March 7, 2012

"The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch

While it seems that they are less and less valued by society these days, professors are still an integral part of society as they are the thinkers, the ones who are going to pass off functional knowledge to the next generation in order to keep society going. However, they are only human like the rest of us and one day or another have to face their own mortality. 

A good amount of professors have given talks which they’ve dubbed as the last lecture, where they generally reflect upon their lives, sharing the most important bits of wisdom they've come to gather through their journey.

Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon when he received a devastating diagnosis: he was ill with terminal cancer. Needless to say, the man was asked to give one final lecture, and he took up the offer. However, instead of talking about subjects such as death or dealing with it; it was about living and the importance of overcoming obstacles no matter what.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (Book cover)
It was a lecture which discussed the importance of seizing the moment, the importance of recognizing that while the amount of time you have may be out of your control, the way you spend it is up to you. His speech has been since then translated into various languages and made available in many formats, which is the least he deserves as that lecture was truly inspirational and eye-opening about what is really valuable in this life.




Randy Pausch (October 23, 1950 - July 25, 2008)

Randy Pausch
(October 23, 1950 - July 25, 2008)


Randy Pausch was an American professor of computer science, design and human-computer interaction at the Carnegie Mellon University.

He truly made himself known in the world once he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, leading him to give his legendary “last lecture”, after which he co-authored the book titled The Last Lecture in which the themes he touched on earlier were explored in greater depth.




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