¶ … universities, professors retire invited give a Last Lecture. Dr. Randy Pausch tradition. What made story, dying pancreatic cancer, knew . His lecture featured Good Morning America television show, millions readers bought copies book form.
A Positive Man: Randy Pausch and the Last Lecture
Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" is a great example of the power of communication. It is simply a college professor's speech -- albeit one with great gravitas, as the deliverer is suffering from a terminal illness -- but it has made a worldwide impact due to the frank, humorous, and inspirational story it tells. Pausch's wisdom reverberates in the mind of the viewer long after watching. In delivering this last lecture, he manages to educate his audience about a myriad of topics, not the least of which is the human condition.
One of the most revelatory ideas in Pausch's speech is the notion of the "head fake;" Pausch alternately defines the term as "indirect learning." (Pausch, 2007). The head fake is, in essence, the art of subverting the true purpose of education by layering it with something the audience will find more palatable or superficially entertaining. The first example he gives of a head fake in his life is learning football. Encouraging a child to play the sport, Pausch says, is not for the purposes of making them a great football player and the relative...
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