What 2b1b, as well as other science YouTubers do is that they give you insight that more conventional teaching may lack. What YouTubers don't offer however is training, as in, the sometimes boring part where you do exercises.
They are complementary, an entertaining YouTube video may first give you motivation to get into a seemingly boring subject. It may also help you after you took your classes, to help make elements fall into place, but it only works if you have learned the elements beforehand.
As educative these videos are, they are entertainment, and they are driven by the rules of entertainment, they wouldn't get much views otherwise. So it leans heavily on accessible and clever explanations, surprising results and relatively short form, the boring stuff is often left out, and unfortunately, some of it is necessary to progress. Most science YouTubers admit it, and urge everyone to take school seriously.
I have never learned a field just from YouTube videos. It either left me with superficial knowledge (which is better than nothing) or acted as a way to consolidate knowledge I already had.
They are complementary, an entertaining YouTube video may first give you motivation to get into a seemingly boring subject. It may also help you after you took your classes, to help make elements fall into place, but it only works if you have learned the elements beforehand.
As educative these videos are, they are entertainment, and they are driven by the rules of entertainment, they wouldn't get much views otherwise. So it leans heavily on accessible and clever explanations, surprising results and relatively short form, the boring stuff is often left out, and unfortunately, some of it is necessary to progress. Most science YouTubers admit it, and urge everyone to take school seriously.
I have never learned a field just from YouTube videos. It either left me with superficial knowledge (which is better than nothing) or acted as a way to consolidate knowledge I already had.