Randy Pausch
There’s been a youtube video clip going around via email, and on The Digg Reel, etc. of the Oprah Winfrey show featuring a Computer Science professor from Carnegie Melon University who has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He gives a summary of his “final lecture”, The clip is beyond moving, and if you want a short summary of what an amazing speaker he is, go find it.
However, if you have a bit more than an hour to spare, you definitely should watch the complete lecture that he gave at CMU, (It’s Oprah-less too, bonus.)
It’s really unfortunate that the reason he’s getting the kind of exposure he has lately on tv and the net is because of the fact that he’s sick, and amazing people with his positive attitude, because Randy is one of the most phenomenal lecturers that I’ve ever heard speak. The school is losing someone who I think must be one of their best professors.