI Scans totally allows you to talk on astrophysics.) [28] Farina has also been exposing intelligent design proponents from the Discovery Institute in a series that, so far, stretches to nine episodes,[29] Matt Walsh, Christopher Langan, and others. Most recently, he has been debunking guests on the Joe Rogan Experience, particularly Terrance Howard and Billy Carson.[30] The former holds some insane ideas about the periodic table, mathematics, and inanimate objects and particles performing sexual reproduction, the latter is a grifter who also promotes Ancient Aliens-style pseudohistory.

References

  1. https://www.carleton.edu/news/stories/professor-dave-farina-05-explains-how-he-attracted-345k-youtube-subscribers/
  2. https://www.edweek.org/technology/professor-dave-explains-how-he-attracted-345-000-youtube-subscribers/2019/03
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkA4OImGuBk
  4. https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/07/28/youtube-millionaires-professor-dave/
  5. https://www.carleton.edu/news/stories/professor-dave-farina-05-explains-how-he-attracted-345k-youtube-subscribers/
  6. https://www.edweek.org/technology/professor-dave-explains-how-he-attracted-345-000-youtube-subscribers/2019/03
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkA4OImGuBk
  8. https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/07/28/youtube-millionaires-professor-dave/
  9. https://sites.google.com/site/davefarinamasters/
  10. https://www.youtube.com/c/ProfessorDaveExplains/about
  11. https://www.youtube.com/c/ProfessorDaveExplains/about
  12. https://youtu.be/gPGvzj3bJW0
  13. Is This Wi-Fi Organic?: A Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online by Dave Farina (2021) Mango. ISBN 1642504157.
  14. 46:56
  15. https://youtu.be/dVG1dNygOgA?list=PLybg94GvOJ9GEuq4mp9ruJpj-rjKQ_a6E&t=1647
  16. 10:57
  17. 35:46
  18. 13:10
  19. 22:15
  20. 57:42
  21. 1:06:29
  22. 13:10
  23. https://twitter.com/daveexplains/status/1712831567264162196?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
  24. https://twitter.com/daveexplains/status/1711052183444369760?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
  25. https://youtu.be/7ae_XdFEQDw?list=PLybg94GvOJ9Ez94Fef5c19Muip_PXubxH&t=706
  26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fTLZTEE7mU
  27. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLybg94GvOJ9GEuq4mp9ruJpj-rjKQ_a6E
  28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRrTvP95kf4
  29. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLybg94GvOJ9HD-GlBnTYutk8D1e71y__q
  30. 0:00:33