The best physics public speakers - #1 Feynman

Richard Feynman, not only worked at Los Alamos, figured out the O-ring cause of the Challenger shuttle disaster, played the Bongos, and became an accomplished painter - he was also a GREAT lecturer.

He has always been known for his ability to take complicated physics concepts and make them accessible to the everyday student. In the following brief, but grainy clip, you can see some of the keys to his style.

He connects with his audience with humor. You can see how his smile and obvious passion cues the audience and sets a tone. You can notice at the end the students laughing. He is animated, walking back and forth and making many hand gestures. He comes back to his notes for a pause and anchor (as discussed in class), but then clearly doesn't read off them, and although the clip ends, he goes back to his animated lecturing



In this second clip, you can see that his style hasn't changed all that much. You always get the feel that he is speaking both plainly, and directly to you. I think he plays well on expectation setting/know your audience - the audience knows he is one of the great scientific minds of the 20th century, yet he talks as if he was your crazy uncle at Thanksgiving explaining to a you how to carve a turkey.

The best physics public speakers - #2 Carl Sagan

Contrast this style with Feynman. Each word carefully and almost poetically chosen. No notes, and simply a very professional public speaking style. Here the power seems to be in his understated passion and eloquence. This is a style I'm not sure I could ever replicate. Again, another accomplished physicist/astronomer who had the special ability to take science to the layman. (Thankfully for this physics fan who was exposed to his writings and TV specials while growing up).

On a personal note, I was fortunate to speak with him while at Cornell - you could feel his presence fill the room. Intelligent, confident, but again very understated in his presentation. Effective pauses in his speaking style. While Feynman excites the audience, Sagan subdues them into an almost trance-like focus on his words. You get the feeling if you stop paying attention for a moment you will have missed something of incredible importance.



Here's a great example - don't have to view the whole thing - of Sagan addressing questions about science from Congress. I am simply amazed at the eloquence and that subdued style of his in light of the weight of his audience. References very simple analogies about technology in the room in simple terms - again knows his audience. Asks one member to identify himself to make personal connection.

And finally - the beauty of creative youtube

This guy nailed it. Agent Smith from the matrix & Carl Sagan have very similar speaking styles. This is just to good:

Powerpoint Questions

One big question for me this week as I checked out some of the powerpoint resources. In the presentation Zen sight -- Lesser used a unique style of flashing images and quick text while speaking. While I thought this was engaging, I felt it was also a bit limiting. I realized that I wasn't able to follow his words & text at the same time. Reminded me of sitting in class listening to a teacher when the teacher passes out a handout. I invariably read the handout and completely tune out the teacher.

My cold winter break

Still thawing out from a two week backpack through the Shenendoahs over break. It was cold cold cold.

Courses

T560
T405
T543
Physics 120

Test post

just seeing how this works, and fonts