Watch my talks for Ignite Liverpool on YouTube.
Ignite Liverpool logo.
What is Ignite Liverpool ? Ignite Liverpool brings together a number of speakers each giving talks five minutes in length, with twenty slides (no you don’t get to control the transitions every fifteen seconds), on topics of general interest. So they are not business pitches nor academic presentations. In order to attract interest from a diverse audience I try to include some humour as well, although some are based on serious topics. Ignite talks originated in the United States but are now found worldwide, the reason I have presented at Ignite Liverpool events is that they have been convenient for my home and/or work.
Sex, Evolution and Everything
Lots of species use sexual reproduction. Since it is so pleasant why should any not? The answer is the cost of sex: sexually reproducing creatures only pass on half of their genes, while ideally they should pass on all to the next generation. This talk is about the evolution of sex: how it is possible to overcome the cost of sex. It’s also about everything, because one particular sexually-reproducing species impacts pretty much everything in the world. Watch my talk here.
0 + 0 = ? or Much Ado About Nothing
Why should the number zero, or 0, be a problem? Although Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is not about the number zero I included it in the title because it sounds like it ought to be. In fact the number 0 is much more complicated than first expected which is why I included “0 + 0 = ?” in my title. Numbers can be boring but in five minutes I show not just why 0 is more complicated than expected but also why that can be interesting. Watch my talk here.
Love in a Warm Climate
During an Ignite Liverpool event on or near St Valentine’s Day I wanted to get away from the cold weather, and spoke about a real-life love story associated with a country somewhat warmer than England. Although this love story started in England, possibly in similar weather to that I was experiencing in mid-February, it went on to affect a southern African country with a different climate. I spent part of my childhood there which is why this historical love story interested me. Watch my talk here.
2020: a new decade?
The year 2020 ended with a zero so at an Ignite Liverpool event set in that year, I responded to the question of whether that zero meant we were moving into a new decade. I won’t give you my answer in this text, but since my talk was only five minutes long, I recommend you watch it to find out.
2021: not a Space Odyssey
The year 2021 was twenty years after the year that was the future in the book 2001: A Space Odyssey that inspired a film of the same name. So we were in 2021 definitely in the future, but it was (and is) nothing like what was predicted for 2001 a long time before. In this talk I addressed the question whether we were in a different kind of future, and if so, what sort? Watch my talk presented for Ignite Liverpool during the height of the lockdown to learn more.
Leaves
Ignite Liverpool has often used the Liverpool cafe/bar LEAF for its events. Being aware of this, having presented there many times, and having a biological background I thought it would be worthwhile talking about the importance of leaves for people, as well as the impact of people on where leaves can grow. The content of this talk also benefited from my travel experience.
Other talks
See The Team for more information about publications that often involved talks. But these were academic or business presentations, and were not recorded. Because of experience of speaking to a wide range of business, academic and general audiences (as well as teaching, not shown any of these pages) Coevolve IT can support your business need for presentations. Get in contact if interested.