

Ask HN: Audio of awe-inspiring and impressive people for an experiment? - dnttllmfrnds

Have you ever noticed that after binging on some TV show or podcast or by some other means exposing yourself to hours of other peoples conversations and interaction, that it rubs off on you? Maybe I'm just very impressionable, or there’s some kind of perception bias afoot, but I notice myself doing this often. Sometimes they are just mannerisms, other times it is the way I put together sentences. And then there are times where I start to pick up pieces of other people's accents without meaning to.<p>For a while now I have been thinking about this, and wondering if there was any way to measure this effect. I am attempting to find as much content as I can with characters or real people I aspire to be like for an experiment. I am ripping the audio from videos and talks, collecting podcasts and finding radio interviews. I am cutting out the useless parts and putting together a library of material for my mp3 player, with the hope that repeated exposure to it all might leave some kind of noticeable effect.<p>I have not told my friends/family or colleagues as the idea is to use their reactions or comments as my most reliable and non-biased source of feedback.<p>So that's what I'm planning, but I'm having trouble finding sources of audio. Does anyone have any suggestions? Preferably of people or characters you find impressive or awe-inspiring. (hey, if it works at all I might as well aim for something I'd like)<p>(note: the idea isn't to learn anything from what these people are saying, but just to see if I will pick up any aspects of their (for lack of a better word) 'style')
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michael_nielsen
The ted.com audio files are available on iTunes (and probably many other
places). I find many of those speakers quite inspiring. Even better, although
much longer, are the Long Now talks, which are available both on the Long Now
website, and on iTunes.

