Many people want to “learn something” via content platforms, yet after half a year remember only a few memes. The problem is not effort — it is not building a content-source portfolio. Watching a different influencer each day never builds a system.
This guide gives a reusable method: self-study in four steps, each mapped to “who to watch, how to use it”.
Step 1 · Set the subject and level
Do not search “XX for beginners” right away. Answer two questions first:
- Which slice? Not the big word “learn physics” but “patch my mechanics basics” or “get what quantum even is”.
- What is my level now? Total beginner, high-school level, or deepening? With the level set, source choices will not bounce between too hard and too easy.
Reference: Li Yongle’s general content is best for “locating what you lack” — his breadth quickly reveals blind spots.
Step 2 · Combine two source types
Key insight: systematic and fun have different jobs and must be paired.
Systematic (the rigorous trunk)
- CAS Physics: an authoritative institute channel giving accurate, framed knowledge.
- Li Yongle: explains underlying principles and connects disciplines.
- Wu Nailao: life-metaphor explanations sit between systematic and fun.
Use: build the trunk. Establish what the knowledge looks like, then fill it in.
Fun (hooks interest)
- Bidaothu, Xueding: science brain-teasers, light and humorous.
- Wuqiongxiaoliang: biology debunking, both fun and rigorous.
Use: when you cannot focus, to keep curiosity alive — but never let fun replace the system.
Step 3 · Order shallow-to-deep
Recommended order: fun entry → systematic trunk → deep extension.
- Fun entry: Bidaothu, Xueding, Wuqiongxiaoliang spark interest and build initial intuition.
- Systematic trunk: return to CAS Physics and Li Yongle for an accurate framework.
- Deep extension: drill deeper once the frame exists. For history, build a story thread with Xiaoyuehan Kehan, then add rigour with Lishidiaoyanshi.
Math runs the other way: build intuition first with 3Blue1Brown’s animation (even in English), then return to a textbook for derivation. Its value is in seeing math.
Law: Luoxiang is both fun entry (good cases) and thinking training (logic) — can serve as the trunk directly.
Step 4 · Test with output (Feynman technique)
Watching is not learning. The only test: can you explain it clearly.
Action: after each concept, explain it to someone who knows nothing, or write your own notes. Where you stumble is where you do not truly get it.
- Math: derive along with 3Blue1Brown’s animation — more useful than rewatching.
- Science: restate a phenomenon’s principle in your own words.
- History: close the video and tell the event thread yourself.
How to judge whether a content source is reliable
Three workable tests:
Does it explain premises and logic? Conclusion alone is worthless; “under what premise, through what mechanism” is what has value.
Does it separate opinion from fact? Channels that mark “mainstream view” versus “my speculation” are more trustworthy.
Does it cite sources? Data and studies that trace to an origin survive checking.
Three common mistakes
- Chasing influencers without a system. One fun creator cannot replace framed knowledge. Fun makes you want to learn; systematic makes you learn it right.
- Watching without doing. Self-study is muscle memory; restating and deriving are what internalise it.
- Ignoring level jumps. Raw beginners gnawing deep content get frustrated; with a base, watching entry content is waste. Order matters.
To find more reference accounts in this niche, see 10 science-and-education creators worth following or browse all indexed education creators.