How Did Randy Pausch Inspire in His Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon?

[Math Is Hard]

Some universities present a Last Lecture Series in which top professors are invited to speak as if it is the last lecture they will ever give, imparting words of advice and discussing what has mattered most deeply in their lives. Yesterday, at Carnegie Mellon, the last lecture was far more than hypothetical.

Randy Pausch set the tone early on yesterday at his farewell lecture at Carnegie Mellon University.

"If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you," said Dr. Pausch.

It is probably the last public speech Dr. Pausch will give anywhere. The 46-year-old computer science professor and father of three preschoolers has incurable pancreatic cancer. Doctors have given him months to live.

Yet, standing at the podium in McConomy Auditorium on the campus yesterday, Randy Pausch did not focus on impending death. Instead, he celebrated the chance he had been given to live the life he always had dreamed of.

There's a video of some of the lecture highlights here:



I heard part of his speech on the radio this morning and very touched by his bravery and inspired by his words of wisdom. One of the things that really struck me was when he talked about setbacks, about the "brick walls" that we hit in life. He said that the brick walls are a chance to prove how badly we want something. They only keep out the people who don't want it badly enough. Considering how many of his goals he achieved, I can't help but take that advice to heart.

He spoke of his childhood dreams and how he had accomplished almost all of them: from winning giant stuffed animals to becoming an Imagineer to floating in zero gravity. It was a great presentation, very uplifting, although I did get a bit sad in parts thinking about his family that will be left behind.

The entire lecture is up on youtube.com

 

[EnumaElish]

Thanks for posting this, MIH.

 

[Astronuc]

Thanks MIH, that's great!

Pausch has a great sense of humor and offers excellent advice.

What an inspiration he is.

My condolensces to his family, colleagues and students.

 

[mgb_phys]

The full video is here http://wms.andrew.cmu.edu/001/pausch.wmv

 

[morphism]

I just watched the full lecture. It was pretty good -- I even got a bit teary towards the end! Very inspiring man. I would say a life well-lived.

Condolences to his family and friends.

 

[Math Is Hard]

He just delivered a spectacular commencement speech at CMU:

 

[Gokul43201]

Randy Pausch died this morning. Farewell, Randy!

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, has died. He was 47.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/07/25/obit.pausch.ap/index.html

And to correct the sloppy slander by the Associated Press, Pausch's Last Lecture was not about facing terminal cancer.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Sorry to see him go.

 

[Daniel Y.]

He died today? Wow. It's been a long time since I watched his last lecture, but if I remember correctly he was a pretty funny guy with a lot of interesting stories.

R.I.P

 

[arunbg]

Farewell Randy, you changed my life.

 

[Astronuc]

Farewell, Dr. Pausch. Gone too soon. RIP.

I wish his wife and children well. My thoughts are with them and his students, colleagues and friends.