In this lightning talk, Steven Yap, founder of Futureworkz, discusses the challenges and solutions involved in building real-time applications using a modern stack comprising React, Redux, Rails, and RethinkDB. Steven humorously notes his journey to attend the Red Dot Ruby Conference and introduces himself as a full-stack developer and agile coach. He defines real-time applications as those that can update data without requiring a page refresh.

Key points discussed in the presentation include:

- Real-Time Application Needs: Steven emphasizes the necessity of establishing a WebSocket for real-time capabilities, particularly using Rails 5's Action Cable, alongside addressing complexities with user interface updates involving jQuery.

- Challenges in Real-Time Data Handling: The talk highlights issues such as broadcasting messages to the appropriate clients and maintaining synchronization between data models and views.

- Decorative Programming Approach: Steven advocates for a decorative programming approach, which focuses on defining the end state rather than the process. This helps simplify updating the view with React, as its components render automatically when the underlying data array changes.

- State Management with Redux: He introduces Redux as an efficient way to manage application state in a functional manner where 'actions' invoke 'reducers' to modify state seamlessly. This approach makes debugging and testing easier.

- Backend Broadcasts Using RethinkDB: The backend leverages RethinkDB for message broadcasting, allowing for real-time updates when data changes occur, all while maintaining tidy and understandable code.

- Collaboration of Technologies: The amalgamation of React, Redux, Rails, and RethinkDB leads to a system where the view, state management, and back-end logic are clearly defined and coordinated.

In conclusion, the talk emphasizes that using these technologies together can simplify the development of real-time applications and ultimately enhance the enjoyment of coding in this domain. Steven encourages attendees to embrace the decorative and functional approaches in building efficient applications.