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by progbits 539 days ago
I see Brilliant a lot on technical channels I follow and I'm very confused, the "courses" they are selling all seem like highschool level at best, but very advanced technical channels go "I've learned all this from our sponsor Brilliant".
4 comments

Next you'll tell us you think those really jacked guys do it because of a specific brand of protein powder and not buttloads of steroids.
Advertising is paying people to lie, and that's becoming more and more apparent.

Or what they "learned from our sponsor" is that they're offering courses.

> that's becoming more and more apparent

That's been apparent for the last 300,000 years of human existence.

- 2,000 years ago: Google Ads: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/history-advertising-n...

- 5,000 years ago: Google Reviews - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complaint_tablet_to_Ea-n%C4%81...

There is little to no history beyond the melt at the tail end of the last ice age 13,000 years ago. Seas have risen by 200 years and we've always lived near water. My head canon: Agriculture didn't just "pop up", there was a history and tradition before that. Humans have never changed. We just have flashier toys now.

As someone who has done some of the free Brilliant puzzles, I can't say I've learned a ton from them but it does feel nice to exercise some of my brain muscles occasionally in ways that aren't directly related to my job even if it's just high school level physics or math.
> but very advanced technical channels go "I've learned all this from our sponsor Brilliant".

Yeah, because they're paid to say that. You don't actually think they use the service themselves, do you?

Of course they are paid to say that, the question is how far are they willing to go. I'm not talking about some shitty clickbait channels but ones like Steve Mould, whom I generally trust not to straight up lie and would only accept sponsors whose product they believe in at least a little bit.
Or StuffMadeHere who literally lurks here on HN and has sold Brilliant a bunch.

Do you actually use it man? Have you actually learned anything on Brilliant?