Phil Mason

Philip E. Mason is a British videoblogger using the pseudonym Thunderf00t. He produces YouTube videos criticizing creationism, religion, pseudoscience and radical feminism. He works as a scientist in the fields of chemistry and biochemistry.

Mason received a BSc (1993) and PhD (1997) in chemistry from the University of Birmingham. From 2003 until at least August 2010, Mason was affiliated with the University of Bristol.

Mason worked at Cornell University's department of food science from 2002 until 2012, where he studied the molecular interactions between water and sugar molecules, as well as molecular modeling with regard to proteins and guanidinium solutions. As of 2013, he was working at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic as a member of a research group headed by Pavel Jungwirth. Mason was the lead author in a paper, published in Nature Chemistry, that argued that alkali metal reactions with water can cause a Coulomb explosion. Mason has co-authored 34 scientific papers, of which he is the lead author of 20. As of August 2016 he is still actively publishing research.

Through his YouTube account Thunderf00t, he has made a series of videos entitled "Why do people laugh at creationists?", focusing primarily on Kent Hovind's arguments in public seminars. Sociologist Richard Cimino has described the tone of these videos as "that of the professional, well-educated, and articulate British academic expert exposing—in voiceover—the irrational behavior and attitudes of the believer." Mason (originally known only as Thunderf00t) debated the creationist VenomFangX, a YouTube blogger who supports creationism, in a series of public exchanges that lasted almost two years. Mason is also known for responding to arguments made by Ray Comfort and intelligent design proponent Casey Luskin.

Mason's Twitter account was temporarily suspended on 19 September 2014 for allegedly engaging in abusive behaviour towards Anita Sarkeesian and other feminists. Mason speculated that a short-lived campaign had been mounted against him.