The speech focused on the extraordinary problem-solving potential of basic mathematics. From basic questions like “If Sara is 4 feet tall and Dr. Phil needs to bend down 3 feet to pat her head, how many feet does she have?” (1+1=2) to advanced inquiries, such as the one addressed in the talk, many mysteries can be solved using the principles learned in 9th grade algebra.

The speaker, a comic artist who runs a successful website and authored the book “What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions,” both of which I enjoy, walked the audience through one of his comics addressing the write-in question of “What would happen if a pitcher threw a baseball at 90% of the speed of light?”. Then, explaining in detail his whole process, he starts to answer “How many punch cards would Google need to store all of the information in their data centers?”. Since Google jealously hoards its corporate secrets, he needed to use public records and financial information to calculate the number of data centers which Google operates and how much data could be stored in each one. In the end, he determined that the punch cards would take up the volume of the city of Boston extended upwards five kilometers.

The speech exponentially expanded my knowledge of the topic. I have always taken in his comics with a bit of astonishment, wondering how it was even possible for someone to figure this out. After the talk, I know it is a simple matter. Once you find somewhere to start, it is easy to do the multiplication, division, and inferencing that will lead to a plausible answer.

Munroe’s talk is funny and interesting; he is clearly a very smart person, but he is just as clearly not an experienced public speaker. He was not bad or unpracticed, yet his nerves showed through his delivery which stumbled and became choppy at some points. However since this was a presentation and not purely a speech, this was not as relevant. He was almost an ancillary concern, since his comics carried much of the show. While a true speech must come almost entirely from the speaker’s mouth, the TED style of presentation allowed Munroe to take some of this pressure off and give an exceptional talk despite his lack of confidence.