For knitters, there’s at all times been extra to the craft than meets the attention. So when SciShow posted a video titled “Physicists Don’t Understand Why Knitting Works,” it didn’t sit effectively with many viewers, particularly those that perceive the depth, technicality, and historical past behind the fiber arts.

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The episode aimed to interrupt down the physics of knit cloth. But for lots of knitters, it felt just like the present decreased their craft to a scientific curiosity—with out giving the neighborhood the respect it deserved. After a number of days of rising criticism, each on YouTube and TikTok, govt producer Nicole Sweeney stepped in.

First, host Hank Green responded briefly on TikTok, admitting the episode didn’t body knitting the way in which it deserved.

Now, SciShow has introduced that it took down the unique video altogether and shared a proper apology.

SciShow addresses the criticism

In a neighborhood put up on YouTube, SciShow confirmed they pulled the video.

“Earlier this month, we published a video about knitting and physics that missed the mark,” they wrote. “If you read nothing else, just know that while we were certainly not trying to be dismissive of knitting and knitters, we understand how it came across, and we should have done better.”

They went on to say that the video failed in its supposed aim of exhibiting how complicated and versatile knitting actually is, and acknowledged that their tone contributed to a protracted historical past of undervaluing textile work, particularly work historically performed by ladies.

“Our biggest miss was how some of the language we used in the video fit into a very long history of diminishing the work and innovation of people who have made, and continue to make, textiles,” the assertion learn. “We are really sorry for that.”

They additionally famous that the video lacked essential historic context, which might have helped body the scientific dialogue extra respectfully.

“There are no immediate plans to rework this specific video,” Sweeney added, “but we have learned a lot from this experience.”

Fiber artists weigh in

In the feedback, knitters appeared to understand the honesty.

“This is how an apology and retraction should read,” one commenter wrote. “It takes true humility, an open mind, and a scholar’s drive for learning to be this sincere.”

Another particular person added, “We’ve all dropped a stitch or two. Not all of us recover with such humility and grace.”

One viewer, who works for a analysis group whose paper SciShow cited, shared extra context: While hand knitting could seem easy, the science behind it nonetheless lags far behind different supplies when it comes to modeling and predictability.

“You can model plumbing and simulate water flow,” they defined. “But you can’t (yet) model a simple stockinette fabric and get an accurate depiction of how much it will curl based on the yarn used.”

They additionally talked about the challenges of scientific communication—particularly when consultants in hand knitting, industrial textiles, and physics don’t at all times converse the identical language.

“I’ve been a hand knitter for over 20 years and an industrial knitting machine programmer for 6,” they wrote. “Some terms are identical, but many are not—and can even vary by country or sector.”

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