Ten Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the themes presented in commencement speeches, particularly focusing on the expectations and realities faced by graduates. Participants explore the implications of success, fame, and the potential for individual impact on society, drawing from various speeches and personal reflections.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that meaningful connections made during college are crucial for long-term happiness and well-being.
  • Others reference a commencement speech that emphasizes the harsh realities of life, arguing that the world does not cater to the young and that not everyone will change civilization.
  • There is a discussion about the pursuit of fame among young people, with some arguing that the desire for brief notoriety often leads to unfulfilling outcomes.
  • One participant posits that greatness requires both inspiration and hard work, while another emphasizes the importance of being good rather than perfect in various endeavors.
  • Some participants challenge the notion that individuals cannot change civilization, arguing that everyone has the potential to make an impact, whether positive or negative.
  • Concerns are raised about the unintended consequences of actions, highlighting the need for awareness and responsibility in striving for change.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the potential for individual impact on society, with some agreeing that everyone can change civilization while others maintain that such change is unlikely. The discussion remains unresolved, with multiple competing perspectives on the nature of success and the pursuit of greatness.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various commencement speeches and personal anecdotes, indicating a reliance on subjective interpretations of success and fulfillment. There is a notable absence of consensus on the implications of these speeches for graduates' future aspirations.

Greg Bernhardt
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This has been going around, but it's interesting enough to read.

1. Your time in fraternity basements was well spent.

The same goes for the time you spent playing intramural sports, working on the school newspaper or just hanging with friends. Research tells us that one of the most important causal factors associated with happiness and well-being is your meaningful connections with other human beings. Look around today. Certainly one benchmark of your postgraduation success should be how many of these people are still your close friends in 10 or 20 years...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577366332400453796.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
 
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Nice!

I was fortunate to happen to read Robert Horton's commencement speech- the local paper printed an excerpt- when I had just started college:

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9e1faf36-ae58-40df-a2db-41dce869382e%40sessionmgr14&vid=2&hid=12

A few sentences:

"You are crossing a river you can never cross again. And attention must be paid, not with the mindless cliches of most commencement speeches, but with some clear truth. here are three truths I offer you:

1) The world does not belong to the young. It does not give a tinker's cuss about the young. Speeches to the contrary insult your intelligence.
2) Not one soul here today is likely to change civilization. Do not be misled by pollyannas.
3) You are far older than you think. Already, almost one-third of your life has ticked away."

It's a good read.
 
Andy Resnick said:
2) Not one soul here today is likely to change civilization. Do not be misled by pollyannas.
This dovetails nicely with item #10 in the WSJ article cited by Greg,
10. Don't try to be great. Being great involves luck and other circumstances beyond your control. The less you think about being great, the more likely it is to happen. And if it doesn't, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being solid.​

Apparently the #1 goal amongst young people today is to be famous. Fifteen minutes of fame, maybe. Those fifteen minutes of fame usually aren't worth the expense. Who wants to be briefly famous for having all one's teeth pulled out by one's ex?

We see this problem of misaligned goals all too often right here at this site. "My goal in life is to be a famous astrophysicist at Harvard. I won't be happy with anything but that."
 
Finding meaning in life is man's purpose is it not? It is a mix of our innate greed and curiosity.

Those who become great have the 10 percent inspiration AND the 90 percent perspiration.
 
Perfection is illogical, be good in everything you do.

Join clubs and join study groups even if you think you are above them, they can help with the flow of ideas, and you never know, maybe you will think of a cool research project to undertake.

Help other students, not just because you want something in return, but because they are your compatriots.

Apparently the #1 goal amongst young people today is to be famous. Fifteen minutes of fame, maybe. Those fifteen minutes of fame usually aren't worth the expense. Who wants to be briefly famous for having all one's teeth pulled out by one's ex?

I'd like to hear this story.
 
Andy Resnick said:
2) Not one soul here today is likely to change civilization. Do not be misled by pollyannas.

I was taught the exact opposite. That everyone is likely to change civilization in some way. It may not be in a good way, which is where "try not to make things worse than they are" comes in handy.
 
twofish-quant said:
I was taught the exact opposite. That everyone is likely to change civilization in some way. It may not be in a good way, which is where "try not to make things worse than they are" comes in handy.
So true! And intent is not always the determining factor. Beware of unintended consequences, and at least try to be cognizant of those consequences, if you can. We all have some power in the world that we live in, and we should all try do "do no harm".
 
Andy Resnick said:
2) Not one soul here today is likely to change civilization. Do not be misled by pollyannas.
It may be true that this is not likely, but if one is not actually trying to work as good as one can, then it's a sure bet (not only unlikely) that one will not end up in the place desired. There is this saying
Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
(attributed to Margaret Mead). Of course this is not the entire truth, and not all few commited people have changed the world for the better (just think of what happened in Germany in the 1930s...). But telling people that they cannot change the world? It's just an excuse you give them for not trying hard enough.

Note: I do not want to imply that "changing the world" is something everyone should attempt to do (in fact, I think it is not a good goal at all, as most things are easily changed for the worse. In many cases there is a good reasons structures are as they are). But some people legitimately believe in some necessary changes. And I'd rather see them try to do them, and maybe see what is wrong with what they propose, than tell me that nothing they do matters anyway and then go play xbox.
 

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