At the American Academy for Achievement’s 2005 International Achievement Summit, prizewinners each give a short speech to student delegates–about 200 Rhodes Scholars, etc. from 50 countries. So we all heard some darn good speeches but of course the best was given by Frank Wilczek–short, pithy, informative, and very funny.
I especially like his illustration of how to choose problems wisely:
It’s easy to give vague advice, but I will break new ground, and give you an algorithm. Many of you are probably thinking about getting married, and naturally you would like to maximize your chance of finding the best possible mate. I’ll give you an algorithm for that….
Wait, I hope this doesn’t mean I’m a problem…
If you want Frank’s algorithm, and to understand why my new nickname is “N over e plus one”, here’s Frank’s 5-minute talk including as a bonus Einstein’s favorite joke.