Dying scientist’s “Last Lecture” inspires O.C.
The Orange County Register
August 1st, 2008
By Gary Robbins
We asked scores of Orange County scientists a couple of difficult questions: If they were to give the last lecture of their careers, what would they say about what they’d learned about life? And had they achieved their childhood dreams?
The questions were prompted by the touching story of Randy Pausch, a terminally ill Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist who gave a deeply inspirational “last lecture” that was videotaped and placed on the Internet, where it became wildly popular.
Viewers from around the world say they were moved by the sense of humor, insight and joy Pausch expressed while pursuing everything from his career as a scientist to playing in the National Football League (which he never did.) The “Last Lecture,” which also became a book, is the celebration of a life that came to an end on July 25 when Pausch died of pancreatic cancer at age 47.
His story resonated with many local professors. Here’s a sample of what people said.
“A simple rule, whether in the ‘Province of Professors” or the broad plain of Real Life: Pay attention not to what’s thought to be in good taste, but to what tastes good, to you.” Gregory Benford, astrophysicist, UC Irvine
“If I were giving a ‘last lecture’ I’d admonish the listeners to stop pretending to the extent possible that they are going to live forever. It is a necessary myth for one’s morale, but the otherwise reality ought to be factored in to decisions about what to do during a limited time span on this planet. I’d also tell them that in the end nobody really cares what you do or don’t do, and that your obligation is to — after measuring the pros and cons — do with your limited time those things that most please you.” Gil Geis, professor emeritus of criminology, law and society, UC Irvine
“As I read (Pausch’s) book, I thought about that I might say in a ‘Last Lecture.’ There would be all kinds of advice, but the most important message I think I would try to convey is to find your passion and then convert it into a career. Too many people ‘live lives of quiet desperation.’ That’s because they spend most of their time doing things that don’t excite their hearts, minds and souls. Finding those things that do (no matter what the pay scale) will lead, I think to an exciting, invigorating and satisfying life.” James Doti, president, Chapman University, Orange
“Before you go off to the wild blue yonder somewhere, I’d like to tell you the secret of success — well, it’s not a secret anymore because I’m going to tell you!!
1. Courtesy: If you can put this single word in your head, then you will go a long way.
2. Perspective: Always view things in another perspective. We all have our own little biases, but if you analyze situations and see them in a different point of view, you will never be disappointed (and you will appreciate life more than ever).
3. Empathy: Always put yourself in someone else’s shoes, whether at school or at home. You’ll find that the world (your world) will be a much better place.
4. Honesty: If you think that you will get away with being dishonest, you are kidding yourself. The truth reveals itself!
Math P. Cuajungco, cell and developmental biologist, Cal State Fullerton (excerpted from an e-mail he sent to his students at the end of spring semester.)
“In his recent book, “Things I Overhead While Talking to Myself,” Alan Alda (star of the TV programs M*A*S*H and Scientific American Frontiers) observed that our lives have meaning only when we provide meaning. Jobs, titles and degrees by themselves have no meaning. We all need, he suggests, to find out what our values are and then try to live by them in order to have a sense of purpose. I can’t think of anything significant to add to Alan Alda’s observations.” James McGaugh, founder of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, UCI, and a cancer survivor
“Were I to give such a lecture — which most likely I never would — it would focus on the interplay of forces that I encountered early in my career:
Extraordinary, indeed somewhat embarrassing, personal luck in terms of a variety of social supports combined with my making some relatively good decisions.
“The vital role early on of senior behavioral science mentors who spotted some potential in me and paved the way for me.
“A growing passion for certain kinds of understanding of psychological measurement problems that led to some discoveries about long-standing problems, the most recent being earlier this year.
“And the fleeting elation of discovery quickly replaced by new quanderies (maybe to help keep the mind from atrophying completely.”
R. Duncan Luce, mathematician and cognitive scientist, UC Irvine, and winner of the National Medal of Science
We also heard from Elizabeth Loftus, the UCI psychologist who is famous for her research on repressed memories. Loftus found a life lesson in a diary entry she wrote nearly 40 years ago, not long after her mother died. It’s titled, “My Greatest Regret.”
“Many nights, such as tonight, September 23, 1959, I lie awake and think about my mother. Always, I start to cry and my thoughts trace back to the days when she was alive and ill. She would be watching TV and ask and ask me to come sit by her. ‘I’m busy now,’ was my usual reply.
“Other times, she would be in my room and we would get in fights because she wouldn’t leave. Oh, how I hate myself for that! With a little bit of kindness from her only daughter she might have been so much happier. Why wasn’t I nicer to my mother, whom I loved and love more than anyone else in the world? Why wasn’t I?”
Finally, there was this from Greg Weiss, a chemist at UCI:
“I had a student this quarter that got two D’s and a F when she previously took the organic chemistry class I teach. I sat down with her at the beginning of the quarter and mapped out a different way of approach the class — study habits and thinking about molecules. She earned an A this quarter! From an organic chemistry course considered the barrier to medical and other professional schools, where only 15-percent receive A’s, this is an amazing performance. The incident showed me that with a few small suggestions, I can completely alter the course of someone’s life.”
