The Last Lecture: People versus Things

I came across this video completely by chance -- but that should be no surprise, because at the moment it's a version of one the most viral videos on the Net.

This is virtual reality pioneer Randy Pausch, who is dying from cancer, reprising his inspirational "Last Lecture" on the Oprah Show (screened on 22 October, 2007). You can see the full-length version of this short Oprah Show reprise at www.cs.virginia.edu/robins/Randy.

Randy is also a human-computer interaction researcher, co-founder of CMU's Entertainment Technology Center (www.etc.cmu.edu), and creator of the Alice software project (www.alice.org).

It's a short, moving but celebratory and inspiring piece of media which I hope you don't mind me re-posting here, but I think we could all do with more Tiggers than Eyores (and you'll have to view the video to get that reference).

Randy says he remains "flattered and embarrassed" by all the recent attention for his Last Lecture. "I am told that, including abridged versions, over six million people have viewed the lecture online.

"The lecture really was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful. But rest assured; I'm hardly unique. Send your kids to Carnegie Mellon and the other professors here will teach them valuable life lessons long after I'm gone."

This link to the video below on Google will also take you to links on his lectures on building virtual worlds. This link takes you to the original "Last Lecture".

Related Links
• You can support research into curing pancreatic cancer via the Lustgarten foundation, and/or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
• Randy's book about his "Last Lecture" is at www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/Randy_Book.html
• High-resolution downloadable versions of Randy's videos can be found at www.cs.virginia.edu/robins/Randy

Update, 25 July 2008: Randy Pausch died today, aged 47. The Los Angeles Times (among many others) posted a tribute to him, noting his book, The Last Lecture, has sold over two million copies and is being published in 29 languages. Memorial donations may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, www.pancan.org, or to Carnegie-Mellon's Randy Pausch Memorial Fund, www.cmu.edu/giving/pausch.