“The Head Fake”
As you just found out in his commencement address, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a malignant form of cancer in 2004. For one entire day, Mr. Jobs thought he had only three to six months to live. Fortunately, his doctors discovered that a surgery could remove the cancer from his body. Even though Mr. Jobs was cured, this event had great significance in his life. He recognized that he was tremendously afraid of death and that he needed to appreciate each and every day of life. By looking at death square in the face, Mr. Jobs was able to appreciate his own life more.
Randy Pausch, a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie-Mellon University, also looked at death square in the face. In August of 2007, Dr. Pausch was told that he had three to six months to live. This diagnosis was given because his pancreatic cancer had become aggressive, and tumors had spread throughout his body.
On September 18, 2007, Dr. Pausch delivered a speech at Carnegie-Mellon University called “The Last Lecture.” The speech is part of a faculty lecture series at the University that was formed around the following concept: If you knew you were going to die and you could give one final lecture to your students, what would you say to them and why?
During his lecture that lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes, Dr. Pausch will discuss childhood dreams and how to achieve them, how to enable the dreams of others, and lessons that he has learned.
Go to Dr. Randy Pausch’s Web site where you will find the video, audio, and transcript of his lecture. You may again decide how you want to experience his speech, choosing to either watch it, listen to it, and/or read it. While you are experiencing the lecture, keep the following questions in mind:
1. How did Dr. Pausch achieve his childhood dreams?
2. How did he enable the dreams of others?
3. What are the themes or lessons he has learned about life?
4. According to Dr. Pausch, what is a head fake?
You should write these questions on a small piece of paper (with lots of space in between them) and take notes on the answers as you move through the speech.