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I wouldn't call him great, but I think it's really adorable how he takes his cadences/writing style from popular tech presenters. He's an excellent mimic.

• latch 15y ago
  I would. He didn't oversell it (which is what every tech speaker does nowadays as they try, and fail, to imitate Jobs). His ton was even, he didn't sound or look nervous. He had minor trip ups a couple time and just kept going. He made the audience genuinely laugh. Also, what makes you say he took "his cadences/writing style from popular tech presenters?" Isn't that a bit like watching a child score three pointers one after another and saying "ah, isn't that cute, he's imitating Ray Allen"
  • unalone 15y ago
    He sounds like a kid who's seen a lot of Apple keynotes. A lot of his tactics he takes right from Jobs, but for some reason his diction reminds me more of Scott Forstall, who's always a little more eager and a little more rehearsed than Jobs was on stage. (Jobs always took his time talking.) Not that this is a bad thing! When I was his age I was mimicking my favorite writers' styles, and teaching myself the comic pacings of my favorite comedians. That's how you first develop a sensibility, by studying the people you like. He absolutely shows signs of nervousness – his movements are twitchy, he speaks too quickly and runs over his sentences. Clearly he spent a lot of time rehearsing what he had to say, and he does a good job of it. He gets the audience to laugh, though I'll be skeptical and suggest that audiences are predisposed to laugh at jokes made by young people, and also at jokes involving Justin Bieber getting whacked. The reason I wouldn't call him great (though he is clearly good at this) is that he doesn't take his audience's perspective into account. I'd be stunned if he could; it's a damned difficult skill to have learned when you're a preteen. He takes (and sells) some effective cadences, but what he's actually saying fits awkwardly within the frame. He spends time explaining certain things unnecessarily, because from his younger perspective certain details are more interesting than they are when you're even a little bit older. Again, not surprising, and not a ding against him. As for your Ray Allen quip, unfortunately I don't know basketball well enough to respond, but I argue that there's a difference between a basic action (like shooting a three-pointer) and a pattern (like constructing a speech in a certain way with certain rhythms). It would be like if a basketball player had a certain famous technique for making his way across the court once he had the ball. You could watch a younger player and notice that he was mimicking the tactics of certain players. Once again, not something to be held against a young person figuring out the rules of a game – that's one of the best ways to learn! But this kid is still sticking pretty rigorously to a template. It's a good template, and I think it's cute seeing a young kid mimic speakers with whom I'm quite familiar. I just wouldn't call it great – because for me presentation is a nuanced art, and there's a lot more to it than what we're seeing here. Calling this great might close minds to the possibility of more sophisticated presentations, and that would be a real shame. It's nothing against this kid, who's clearly bright and having a lot of fun in the spotlight.
    • EtienneJohnred 15y ago
      Jesus Christ, the kid's in 6th grade. Cut him a fucking break, asshat.
      • jarek 15y ago
        Huh? No one is criticizing the child for not being a good speaker. Noting that his speech wasn't perfect is entirely orthogonal to cutting or not cutting him a "fucking break."
      • unalone 15y ago
        Haha, no offense taken! Writing angry things is fun. I really didn't want to come across as pedantic, which is why I tried to keep it light and say I thought his mimicry was cute. And I love stuff like this! We need more 6th graders like this. I would have mad chilled with him and his app club. That said, I do believe that the way we use language frames the world for other people. So I try to keep things in perspective. It's not that this isn't wonderful, it's that there're so many wonderful things that I prefer specificity of compliment to a general word ("great") that may suggest this is some sort of pinnacle to others. Greatness in turn becomes the people with such a tremendous sensibility that they can incorporate many, many wonderful things and, in the process, underline some deeper truth.
      • catshirt 15y ago
        so because he's in 6th grade, it is inherently great? forgive us for analyzing human development.
      • hesitz 15y ago
        To me the important issue in the 'mimic' thing is that the kid is not a one-in-a-million special kind of genius. (At least you can't tell that from the video.) Instead, he's just a smart sixth grader. I think this is important because we should realize that what this kid did is something most smart sixth graders can do, if they have the interest and devote themselves to it. So we can hold him up as a model to other sixth-graders and say, "Hey, you can do this too." We're talking about both (1) his presentation and (2) his programming skills. Other kids should be encouraged by his presentation, instead of thinking, "Cool, but unfortunately he's a genius (or super-special, or etc.); I could never do that myself."
• sjs 15y ago
  Does it really have to be qualified with "for his age and experience"? It seems to me like that's simply understood in this context.
• nassosdim 15y ago
  I can say with absolute certainty that other people in his place would be anxious, nervous or insecure. He seems to like it. And when you like what you do, well... it's pretty obvious.