My favorite YouTube talks on technology of all time

This week is hackathon week in Microsoft. It's a time for hacking and a time for learning. I usually like to roll up my sleeves and hack something together during this week but this time around I've decided to use it as a week to learn.

I am a visual learner and I love learning from talks. I am also a PM in the technology industry. I love being in a role that allows me to combine my passion for technology with my love for building products. And hence, yes I love highly technical talks :-). Over the years, there are a set of talks that have stood above the rest for me. These are talks I have gone back to and listened multiple times just because they are a wealth of knowledge and the speakers are fascinating.

Starting a series of blog posts focusing on some of my favorite YouTube talks. This one delves on technical talks - talks that focus more on technology but also provide deep insights into the concepts behind it, offering practical takeaways and inspiring new ways to think about solving complex problems.

Game development in 8 bits by Kevin Zurawel

Growing up Super Mario was my go-to video game. I remember going to video game arcades in my neighborhood with a small collection of coins to spend hours playing Super Mario. Millions of kids from my generation grew up playing Super Mario. But I don't think anyone has ever truly appreciated Super Mario until they have seen this talk by Kevin.

It's an absolutely fascinating dissection of the game. While some of the technical pieces may be hard to grasp, the talk serves as an example of how human ingenuity can solve even the most complex of problems under the most restrictive conditions.

Computer build me an app by Rich Harris

Rich Harris is one of my favorite tech speakers of all time. The creator of Svelte (voted the most loved JS framework), Rich has an amazing talent for conveying ideas clearly and engagingly. In this talk Rich talks about how reactive user interfaces have evolved over the years and the path it's talking forward. If you like this one, also highly recommend this other talk by Rich - Rethinking Reactivity

Introduction to Node JS by Ryan Dahl

Ryan Dahl is a titan of our industry. Creator of Node.js, he helped launch the "JavaScript everywhere" revolution we now live in. This talk is now over 11 years old but its still a fascinating glimpse into how one person, thinking differently, can change an industry.

The best stats you've ever seen by Hans Rosling

Continuing with the theme of "old is gold" talks, this one by Hans Rosling is 17 years old now. I remember watching this talk many years ago and while not really a "technical talk", what stood out for me was how Hans was able to use, what at that time was cutting edge technology, to drive insights from complex data and create "wow" moments. With over 4M views, I am not alone in appreciating the genius of this talk.