The best lecture I've heard in many years
Absolutely the best.
I stumbled across this at 0600 this morning when I couldn't sleep and was surfing randomly, watched for a couple minutes, and then was hooked for the entire 40-minute presentation.
This is the video equivalent of a "longread." Forty minutes is a significant chunk of your time, but I think this is worth viewing for any reader of TYWKIWDBI who shares my general worldview.
The topic is the future of global energy - basically the rise of solar and wind and the imminent plunge of coal and oil. The numbers are staggering (and largely unappreciated by the general public). The implications are for major disruptions in energy markets - and the geopolitical balance - within our lifetimes (within yours moreso than for old guys like me). The presentation is at a South African symposium, so some of the focus is there, but the implications are worldwide - especially for the Middle East and for Russia.
And best of all this is a first-class presentation. I spent the best hours of my professional life on stages and behind podiums giving lectures. This guy - Ramez Naam - is superb as a speaker. Pacing, diction, gestures, and the composition of his visual aids are all outstanding. And I drool with envy looking at the setup in this auditorium with huge screens that I would have killed to have when I was lecturing.
Give it a try for at least 5 minutes to let him get past the introductory remarks; I think you'll want to hear it all. Awesome.
