“It’s easy to say things that aren’t true and get people to believe them, especially when they sound science-y and are mixed in with well-known facts.” You can say that again. The latest Long Story Short video is out today and this one could be my favorite in the series so far. It’s quite funny as it tackles three lame but highly popular YouTube videos on the origin of life (here, here, and here). One of videos, from the PBS channel Be Smart, has 2.6 million views. Be Smart promises, “We give you deep answers to simple questions about science and the rest of the universe.” Yeah, right. See if you believe that once Long Story gets through with them. 

It’s remarkable to think that young and old YouTube viewers are being fed this stuff, which, on life’s origins — “super easy!” — ranges from misleading to half true to not true at all. Watch the new Long Story and enjoy. In coming days we’ll be following up on the release with three excellent treatments of the underlying science from Dr. Rob Stadler.