In this video Pausch talks about his childhood dreams. These included experiencing zero gravity, developing rides at Disney World, being Captain Kirk, being an author in the World Book Encyclopedia, and playing in the NFL. He then goes on to tell us short stories about each of these dreams, and how he succeeded to meet or fail at them. He states that there are brick walls for a reason. They are there to show us how much we really want something. While trying to accomplish his goal of being in the NFL, he learned of something called head fake. His coach put them on the football field to practice without a ball. When asked why, his coach told them it was because they were going to work on what the 21 people without the ball are suppose to do. This became a very important aspect of Pausch's teaching.
Paucsh used "head fake" as a way of teaching his students indirectly. His main project is Alice, a way of teaching computer programming. His students think they are just learning how to make video games and movies, but really they are learning much more. However, he did not tell us what exactly. We will have to wait for the next version of Alice. This is part of his never-ending desire for fun learning. It is important for the kids to have fun while being taught.
Pausch went of to explain how the many influential people in his life helped him reach his goals and get to where he is today.
His lecture points out how important it is to work hard, stay loyal, never give up, and receive feedback with understanding that those people are trying to make you better.
The last curve ball he threw was at the end of the lecture. He surprises everyone stating that the lecture was not meant for the audience, but that it was all the things he wanted his own children to know.
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was very powerful and very inspirational. I am very glad I got the chance to watch it. It will really make you think about what your dreams and goals are, and how you should achieve them.
Emma, I was slightly discouraged by the length of the video as well, but like you, once I watched the entire thing, I was glad I did. (I guess we could say, "You can't judge a video by its length!") I agree that Randy's lecture was powerful and inspirational. You are right to say that the video makes you think about your dreams and goals; since watching it, I have been thinking about my own dreams. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this life changing lecture.
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