[patates]

> it's pretty clear he has very little understanding of development or engineering

I cannot prove it but I have a feeling that you may be conflating "he clearly has different opinions on things I consider non-negotiable" to "he doesn't know what he's talking about".

I also watched a lot of his videos. I wildly disagree with him a lot of times, but he has his reasoning, and I can see (and verify!) that those ideas are coming from an engineering perspective.

[esperent]

The problem is that he's a tech influencer first, a tech expert second.

That's his motivation, influencing. Not teaching.

I'm not so against him as the previous commentor but I feel basically all YouTubers who have succeeded in building a brand have the same problem. They have to present their opinions as unassailable truth, they can't allow nuance. Within reason of course, they also have to play the game of appearing considerate and understanding of other people but it will always boil down to proving they are the real experts, their ultimate goal is always to get you watching more of their content.

If they don't do this, they appear less trustworthy and their brand wouldn't have grown as much as it did. They might genuinely have some expertise to share, and even contrary or downright wrong takes could teach us something if they were only presented in a way that encourages critical thinking. But as the person above said, their real deep expertise is in brand building.

[0dayz]

I sort of disagree, the issue is that he like so many professionals (prime agent, being the other) becoming youtubers uses their experiences to make their opinion the only opinion when said opinion is nuanced or plain wrong objectively.

[patates]

No he usually acknowledges other opinions (including the ones that I share) and tells from his perspective why they are wrong. It feels condescending when you see a face on screen, roasting what you think is right, but I personally could get over it and learn to take the bits that challenge my ideas.

Of course, youtube isn't interactive and when you see something that you think is objectively wrong, your options are writing a comment nobody will read or ignoring it, which is frustrating, but that, in my opinion, doesn't discredit the content producer itself.

[satvikpendem]

You can make a counter argument video, which I've seen done, and then sometimes the original YouTuber will reply or collab. This happened when Theo had some truly awful takes on Flutter while knowing nothing about it, a prominent Flutter dev replied rebutting each point made, then they both collaborated to make a video where they switch technologies for a few hours to build something, and it was enlightening for both parties.

[steve_adams_86]

He's clearly very knowledgeable about some things, but I think he has harmed his credibility be becoming a 'tuber who prioritizes thumbnails and hot takes over engineering.

[satvikpendem]

Not really. If you're a YouTuber it's necessary to follow the algorithm which includes making such a YouTuber face, clickbait actually works and has a direct financial correlation as Linus Tech Tips has shown.

[steve_adams_86]

That’s fine, but I trust him to play the YouTube game as a result, not as an engineer.

[incrudible]

If you are a competent engineer already why do you need to create self demeaning clickbait content on YouTube? Narcissism? I aggressively block any such content, because if you click on any of it, you easily get sent down the YouTube spiral of crap.

[satvikpendem]

One can be multiple things. That you find it demeaning is your personal opinion and frankly is more a reflection on yourself. There are many like Casey Muratori that are competent engineers as well as YouTubers.

[incrudible]

Casey (on his channels) does not do the clickbait thing, which makes all the difference. You can either maintain integrity and credibility or you can make brainrot shockface “it is over” content. There is no middle ground.

Maybe you are desensitized to it, but I have a carefully curated YouTube and I know that it can be a completely different platform experience if you reject with prejudice any such content.

[satvikpendem]

Use DeArrow if you're so sensitive to it. And like I said, it is necessary if YouTube is also a money making endeavor. Casey likely makes little from his videos so he doesn't need to have clickbait thumbnails.

[patates]

> he has demolished his credibility be becoming a 'tuber who prioritizes thumbnails and hot takes over engineering

I don't agree that he has demolished his credibility. I also dislike the youtube face and sensationalization but I personally don't hold it against him, given the Youtube algorithm.

Regardless of his style, I like hearing the take from an engineer who's working in a different country/culture and has a completely different perspective.

edit: it seems you changed "demolished" to "harmed". I still don't agree but it reads more defensible IMHO, thank you.