Randy Pausch dies at 47

July 25, 2008 10:48 AM

Randy Pausch, who became famous for his "last lecture" after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, has died at 47. (previously) The last lecture video went viral in late 2007. Pausch became a minor celebrity and made a commencement address at Carnegie Mellon which also gained media attention. Homepage (currently being overwhelmed) and Wikipedia.
posted by brassafrax (75 comments total)

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posted by fiercecupcake at 10:50 AM on July 25, 2008

Mod note: It seems pretty clear that folks want to see this on the front page, and it probably does make more sense here than on Metatalk, so I'm going to make a call here and close up that metatalk thread and let this stand. So please, hold off on any "double" and "meta" comments and we'll just let this thing proceed normally.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:51 AM on July 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

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posted by octothorpe at 10:54 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by effbot at 10:56 AM on July 25, 2008

Had I known such a career path -- the cool CS prof -- was available to me when I first started my undergrad degree in those pre-internet days, I think I would have liked to have striven toward that position.

I had a handful -- well, two three four actually -- cool CS profs, not enough to overcome the overall craptitude of the department or reduce its apparent long-term negative attraction factor.
posted by yort at 10:57 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:57 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by parilous at 10:57 AM on July 25, 2008

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thanks for the inspiration, and the software...
posted by bashos_frog at 11:00 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by self at 11:01 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by cashman at 11:04 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by paladin at 11:06 AM on July 25, 2008

He was the best professor I ever had. He changed my life.

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posted by procrastination at 11:13 AM on July 25, 2008 [2 favorites]

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posted by Busithoth at 11:18 AM on July 25, 2008

Gawd, has this day come? When I saw this lecture on googlevideo for the first time I was glued to the screen. Here was a person who was actually talking to me/saying something to all of us. And I was listening.

But I never thought it would come to this. I somehow believed this amazing and intelligent man would be spared, that somehow miraculously his condition would go away. Yes, that in his six months we would cure cancer. We would, wouldn't we? I mean, here was someone really worth saving: Here was someone who reminded us why we are here in the first place!

But I guess that would have taken away from his message, huh?Well, that may be the way it is and all but I feel cheated! I want Randy Pausch to be around to see the fruits of his labors, I want him to see he (and all of us) can make a difference.

I want to say to him personally, "Randy, you were right!"

Dead? Randy Pausch is dead? Never.

Never never never.

Live forever, Mr. Pausch. Your words, your ideals, and your dreams will on the internet, that's for sure. And maybe one day that will count for something even greater than only a few of us dare imagine.Because if the internet ever has a soul, Randy Pausch's contribution will certainly have a place in it. For the time being, I guess a place in my own heart will have to do.

Good bless you, Mr. Pausch.
posted by humannaire at 11:19 AM on July 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

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posted by bluesky43 at 11:19 AM on July 25, 2008

/tears
posted by humannaire at 11:19 AM on July 25, 2008

I just finished his book and was amazed at how upbeat he was despite knowing what lay ahead. Really sorry to see this day even though I knew it was coming.

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posted by TedW at 11:24 AM on July 25, 2008

Just put the video on my iPod so I can watch it on my trip to NYC later today. Thanks. Sounds like a great guy.
posted by AwkwardPause at 11:25 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by COD at 11:28 AM on July 25, 2008

I have been following his health blog, but hadn't checked it in a few days. I knew he was growing weaker, but he was so upbeat, it was hard to imagine how close he was to dying. May I face my demise with as much grace. All my spare good vibes are beaming towards his family right now.
posted by msali at 11:35 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by ruelle at 11:37 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by k8lin at 11:38 AM on July 25, 2008

The love that man evidenced for his wife is enough to bring me to tears every time. The eye contact at the Last Lecture seems to say a lot about how connected they were, and the end of the commencement address is a two hankie event in my house.

I'm sorry to see him go and very sad for the kids, but mostly, I'm terribly sad for her. What a deep loss.

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posted by DarlingBri at 11:44 AM on July 25, 2008

"I had a deathbed conversion. I bought a Mac".

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posted by _dario at 11:48 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by JHarris at 11:52 AM on July 25, 2008

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posted by omarr at 12:14 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by madamjujujive at 12:18 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by fletchmuy at 12:22 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by authenticgeek at 12:26 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by peacheater at 12:38 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by Crabby Appleton at 12:44 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by inigo2 at 12:46 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by saraswati at 1:09 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by pxe2000 at 1:10 PM on July 25, 2008

My sentiments are very similar to DarlingBri's. He mentioned during that lecture that he could tell the good projects by the body language of the students. You can tell a good marriage the same way: just watch the end of the talk. I hope his positivity helped to ease her pain.
posted by invitapriore at 1:12 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by roll truck roll at 1:20 PM on July 25, 2008

I just hope those kids will always know how much he loved them.
posted by Senator at 1:21 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by The White Hat at 1:21 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by bitdamaged at 1:38 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by carsonb at 1:39 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by LoriFLA at 1:46 PM on July 25, 2008

Aww, that's such a shame. Like humannaire, I was hoping he'd somehow survive past his time limit.

My heart goes out to his wife and children. From what I've seen and read of him, he seemed like a decent, intelligent man and the world became a little poorer today.
posted by badmoonrising at 1:52 PM on July 25, 2008

Goddamn pancreatic cancer to hell. I lost my best friend last year to this disease, and now Dr. Pausch is gone as well. I too had hoped he could somehow beat the disease, but I'm glad he was able to both inspire people with his lecture and work and to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer.

My condolences to his family.
posted by mogget at 2:03 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by Kinbote at 2:07 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by jokeefe at 2:20 PM on July 25, 2008

If there are any kids, anywhere, who get to be absolutely sure their Dad loved them, even though he isn't around anymore to say it - its these kids: Chloe, Logan and Dylan.
posted by AuntLisa at 2:22 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by conradjones at 3:10 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by arcticwoman at 3:33 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by Samuel Farrow at 3:41 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by CitizenD at 4:14 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by freshwater_pr0n at 4:54 PM on July 25, 2008

Holy crap, I had somehow missed that. What a guy.

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posted by localroger at 5:11 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by semblance at 7:19 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by CrazyLemonade at 7:29 PM on July 25, 2008

Well, trite as this may sound, although he was by all accounts a great teacher, he had the personality, the intelligence, and most of all, the courage to look beyond his disease and inspire so many more people than he would otherwise have done, and in death, he left behind a legacy that is probably much more than what most people could hope for. Godspeed, Dr. Pausch.



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posted by Anderson_Localized at 8:01 PM on July 25, 2008

It was a fluke that I ended up at the Last Lecture, but I feel so privileged to have been there.

Damn. I thought he was going to live forever.
posted by Alison at 8:33 PM on July 25, 2008 [1 favorite]

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posted by subbes at 8:33 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by Quietgal at 8:49 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by heeeraldo at 9:32 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by bibliowench at 10:15 PM on July 25, 2008

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posted by pmalek at 10:37 PM on July 25, 2008

I had never heard of this man until earlier today. I started the video thinking "75 minutes, screw that".

Luckily, I gave it a chance and ended up watching the entire thing. I am very happy I did. It saddens me that the world has lost such a great person but the response and recognition has given me great hope for humanity.
posted by Octoparrot at 10:56 PM on July 25, 2008 [2 favorites]

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posted by Happy Dave at 4:44 AM on July 26, 2008

I didn't even know he was sick.
posted by Bonzai at 7:40 AM on July 26, 2008

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posted by honest knave at 10:35 AM on July 26, 2008

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posted by Quidam at 10:41 AM on July 26, 2008

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posted by dbiedny at 12:40 PM on July 26, 2008

I missed the Last Lecture when it made the rounds before so I just watched it now. Now I'm just shy of bawling. It was head fake #2 that put me over the edge.
Thanks cortex for leaving this up.

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posted by djeo at 3:33 PM on July 26, 2008 [1 favorite]

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posted by Lucie at 5:57 PM on July 26, 2008

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I am so fucking sick of cancer.
posted by god hates math at 7:24 PM on July 26, 2008

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posted by dog food sugar at 6:06 AM on July 27, 2008

From its ubiquitous home page, Google has linked Last Lecture. "In Memoriam: Randy Pausch (1960-2008)"
posted by paulsc at 7:29 AM on July 27, 2008