Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”

Randy Pausch has given his last lecture. A Disney Imagineer, the founder of Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, and director of the Alice software project, Pausch will be long remembered for his significant contributions to education and technology.

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given a short prognosis, Pausch chose to deliver his final lecture as part of a CMU series where prominent academics were once asked to deliver the lecture they would choose if they knew it would be their last. I watched the full lecture yesterday and Pausch’s words are still echoing in my heart. This is a man who has truly lived, and brought life to the dreams of others. (You have to watch for that second head fake, it’s a doozy.)

In his personal home page, Pausch gives us words of hope from a dark place:

Somewhere during my treatment, somebody asked me if having cancer had made me believe less, or more, in God. I replied that I didn’t know, but it sure had made me believe more in people.

(Hat tip: The Disney Blog.)