The universe is a complicated place. You could dedicate your entire life to understanding how it works, and after a lifetime of study, you’d still barely scratch the surface.
That’s even more true for the average person, who likely doesn’t have the time to research what makes our world function. Most people are too busy raising kids, prepping for that big client meeting or (ahem) writing YouTube content reviews to discover the secrets of the universe.
That’s where Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell comes in. Kurzgesagt (a German phrase meaning “shortly said”) was founded in 2013 by scientist Philipp Dettmer. Though it originally started as a side project for Dettmer, it eventually grew into an animation studio with 70 employees and a YouTube channel with over 25 million subscribers.
Each Kurzgesagt video starts with a question about how the universe works. What’s at the bottom of the ocean? Do aliens exist? Why do people have allergies? The team then conducts research, consults with experts and answers that question as best as they can in an animated video around 10 minutes long. It’s all part of their goal to inspire interest in science and to prove that, according to their own YouTube channel description, “nothing is boring if you tell a good story.”
Pretty much everyone has questions about the world, but not everyone has time to dig deep and find the answers. The good news is, if you’re curious about how something works in our crazy, complex universe, there’s probably a Kurzgesagt video that covers it.
Kurzgesagt’s mission is to make complicated scientific concepts accessible to everyone, which is an admirable goal. Through engaging animation and storytelling, they’re able to turn dense topics like the function of the immune system into a gripping narrative, helping people learn more about the world and about themselves.
When sharing educational content, it’s important to get your facts straight, and the team at Kurzgesagt is dedicated to doing just that. The description of each video includes a document that thoroughly outlines all sources used, so if anything seems fishy, you can dive in and do some fact-checking yourself.
Some Kurzgesagt videos use scientific evidence to show the effect of harmful habits on the body. A video on smoking (ironically titled “Smoking is Awesome”), for instance, explains how it leads to diseases and long-term health consequences. This does mean that substances like fentanyl and marijuana are featured heavily in some videos, but Kurzgesagt doesn’t glorify drug habits. It stays in a purely scientific context, and the dangers of using these substances are made very clear.
According to the Kurzgesagt channel trailer (the first video you’ll see upon clicking on their YouTube page), “Humans are apes with smartphones living on a tiny moist rock which is speeding around a burning sphere a million times bigger than itself.” This is a pretty decent summary of the channel’s worldview.
The team at Kurzgesagt ascribes to a philosophy they call “optimistic nihilism”: Basically, nothing matters, and life has no purpose, which means we’re free to find meaning in whatever we’d like.
“The only principles relevant are the ones we decide on,” a video explaining this outlook says. “Do the things that make you feel good. You get to decide what that means for you.”
Obviously, this bears very little resemblance to biblical truth. But because it’s how the Kurzgesagt team sees the world, it bleeds into nearly every video on the channel.
No higher power exists in the world of Kurzgesagt. If the concept of a divine being is even mentioned, it’s dismissed as a primitive idea that humanity has grown beyond. Humans evolved from apes, the universe appeared at random, fertilized embryos are clumps of cells with only the potential to become human—these are just a few of the beliefs presented as facts in Kurzgesagt videos.
Of course, there is an “optimism” in optimistic nihilism, and that sometimes manifests itself in shreds of truth. There is some acknowledgement of a mystical quality that defines human life—in a video explaining the biological process of pregnancy, the creation of new life is called “a magical thing”—but it’s hard to take that optimism seriously. Sure, a baby may be a miracle, but if that child will only grow up to be an “ape with a smartphone,” why should we care?
Some Kurzgesagt videos also deal with tough subjects and dark, existential themes. One video on vaccines describes a thought experiment in which thousands of children die from measles, and others create existential dread by speculating about the end of the universe or our insignificance in the vastness of the cosmos. These videos usually end with an uplifting message about making the most of what little time we have, but again, it’s difficult to be encouraged knowing the worldview behind that message.
The team behind Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell has an admirable mission: to spark interest in science and to prove that even the most complicated of concepts can be made thrilling. But they also blend their subjective worldview with objective facts, and in doing so present unbiblical ideas as truth.
On one hand, it’s incredible that a video explaining why blue whales can’t get cancer has amassed nearly 30 million views. On the other, it’s concerning to hear statements like “[the fetus] turns from a blob into something vaguely human-like” relayed just as factually as “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.”
Kurzgesagt relies on humanism and nihilism to explain how the world works, which makes their videos extremely dangerous—especially to young, impressionable minds.
Still, there’s good to be found here, even if it isn’t exactly the good that the channel’s creators intended. The scientists and animators behind Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell might look at concepts explained in their videos and marvel at the random evolution of the universe. But as believers, we can watch those same videos and marvel at our Creator’s beautifully intentional design.
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
