Carnegie Mellon has a lecture series known as "The Last Lecture" where each speaker addresses the audience as if it was his/her final lecture ever. Semi-retired surgeon poon forwarded an article about Randy Pausch, a CMU CS prof who, after being diagnosed with a terminal disease, is living his final days to the fullest. The following videos capture indeed, his "Last Lecture".
Prof Pausch was instrumental in setting up, among other things, Building Virtual Worlds--a highly-acclaimed project class where students of vastly-different disciplines create 3D virtual worlds. We used to attend the final day of that class when students showed off their creations. Costumes, stage performances, gags accompanied technologically-impressive interactive computer animations. One of the things I loved about dear old CMU.
Some (near) quotes I like from his lecture:
"Brick walls are there for people who are really dedicated to show their commitment."
"If you expect a morose and depressing lecture, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"It's sad that people perceive you as arrogant, because that limits your potential for success in future."
"Give someone time and he/she will surely surprise you in a good way."
"I don't know, but one of my brightest and most promising young faculty is standing in front of me bustling with excitement, and I would like to hear more."
Videos:
Part 1 of 10
Part 2 of 10
Part 3 of 10
Part 4 of 10
Part 5 of 10
Part 6 of 10
Part 7 of 10
Part 8 of 10
Part 9 of 10
Part 10 of 10
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