Clifford Stoll: 18 minutes with an agile mind

http://www.ted.com Clifford Stoll could talk about the atmosphere of Jupiter. Or hunting KGB hackers. Or Klein bottles, computers in classrooms, the future. But he's not going to. Which is fine, because it would be criminal to confine a man with interests as multifarious as Stoll's to give a talk on any one topic. Instead, he simply captivates his audience with a wildly energetic sprinkling of anecdotes, observations, asides -- and even a science experiment. After all, by his own definition, he's a scientist: "Once I do something, I want to do something else."

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Science & Technology

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• Stoll
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[3Glimpse3]

I LOVE this dude, he is the real Dr. Emmett Brown from Back to the future

[Yashop]

@mrluke93 Yea but this guys isn't on cocaine, he's on something much stronger: LIFE and the PASSION for it.

[MrSirwolf2001]

@JayMack1984 He actually reminds me of my younger brother who was diagnosed with sugar allergy induced ADHD back in 1976 (before it became all the rage). At age 2, with a IQ level that is just short of genius, he used to walk in circles and talk 90mph on every subject that he was thinking about, as well. 

[Nagalior]

Dude! Don't give him caffeine water!!!

[kyao10]

@RecycledMana Well said

[ahushartmuta]

ritalin..



[Mahboub811]

is that stand up show ?!! :))))))))))))))))))))

[RecycledMana]

@Cynta42 You say his talk was scattered? Try having more than one thought. Try having five. It's not surprise that after scientists have been studying long enough, they all go to one thing, what is the meaning of life. From Darwin, to Einstein, to Pythagoras, to every great thinker of our time. They learn that life and love is more important than any theorem. And you can see love, unbias love in children. They don't hold these grudges because they want to learn, they want, life.

[Reveletur]

@Cynta42 He's not acting like the absentminded professor, what goes on in his head we probably couldn't even imagine. He has a brilliant mind, but he's also very hyperactive. To put in a cheap cliche, genius and insanity are always separated by a fine line. Your remark about being simplistic, he's referring to how we rely on computation probably too much, to the point where students have trouble with basic math because they just push the buttons. Also, he's talking about society in the future.

[Cynta42]

If he could talk about all of the topics he mentioned, why didn't he? He takes the absentminded professor routine waaaay too far. His talk was disjointed, scattered, tangential, and hard to follow, and I think a lot of this was owing to his affected "shtik." A disappointing waste of time as I was eager to hear from him. As a supposed genius, some of his suppositions, such as getting computers out of schools or asking kindergarten teachers what the future holds, are really simplistic. Pffft.

[dragonwar55]

@kilroy055 thank you! now the whole thing is starting to piece itself together =D

[mommytyres]

i think this guy is a lot wiser than people give him credit for. yes, he is awkward. yes, he is a bit too amped up. but he is absolutely in love with what he does and he wants to make an impact on this planet. very respectable and very uncommon.