24 ms·

Ask HN: What are some 'must watch' talks?

267 points by CSMastermind 10y ago

kaishiro 10y ago
Dan Pallotta's Ted Talk on charity - "The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong" https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_abou... Wildly changed my worldview with regard to charities.
geoffpado 10y ago
I'm a particular fan of Bret Victor's "The Future of Programming". [1] It's a great look at the amazing number of ideas that the CS world has come up with and how we might be able to improve the act of building programs, even from "old" ideas. [1] https://vimeo.com/71278954 https://vimeo.com/71278954
- CSMastermind 10y ago
  That was an absolute gem of a talk. Thank you so much for posting this.
- kevinSuttle 10y ago
  One of my all-time favorites as well. Pretty much any of his talks are legendary.
- chrisnordqvist 10y ago
  Absolutely loved this! Thanks for posting.
pizza 10y ago
Mark Fisher's talk about how capitalism makes it seem like the only game in town [0] David Pearce on abolishing suffering [1] Jurgen Schmidhuber "Universal AI and a formal theory of fun" [2] Slavoj Žižek on "signs from the future" - also ties into [0] a bit because at one point he mentions how excess capital was found to actually reduce the efficiency of certain creative tasks [3] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deZgzw0YHQI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deZgzw0YHQI [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCb9sk6CTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCb9sk6CTc [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnbZzcruGu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnbZzcruGu0 [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-wbaSUMAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-wbaSUMAY
- griffinmmahon 10y ago
  Žižek on green consumerism is quite good as well, I find myself constantly thinking of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g.
  - pizza 10y ago
    Yes! I agree with him a lot that environmentalists today are too conservative - in the insistence that preternatural human effects on the environment can only be disturbing or jeopardize ecosystems. But, like Žižek likes to say: what if the opposite were true? What if we should instead aim for more radical reinterpretations of our relationship with nature, and to instead make ourselves more artificial, while also better stewards of nature - like Elon Musk's vision of humans as being a multiplanetary civilization, or getting people to realize that junk is not a disease, but a symptom of a system that enables mass rearranging of junk-substrate.
- Klaperman 10y ago
  Is the Schmidhuber talk about his idea that benevolence and "fun" reduces to maximizing compression of sensory experience? I really wish he would stop peddling that.
danielvf 10y ago
Rich Hickey's talk on simplicity is a must watch. https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Simple-Made-Easy https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Simple-Made-Easy And one of the most useful talks of all time for building organizations is by Ed Catmull (of Pixar) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h2lvhzMDc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h2lvhzMDc
- michaelsbradley 10y ago
  I saw Simple Made Easy live, in person, in Saint Louis (where I live), back in Fall 2011. I remember the experience very well ~ forever changed the trajectory of my personal and professional efforts at software development. I was so under-exposed to non C-family languages at the time that I asked the guy next to met whether the code used to demo the ideas "was Haskell or something else?" I felt embarrassed at the shocked look on his face; my grand exploration of Clojure (and other functional languages too!) began shortly thereafter. The previous evening, I'd accidentally had dinner with Dr. Gerald Sussman... what a conference, what an experience was Strange Loop 2011! [+] https://thestrangeloop.com/2011/sessions.html https://thestrangeloop.com/2011/sessions.html
  - lewisl9029 10y ago
    The Front End Architecture Revolution by David Nolen is one of my all-time favorites, and was probably the biggest single influence on the trajectory of my own development career: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/61483785 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/61483785
- Phorkyas1 10y ago
  In a similar vein like the first one, maybe, but with the addition of some physicist's humor if you are in into that kind of thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4
shahocean 10y ago
Sir Ken Robinson's talk on Do schools kill creativity? Its worth watching. https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_cre...
- wyclif 10y ago
  Yes, I forgot about this one but it's a TED Talks classic.
- ironic_ali 10y ago
  Aaand... 2 hours gone watching all Ken Robinson's talks. Brilliant stuff!
- posterboy 10y ago
  I didn't like the conclusion that switching to a school was a solution that supports a specific kind of creative activities, because the example was not convinving. A Dance Carreer is famous for competition so much so it was featured as a storyline on the Simpsons. OTOH the school might just have been exceptional, but then it proofs nothing. Edit: Still, I like that the problem is interesting enough for the talk to become prominent.
  - andrei_says_ 10y ago
    While I agree with all of the above, I think the talk was masterfully crafted for success. I doubt it would've been nearly as successful without the mention of a mega celebrity or if it recommended unschooling. Honestly I'd rather have 5+ million people or whatever the view count get exposed to thinking which puts school structure into question than have a talk providing better solutions.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
sayelt 10y ago
The mind behind Linux | Linus Torvalds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NPllzkFhE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NPllzkFhE
- cyberjunkie 10y ago
  I didn't expect to like it. But despite his slight nervousness, his simplicity and his brutal honesty and self-criticism resonated well with me. Really good, no-nonsense talk. Good watch!
ellism 10y ago
Guy Steele's talk, "Growing A Language", is very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ahvzDzKdB0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ahvzDzKdB0
- kaeluka 10y ago
  Yes, essential viewing!
- kaeluka 10y ago
  Yes, essential viewing!
wunderg 10y ago
The Birth & Death of JavaScript. A talk by Gary Bernhardt. https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/the-birth-and-death-of-javascript https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/the-birth-and-death...
- steinuil 10y ago
  His other talks are great too! My favourite is "A Whole New World". https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks
- kmi187 10y ago
  The man is funny :)
F_J_H 10y ago
Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action - start with Why https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_insp...
f00_ 10y ago
Richard Hamming: You and Your Research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw (All the recordings from "Intro to The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn" are amazing)
- f00_ 10y ago
  also: Alan Kay: "OOPSLA 1997 - The computer revolution hasnt happened yet" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKg1hTOQXoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKg1hTOQXoY and +1 to anything by bret victor
keyanp 10y ago
Very surprised it hasn't already been mentioned, but Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" is fantastic (although not technical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
- nicostouch 10y ago
  Such an epic lecture this!
- cableshaft 10y ago
  Just rewatched this. I was thinking "I remember this having a major effect on me emotionally last time, why isn't it this time?", then I got to the end, and it reminded me. Oh boy. Still choked up.
- adgulacti 10y ago
  thanks a lot for sharing this, really inspiring!
Ace17 10y ago
"7 minutes, 26 seconds, and the fundamental theorem of Agile Software Development", by JB Rainsberger. It's short and straight to the point. https://vimeo.com/79106557 https://vimeo.com/79106557
keane 10y ago
What Makes Us Uniquely Human? by Erwin McManus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BdgVfhciSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BdgVfhciSw
steinuil 10y ago
Mike Acton's Data-oriented Design is definitely a must. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0ItVEVjHc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0ItVEVjHc
james_niro 10y ago
Steve Jobs commencement speech https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA
wyclif 10y ago
This is what happens when you reply to spam email by James Veitch https://youtu.be/_QdPW8JrYzQ https://youtu.be/_QdPW8JrYzQ
wyclif 10y ago
The call to learn by Clifford Stoll https://youtu.be/Gj8IA6xOpSk https://youtu.be/Gj8IA6xOpSk
wyclif 10y ago
Computer Architecture Essentials by James Reinders https://youtu.be/yOa0WpMwzWk https://youtu.be/yOa0WpMwzWk
wyclif 10y ago
Linus Torvalds on git https://youtu.be/4XpnKHJAok8 https://youtu.be/4XpnKHJAok8
flaviocopes 10y ago
David Heinemeier Hansson at Startup School 08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY
wyclif 10y ago
The computer revolution hasn't happened yet by Alan Kay https://youtu.be/oKg1hTOQXoY https://youtu.be/oKg1hTOQXoY
patio11 10y ago
If you like the business of running software companies, these are probably my two favorite business-oriented talks ever: Long Slow SaaS Ramp of Death (Gail Goodman): http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/gail-goodman-constant-contact-how-to-negotiate-the-long-slow-saas-ramp-of-death/ http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/gail-goodman-constant-... Wide-ranging; covers why SaaS companies are brutally difficult to build and how ConstantContact very gradually achieved escape velocity while on the titular long slow SaaS ramp of death and eventually got to the fabled hockeystick growth land. Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped [Software] Business (Jason Cohen): https://vimeo.com/74338272 https://vimeo.com/74338272 Jason presents a framework for how to find a product which will get you to $10k in monthly recurring revenue. (If you liked these two talks and just want More Like That Please go to the Microconf video page and queue up every talk by Rob Walling, preferably in order.) And, on an entirely different subject, Developers, Entrepreneurs, and Depression (Greg Baugues): http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/11/developers-entrepreneurs-depression-a-wonderful-talk-at-business-of-software-conference/ http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/11/developers-entrepreneu...
Perceptes 10y ago
J.B. Rainsberger — Integrated Tests Are a Scam: https://vimeo.com/80533536 https://vimeo.com/80533536
sjakobi 10y ago
Conal Elliott on denotational design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmKYiUOEo2A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmKYiUOEo2A
Synaesthesia 10y ago
Noam Chomsky on Power and Ideology and the Myth of American Exceptionalism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_X5czMVKT8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_X5czMVKT8 Transcript: http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/22/noam_chomsky_on_the_myth_of http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/22/noam_chomsky_on_the_my...
Carducci 10y ago
Developing Expertise: Herding Racehorses, Racing Sheep :: https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Developing-Expertise-Dave-Thomas https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Developing-Expertise-Dav... Talk by Dave Thomas which gives a interesting look at software engineering expertise.
summerdown2 10y ago
Mike Monteiro on the importance of a contract: "Fuck you, pay me." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3RJhoqgK8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3RJhoqgK8
- lstroud 10y ago
  Got him to admit to me that he exaggerates for "effect" in the talk. Personally, I see "exaggerating for effect" as dishonest. Manipulating facts in order to generate a response is manipulation.
  - kaeluka 10y ago
    It's a pep talk. Nothing wrong with that, IMO.
- ak39 10y ago
  Thank you for this. I am changing these three things: 1. Contract document signed first before any work is done (even free work) 2. Never appeal to emotions 3. Kill Phase clause Great advice.
willemlabu 10y ago
This changed my perception of stress and pressure, and then, in consequence, my life as a dev. https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress... It's worth listening to if you're in a high pressure environment, or struggle with stress.
- nagarch 10y ago
  Good one
bprasanna 10y ago
Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8
jerrytsai 10y ago
"Don't Talk to the Police" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE This talk was an eye-opener for me and an indictment of the U.S. "justice" system. You can't presume you'll be treated fairly, considered not a suspect, etc. And, as mentioned by keyanp, Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture". Vita brevis. Carpe diem.
kfe 10y ago
Dan Ariely: "Predictabily Irrational" https://youtu.be/VZv--sm9XXU https://youtu.be/VZv--sm9XXU
snarfy 10y ago
Hans Rosling: The best stats you've ever seen. https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_...
bluetomcat 10y ago
"The Mess We're In" by Joe Armstrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4 "Normal Considered Harmful" by Alan Kay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvmTSpJU-Xc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvmTSpJU-Xc
nottorp 10y ago
Supplementary question: which of those "talks worth watching" have a transcript?
satyajeet23 10y ago
Highly recommended! (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs:_The_Lost_Interview https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs:_The_Lost_Intervi...)
hedwall 10y ago
Richards Cooks How complex systems fail from velocity a couple of years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0k12uZR14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0k12uZR14 and the paper that's the basis for it is also nice to have handy http://web.mit.edu/2.75/resources/random/How%20Complex%20Systems%20Fail.pdf http://web.mit.edu/2.75/resources/random/How%20Complex%20Sys...
novorool 10y ago
David Heinemeier Hansson - How to create a profitable startup company? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY
Dowwie 10y ago
Jim Carey's 2014 commencement speech at the MUM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M Jim reveals his depth in this talk. Here's one of the gems you'll hear: "You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love"
novorool 10y ago
David Heinemeier Hansson - How reliance on luck can undermine productivity? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ISOSyr_dMU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ISOSyr_dMU
shazzy 10y ago
"Black History": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4 - Probably the best, most eye opening talk on any topic, but especially on the roots of institutionalised racism, and perhaps the cause of a lot of issues today. It is by "Akala", an English rapper, poet, and journalist at the Oxford Union and is is a shining example that you can gain a great amount of knowledge, if you are only willing to. If you liked the Netflix documentary "13th" you will like this.
Mahbubur-Rahman 10y ago
Probably his last lecture at MIT http://mashable.com/2013/07/14/amar-bose-dead/ http://mashable.com/2013/07/14/amar-bose-dead/
MK999 10y ago
Does anyone have a link to the talk something along the lines of ~'the power of stupid ideas' -- the beginning was about this shop that petitioned the London bus authority to move the bus stop closer to this shop to create a virtual wall. I only saw half of it and I'd like to see the other half.
woz 10y ago
Neil Gaiman's commencement speech at The University of Arts. Intended for arts students, but it's by far the most inspirational speech I've ever seen https://youtu.be/ikAb-NYkseI https://youtu.be/ikAb-NYkseI
srigi 10y ago
Ben Orenstein - Refactoring from Good to Great (Aloha Ruby Conf 2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-pQPq0acs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-pQPq0acs This really changes the way you look into your OOP code. Please watch even if you're not a Ruby programmer.
Tomte 10y ago
Robert Sapolsky on depression. Fantastic talk on both the biological-neurological and the psychological side.
andrei_says_ 10y ago
Sandy Metz has a few great talks on OO programming. I highly recommend Nothing is Something but all are great. https://confreaks.tv/presenters/sandi-metz https://confreaks.tv/presenters/sandi-metz
andrei_says_ 10y ago
Nell Shamrell's talk on regex https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TMV3LrNG6-w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TMV3LrNG6-w You know you want to know how it works ;)
johnnycarcin 10y ago
Hacker Fundamentals and Cutting Through Abstraction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSuq3Ry9PLQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSuq3Ry9PLQ Not an earth shattering talk or anything (and the title isn't super accurate) but the idea and message that is being presented is something I think people in our world need to be reminded of.
ivan_ah 10y ago
These are interesting sources of inspiration from which I learned a lot about marketing: - Building the minimum Badass User (make your users awesome) by Kathy Sierra: https://vimeo.com/54469442 https://vimeo.com/54469442 - Start with the Why? by Simon Sinek (then How? and finally What?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw - Good design doesn't sell itself by Mike Monteiro: https://vimeo.com/121082134 https://vimeo.com/121082134
kchauhan 10y ago
May be this question's answers help you - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12637239 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12637239
- CSMastermind 10y ago
  Amazing - thank you.
seanccox 10y ago
John Cleese's talk on creativity is both funny and inspirational, and it's become a key part of how I approach creative projects and how I encourage people to explore their own creativity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xPvvPTQaMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xPvvPTQaMI

267 points by CSMastermind 10y ago

Dan Pallotta's Ted Talk on charity - "The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong" https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_abou... Wildly changed my worldview with regard to charities.

geoffpado 10y ago

I'm a particular fan of Bret Victor's "The Future of Programming". [1] It's a great look at the amazing number of ideas that the CS world has come up with and how we might be able to improve the act of building programs, even from "old" ideas. [1] https://vimeo.com/71278954 https://vimeo.com/71278954

CSMastermind 10y ago
That was an absolute gem of a talk. Thank you so much for posting this.
kevinSuttle 10y ago
One of my all-time favorites as well. Pretty much any of his talks are legendary.
chrisnordqvist 10y ago
Absolutely loved this! Thanks for posting.

pizza 10y ago

Mark Fisher's talk about how capitalism makes it seem like the only game in town [0] David Pearce on abolishing suffering [1] Jurgen Schmidhuber "Universal AI and a formal theory of fun" [2] Slavoj Žižek on "signs from the future" - also ties into [0] a bit because at one point he mentions how excess capital was found to actually reduce the efficiency of certain creative tasks [3] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deZgzw0YHQI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deZgzw0YHQI [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCb9sk6CTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCb9sk6CTc [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnbZzcruGu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnbZzcruGu0 [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-wbaSUMAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb-wbaSUMAY

griffinmmahon 10y ago
Žižek on green consumerism is quite good as well, I find myself constantly thinking of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g.
- pizza 10y ago
  Yes! I agree with him a lot that environmentalists today are too conservative - in the insistence that preternatural human effects on the environment can only be disturbing or jeopardize ecosystems. But, like Žižek likes to say: what if the opposite were true? What if we should instead aim for more radical reinterpretations of our relationship with nature, and to instead make ourselves more artificial, while also better stewards of nature - like Elon Musk's vision of humans as being a multiplanetary civilization, or getting people to realize that junk is not a disease, but a symptom of a system that enables mass rearranging of junk-substrate.
Klaperman 10y ago
Is the Schmidhuber talk about his idea that benevolence and "fun" reduces to maximizing compression of sensory experience? I really wish he would stop peddling that.

danielvf 10y ago

Rich Hickey's talk on simplicity is a must watch. https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Simple-Made-Easy https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Simple-Made-Easy And one of the most useful talks of all time for building organizations is by Ed Catmull (of Pixar) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h2lvhzMDc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k2h2lvhzMDc

michaelsbradley 10y ago
I saw Simple Made Easy live, in person, in Saint Louis (where I live), back in Fall 2011. I remember the experience very well ~ forever changed the trajectory of my personal and professional efforts at software development. I was so under-exposed to non C-family languages at the time that I asked the guy next to met whether the code used to demo the ideas "was Haskell or something else?" I felt embarrassed at the shocked look on his face; my grand exploration of Clojure (and other functional languages too!) began shortly thereafter. The previous evening, I'd accidentally had dinner with Dr. Gerald Sussman... what a conference, what an experience was Strange Loop 2011! [+] https://thestrangeloop.com/2011/sessions.html https://thestrangeloop.com/2011/sessions.html
- lewisl9029 10y ago
  The Front End Architecture Revolution by David Nolen is one of my all-time favorites, and was probably the biggest single influence on the trajectory of my own development career: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/61483785 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/61483785
Phorkyas1 10y ago
In a similar vein like the first one, maybe, but with the addition of some physicist's humor if you are in into that kind of thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4

shahocean 10y ago

Sir Ken Robinson's talk on Do schools kill creativity? Its worth watching. https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_cre...

wyclif 10y ago
Yes, I forgot about this one but it's a TED Talks classic.
ironic_ali 10y ago
Aaand... 2 hours gone watching all Ken Robinson's talks. Brilliant stuff!
posterboy 10y ago
I didn't like the conclusion that switching to a school was a solution that supports a specific kind of creative activities, because the example was not convinving. A Dance Carreer is famous for competition so much so it was featured as a storyline on the Simpsons. OTOH the school might just have been exceptional, but then it proofs nothing. Edit: Still, I like that the problem is interesting enough for the talk to become prominent.
- andrei_says_ 10y ago
  While I agree with all of the above, I think the talk was masterfully crafted for success. I doubt it would've been nearly as successful without the mention of a mega celebrity or if it recommended unschooling. Honestly I'd rather have 5+ million people or whatever the view count get exposed to thinking which puts school structure into question than have a talk providing better solutions.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

sayelt 10y ago

The mind behind Linux | Linus Torvalds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NPllzkFhE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NPllzkFhE

cyberjunkie 10y ago
I didn't expect to like it. But despite his slight nervousness, his simplicity and his brutal honesty and self-criticism resonated well with me. Really good, no-nonsense talk. Good watch!

ellism 10y ago

Guy Steele's talk, "Growing A Language", is very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ahvzDzKdB0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ahvzDzKdB0

kaeluka 10y ago
Yes, essential viewing!
kaeluka 10y ago
Yes, essential viewing!

wunderg 10y ago

The Birth & Death of JavaScript. A talk by Gary Bernhardt. https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/the-birth-and-death-of-javascript https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/the-birth-and-death...

steinuil 10y ago
His other talks are great too! My favourite is "A Whole New World". https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks
kmi187 10y ago
The man is funny :)

F_J_H 10y ago

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action - start with Why https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_insp...

f00_ 10y ago

Richard Hamming: You and Your Research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw (All the recordings from "Intro to The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn" are amazing)

f00_ 10y ago
also: Alan Kay: "OOPSLA 1997 - The computer revolution hasnt happened yet" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKg1hTOQXoY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKg1hTOQXoY and +1 to anything by bret victor

keyanp 10y ago

Very surprised it hasn't already been mentioned, but Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" is fantastic (although not technical): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

nicostouch 10y ago
Such an epic lecture this!
cableshaft 10y ago
Just rewatched this. I was thinking "I remember this having a major effect on me emotionally last time, why isn't it this time?", then I got to the end, and it reminded me. Oh boy. Still choked up.
adgulacti 10y ago
thanks a lot for sharing this, really inspiring!

Ace17 10y ago

"7 minutes, 26 seconds, and the fundamental theorem of Agile Software Development", by JB Rainsberger. It's short and straight to the point. https://vimeo.com/79106557 https://vimeo.com/79106557

keane 10y ago

What Makes Us Uniquely Human? by Erwin McManus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BdgVfhciSw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BdgVfhciSw

steinuil 10y ago

Mike Acton's Data-oriented Design is definitely a must. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0ItVEVjHc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX0ItVEVjHc

james_niro 10y ago

Steve Jobs commencement speech https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

wyclif 10y ago

This is what happens when you reply to spam email by James Veitch https://youtu.be/_QdPW8JrYzQ https://youtu.be/_QdPW8JrYzQ

wyclif 10y ago

The call to learn by Clifford Stoll https://youtu.be/Gj8IA6xOpSk https://youtu.be/Gj8IA6xOpSk

wyclif 10y ago

Computer Architecture Essentials by James Reinders https://youtu.be/yOa0WpMwzWk https://youtu.be/yOa0WpMwzWk

wyclif 10y ago

Linus Torvalds on git https://youtu.be/4XpnKHJAok8 https://youtu.be/4XpnKHJAok8

flaviocopes 10y ago

David Heinemeier Hansson at Startup School 08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY

wyclif 10y ago

The computer revolution hasn't happened yet by Alan Kay https://youtu.be/oKg1hTOQXoY https://youtu.be/oKg1hTOQXoY

patio11 10y ago

If you like the business of running software companies, these are probably my two favorite business-oriented talks ever: Long Slow SaaS Ramp of Death (Gail Goodman): http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/gail-goodman-constant-contact-how-to-negotiate-the-long-slow-saas-ramp-of-death/ http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/gail-goodman-constant-... Wide-ranging; covers why SaaS companies are brutally difficult to build and how ConstantContact very gradually achieved escape velocity while on the titular long slow SaaS ramp of death and eventually got to the fabled hockeystick growth land. Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped [Software] Business (Jason Cohen): https://vimeo.com/74338272 https://vimeo.com/74338272 Jason presents a framework for how to find a product which will get you to $10k in monthly recurring revenue. (If you liked these two talks and just want More Like That Please go to the Microconf video page and queue up every talk by Rob Walling, preferably in order.) And, on an entirely different subject, Developers, Entrepreneurs, and Depression (Greg Baugues): http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/11/developers-entrepreneurs-depression-a-wonderful-talk-at-business-of-software-conference/ http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/11/developers-entrepreneu...

Perceptes 10y ago

J.B. Rainsberger — Integrated Tests Are a Scam: https://vimeo.com/80533536 https://vimeo.com/80533536

sjakobi 10y ago

Conal Elliott on denotational design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmKYiUOEo2A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmKYiUOEo2A

Synaesthesia 10y ago

Noam Chomsky on Power and Ideology and the Myth of American Exceptionalism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_X5czMVKT8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_X5czMVKT8 Transcript: http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/22/noam_chomsky_on_the_myth_of http://www.democracynow.org/2015/9/22/noam_chomsky_on_the_my...

Carducci 10y ago

Developing Expertise: Herding Racehorses, Racing Sheep :: https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Developing-Expertise-Dave-Thomas https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Developing-Expertise-Dav... Talk by Dave Thomas which gives a interesting look at software engineering expertise.

summerdown2 10y ago

Mike Monteiro on the importance of a contract: "Fuck you, pay me." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3RJhoqgK8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3RJhoqgK8

lstroud 10y ago
Got him to admit to me that he exaggerates for "effect" in the talk. Personally, I see "exaggerating for effect" as dishonest. Manipulating facts in order to generate a response is manipulation.
- kaeluka 10y ago
  It's a pep talk. Nothing wrong with that, IMO.
ak39 10y ago
Thank you for this. I am changing these three things: 1. Contract document signed first before any work is done (even free work) 2. Never appeal to emotions 3. Kill Phase clause Great advice.

willemlabu 10y ago

This changed my perception of stress and pressure, and then, in consequence, my life as a dev. https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress... It's worth listening to if you're in a high pressure environment, or struggle with stress.

nagarch 10y ago
Good one

bprasanna 10y ago

Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8

jerrytsai 10y ago

"Don't Talk to the Police" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE This talk was an eye-opener for me and an indictment of the U.S. "justice" system. You can't presume you'll be treated fairly, considered not a suspect, etc. And, as mentioned by keyanp, Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture". Vita brevis. Carpe diem.

kfe 10y ago

Dan Ariely: "Predictabily Irrational" https://youtu.be/VZv--sm9XXU https://youtu.be/VZv--sm9XXU

snarfy 10y ago

Hans Rosling: The best stats you've ever seen. https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_...

bluetomcat 10y ago

"The Mess We're In" by Joe Armstrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKXe3HUG2l4 "Normal Considered Harmful" by Alan Kay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvmTSpJU-Xc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvmTSpJU-Xc

nottorp 10y ago

Supplementary question: which of those "talks worth watching" have a transcript?

satyajeet23 10y ago

Highly recommended! (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs:_The_Lost_Interview https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs:_The_Lost_Intervi...)

hedwall 10y ago

Richards Cooks How complex systems fail from velocity a couple of years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0k12uZR14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0k12uZR14 and the paper that's the basis for it is also nice to have handy http://web.mit.edu/2.75/resources/random/How%20Complex%20Systems%20Fail.pdf http://web.mit.edu/2.75/resources/random/How%20Complex%20Sys...

novorool 10y ago

David Heinemeier Hansson - How to create a profitable startup company? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CDXJ6bMkMY

Dowwie 10y ago

Jim Carey's 2014 commencement speech at the MUM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V80-gPkpH6M Jim reveals his depth in this talk. Here's one of the gems you'll hear: "You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love"

novorool 10y ago

David Heinemeier Hansson - How reliance on luck can undermine productivity? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ISOSyr_dMU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ISOSyr_dMU

shazzy 10y ago

"Black History": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4 - Probably the best, most eye opening talk on any topic, but especially on the roots of institutionalised racism, and perhaps the cause of a lot of issues today. It is by "Akala", an English rapper, poet, and journalist at the Oxford Union and is is a shining example that you can gain a great amount of knowledge, if you are only willing to. If you liked the Netflix documentary "13th" you will like this.

Mahbubur-Rahman 10y ago

Probably his last lecture at MIT http://mashable.com/2013/07/14/amar-bose-dead/ http://mashable.com/2013/07/14/amar-bose-dead/

MK999 10y ago

Does anyone have a link to the talk something along the lines of ~'the power of stupid ideas' -- the beginning was about this shop that petitioned the London bus authority to move the bus stop closer to this shop to create a virtual wall. I only saw half of it and I'd like to see the other half.

woz 10y ago

Neil Gaiman's commencement speech at The University of Arts. Intended for arts students, but it's by far the most inspirational speech I've ever seen https://youtu.be/ikAb-NYkseI https://youtu.be/ikAb-NYkseI

srigi 10y ago

Ben Orenstein - Refactoring from Good to Great (Aloha Ruby Conf 2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-pQPq0acs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-pQPq0acs This really changes the way you look into your OOP code. Please watch even if you're not a Ruby programmer.

Tomte 10y ago

Robert Sapolsky on depression. Fantastic talk on both the biological-neurological and the psychological side.

andrei_says_ 10y ago

Sandy Metz has a few great talks on OO programming. I highly recommend Nothing is Something but all are great. https://confreaks.tv/presenters/sandi-metz https://confreaks.tv/presenters/sandi-metz

andrei_says_ 10y ago

Nell Shamrell's talk on regex https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TMV3LrNG6-w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TMV3LrNG6-w You know you want to know how it works ;)

johnnycarcin 10y ago

Hacker Fundamentals and Cutting Through Abstraction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSuq3Ry9PLQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSuq3Ry9PLQ Not an earth shattering talk or anything (and the title isn't super accurate) but the idea and message that is being presented is something I think people in our world need to be reminded of.

ivan_ah 10y ago

These are interesting sources of inspiration from which I learned a lot about marketing: - Building the minimum Badass User (make your users awesome) by Kathy Sierra: https://vimeo.com/54469442 https://vimeo.com/54469442 - Start with the Why? by Simon Sinek (then How? and finally What?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw - Good design doesn't sell itself by Mike Monteiro: https://vimeo.com/121082134 https://vimeo.com/121082134

kchauhan 10y ago

May be this question's answers help you - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12637239 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12637239

CSMastermind 10y ago
Amazing - thank you.

seanccox 10y ago

John Cleese's talk on creativity is both funny and inspirational, and it's become a key part of how I approach creative projects and how I encourage people to explore their own creativity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xPvvPTQaMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xPvvPTQaMI