Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture

In the beginning of the video Randy Pausch does a very brave thing. Like he said he wanted to "get rid of the elephant in the room." He talks about how he is dying of cancer and that how this lecture is not about that. It is about fulfilling your childhood dreams. I really like how he is showing basically his notes on what he is talking about. He has everything on a list then he breaks them down one by one. He talks about how some of his childhood dreams had to change a little and some didn't. For instance being Captain Kirk changed to meeting him, and he talks about how amazing that was to meet your idle. I really like how he truly did not give up on any of them. One of my favorite quotes from this video is him talking about brick walls he says "brick walls are there for the other people" saying brick walls are for people that give up and he wasn't giving up.
I love that how some way his dreams came true. They may not have been how he had exactly pictured them but they still came true. I love what extent he went through to make sure he got to experience zero gravity. Then he says no to taking a job as an imagineer. It is incredible that he worked on the Aladdin ride at Disney. I know that those six months were incredible. He then talks about a project that he is doing with his students and how they work in a group of four for two weeks then switch up. I think that is an amazing strategy and can not even imagine the number of ideas that went through that room. I thought it was so funny that he said he had students parents showing up to class to see their projects.
I have to admit I did not really get the "Hello World" it was a little odd. But I know that for the time, it was awesome. The Virtual Worlds were amazing! I know they had so much fun! I really liked the raft one. I wish I could do something like that. What an amazing Masters Degree, the ETC how much fun five projects doing something fun and that you love. Who wouldn't love that? Randy Pausch is like Dr. Strange with no book work it seems he doesn't like the burp back education. I really liked the bar chart on other students feedback on each student. Showing how easy or hard a student is to work with.
Alice oh what a great "head fake" he made. Teaching kids without them know they are learning. They think they are having fun. When really they are learning how to program. He talked about how his next version was teaching kids Java and really they think they are making movies. It is so sad but also amazing that he talks about how he knows he will live on in Alice, that is his legacy.
I love the "Lessons Learned" part of the lecture. It was without a doubt my favorite part. I feel it shows his "I am a normal person" how his mom would say "This is my son the doctor, but not the kind that helps people" I just thought that was so funny. How he can admit when Andy van Dam told him he was being a jerk. Not many people can call themselves out like that. He talks about never losing your child like behaviors and to have fun. I have a lot of a respect for someone that is dying and can give such an inspiring lecture to a room full of people. Thank you so much Randy Pausch, you much like Steve Jobs will be missed.