5 ms·

Ask HN: What are some of the best non-technical talks of all time?

• tsycho 5y ago
  "This is water", by David Foster Wallace. https://youtu.be/8CrOL-ydFMI https://youtu.be/8CrOL-ydFMI
• maverick-iceman 5y ago
  I think maybe it's the recency bias but Bezos put up a show the other day. Press conference after flying on his own reusable rocket and back, and the 100M for Van Jones and the other person.
• type0 5y ago
  Megan Phelps-Roper on Why She Left the Westboro Baptist Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhR-gYhs6CI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhR-gYhs6CI
• yesenadam 5y ago
  Many 19th C essays were originally lectures delivered to an audience—almost all of Emerson's essays, for example. There was a huge lecture circuit across the U.S. Maybe my favourite talks are William James' On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings (1890s), and its sequel What Makes a Life Significant. https://archive.org/details/onsomeoflifeside00jameiala/page/n7/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/onsomeoflifeside00jameiala/page/...
• 11001100 5y ago
  How the Tyrannosaurs Ruled the World with David Hone (55min) https://youtu.be/f-jD7kQvyPs https://youtu.be/f-jD7kQvyPs
• yesenadam 5y ago
  They Became What They Beheld: Medium, Message, Youtubery by Vi Hart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm-Jjvqu3U4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm-Jjvqu3U4 p.s. OP, if you put your links in a comment, people will be able to click on them.
  • prakhar897 5y ago
    Thanks, Added in Comments.
• prakhar897 5y ago
  Here's mine: 1. Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo&list=PLrekO4JKU4v0oxfgug1sOuaDORDEXf_vp&index=12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo&list=PLrekO4JKU4... 2. Strange answers to the psychopath test | Jon Ronson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYemnKEKx0c&list=PLrekO4JKU4v0oxfgug1sOuaDORDEXf_vp&index=4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYemnKEKx0c&list=PLrekO4JKU4... 3. The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology | Pranav Mistry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrtANPtnhyg&list=PLrekO4JKU4v0oxfgug1sOuaDORDEXf_vp&index=8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrtANPtnhyg&list=PLrekO4JKU4... 4. Steve Jobs MIT Class: What he learnt after he was fired from Apple? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXUhLbV8Nrg&list=PLrekO4JKU4v0oxfgug1sOuaDORDEXf_vp&index=22&t=8s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXUhLbV8Nrg&list=PLrekO4JKU4... 5. Eric Liu: Why ordinary people need to understand power https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd0JH1AreDw&list=PLrekO4JKU4v0oxfgug1sOuaDORDEXf_vp&index=24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd0JH1AreDw&list=PLrekO4JKU4... 6. Peter Lynch 1994 Lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Pq5zKEi_g&list=PLrekO4JKU4v0oxfgug1sOuaDORDEXf_vp&index=20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Pq5zKEi_g&list=PLrekO4JKU4...
• xq3000 5y ago
  To me, “Acres of Diamonds” is one of those. https://www.temple.edu/about/history-traditions/acres-diamonds https://www.temple.edu/about/history-traditions/acres-diamon...
• litmus 5y ago
  "of all time" is often too strong of a qualifier for me. I would say "talks that I want to rewatch the moment they come to mind." Charlie Kaufman's Bafta Lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfXcWT_oFs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRfXcWT_oFs Gabor Mate, Prisoners of Childhood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9B5mYfBPlY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9B5mYfBPlY I consider Bret Victor's inventing on principle a non-technical talk, so yeah that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUv66718DII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUv66718DII Quel Solaar, on creativity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJmqaWq7PJY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJmqaWq7PJY