Mythic Quest was a lot of fun.
Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
91–100 of 115 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#92Hackers (1995) Not joking, it's a silly and campy movie but it captures the enthusiasm I had as a kid for making computers do things. Not about coding, but about achieving something through persistence and hard work: Fitzcarraldo (1982)
If you liked Fitzcarraldo, you should absolutely watch "Burden of Dreams" which is basically the making of Fitzcarraldo. It's fascinating.
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#93Since my divorce, I've found that I get a lot of help out of media like this for recharging my spirit to work on things. Sometimes kids' movies are the best, because they aren't at all about the 'how', but they are about the 'why'. Here's a list of a few that I find helpful: Tomorrowland Big Hero 6 Robots (2005) The Martian Sneakers Real Genius Wargames Macguyver (80s show) Cosmos October Sky Iron Man The Astronaut F…
I had completely forgotten about Big Hero 6, some kids' movies really are great.
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#94I enjoyed "Rise of the Centaur", a documentary about a company that develops an intel compatible microprocessor.
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#95Flash of Genius[0], "The story focuses on Robert Kearns and his legal battle against the Ford Motor Company after they developed an intermittent windshield wiper based on ideas the inventor had patented." [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_of_Genius_(film)
Just posted my own answer with this before seeing this comment, I watched just a few days ago. Decent movie but as I said above it felt like more of a cautionary tale rather than motivational.
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#96Great suggestions here, many that I've either never heard of or never considered - I look forward to checking them out and please keep them coming, I'm hopeful this can turn into a masterthread to keep coming back and discovering motivational media. Should maybe have done this earlier but adding a few of the ones I've already watched. Technical Motivation: - Silicon Valley (TV show, 2014-2019) - The Social Network (2…
A similar one to Flash of Genius, which I didn't include on my motivational list because it is also a cautionary tale, but which also deserves mention is Tucker: the man and his dream (1988).
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#97Since my divorce, I've found that I get a lot of help out of media like this for recharging my spirit to work on things. Sometimes kids' movies are the best, because they aren't at all about the 'how', but they are about the 'why'. Here's a list of a few that I find helpful: Tomorrowland Big Hero 6 Robots (2005) The Martian Sneakers Real Genius Wargames Macguyver (80s show) Cosmos October Sky Iron Man The Astronaut F…
Also, thank you for the great list and don't pay attention to people who would berate you for daring to be human and need external motivation.
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#98Maybe try the opposite. You can have too much of a good thing. Cover the screens, spend time outside, read a good book unrelated to tech, diversify your time. If motivation were a battery you wouldn't try to recharge it and use it at the same time. It might get you a little more uptime but the stress leads to early failure.
This is great advice that before today I wouldn't have thought needed to be said, but if comments elsewhere in the thread are an indication, it seems wise to include them. Taking a break is definitely as necessary as motivation, in the end it comes down to the individual to take stock of themselves and understand when they need more motivation or when it's time to go out with a friend and unwind. For me personally I like to use movies and TV to start my morning with, while having breakfast, so I start out motivated to get a lot done.
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#99Maybe try the opposite. You can have too much of a good thing. Cover the screens, spend time outside, read a good book unrelated to tech, diversify your time. If motivation were a battery you wouldn't try to recharge it and use it at the same time. It might get you a little more uptime but the stress leads to early failure.
> If motivation were a battery you wouldn't try to recharge it and use it at the same time. It might get you a little more uptime but the stress leads to early failure.
Thank you for this. I've not thought of it in that way, but it is very accurate.
Re: Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
#100Primer, both for the discovery within the film and the fact they were able to make an aware winning, cult movie for like $70,000.
It was $7,500. $5,000 of that was the camera hire, $1,400 was the single paid actor (the rest were friends and family). The used expired film stock that a film company donated to the production. It was all edited in Premier Pro on a home PC. Shane Carruth wrote, directed, edited, composed, acted, produced, everything. My favourite fact is that they only had ~80 mins of film donated to them. This meant they couldn't a…
Sorry for the 70k I might have been thinking of Pi, which was another favourite film of mine!