The Internet Never Forgets

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

A post on YouTube can provoke global ridicule with the press of a return key. When
a young man applied for a job at a U.S. investment firm, he sent along a video with his résumé. Called Impossible Is Nothing, it showed the student engaging in a variety of physical feats, from bench-pressing 495 pounds to doing a ski jump to breaking bricks with a karate chop. Throughout the clip, the student bragged about his athletic accomplishments and his overall success in life.

Needless to say, the video was not particularly appropriate for the job he was seeking, and his arrogance was so over the top that the video was quite funny. Apparently, someone at the investment firm leaked the video, and it was posted online. It became an instant hit and has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Throughout the Internet, the student has been mocked and parodied. His job prospects have diminished substantially. Although he certainly made a mistake and may have learned a lesson, his youthful bravado and misjudgment are now forever preserved in cyberspace.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American