Folding Ideas is a YouTube channel I’ve been following for a while. Recently its produced some of the best documentaries you will find on YouTube, making it one of the best channels to watch. Well, at least in my opinion it is.
Eventually, Nostalgia Critic and Channel Awesome fell from grace due to many controversies about how the site was managed, as well as the treatment on many of those who worked for the site. This is all a story for another time, but it ultimately lead to Olson moving his Folding Ideas to YouTube.
Originally using a box-puppet as an avatar, he would produce many videos talking about the art of storytelling, movies, and video games among other topics. This was about the time I discovered him and started to watch his videos.
At this point I wouldn’t have been quick to recommend him to other, but he has recently started producing some of the best documentaries about modern life I have ever seen. His videos are always well researched, breaking everything down into byte-sized chunks so that the layman can understand complex topics.
Line Goes Up, the video that made his channel explode in popularity, is a great example of this. Despite having no background in cryptography or network programming, he still manages to explain in detail the history of NFTs, how they work, and ultimately, why they are basically just a worthless scam. As someone working in video games who despises the faux technology, it’s right up my alley.
My personal favourite, however, is In Search of a Flat Earth, documenting his obsession with trying to prove a random flat earth vlogger wrong. I really don’t want to spoil the 37-minute twist here, but it’s a must watch video. It shows how something as trivial as believing in a flat earth can actually have a sinister intent behind it. One that can do actual, real, harm.
But I’m saying too much already. Go watch the video.
His recent videos are, for the most part, full length documentaries. It’s these videos which, in my opinion, have pushed his channel into one of the best channels on YouTube. If you haven’t already, you should watch every single one of them.
