this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2025
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Expert Lectures

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Links to lectures by experts in their fields.

In this information age, it is easier than ever to access knowledge in all manner of formats. The simple academic-style lecture yet remains one of the most effective ways of presenting focused research. (Especially when followed by a good Q&A session.)

The information age, with its broad and easy mechanisms of dissemination, has brought with it also an era of noise. Everyone is, or has, their own expert. Let’s try to find true experts, recognized and generally accepted in their fields, to see what interesting things they have to say.

Suggested title format: “Title of lecture” [year, if not current], Name, Credentials and/or Venue. Brief synopsis/description. #topic #subject

Consider using links that go straight to the beginning of the lecture (bypassing lengthy introductions) if possible.

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Many historians have thought that U.S. Navy funding of oceanography paved the way for plate tectonic theory. By funding extensive investigations of the deep ocean, Navy support enabled scientists to discover and understand sea-floor magnetic stripes, the association of the deep trenches with deep-focus earthquakes, and other key features. Historian of science and geologist Naomi Oreskes presents a different view: the major pieces of plate tectonic theory were in place in the 1930s, and military secrecy in fact prevented the coalescence of plate tectonics, delaying it for three decades.


Naomi Oreskes is Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. She has worked on studies of geophysics, climate change and the history of science. She sits on the board of US based not-for-profit organisations the National Center for Science Education and Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. She is a distinguished speaker and has published 10 books, including Science on a Mission and The Big Myth.

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