TED2011
Nathan Myhrvold: Cooking as never seen before
Nathan Myhrold: 烹饪新视角
Filmed:
Readability: 3.2
1,606,673 views
烹饪书作家（以及怪胎）Nathan Myhrold谈论他的得意之作 -- “现代主义烹饪” ，同时与大家分享书中超酷照片的秘密，解释他们是如何展现观察烹饪过程的横截面。
Nathan Myhrvold - Polymath
Nathan Myhrvold is a professional jack-of-all-trades. After leaving Microsoft in 1999, he's been a world barbecue champion, a wildlife photographer, a chef, a contributor to SETI, and a volcano explorer. Full bio
Nathan Myhrvold is a professional jack-of-all-trades. After leaving Microsoft in 1999, he's been a world barbecue champion, a wildlife photographer, a chef, a contributor to SETI, and a volcano explorer. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
So I'm going to tell you a little bit
0
0
2000
我将告诉大家一些东西
00:17
about reimagining food.
1
2000
2000
关于重新看待食物
00:19
I've been interested in food for a long time.
2
4000
2000
我对食物感兴趣已经有很长一段时间了
00:21
I taught myself to cook
3
6000
2000
我通过一堆这类书
00:23
with a bunch of big books like this.
4
8000
2000
自学如何烹饪
00:25
I went to chef school in France.
5
10000
3000
我去法国烹饪学校进修
00:28
And there is a way
6
13000
2000
这个世界对食物的设想，
00:30
the world both envisions food,
7
15000
2000
以及对食物的描写、学习，
00:32
the way the world writes about food and learns about food.
8
17000
3000
都有一些既定的概念
00:35
And it's largely what you would find in these books.
9
20000
3000
这些通常你都能在这些书里面找到
00:38
And it's a wonderful thing.
10
23000
2000
这也是很奇妙的事情
00:40
But there's some things that have been going on
11
25000
2000
但是自从食物这个概念被定义之后
00:42
since this idea of food was established.
12
27000
3000
有些事情就有了了变化
00:45
In the last 20 years,
13
30000
2000
过去20年里
00:47
people have realized that science
14
32000
2000
人们意识到科学
00:49
has a tremendous amount to do with food.
15
34000
2000
对食物有着巨大的影响
00:51
In fact, understanding why cooking works
16
36000
3000
实际上，要了解为什么烹饪会有用，
00:54
requires knowing the science of cooking --
17
39000
2000
需要了解烹饪的科学--
00:56
some of the chemistry, some of the physics and so forth.
18
41000
3000
有关化学，有关物理等等
00:59
But that's not in any of those books.
19
44000
2000
但是这些没有写进任何一本书里
01:01
There's also a tremendous number of techniques
20
46000
2000
另外还有很多由厨师
01:03
that chefs have developed,
21
48000
2000
发明出的技巧
01:05
some about new aesthetics, new approaches to food.
22
50000
3000
有一些是新美学的，有一些新的烹饪方式
01:08
There's a chef in Spain named Ferran Adria.
23
53000
3000
在西班牙有名厨师名叫费伦·阿德里亚
01:11
He's developed a very avant-garde cuisine.
24
56000
2000
他发明了一种很先锋派的烹饪方式
01:13
A guy in England called Heston Blumenthal,
25
58000
3000
英国一个叫Heston Blumenthal的人
01:16
he's developed his avant-garde cuisine.
26
61000
2000
发明了他自己的先锋派烹饪方式
01:18
None of the techniques that these people have developed
27
63000
2000
这些人发明的技术
01:20
over the course of the last 20 years
28
65000
2000
没有一个记录在过去20年中
01:22
is in any of those books.
29
67000
2000
任何一本书中
01:24
None of them are taught in cooking schools.
30
69000
2000
他们没有谁是在过烹饪学校进修过
01:26
In order to learn them, you have to go work in those restaurants.
31
71000
3000
为了学会烹饪 那就得去那些餐厅工作实习
01:29
And finally,
32
74000
2000
最终
01:31
there's the old way of viewing food
33
76000
2000
守旧的审视食物的模式
01:33
is the old way.
34
78000
2000
产生出守旧的烹饪方式
01:35
And so a few years ago -- fours years ago, actually --
35
80000
3000
几年之前--实际是四年前--
01:38
I set out to say, is there a way
36
83000
2000
我试问是否有种方法
01:40
we can communicate science and technique and wonder?
37
85000
4000
来让我们将科学、技巧以及奇观联系在一起？
01:44
Is there a way we can show people food
38
89000
2000
我们是否能以一种从未有过的角度
01:46
in a way they have not seen it before?
39
91000
2000
把食物展现给大家呢？
01:48
So we tried, and I'll show you what we came up with.
40
93000
3000
于是我们开始尝试，接下来我想展示给大家我们的结果
01:51
This is a picture called a cutaway.
41
96000
3000
这是一张横切面图
01:54
This is actually the first picture I took in the book.
42
99000
2000
实际这是我书里第一张照片
01:56
The idea here is to explain what happens
43
101000
2000
这里的意思是为了当你蒸西兰花时
01:58
when you steam broccoli.
44
103000
2000
会发什么什么
02:00
And this magic view allows you to see
45
105000
2000
这神奇的角度让你看清
02:02
all of what's happening
46
107000
2000
蒸西兰花时
02:04
while the broccoli steams.
47
109000
2000
发生的一切
02:06
Then each of the different little pieces around it
48
111000
2000
周围的每个小插图
02:08
explain some fact.
49
113000
2000
都解释了一些事实
02:10
And the hope was two-fold.
50
115000
2000
有两层目的
02:12
One is you can actually explain what happens when you steam broccoli.
51
117000
2000
一个是，你可以解释当你蒸西兰花时发生了什么
02:14
But the other thing is that maybe we could seduce people
52
119000
3000
另一个是，我们希望能引诱人们
02:17
into stuff that was a little more technical,
53
122000
2000
去多了解一些技巧层面的东西
02:19
maybe a little bit more scientific, maybe a little bit more chef-y
54
124000
3000
可能多一点科学性，可能多一点专业性
02:22
than they otherwise would have.
55
127000
2000
比他们原本能得到的多
02:24
Because with that beautiful photo,
56
129000
2000
因为这些美丽的画面旁
02:26
maybe I can also package this little box here
57
131000
2000
我可能会附上这种小版块
02:28
that talks about how steaming and boiling
58
133000
2000
讲述蒸制和沸煮
02:30
actually take different amounts of time.
59
135000
2000
为何所需时长不同
02:32
Steaming ought to be faster.
60
137000
2000
蒸制似乎应该会更快
02:34
It turns out it isn't because of something called film condensation,
61
139000
3000
而事实并非如此，因为某些叫做膜状冷凝的现象
02:37
and this explains that.
62
142000
2000
导致蒸制所需时间更长
02:39
Well, that first cutaway picture worked,
63
144000
3000
第一张剖面图初见成效
02:42
so we said, "Okay, let's do some more."
64
147000
3000
于是我们说到 "好的，我们再做多一点吧。"
02:45
So here's another one.
65
150000
2000
这是另外一个案例
02:47
We discovered why woks are the shape they are.
66
152000
3000
我们发现为什么锅子是这个形状的
02:50
This shaped wok doesn't work very well;
67
155000
2000
这种形状的锅子并不是很好用
02:52
this caught fire three times.
68
157000
2000
它惹了三次火灾
02:54
But we had a philosophy,
69
159000
2000
但我们有自己的信念
02:56
which is it only has to look good for a thousandth of a second.
70
161000
3000
它只要一千分之一秒地时间是好的就行啦
02:59
(Laughter)
71
164000
2000
（笑声）
03:01
And one of our canning cutaways.
72
166000
2000
这是我们其中一个罐头剖面图
03:03
Once you start cutting things in half, you kind of get carried away,
73
168000
3000
一旦你开始把事物对半开，你就会有点激动得忘形
03:06
so you see we cut the jars in half as well as the pan.
74
171000
3000
所以你看到我们把罐头还有平底锅切成两半
03:09
And each of these text blocks
75
174000
2000
这些文字
03:11
explains a key thing that's going on.
76
176000
2000
每段都解释了所发生的关键
03:13
In this case, boiling water canning
77
178000
3000
这个例子中，沸水中的罐头
03:16
is for canning things that are already pretty acidic.
78
181000
2000
是用来贮存酸性食物的
03:18
You don't have to heat them up as hot
79
183000
2000
不需要煮太热
03:20
as you would something you do pressure canning
80
185000
3000
不能像处理加压罐头一样
03:23
because bacterial spores can't grow in the acid.
81
188000
3000
因为细菌孢子本来在酸性环境中就不能生长
03:27
So this is great for pickled vegetables,
82
192000
2000
这对腌制蔬菜来说是个好事儿
03:29
which is what we're canning here.
83
194000
2000
我们这个罐子里装的就是腌制蔬菜
03:31
Here's our hamburger cutaway.
84
196000
2000
这是我们的汉堡切面
03:33
One of our philosophies in the book
85
198000
2000
我们这本书的另一个信念
03:35
is that no dish
86
200000
2000
就是
03:37
is really intrinsically any better than any other dish.
87
202000
2000
没有一种食物从根本上比其它食物更高级
03:39
So you can lavish
88
204000
2000
你大可以
03:41
all the same care, all the same technique,
89
206000
3000
采用那些高级餐点的技巧
03:44
on a hamburger
90
209000
2000
来制作
03:46
as you would on some much more fancy dish.
91
211000
2000
一个汉堡
03:48
And if you do lavish as much technique as possible,
92
213000
3000
而且如果你尽可能使用更多的技巧
03:51
and you try to make the highest quality hamburger,
93
216000
2000
同时你尽可能制作最高质量的汉堡
03:53
it gets to be a little bit involved.
94
218000
2000
那汉堡自己也会变得很争气
03:55
The New York Times ran a piece
95
220000
2000
纽约时报写了一篇报道
03:57
after my book was delayed
96
222000
2000
是有关我的书的延迟出版的
03:59
and it was called "The Wait for the 30-Hour Hamburger
97
224000
3000
报道名为
04:02
Just Got Longer."
98
227000
2000
“30小时汉堡需要等待更久”
04:04
Because our hamburger recipe, our ultimate hamburger recipe,
99
229000
3000
正是由于我们的汉堡菜谱，我们顶级的汉堡菜谱
04:07
if you make the buns and you marinate the meat and you do all this stuff,
100
232000
3000
如果你亲手烘烤面包，以及制作肉末，这些所有的事
04:10
it does take about 30 hours.
101
235000
2000
确实是需要30小时
04:12
Of course, you're not actually working the whole time.
102
237000
2000
当然了，你并非一直在工作
04:14
Most of the time is kind of sitting there.
103
239000
2000
大部分时间只需要坐在那里
04:16
The point of this cutaway
104
241000
2000
这种切面的意义就在于
04:18
is to show people a view of hamburgers they haven't seen before
105
243000
2000
让人们从一种全新的视角观看汉堡
04:20
and to explain the physics of hamburgers
106
245000
2000
同时解释有关汉堡的物理学
04:22
and the chemistry of hamburgers,
107
247000
2000
以及有关汉堡的化学
04:24
because, believe it or not, there is something to the physics and chemistry --
108
249000
3000
因为，无论你信不信，这些都是物理和化学
04:27
in particular, those flames underneath the burger.
109
252000
3000
尤其是这块汉堡下的那些火苗
04:30
Most of the characteristic char-grilled taste
110
255000
3000
大部分碳烤口味
04:33
doesn't come from the wood or the charcoal.
111
258000
3000
并非真的来自木材或木碳
04:36
Buying mesquite charcoal will not actually make that much difference.
112
261000
3000
买最好的梅斯基特Mesquite木炭也不会有任何区别
04:39
Mostly it comes from fat pyrolyzing, or burning.
113
264000
3000
这些口味主要是来自于脂肪的热化，另称为燃烧
04:42
So it's the fat that drips down and flares up
114
267000
3000
因此脂肪滴落下来，再燃烧
04:45
that causes the characteristic taste.
115
270000
2000
才形成了独特的口味
04:47
Now you might wonder, how do we make these cutaways?
116
272000
2000
现在你可能会好奇，我们是怎样得到这些横切面的
04:49
Most people assume we use Photoshop.
117
274000
2000
大部分人会想当然认为我们使用Photoshop
04:51
And the answer is: no, not really;
118
276000
2000
但答案是否定的
04:53
we use a machine shop.
119
278000
3000
我们有一个机器工厂
04:56
And it turns out, the best way to cut things in half
120
281000
3000
事实证明，把东西切成一半的最佳办法
04:59
is to actually cut them in half.
121
284000
3000
就是实实在在地把它们对半切开
05:02
So we have two halves of one of the best kitchens in the world.
122
287000
2000
所以我们有了两半的世界上最棒的厨房
05:04
(Laughter)
123
289000
2000
（笑声）
05:06
We cut a $5,000 restaurant oven in half.
124
291000
4000
我们一共切了5000美金的餐厅用烤炉
05:10
The manufacturer said,
125
295000
2000
制造商说
05:12
"What would it take for you to cut one in half?"
126
297000
2000
“你到底为了什么把它切成这样？”
05:14
I said, "It would have to show up free."
127
299000
2000
我说，“为了能免费展出。”
05:16
And so it showed up, we used it a little while,
128
301000
2000
于是我们用了一段时间后
05:18
we cut it in half.
129
303000
2000
把它对半切了
05:20
Now you can also see a little bit how we did some of these shots.
130
305000
3000
现在你还能看看我们是如何做到这一切的
05:23
We would glue a piece of Pyrex
131
308000
2000
我们会在前部粘上一片耐热薄膜
05:25
or heat-resistant glass in front.
132
310000
3000
或者隔热玻璃
05:28
We used a red, very high-temperature silicon to do that.
133
313000
3000
我们用一种红色的、耐高温的硅胶
05:31
The great thing is, when you cut something in half,
134
316000
2000
令人高兴的事儿是，当你把东西对半切的时候
05:33
you have another half.
135
318000
2000
你还有了另一半
05:35
So you photograph that in exactly the same position,
136
320000
2000
所以你用Photograph把另一半放到一样的位置里
05:37
and then you can substitute in --
137
322000
2000
去代替原来的那一半
05:39
and that part does use Photoshop -- just the edges.
138
324000
3000
这一部分我们确实是用了Photoshop -- 只是在边际处
05:42
So it's very much like in a Hollywood movie
139
327000
2000
所以这就跟好莱坞电影很像
05:44
where a guy flies through the air, supported by wires,
140
329000
2000
一个男人佩戴保护线从空中飞过去，
05:46
and then they take the wires away digitally
141
331000
2000
然后用数码技术把保护线移除
05:48
so you're flying through the air.
142
333000
2000
你就看到他确实在空中飞翔
05:50
In most cases, though, there was no glass.
143
335000
2000
虽然在大部分情况下并没有玻璃
05:52
Like for the hamburger, we just cut the damn barbecue.
144
337000
3000
譬如这个汉堡，我们好歹把这个烧烤台切开了
05:55
And so those coals that kept falling off the edge,
145
340000
3000
这些煤炭一直从边角处掉出来
05:58
we kept having to put them back up.
146
343000
2000
我们不得不一直把它们放回去
06:00
But again, it only has to work for a thousandth of a second.
147
345000
2000
不过再申明一次，我们只需要千分之一秒
06:02
The wok shot caught fire three times.
148
347000
3000
这个灶台闹了三次火灾
06:05
What happens when you have your wok cut in half
149
350000
2000
当你把你的灶台对半切
06:07
is the oil goes down into the fire
150
352000
2000
油就会一直滴到火里
06:09
and whoosh!
151
354000
2000
然后“哄”
06:11
One of our cooks lost his eyebrows that way.
152
356000
2000
我们有一个厨师就是这样丢掉了眉毛
06:13
But hey, they grow back.
153
358000
2000
不过幸好他们又长回来了
06:15
In addition to cutaways,
154
360000
2000
除了横切
06:17
we also explain physics.
155
362000
2000
我们还解释物理学
06:19
This is Fourier's law of heat conduction.
156
364000
2000
这是热传导的傅里叶定律
06:21
It's a partial differential equation.
157
366000
2000
这是偏微分方程
06:23
We have the only cookbook in the world
158
368000
2000
我们是世界上唯一一本
06:25
that has partial differential equations in it.
159
370000
2000
有偏微分方程的烹饪书
06:27
But to make them palatable,
160
372000
2000
为了让这些东西变得“可口”
06:29
we cut it out of a steel plate and put it in front of a fire
161
374000
3000
我们把它从一个金属板上剪下来放到火焰前面
06:32
and photographed it like this.
162
377000
2000
用Photograph做成了这样
06:34
We've got lots of little tidbits in the book.
163
379000
3000
这本书里，有我们许许多多这样的袖珍趣事
06:37
Everybody knows that your various appliances
164
382000
2000
我想大家都知道所有设备
06:39
have wattage, right?
165
384000
3000
都有不同的瓦数，对吧？
06:42
But you probably don't know that much about James Watt.
166
387000
2000
但你可能不知道James Watt（詹姆斯瓦特）
06:44
But now you will; we put a biography of James Watt in.
167
389000
3000
但现在你知道了；我们加入了一段James Watt的生平简历
06:47
It's a little couple paragraphs
168
392000
2000
只是几小段
06:49
to explain why we call that unit of heat the watt,
169
394000
3000
解释我们为什么会称这些热单位为瓦特
06:52
and where he got his inspiration.
170
397000
2000
以及他是从哪里得到的灵感
06:54
It turned out he was hired by a Scottish distillery
171
399000
3000
事实是他为了了解
06:57
to understand why they were burning so damn much peat
172
402000
2000
人们为什么为了蒸馏威士忌要耗费如此之多的泥碳
06:59
to distill the whiskey.
173
404000
2000
特地在苏格兰酿酒厂工作
07:01
We also did a lot of calculation.
174
406000
2000
我们也做了很多计算
07:03
I personally wrote thousands of lines of code
175
408000
2000
我自己为了这本书
07:05
to write this cookbook.
176
410000
2000
就写了数千行程序
07:07
Here's a calculation
177
412000
2000
这里就是计算
07:09
that shows how the intensity of a barbecue,
178
414000
2000
这里显示烧烤的强度
07:11
or other radiant heat source, goes
179
416000
2000
或者其它辐射热源
07:13
as you move away from it.
180
418000
2000
随距离长短的变化
07:15
So as you move vertically away from this surface,
181
420000
2000
当你在垂直方向远离热源时
07:17
the heat falls off.
182
422000
2000
热度降低
07:19
As you move side to side, it moves off.
183
424000
2000
当你从水平移动时，热度会消失
07:21
That horn-shaped region
184
426000
2000
这个喇叭状的区域
07:23
is what we call the sweet spot.
185
428000
2000
我们称之为最佳地点
07:25
That's the place where the heat is even to within 10 percent.
186
430000
3000
这个区域的温度很均匀，差别在10%以内
07:28
So that's the place where you really want to cook.
187
433000
2000
这个区域是你真正想用来烹饪的
07:30
And it's got this funny horn-shaped thing,
188
435000
2000
这里这个有趣的喇叭状的东西
07:32
which as far as I know, again,
189
437000
2000
是就我所知的，
07:34
the first cookbook to ever do this.
190
439000
2000
全世界第一本烹饪书
07:36
Now it may also be the last cookbook that ever does it.
191
441000
3000
当然也可能是最后一本有这玩意儿的烹饪书
07:39
You know, there's two ways
192
444000
2000
你们知道，
07:41
you can make a product.
193
446000
2000
推出一个产品有两种办法
07:43
You can do lots of market research
194
448000
2000
你可以做大量的市场调研
07:45
and do focus groups
195
450000
2000
以及目标客户群
07:47
and figure out what people really want,
196
452000
2000
去看看人们到底想要什么
07:49
or you can just kind of go for it
197
454000
2000
或者你可以试着推出
07:51
and make the book you want and hope other people like it.
198
456000
3000
你想要的书，再看看人们是不是喜欢
07:54
Here's a step-by-step that shows grinding hamburger.
199
459000
3000
这里手把手地教你怎样制作汉堡
07:57
If you really want great hamburger,
200
462000
2000
如果你真的想要特别棒的汉堡
07:59
it turns out it makes a difference if you align the grain.
201
464000
3000
如果你调整配方，结果确实会与众不同
08:02
And it's really simple, as you can see here.
202
467000
2000
真的很简单，就如你在这儿看到的
08:04
As it comes out of the grinder, you just have a little tray,
203
469000
2000
当肉从磨子里出来的时候，就用一个小盘子接着
08:06
and you just take it off in little passes,
204
471000
2000
然后你把这些肉取出来
08:08
build it up, slice it vertically.
205
473000
2000
堆好，再纵切
08:10
Here's the final hamburger.
206
475000
2000
这就是最后的成品汉堡
08:12
This is the 30-hour hamburger.
207
477000
2000
这是一个30小时的汉堡
08:14
We make every aspect of this burger.
208
479000
2000
我们亲手制作了这个汉堡的每一个细节
08:16
The lettuce has got liquid smoke infused into it.
209
481000
3000
生菜这儿有液状烟雾
08:19
We also have things about how to make the bun.
210
484000
3000
我们还展示了如何做面包
08:22
There's a mushroom, ketchup -- it goes on and on.
211
487000
3000
有蘑菇，番茄酱，以及其它各种材料
08:25
Now watch closely. This is popcorn. I'll explain it here.
212
490000
3000
现在仔细看，这是爆米花，我来做些解释
08:28
The popcorn is illustrating
213
493000
2000
这个爆米花显示了
08:30
a key thing in physics.
214
495000
2000
一个物理学里的关键点
08:32
Isn't that beautiful?
215
497000
2000
是不是非常美丽
08:34
We have a very high-speed camera,
216
499000
3000
我们使用了超高速照相机
08:37
which we had lots of fun with on the book.
217
502000
2000
我们从这个照相机那儿得到了不少乐趣
08:39
The key physics principle here
218
504000
2000
这里的主要物理学原理
08:41
is when water boils to steam
219
506000
2000
就是当沸水变成蒸汽时
08:43
it expands by a factor of 1,600.
220
508000
2000
会扩张1600倍
08:45
That's what's happening to the water inside that popcorn.
221
510000
2000
这就是玉米粒中的水发生的事
08:47
So it's a great illustration of that.
222
512000
2000
这个照片是个完美的诠释
08:49
Now I'm going to close with a video that is kind of unusual.
223
514000
3000
现在让我用一段不一般地视频做个结尾。
08:52
We have a chapter on gels.
224
517000
2000
我们有一章是讲胶状物的
08:54
And because people watch Mythbusters and CSI,
225
519000
3000
因为大家都看Mythbusters和CSI
08:57
I thought, well, let's put in a recipe
226
522000
2000
我想，那就让我们加一个
08:59
for a ballistics gelatin.
227
524000
3000
弹道明胶的菜谱
09:02
Well, if you have a high-speed camera,
228
527000
2000
好吧，如果你有一个高速相机
09:04
and you have a block of ballistics gelatin lying around,
229
529000
3000
还有一块弹道明胶
09:07
pretty soon somebody does this.
230
532000
2000
然后这样做
09:11
(Gasps)
231
536000
2000
（惊叹）
09:13
Now the amazing thing here
232
538000
2000
现在令人惊讶的是
09:15
is that a ballistics gelatin is supposed to mimic
233
540000
2000
弹道明胶实际上是模仿
09:17
what happens to human flesh when you get shot -- that's why you shouldn't get shot.
234
542000
3000
遭受枪击时人体发生的状况 -- 正因此你一定不可以被击中
09:20
The other amazing thing is, when this ballistics gelatin comes down,
235
545000
3000
另一件令人惊异的事是，当弹道明胶落回原处时
09:23
it falls back down as a nice block.
236
548000
2000
能够完全恢复到原本完美的块状
09:25
Anyway, here's the book.
237
550000
3000
好吧书在这儿
09:28
Here it is.
238
553000
2000
这个就是
09:32
2,438 pages.
239
557000
3000
2438页
09:36
And they're nice big pages too.
240
561000
3000
而且也很漂亮
09:39
(Applause)
241
564000
8000
（掌声）
09:47
A friend of mine complained
242
572000
2000
我一个朋友抱怨
09:49
that this was too big and too pretty to go in the kitchen,
243
574000
2000
这本书太大太美带入厨房很不方便
09:51
so there's a sixth volume
244
576000
2000
所以我们就退出了六册
09:53
that has washable, waterproof paper.
245
578000
2000
是可洗防水纸质的书
09:55
(Applause)
246
580000
4000
（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nathan Myhrvold - PolymathNathan Myhrvold is a professional jack-of-all-trades. After leaving Microsoft in 1999, he's been a world barbecue champion, a wildlife photographer, a chef, a contributor to SETI, and a volcano explorer.
Why you should listen
Since leaving his post as Microsoft's Chief Technology Officer in 1999 (with fortune in tow), Nathan Myhrvold has been a professional exemplar of the spirit of the "Renaissance Man," proudly following his interests wherever they've led. His dispersed passions have triggered an impressive list of accomplishments, including world barbecue championships, major archeological finds (several Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons), prize-winning wildlife photography, building a section of Babbage's Difference Engine #2, s, and a new and consuming interest in the sous-vide cooking technique.
Malcolm Gladwell's 2008 New Yorker profile of him revealed an impish but truly inspired character whose latest company, Intellectual Ventures -- which brainstorms and patents a wide array of inventions -- has been accused in some quarters of acting like a 'patent troll' but is described by Myhrvold as "a disruptive organization providing an efficient way for patent holders to get paid for the inventions they own, and... for technology companies to gain easy access to the invention rights they need." After funding big-vision projects such as the Allen Telescope Array, exploring active volcanoes and investigating penguin digestion, Myhrvold insists that his hobbies aren't as discursive as they seem. They do have a common denominator, after all: him.
Nathan Myhrvold | Speaker | TED.com