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The Last Lecture
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The Last Lecture
The Last Lecture is a 2008 New York Times best-selling book co-authored by Randy Pausch—a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. The book extends the September 2007 lecture by Pausch entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". The Last Lecture is renowned for its witty humor, despite encompassing Pausch's farewell to his loved ones due to his terminal pancreatic cancer. In the book, through his past experiences, Pausch attempts to lend advice to his children that they may need once he has passed. He recounts memories growing up and important people who have been vital in "achieving his childhood dreams."
Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for ten years. He received numerous honors while teaching at the university including being named “Person of the Year” by ABC News, as well as being named to the “One Hundred Most Influential People in the World”. In 2006 Pausch's doctors informed him that he had developed pancreatic cancer. Pausch had a resection done to try and eliminate the cancer, although a year after his procedure his doctors indicated that his cancer had returned. The cancer had metastasized to his liver and he was informed he had three to six months left to live. His first task was saying goodbye to the job he loved by participating in Carnegie Mellon's last lecture circuit. When a professor is leaving or retiring from the university, they are encouraged to give a “last lecture” where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", i.e., "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" Pausch delivered his "Last Lecture", titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", at Carnegie Mellon on September 18, 2007. According to The Los Angeles Times, Pausch paired up with a co-author, Jeffrey Zaslow, to put his lecture into words, creating The Last Lecture. After publishing the book and recording his lecture, Pausch dedicated the rest of his time to enjoying his family and advocating for pancreatic cancer patients. He felt responsible for people suffering from the cancer explaining, “We don't have advocates for this disease because they don't live long enough. We don’t have a Michael J. Fox because people die too fast”. Pausch died on July 25, 2008.
The Last Lecture is organized similarly throughout each of the nine chapters. Pausch depicts an important event in his life in the first half of each chapter. Then, he describes how this event either brought him closer to achieving his childhood dreams or taught him valuable lessons he refers to throughout his life.
Chapter 1 “An Injured Lion Still Wants to Roar”: Pausch has a dilemma in deciding to give his last lecture or not. His desire to leave a tangible memory of himself for his three young children leads him to the decision to deliver his lecture despite having months left to live.
Chapter 2 “My Life in a Laptop”: His objective is to collect over 300 images for the presentation that will help direct him throughout his speech. Pausch comments on an interaction he had with a pregnant woman, who was less than delighted about her unplanned pregnancy. This leads him to think about the “accidental elements” that bring people in or take people out of this world, much like his pancreatic cancer.
Chapter 3 “The Elephant in the Room”: Pausch describes the beginning of his lecture, dressed in his Disney Imagineer uniform to represent achieving one's childhood dreams. He presents slides with images of the tumors on his liver, thus addressing “the elephant in the room”.
Chapter 4 “The Parent Lottery”: Pausch credits his parents for his success in achieving his childhood dreams. He recounts how his mother valued compassion for others compared to mundane accomplishments for himself, while his father, a storyteller with a desire to make a moral point. His sister comments that hearing Pausch deliver his final speech was like hearing her father's voice come out of her brother's mouth.
Chapter 5 “The Elevator in the Ranch House”: Pausch, his siblings, and his friends win over their parents and are allowed to craft their own mural on his bedroom walls. The painting included an elevator door, a rocket ship, chess pieces, etc. His advice is for parents to let their kids express their creativity and allow them to paint their rooms if they ask.
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The Last Lecture
The Last Lecture is a 2008 New York Times best-selling book co-authored by Randy Pausch—a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal. The book extends the September 2007 lecture by Pausch entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". The Last Lecture is renowned for its witty humor, despite encompassing Pausch's farewell to his loved ones due to his terminal pancreatic cancer. In the book, through his past experiences, Pausch attempts to lend advice to his children that they may need once he has passed. He recounts memories growing up and important people who have been vital in "achieving his childhood dreams."
Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for ten years. He received numerous honors while teaching at the university including being named “Person of the Year” by ABC News, as well as being named to the “One Hundred Most Influential People in the World”. In 2006 Pausch's doctors informed him that he had developed pancreatic cancer. Pausch had a resection done to try and eliminate the cancer, although a year after his procedure his doctors indicated that his cancer had returned. The cancer had metastasized to his liver and he was informed he had three to six months left to live. His first task was saying goodbye to the job he loved by participating in Carnegie Mellon's last lecture circuit. When a professor is leaving or retiring from the university, they are encouraged to give a “last lecture” where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", i.e., "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" Pausch delivered his "Last Lecture", titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", at Carnegie Mellon on September 18, 2007. According to The Los Angeles Times, Pausch paired up with a co-author, Jeffrey Zaslow, to put his lecture into words, creating The Last Lecture. After publishing the book and recording his lecture, Pausch dedicated the rest of his time to enjoying his family and advocating for pancreatic cancer patients. He felt responsible for people suffering from the cancer explaining, “We don't have advocates for this disease because they don't live long enough. We don’t have a Michael J. Fox because people die too fast”. Pausch died on July 25, 2008.
The Last Lecture is organized similarly throughout each of the nine chapters. Pausch depicts an important event in his life in the first half of each chapter. Then, he describes how this event either brought him closer to achieving his childhood dreams or taught him valuable lessons he refers to throughout his life.
Chapter 1 “An Injured Lion Still Wants to Roar”: Pausch has a dilemma in deciding to give his last lecture or not. His desire to leave a tangible memory of himself for his three young children leads him to the decision to deliver his lecture despite having months left to live.
Chapter 2 “My Life in a Laptop”: His objective is to collect over 300 images for the presentation that will help direct him throughout his speech. Pausch comments on an interaction he had with a pregnant woman, who was less than delighted about her unplanned pregnancy. This leads him to think about the “accidental elements” that bring people in or take people out of this world, much like his pancreatic cancer.
Chapter 3 “The Elephant in the Room”: Pausch describes the beginning of his lecture, dressed in his Disney Imagineer uniform to represent achieving one's childhood dreams. He presents slides with images of the tumors on his liver, thus addressing “the elephant in the room”.
Chapter 4 “The Parent Lottery”: Pausch credits his parents for his success in achieving his childhood dreams. He recounts how his mother valued compassion for others compared to mundane accomplishments for himself, while his father, a storyteller with a desire to make a moral point. His sister comments that hearing Pausch deliver his final speech was like hearing her father's voice come out of her brother's mouth.
Chapter 5 “The Elevator in the Ranch House”: Pausch, his siblings, and his friends win over their parents and are allowed to craft their own mural on his bedroom walls. The painting included an elevator door, a rocket ship, chess pieces, etc. His advice is for parents to let their kids express their creativity and allow them to paint their rooms if they ask.