Cliff Stoll Hacker Catcher

Cliff Stoll is an interesting “hero” for techno-geeks like me, and seeing that he did a talk for Ted made me want to share it with you, good reader. His book The Cuckoo’s Egg is a fascinating read.

He found a KGB hacker, even though his expertise is in Astronomy, but he decided to figure out how all this Internet thing works and became a techno-sleuth while doing it. His frenetic pace and staccato delivery are both wild and refreshing to hear (OK, I don’t think I could work with him, he might drive me nuts, but he is still a fantastic person to listen to).

Clifford Stoll 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.”

Ted Talks

Other Ted Talks

• Barry Schwartz asks why have we lost our financial wisdom? Darn good question.
• Julian Treasure talks about how Noise Affects our Health and 8 steps to keep sound health.
• Does Democracy stifle economic growth? Yasheng Huang thinks so.
• Cities As a Mathematical Model is an exciting model idea
• Seth Godin talks about how the technology landscape is littered with broken things.
• Does Education need to change? Sir Ken Robinson thinks so, and I am inclined to agree with him.
• How do we Innovate to a zero energy footprint? Bill Gates has some ideas, it seems.
• Can low cost eye care be world class? Thulasiraj Ravilla thinks so.
• Rewiring the Brain may be needed in the future, given how damaged some brains have become due to how fragile the brain is.
• Cliff Stohl was the original Hacker-Catcher but he also espouses the value to continual learning
• Graham Hill wonders can you be more happy with less stuff? Less clutter is a good thing, we know that, so maybe he isn’t far off.
• There is a right and wrong way to tie your shoes? I did not know that, until Terry Moore explained it to me.
• Nigel Marsh wonders if it is possible to create a work life balance? Not sure how that works.
• Does anyone know what technology wants? Kevin Kelly thinks he has an idea.
• TED’s Chris Anderson says the rise of web video is driving a worldwide phenomenon he calls Crowd Accelerated Innovation
• Did we get different consumer behaviour after the 2008 crisis? Not really. That’s why we had the 2023 crisis.
• Can social media predict epidemics or pandemics? We saw something like this with COVID-19.
• Jay Walker seems to think that English is the second language in the world? Might be right.
• How can we combat modern slavery? Most major economic empires or empires in general were built on slave labour, how do we break this cycle?
• What is the Bio-Future of Joint Replacement? Are we just going to use metal and plastics?
• Mandlebrot wishes to talk to you about the roughness of shapes. He has written about Turbulence in Financial Markets
• Philip Zombardo talks about the psychology of time, which is always interesting.
• Measure What Makes Life Worthwhile, Chip Conley may have some ideas for you.
• Billy Graham talking about technology and theology? Pastor Graham is a strong orator, not sure I buy into all his messages.
• What happens on losing everything in a fire ? A very interesting question answered in this very interesting Ted series chat by David Hoffman.
• A former salesman tells you that sometimes the Simple Answers are the right answers.
• The Canadian Medical System can take its time on some surgeries, but two years for a hip?
• Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics is a typical theme but in this case with a bit of tongue in cheek.
• Can Money buy happiness? According to Benjamin Wallace not really, but your misery might be more enjoyable?
• Temple Grandin talks about being Autistic and her fight to live in our strange world.
• James Randi’s skepticism helped debunk a lot of hokum that arose in the 20th century.
• With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves.
• The Spectre of Denial of vaccines and medical solutions is now the normal view of things, and that is quite worrying.