Mike Pound Q&A - Computerphile

We put some of your questions to Dr Mike Pound.


This video was filmed and edited by Sean Riley.

[jeffhuang]

This man is single-handedly responsible for 80% of computerphile's subscribers.

[cameron]

Meanwhile, in an alternate universe, I'm probably watching biologist Mike Pound explain photosynthesis on Naturephile.

[CarlTSpeak]

One of Mike's videos helped me with an MSc exam. Yes really. A concept I was struggling with, watched one of his videos on here and it made all of the more in-depth stuff come together.

Beer was appropriately sent to Nottingham :)

Love this channel, great people on here.

[WarisAmirMohammad]

Pound for pound, the best guest on here

[edentyler-moss]

Timestamps:

0:00 - What got you into CS
1:12 - How did you specialise / what do you specialise in
2:39 - Why would you do a PhD
3:55 - How do you learn about new topics
5:50 - How are deep learning networks designed
6:38 - Formal Methods
6:55 - Cryptography book recommendations
7:46 - Keeping up with current research in academia
10:02 - Image processing tools, libraries, languages
11:18 - Favourite encryption algorithm / cipher
11:38 - Line between national security and privacy
12:45 - Does Signal and encryption in general have government backdoors
14:27 - First project you were really proud of, and worst piece of code you've ever written
16:06 - Getting started in a data science or machine learning career
16:53 - Should IT specialists get certifications and follow standards
17:46 - Will encryption always outpace decryption
18:44 - Best website for computer security research

[muB]

Dr. Pound should've setup his own channel already. He's a legendary lecturer.

[ArionKrause]

He could read Vogon poetry and I would watch it anyway.

[aidastekorius]

I have no idea how Mike manages to grab my attention every time he talks. The way he says things is really gripping.

[YingwuUsagiri]

I sincerely like how enthusiastic Mike is about Computerphile as well, it took him not even a second to wonder if he did a subject for Computerphile and switch over to oh yeah I'll do a video on that.

[wp]

He always explains things in a matter that is easier to understand and he has a very interesting way of delivering information that makes you want to pay attention and listen closely.

[roar]

Best guy on Computerphile in my opinion.

[dlabs]

Computerphile: "What got you into CS?"
My brain: "What Mike plays Counter Strike?"

[oaklyfoundation]

I could've watched this Q&A for 10 hours.

[alexandrumacedon]

from listening to music, and from having ideas from people that actually have nothing to tell, this man, and this channel, has made me have a pleasure to come back and to check for a new video. im trying to learn css and javascript it's kinda hard, i learned pascal when i was little but now i go to work im trying to do everything, but what i wanna say is, yeah, we should all learn and do something new and better.

[window.location]

Finally, peter parker revealed his secret.

[cipherbenchmarks]

Best professor for understanding fundamentals of computer secufity

[timseguine]

Glad he touched on the "haphazard" code of research scientists. Definitely a pain I have felt trying to make use of research code in practice.

[ramarromarrone]

He could talk about the most boring thing in the universe and i would be entertained as well

[pranavjain]

List of things to read/watch/follow recommended by Dr Mike Pound in this video:
- Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems - Ross Anderson
- Cryptography Engineering: Design Principles and Practical Applications - Niels Ferguson
- Introduction to Cryptography - Christof Paar
- CVPR (Conference)
- OWASP Foundation
- Ross Anderson's blog
- Bruce Schneier's blog

[LightFykki]

This was a great insight. Interesting questions and even more interesting answers.
As someone who is currently starting his PhD in the field of security, hearing this interview was quite inspiring.