Tech talks
Best Tech Talks 2017, Ranked by Hacker News
First recommended on Hacker News in 2017, still worth watching: these 305 tech talks and lectures earned 1127 recommendations across the years.
Type
TalkLectureDocumentaryExplainerDemoTutorialInterviewCommentaryComedyMusicPodcastsNews & reportingCoursesFeatures
Evergreen only
3 mo on HNEuler's formula with introductory group theory
3Blue1Brown
Recommended 3× on HN · 2017–2024
3 mo on HNHow Electricity Actually Works
Veritasium
Recommended 4× on HN · 2023–2026
3 mo on HNWhy Do Mainframes Still Exist? What's Inside One? 40TB, 200+ Cores, AI, and more!
Dave's Garage
Recommended 3× on HN · 2023–2024
3 mo on HNFast Inverse Square Root — A Quake III Algorithm
Nemean
Recommended 3× on HN · 2021–2022
3 mo on HNHow GPS Works, And How It Got Better Than The Designers Ever Imagined
Scott Manley
Recommended 3× on HN · 2023–2025
3 mo on HNWhy Snow and Confetti Ruin YouTube Video Quality
Tom Scott
Recommended 3× on HN · 2018–2024
3 mo on HNThe Fermi Paradox: Dark Forest Theory
Isaac Arthur
Recommended 2× on HN · 2019–2024
3 mo on HNWhy It's Impossible to Tune a Piano
minutephysics
Recommended 2× on HN · 2015–2026
3 mo on HNThe Loudness War
Matt Mayfield Music
Recommended 3× on HN · 2009–2025
3 mo on HNYou Can Win the Presidency With 22% of the Vote
CGP Grey
Recommended 3× on HN · 2015–2020
3 mo on HNA Million Dollars vs A Billion Dollars, Visualized: A Road Trip
Tom Scott
Recommended 3× on HN · 2021–2026
3 mo on HNInfinite fractions and the most irrational number
Mathologer
Recommended 3× on HN · 2019–2026
3 mo on HNYou've (Likely) Been Playing The Game Of Life Wrong
Veritasium
Recommended 4× on HN · 2025–2026
2 mo on HNAlgorithmic Redistricting: Elections made-to-order
AlphaPhoenix
Recommended 2× on HN · 2023–2025
3 mo on HNDoes "land area" assume a country is perfectly flat?
Stand-up Maths
Recommended 3× on HN · 2020–2023
3 mo on HNCracking Enigma in 2021 - Computerphile
Computerphile
Recommended 3× on HN · 2021–2024
3 mo on HNWhy this British crossroads was so dangerous
Tom Scott
Recommended 3× on HN · 2020–2025
3 mo on HNHow "oldschool" graphics worked Part 1 - Commodore and Nintendo
The 8-Bit Guy
Recommended 4× on HN · 2015–2019
3 mo on HNThe Antique Microwave Oven that's Better than Yours
Technology Connections
Recommended 7× on HN · 2020–2025
3 mo on HNEmulating the DX7 the HARD way
plgDavid
Recommended 3× on HN · 2021–2024
3 mo on HNI Solved Klotski
2swap
Recommended 3× on HN · 2025–2026
2 mo on HNTerence Tao on the cosmic distance ladder
3Blue1Brown
Recommended 2× on HN · 2025–2026
3 mo on HNHow Many Holes Does a Human Have?
Vsauce
Recommended 3× on HN · 2021–2024
2 mo on HNDance p 3 Mar09
Geoff Cumming
Recommended 2× on HN · 2011–2015
3 mo on HNDisney's Practical Guide to Path Tracing
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Recommended 3× on HN · 2017–2021
2 mo on HNLarge Language Models from scratch
Graphics in 5 Minutes
Recommended 3× on HN · 2023–2024
3 mo on HNHow Quantum Computers Break Encryption | Shor's Algorithm Explained
minutephysics
Recommended 3× on HN · 2019–2023
3 mo on HNAndreas Antonopoulos - 51% Bitcoin Attack
Rodolfo Díaz
Recommended 3× on HN · 2021–2024
2 mo on HNA4 Paper Is Too Perfect
CGP Grey
Recommended 2× on HN · 2024–2026
3 mo on HNAI Language Models & Transformers - Computerphile
Computerphile
Recommended 3× on HN · 2022–2025
3 mo on HNDeadly Truth of General AI? - Computerphile
Computerphile
Recommended 3× on HN · 2016–2024
3 mo on HNHacking at Quantum Speed with Shor's Algorithm | Infinite Series
PBS Infinite Series
Recommended 3× on HN · 2018–2019
3 mo on HNReynolds Number - Numberphile
Numberphile
Recommended 3× on HN · 2019–2021
3 mo on HNSpherical Geometry Is Stranger Than Hyperbolic - Hyperbolica Devlog #2
CodeParade
Recommended 3× on HN · 2021–2026
2 mo on HNBayes theorem, the geometry of changing beliefs
3Blue1Brown
Recommended 2× on HN · 2022–2024
2 mo on HNThe Uncanny Valley Is Wrong
This Place
Recommended 2× on HN · 2021–2021