Google. Sun. Yahoo. HP. Cisco. And?

August 31, 2007 By

You might think I’m stupid. Dumb. Lame. Irrelevant. Arrogant. Or worse.

But this guy is none of those things. In fact, he’s the opposite of all those things.

So, why is Mehran Sahami worth listening to?

He runs Stanford University’s undergraduate computer science department.

We have a 45-minute-long discussion about what’s going on at Stanford University, and also computer science education trends. Among other things happening in the industry.

Mehran is simply one of the most interesting people I’ve interviewed. You’d have to be to get a job running probably the most important computer science University department in the world. Hope you enjoy.

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/08/PID_012404/Podtech_Stanford_CompSci_int.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/scobleshow/technology/1614/the-guy-who-runs-stanfords-undergraduate-computer-science-department&totalTime=2738000&breadcrumb=6c880c806c7f460fa6c21b6369b4f9e1]

OK, some of you are asking for more text to judge whether the video is interesting, or not, so I took an hour out to do one for the interview of Mehran Sahami, head of Stanford University’s undergraduate computer science department.

00:00 introduction to Meharan Sahami
1:38 What’s the big thing he’s focused on? Joke about bubbles. Working on improving curriculum.
3:10 Why are numbers of computer science students going down?
5:30 Discussion of off shoring.
7:20 Discussion of social aspects of technology development.
9:00 Discussion of amazing things students are doing.
10:45 Discussion of the mythology of Stanford’s computer science department.
11:15 Discussion of the pressures that heading up such an important department brings.
12:58 What is Stanford not doing well?
14:50 How is the Internet changing education?
16:30 Joking about having Larry Lessig (law professor who started Creative Commons, among other things) at the school.
Which leads into a discussion of Stanford’s advantages and resources.
18:30: Discussion of the entrepreneur’s frustrations. Getting people to use new technologies.
22:20 What is the next big idea that’s cooking in your classrooms right now?
24:10 Did anyone working here understand how big Google would turn out to be? (Back when Google was being developed at Stanford).
25:00 What is it about big companies that keeps them from seeing the small idea (innovator’s dilemma discussion).
27:40 What would you like to tell the world about Stanford?
29:00 What’s the role of mobile in the world?
What kind of work is Stanford doing?
32:30 Is Stanford working with CERN?
34:09 If you were coming to Stanford this fall, what class would you take?
39:00 Talk about some of the famous names who are on the faculty here. Don Knuth for one.

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  • http://edwink.devhd.com Edwin Khodabakchian

    Robert,
    I am going to listen through it but 2 pieces of a priori feedback: 45 minutes seems long for something people would watch on a computer. Two ways to work around that: edit down to 10-15 minutes or create a simple textual table of content so that people can get a sense of the structure of the 45 min and jump directly into a section.
    (If the content ends up being insanely good, I might retract this but this was my first impression)
    -Edwin

  • http://edwink.devhd.com Edwin Khodabakchian

    Robert,
    I am going to listen through it but 2 pieces of a priori feedback: 45 minutes seems long for something people would watch on a computer. Two ways to work around that: edit down to 10-15 minutes or create a simple textual table of content so that people can get a sense of the structure of the 45 min and jump directly into a section.
    (If the content ends up being insanely good, I might retract this but this was my first impression)
    -Edwin

  • http://devhd.wordpress.com/ Edwin Khodabakchian

    Robert,
    I am going to listen through it but 2 pieces of a priori feedback: 45 minutes seems long for something people would watch on a computer. Two ways to work around that: edit down to 10-15 minutes or create a simple textual table of content so that people can get a sense of the structure of the 45 min and jump directly into a section.
    (If the content ends up being insanely good, I might retract this but this was my first impression)
    -Edwin

  • http://www.techmeme.com/ Gabe

    That sounds interesting, and I’d like to listen while I jog. But I don’t see an .mp3 version, so I can’t. :(

  • http://www.techmeme.com/ Gabe

    That sounds interesting, and I’d like to listen while I jog. But I don’t see an .mp3 version, so I can’t. :(

  • http://www.techmeme.com/ Gabe

    That sounds interesting, and I’d like to listen while I jog. But I don’t see an .mp3 version, so I can’t. :(

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  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Gabe: you write compilers for a living. Don’t you have a way to convert an MPG to an MP3?

    I solved it by getting an iPhone and just keeping it in my pocket when I want to listen instead of watch.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Gabe: you write compilers for a living. Don’t you have a way to convert an MPG to an MP3?

    I solved it by getting an iPhone and just keeping it in my pocket when I want to listen instead of watch.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Gabe: you write compilers for a living. Don’t you have a way to convert an MPG to an MP3?

    I solved it by getting an iPhone and just keeping it in my pocket when I want to listen instead of watch.

  • http://edwink.devhd.com Edwin Khodabakchian

    Good stuff. Definitely worth the 45 minutes.

  • http://edwink.devhd.com Edwin Khodabakchian

    Good stuff. Definitely worth the 45 minutes.

  • http://devhd.wordpress.com/ Edwin Khodabakchian

    Good stuff. Definitely worth the 45 minutes.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Edwin: thanks. I’ve had an extraordinary string of conversations on my videos in the past month. I wish more people would see them, but it’s very gratifying when even one person says they are good.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Edwin: thanks. I’ve had an extraordinary string of conversations on my videos in the past month. I wish more people would see them, but it’s very gratifying when even one person says they are good.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Edwin: thanks. I’ve had an extraordinary string of conversations on my videos in the past month. I wish more people would see them, but it’s very gratifying when even one person says they are good.

  • http://english.info.org.il/ Hanan Cohen

    Use Super (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) to convert from anything to anything.

    http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

  • http://english.info.org.il/ Hanan Cohen

    Use Super (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) to convert from anything to anything.

    http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

  • http://english.info.org.il Hanan Cohen

    Use Super (Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer) to convert from anything to anything.

    http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

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  • http://gwhiz.wordpress.com/ gwhiz

    @Gabe – Or QuickTime Pro can save out the audio track and you can convert from inside iTunes to MP3 (if those are the tools you have available).

    @ Mr. S – Thanks for the transcript. Helped me decide to watch earlier rather than putting it on the ‘watch later’ list.

    You know… you could nominate these things to Mechanical Turk and pay a buck or three and have someone transcribe for you.

  • http://gwhiz.wordpress.com/ gwhiz

    @Gabe – Or QuickTime Pro can save out the audio track and you can convert from inside iTunes to MP3 (if those are the tools you have available).

    @ Mr. S – Thanks for the transcript. Helped me decide to watch earlier rather than putting it on the ‘watch later’ list.

    You know… you could nominate these things to Mechanical Turk and pay a buck or three and have someone transcribe for you.

  • http://gwhiz.wordpress.com/ gwhiz

    @Gabe – Or QuickTime Pro can save out the audio track and you can convert from inside iTunes to MP3 (if those are the tools you have available).

    @ Mr. S – Thanks for the transcript. Helped me decide to watch earlier rather than putting it on the ‘watch later’ list.

    You know… you could nominate these things to Mechanical Turk and pay a buck or three and have someone transcribe for you.

  • http://smm0953.mcallen2.hop.clickbank.net/ Susi

    I really appreciate you putting into text where I could find the info I wanted. So instead of just listening to part I ended up listening to all because it was so interesting. Thanks.

  • http://smm0953.mcallen2.hop.clickbank.net/ Susi

    I really appreciate you putting into text where I could find the info I wanted. So instead of just listening to part I ended up listening to all because it was so interesting. Thanks.

  • http://smm0953.mcallen2.hop.clickbank.net/ Susi

    I really appreciate you putting into text where I could find the info I wanted. So instead of just listening to part I ended up listening to all because it was so interesting. Thanks.

  • http://www.p0mi.com/ Dan Guy

    I’d settle for an imperfect transcript; just hold a TabletPC up to the speaker in dictate mode with notepad open and cut and paste what comes out.

  • http://www.p0mi.com/ Dan Guy

    I’d settle for an imperfect transcript; just hold a TabletPC up to the speaker in dictate mode with notepad open and cut and paste what comes out.

  • http://www.p0mi.com Dan Guy

    I’d settle for an imperfect transcript; just hold a TabletPC up to the speaker in dictate mode with notepad open and cut and paste what comes out.

  • Brad

    While this looks like very interesting content, 45 minutes seems way too long to consume on a computer. This seems to spilling into documentary time length. And it doesn’t appear you are being told your videos aren’t good (by the description of the content, they seem to be), they are often too long and it seems people would prefer text over video. How does the phrase go? The customer is always right?

  • Brad

    While this looks like very interesting content, 45 minutes seems way too long to consume on a computer. This seems to spilling into documentary time length. And it doesn’t appear you are being told your videos aren’t good (by the description of the content, they seem to be), they are often too long and it seems people would prefer text over video. How does the phrase go? The customer is always right?

  • Brad

    While this looks like very interesting content, 45 minutes seems way too long to consume on a computer. This seems to spilling into documentary time length. And it doesn’t appear you are being told your videos aren’t good (by the description of the content, they seem to be), they are often too long and it seems people would prefer text over video. How does the phrase go? The customer is always right?

  • nerdliness

    Like others here, I mentioned the idea of transcripts in one of your previous posts. That said, though, this timeline idea is a good one. Made this video go from “Oh, that sounds interesting, but I probably won’t make the time to watch it after work” to “Damn, that’s cool… I’m starring that one and setting a reminder.”

    Again, the transcript would be cool for instant gratification, but this is a good step.

  • nerdliness

    Like others here, I mentioned the idea of transcripts in one of your previous posts. That said, though, this timeline idea is a good one. Made this video go from “Oh, that sounds interesting, but I probably won’t make the time to watch it after work” to “Damn, that’s cool… I’m starring that one and setting a reminder.”

    Again, the transcript would be cool for instant gratification, but this is a good step.

  • nerdliness

    Like others here, I mentioned the idea of transcripts in one of your previous posts. That said, though, this timeline idea is a good one. Made this video go from “Oh, that sounds interesting, but I probably won’t make the time to watch it after work” to “Damn, that’s cool… I’m starring that one and setting a reminder.”

    Again, the transcript would be cool for instant gratification, but this is a good step.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Brad: I regularly watch long videos on my computer or on my Apple TV or on my new iPhone.

    I am playing with short-form videos too, but find they don’t really increase viewership or engagement.

    It’s not hard to understand why, either. In 10 minutes all you can do is be very superficial.

    With a guy of this caliber you need closer to an hour to get anything interesting going.

    There’s a reason most conferences have hour-long sessions. Why most schools are hour-long. Why most TV shows are hour-long.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Brad: I regularly watch long videos on my computer or on my Apple TV or on my new iPhone.

    I am playing with short-form videos too, but find they don’t really increase viewership or engagement.

    It’s not hard to understand why, either. In 10 minutes all you can do is be very superficial.

    With a guy of this caliber you need closer to an hour to get anything interesting going.

    There’s a reason most conferences have hour-long sessions. Why most schools are hour-long. Why most TV shows are hour-long.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Brad: I regularly watch long videos on my computer or on my Apple TV or on my new iPhone.

    I am playing with short-form videos too, but find they don’t really increase viewership or engagement.

    It’s not hard to understand why, either. In 10 minutes all you can do is be very superficial.

    With a guy of this caliber you need closer to an hour to get anything interesting going.

    There’s a reason most conferences have hour-long sessions. Why most schools are hour-long. Why most TV shows are hour-long.

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  • Jim Posner
  • Jim Posner

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  • http://www.techmeme.com/ Gabe

    Robert, I was pointing out a way Podtech could make it easier for more people to play your interview. The tech tip conveyed of your response was fine, but I also noticed a suggestion that I’m lazy/inept. Hmm…in any case, I reaffirm mp3s would be helpful.

  • http://www.techmeme.com/ Gabe

    Robert, I was pointing out a way Podtech could make it easier for more people to play your interview. The tech tip conveyed of your response was fine, but I also noticed a suggestion that I’m lazy/inept. Hmm…in any case, I reaffirm mp3s would be helpful.

  • http://www.techmeme.com/ Gabe

    Robert, I was pointing out a way Podtech could make it easier for more people to play your interview. The tech tip conveyed of your response was fine, but I also noticed a suggestion that I’m lazy/inept. Hmm…in any case, I reaffirm mp3s would be helpful.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Gabe: agreed that would be nice of PodTech to do.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Gabe: agreed that would be nice of PodTech to do.

  • http://scobleizer.com/ Robert Scoble

    Gabe: agreed that would be nice of PodTech to do.

  • James

    Gabe: The mp3 version is available for download from here http://urltea.com/1de2

  • James

    Gabe: The mp3 version is available for download from here http://urltea.com/1de2

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