This page was originally called "Brett Victor Talks". It was then expanded to "Favorite Talks", then "Favorite Talks and Essays". But at the end of the day, this is all just a collection of interesting and inspirational content on the topics that interest me. I hope you enjoy it. Also, don't forget to check out Inspirational Computer Pioneers.
Brett Victor designed the original iOS interface at Apple. He's an amazing software designer and gives some incredible talks. None of them are super technical and non-programmers can definitely find them interesting.
These are more philosophical.
A philosophical talk on how to live your life, if you choose.
A philosophical talk on how to live your life, if you choose.
About the sad state of being a knowledge worker in the 21st century.
About the sad state of being a knowledge worker in the 21st century.
A call for software designers and artists to build better interactive content.
A call for software designers and artists to build better interactive content.
These are more computer-y.
A mind-blowing talk about how software be a tool for thinking.
A mind-blowing talk about how software be a tool for thinking.
An enlightening talk about the history of software and how old many ideas are.
An enlightening talk about the history of software and how old many ideas are.
A deeper dive into graphic software for building interactive visualizations.
A deeper dive into graphic software for building interactive visualizations.
Rich Hickey invented Clojure and Datomic. He has some amazing philosophical talks out there about programming.
Rich Hickey talks about bad decisions.
Rich Hickey talks about bad decisions.
[Rich Hickey explains the architecture behind his Datomic database.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cym4TZwTCNU)
Rich Hickey explains the architecture behind his Datomic database.
An explanation of lambda calculus. Not very practical but still fascinating.
An explanation of lambda calculus. Not very practical but still fascinating.
A fascinating talk explaining what the Y combinator is and how it works.
A fascinating talk explaining what the Y combinator is and how it works.
Mathematica is the most impressive piece of software I know of.
Mathematica is the most impressive piece of software I know of.
A comprehensive history of computer viruses.
A comprehensive history of computer viruses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVkHgKCqAcI
Alan Kay was a computer pioneer who worked at Apple.
Alan Kay was a computer pioneer who worked at Apple.
Alan Kay explains the way he thinks of Object Oriented programming.
Alan Kay explains the way he thinks of Object Oriented programming.
The first half talks a lot about computer history and the second half is more about Alan Kay's inspirations, ranging from tennis to child psychology.
Doug Englebart was a computer pioneer at Xerox park. He invented computers as we know them today. This is the first public demonstration of what he build. It is the first time anyone had ever seen an interactive graphics display, a computer mouse, a WYSIWYG document editor, video chat, collaborative text editing, networked computers... It's insane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc4ROCJYbm0&ab_channel=AT%26TTechChannel
Magic Ink: Information Software and the Graphical Interface
An essay paving the ground for interactive essays with some very inspirations examples.
Local-first software: You own your data, in spite of the cloud
Jonathan Blow talks about game design.
Jonathan Blow talks about game design.
The world doesn't get better without significant effort. This talk tells tales of when civilization regressed and warns how it might happen again.
An interactive explanation of Conway's Game of Life demonstrating a profound phenomena where complex behavior can emerge from a simple set of rules.
Node Summit 2017 - PLATFORM AS A REFLECTION OF VALUES: JOYENT, NODE.JS, AND BEYOND - Bryan Cantrill
Bryan Cantrill (CTO of Joyent) talks about the importance of values alignment when collaborating on a project.
Steve Jobs - The Lost Interview. It's really inspiring to hear how deeply and clearly he has thought through his view of the world. It's especially interesting how predicted the decline of Apple while he was gone.
https://www.ted.com/talks/sebastian_deterding_what_your_designs_say_about_you?language=en
Jonathan Haidt: The moral roots of liberals and conservatives
Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence
Richard Hamming: You and Your Research
An inspiration article about how to live your life as a creative builder.
Hans Rosling is very inspiring optimist and he explains how the world is getting better.
Hans Rosling is very inspiring optimist and he explains how the world is getting better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHkcs3kG44
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5EQW026alY&ab_channel=LeonardoGomez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyVHrGLiTcc&ab_channel=JoeEdelman
A great talk about what it means to be a designer and how designers think about the world.
A great talk about what it means to be a designer and how designers think about the world.
About the importance of craft, how our economy has evolved to separate planning and execution, the commoditization of labor, and the decline of craftsmanship.