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20 most-watched TED Talks

22/08/2012
  1. Sir Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity (2006): 13,409,417 views
  2. Jill Bolte Taylor‘s stroke of insight (2008): 10,409,851
  3. Pranav Mistry on the thrilling potential of SixthSense (2009): 9,223,263
  4. David Gallo‘s underwater astonishments (2007): 7,879,541
  5. Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense (2009): 7,467,580
  6. Tony Robbins asks Why we do what we do (2006): 6,879,488
  7. Simon Sinek on how great leaders inspire action (2010): 6,050,294
  8. Steve Jobs on how to live before you die (2005): 5,444,022
  9. Hans Rosling shows the best stats you’ve ever seen (2006): 4,966,643
  10. Brene Brown talks about the power of vulnerability (2010): 4,763,038
  11. Daniel Pink on the surprising science of motivation (2009): 4,706,241
  12. Arthur Benjamin does mathemagic (2005): 4,658,425
  13. Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing your genius (2009): 4,538,037
  14. Dan Gilbert asks: Why are we happy? (2004): 4,269,082
  15. Stephen Hawking asks big questions about the universe (2008): 4,153,105
  16. Jeff Han demos his breakthrough multi-touchscreen (2006): 3,891,251
  17. Johnny Lee shows Wii Remote hacks for educators (2008): 3,869,417
  18. Keith Barry does brain magic (2004): 3,847,893
  19. Mary Roach 10 things you didn’t know about orgasm (2009): 3,810,630
  20. Vijay Kumar demos robots that fly like birds (2012): 3,535,340

via Ted Blog

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Curiosity landing as captured by HiRISE

7/08/2012

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“Come Alive” by Netsky

24/05/2012

Just testing out Spotify embedding.

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Norway killer sharpened aim with video games

20/04/2012

Just read this article on SMH, Norway killer sharpened aim with video games.

As a gamer nerd and a country boy who grew up around guns I can honestly say that you cannot learn about using weapons from these games. You can learn a little about calibers, a little about gun types, but absolutely zero about how to shoot.

How do I know this? I am a terrible shot.

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The Dumbest Thing I’ve Read

18/04/2012

An apparent conversation between Einstein and one of his Atheist professors is going around on Facebook at the moment. Religios- and faith-based arguments aside, none of the statements in it make any sense. Oh, and Einstein never had the conversation. Ever.

Professor: You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student: Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Professor: Is GOD good ?

Student: Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student: Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student: Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student: No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student: From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student: Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student: Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student: No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student: No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Professor: According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student: No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

Wrong. By this definition heat doesn’t exist any more than cold does. Heat is a description of temperature. Higher temperatures are an example of heat rising or “heat” itself. This argument tricks you by taking the words “heat” and “cold” and tries to make them look fictitious. To make the argument the same as those announced before you would have to ask “does temperature exist?” which it certainly does.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Same argument, employed different. Darkness is the absence of light.

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.

It wasn’t.

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The Spotify App

2/12/2011

For anyone who has recently seen my portfolio there should be two things you notice. Firstly, there is an all new theme there (it’s an out of the box theme at the moment, modified to be how I like it). And secondly, I’ve been working really hard on a super secret Spotify app for about the last month and it’s finally launched!

I sometimes grumble that working for a startup can take your life away, but the truth is that I love working on significant projects and this is truly one of the most significant yet. With mentions in Wired Magazine, The Huffington Post and PC World I must say I am really proud of what we achieved at We Are Hunted.

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The best of TED Talks

15/09/2011

I have been an avid lurker of Reddit for quite a while, and have become more interested in some of the subreddits more recently. There is a lot of garbage on the website to sift through, but every now and then you come across a post that is an absolute gem like the one I am reposting below.


What are the best TED talks?
(self.AskReddit) was asked by someone and the top answer comes from one of the TEDx Organisers, posting the following.

  • In the mood to see demographic data come to life in front of you?
    Hans Rosling – It’s the talk I send people to introduce them to TED. A classic.
  • In the mood to learn something new about music and be inspired?
    Benjamin Zander – The second talk I send people. Just an incredible speaker, I’ve never met someone who didn’t love this talk. Got me to listen to classical music in a whole new way.
  • In the mood to feel excited about the education system?
    Salman Khan – My favorite talk ever. Bill Gates comes on at the end and calls his method the “future of education.” If you like data/engineering, you’re especially likely to fall in love this this video.
  • In the mood to wonder at the mysterious nature of the human brain?
    Jill Bolte Taylor – One of the talks to put TED on the map. Harvard neuroscientist happens to gets a stroke, achieves a nirvana-like state, and then studies what happened to her to figure it out.
  • In the mood to laugh and also reflect on how schools work and don’t?
    Ken Robinson – Another classic TED talk, Robinson discusses the importance of creativity. The talk is both charming and deeply thoughtful.
  • In the mood to reconsider how society treats creativity?
    Elizabeth Gilbert – Another classic, the top talk for people interested in writing/the arts. Basically, we pressure artists in subtle and unfair ways with our modern conception of what it means to be a ‘genius.’
  • In the mood to watch an incredible tech demo?
    Pattie Maes – I don’t know what’s happened to this since then, but this technology was all the buzz when the talk came out. The MIT Media lab has a lot of good talks – I recommend the “Siftables” talk as well.
  • In the mood to smile and laugh at clever advertising?
    Rory Sutherland – One of my very favorite talks, it’s a clever look at how advertisers actually add value to the world. Also, hilarious. I recommend his other talk as well.
  • Interested in thinking about the role of women in business?
    Sheryl Sandberg – One of the most discerning discussions of the state of women in society I’ve seen, by the COO of Facebook. Discusses the reasons that women hurt themselves professionally, encourages them to take charge.
  • In the mood to think about the dynamics of peace negotiations / be inspired?
    William Ury – On how to “get to yes” in a negotiation. Good stuff.
  • In the mood to just be entertained with some sweet juggling?
    Michael Moschen – An old one. Long, but worth it – the ‘father of juggling’ does some crazy stuff.
  • In the mood to see a talk about Reddit?
    Alexis Ohanian – Can’t leave this one out of this list!
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Things Only Insomniacs Should Experience

14/09/2011

For around 10 years now I have suffered with stressed induced insomnia, something which pops up from time to time but it’s no real biggie. This lack of sleep can be used to my benefit and can often bring about inspiration and (more often) severe exhaustion.

As I write this it is 6:23am, I am on my second cup of coffee, I have written several hundred words in a blog article I’ve been working on for my portfolio, I’ve written some Objective-C and I’ve also done a bunch of Amazon EC2 research.

Every time I wake up at 3am and can’t resume sleeping there is a routine I often go through and a bunch of things I like to do so early in the morning. There are experiences between 3 and 6am that only insomniacs get to enjoy.

  • The sunrise over Sydney – from my apartment I can see the entire city from my balcony.
  • City silence – living in such a loud part of the city means it’s rare to hear the streets silent, but hearing soundlessness on King St, Newtown at 4am is incredible.
  • Extremely early coffee – there is something about the soundlessness, cold floors, and the warmth of your bed that makes coffee taste so much nicer.
  • GTD – actually getting some stuff done in the morning is amazing. Waking up this early means getting everything done.
  • Reddit – reading everything before work even starts
  • US timezones – if you’re located in Australia you’re very used to having a bunch of your favourite websites out of your timezone, this isn’t the case when you can’t sleep.

Addition from @miksago on Twitter: “walking around an empty city, just as the sun rises, and there’s crisp air.”

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Matt Mullenweg: State of the Word 2011

26/08/2011

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The D&D Song

7/08/2011

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