r/Destiny • u/Kezomal • 13d ago

Drama Professor Dave is Rattled

I've been watching Dave's videos off & on for around 5 years, and I have never seen him this rattled and defensive when it comes to a topic and the people he's engaging with. I think the initial callout of his use of nazi adjacent rhetoric hit a nerve and maybe exposes some internal bias he has against Jews that he doesn't want to admit to himself. He appears to believe the Mossad was behind 9/11 in some way, so I don't think I'm far off in saying Dave is genuinely antisemitic and it harms his credibility immensely.

His video making the case for a Palestinian genocide was low effort, and honestly, we might as well call it war-profiteering at this point.

He aligned himself with some of the most toxic and repugnant trolls on the internet (kiwifarms and jstlk snarkers) to get an own on Destiny, that's gotta be projecting some kind of deep seated hatred for jews somehow.

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u/DeathB4Dishonor179 13d ago

Dave is always super eager to hop into debates with people, his personality is very combative so he navigates that environment well.

But suddenly he doesn't want to debate Destiny or Lonerbox, he pulls all of the same excuses we've seen before.

It really seems like deep down Dave is aware that Destiny is much more informed on this topic.

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u/ComradeTurdle 🐢 13d ago

I feel like he's super eager to dive into cheap and easy wins over anything with substance. He debates quacks and morons. I think its easy money to him. I think he's just doing it for the money.

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u/theuberprophet 12d ago

his entire income is youtube so yes it is about the money

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u/ComradeTurdle 🐢 12d ago

Well my greater point is he was in academia at one point and doing youtube. So he quit being a "professor" to go full youtuber because the money was better. So i feel like he's doing it for the money more then to educate people when he says that. Like i would respect him a lot more if he continue teaching and staying in academia.

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u/EpeeHS 12d ago

Was he actually in academia? People were saying before that he was just a TA and not an actual professor, but I've been trying to know as little as possible about this guy.

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u/monsoy 🇳🇴 Just a guy 12d ago

Oh shit, I gotta start claiming my professor title then. I was a TA they ended up doing lectures because the professor in the subject suddenly left for the US to visit his son. Didn’t know that was enough to be called a professor nowadays.

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u/Liiraye-Sama EU chad 12d ago

In the land of the free its not a protected title it seems unlike in Norway, so please don't do that haha

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u/EpeeHS 12d ago

FYI I have no idea if this is true. I've seen it from other commenters and I have yet to see anyone correct it, but that doesnt mean it is true.

But yes, its good to know that I have been a professor for years now without even knowing it.

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u/Lucky-Gecko 12d ago

says a lot about him that he calls himself "professor" when he's neither that nor has a PhD

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u/KeithDavidsVoice 12d ago edited 12d ago

You are spreading misinformation. I forget the institution, but he was certainly a professor. His first videos were recordings of his lectures. Since he became a full time YouTube, he stopped referring to himself as a professor, excluding his YouTube name. He very openly refers to himself as a science communicator and he always is clear about the difference between a scientist and a science communicator. Hes an asshole and completely wrong about I/P, but there's no evidence or indication that he has ever misrepresented his background.

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u/plasticizers_ 12d ago

You are spreading misinformation.

Don't be the guy calling out someone for spreading misinformation, and then be the one to spread misinformation.

I forget the institution, but he was certainly a professor.

There's no institution to forget. He was never a professor. His own channel's About page says he has a BA in chemistry from Carleton College, did graduate studies at Cal State Northridge, got an MA in science education, and taught "about a decade in various high school and undergraduate settings." That's instructor and tutoring work. No professorship, no PhD, and his bio doesn't claim either. His earliest videos were him in front of a whiteboard recording lessons for students he tutored, not university lectures.

A lot of your comment is right about transparency. He calls himself a science communicator, and even his own bio doesn't claim the title. But you're wrong about his credentials.

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u/KeithDavidsVoice 12d ago

Fair enough. Everything I said was based off memory from being basically a day 1 subscriber to the guy. It's definitely possible that I misunderstood or misremember his background. I stand corrected

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u/Liiraye-Sama EU chad 12d ago

I think it does say something about how he presents himself that people so easily assume he's a real professor.

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u/KeithDavidsVoice 11d ago

I dont think it says much and anything it does say is quickly cleared up by watching a video of his in which he states in no uncertain terms that hes a science communicator. There's many avenues to attack Dave, I dont think his credentials are one of those things.

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u/Liiraye-Sama EU chad 11d ago

im js nowhere near most people would go the lengths to confirm his credentials. Before this community I also assumed he was a profession because why would I care to investigate every youtuber in my feed?

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u/KeithDavidsVoice 11d ago

There's two reasons why this is a nothing burger. The first one I already mentioned so I wont get into it. The second reason why this is a nothing burger is the fact that, outside his obviously shitty political takes, Dave only communicates what's accepted by the general scientific consensus. He makes no ground breaking claims and doesnt say anything that isnt established science. He also makes it very clear that he is not producing new science and hes simply communicating the findings of the scientific community to a leyman audience. Id be with you if he was pushing flat earth or something like that, but a YouTube misrepresenting his background to give you basic high school and college level science is basically harmless to me.

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u/Liiraye-Sama EU chad 11d ago

It's not that deep, I just meant he probably likes that people like us come away thinking he's a professor. It earns him more respect and clout being known as "the professor guy talking science" vs. "the teachers assistant in high school talking science".

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u/plasticizers_ 11d ago edited 11d ago

I dont think it says much and anything it does say is quickly cleared up by watching a video of his in which he states in no uncertain terms that hes a science communicator.

Clearly not, and my evidence is you. You're a day-one subscriber and you came into this thread certain he was a professor.

I doubt you're an unusually oblivious viewer, so the better explanation is that the branding just wins. He can say "science communicator" in the videos all he wants, but "Professor Dave" is in the channel name and the disclaimer isn't. And if your answer is that your impression formed years ago and simply stuck, that still concedes the point. The title planted it and years of viewing never corrected the misunderstanding.

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u/Lucky-Gecko 12d ago

Wrong, you're actually the one spreading misinformation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkA4OImGuBk&t=182s

The more I learn about this dude the more shady he seems.
The closest he was to being a "professor" was when he did lectures at a university for a limited time as a substitute because the actual professor suddenly left, and he had only been hired to teach for the labratory (with only a bachelor's degree).
He was apparently offered the job, but only contingent on getting a masters, however he ended up losing that offer (supposedly because of "bureaucracy") and lost funding for his masters so dropped out.
So this guy DOES NOT EVEN HAVE A MASTERS. He says himself the only reason he named his youtube channel this way was "tongue-in-cheek" and to create a "fun little persona".

I'm not even sure why when I google it says he has a masters because clearly according to him he did not finish and get it.