Why do YouTubers clap at the start of videos?

Don't worry, I didn't travel to New Jersey just for this; I was in the area and it seemed like an apt location. I did try to remove the truck-reversing sound near the end, but it just sounded worse: and given what I was talking about at the time, that also felt apt!

Telling the audience that you're doing a thing to subtly manipulate them, and how and why it works, with no intent to stop because it DOES work, thus establishing trust by being forthright about a lie to establish trust is probably about the most Tom Scott thing ever.

The wave to the crewmembers who may or may not have been there is an absolute masterpiece of subversion, creating just a tiny bit of doubt.

I have an auditory processing disorder. I noticed the lack of sync immediately, because of being so used to reading lips and searching for visual cues. Also, knowing Tom Scott, I was kinda expecting it to be unsynchronized on purpose. Very cool video.

I love how the most replayed part is Tom talking about the 3 frames late, meaning most people decided to go back a few seconds to see if they can catch the 3-frame lag

I respect the hell out of Tom every time he pulls a baller move like giving exactly the solution you're looking for within 10 seconds of the video starting, trusting you to be patient enough to wait through the rest just because you seek the pleasure of learning something

As I've said for years: the best production value isn't always the highest production value. It depends on the audience, the message, and the format

The three frame delay is so confusing to me because I felt something was off with the synchronization even before he said it but when actively trying to match the sound to the video I couldn’t see the delay at all.

I must admit after hearing the truck sound and talking about setting the scene, I totally expected you to walk away and reveal it was a green screen afterall.

"I don't want to be relatable, I want to be trustworthy" - I think this is why we all love Tom.

I was expecting the camera to pull back and reveal a crew of 20+ people when Tom said "You can trust me."

Tom always impresses me with those incredibly long shots of him talking. I can't imagine how hard it is to not slip up for that long.

I get a weird uneasiness sometimes with poorly synced audio. I did this time, was actually noticing in real-time, and only realized why after you explaining and changing it back a few seconds later. Certainly confirmed a lot for me and possibly explained why at times I’ll find a video I just find unsettling to watch for unapparent reasons.

thank you for the clarification i finally understand myself fully

What I love is that he not only answers the question, but he does it in such a way I don't want to skip to the end.

Honestly Tom you have been a standard of what youtube videos can be and how they should cater to their audience, thank you for all that you do.

My new favorite thing that Tom does is answer the video title question we all read in our heads when the video starts. Its like he's answering our inner monologue.

It's amazing how Tom manages to look like he's both in his 20's and in his 60's at the same time

I really appreciate how he gets straight to the point for people who are just curious then goes into all the details and stuff through the rest of the video

In case some people don't catch the irony of showing the monument in the end of the video, in 1938 Orson Welles did a radio theater adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds"... except he didn't tell the audience at the beginning that it was just a theater show, so people across the country started panicking because they thought a real life alien invasion was underway. People at the time got much of their news from radio, and Welles created a show that used theatrical authenticity to exploit the audience's trust in radio as a news medium, while here, Tom is demonstrating how he uses theatrics to create authentic trust between himself and the viewer.