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Boy, reading this, I don't feel so bad about the things trolls say about my essays.

That was very harsh. Which is not in itself bad. If someone were going to call an emperor on his new clothes, I'd hope this would be a safe place to do it. The problem is, this is both harsh and vague. It's ok to be vague if you're saying something nice (harmless pleasantries are a useful social lubricant) but the harsher you are, the more precise you ought to be.

I don't know what else to say. I have no reason to listen to what this guy is saying or give it more value than any of the other feel-good books from terminals. ie, "Tuesdays with Morrie". Remember that? Yeah, me neither. The value of these books seems specious, too. Probably because all humans are afraid of dying unless they can delude themselves to go to church.

He gives off this whole vibe of some crazy new-agey street preacher. THe way people lap it up and buy his books is disturbing.

I never read Tuesdays With Morrie, but I was stocking books when that thing was out. It was a pretty big hit.

Not that that has anything to do with anything.

...other feel-good books from terminals. ie, "Tuesdays with Morrie". Remember that? Yeah, me neither...

I did read "Tuesdays with Morrie" and I remember it well. It was NOT written by a "terminal", but by his student, Mitch Albom, a wonderful sports writer for the Detriot Free Press and New York Times best selling author multiple times.

Everyone has his own 2 cents and disenting opinions often contribute to the breadth of the debate.

OTOH, it's getting to the point where one needs waders to get through the stuff that gets spewed here in the name of, "See how much smarter I am than you." Until you get your facts straight, you're not a dissenter, just another poser. Move along please.

What a piece of crap. There is this thing called emotions. Human beings tend to get attached to each other. I will cry even if I will see a dead dog walking. Hell, he was a human facing all this without fear. He will be missed by many, at least I will remember him in my lifetime.

There are millions of people dying from cancer, disease. THey also have heart-warming things to say but no one pays any attention to them.

I think this is a similar phenomena that occurs when people will give money to Cripple Cat on the internet but not the real life injured animal. Or person for that matter.

I'm also a little personally offended about your insinuation that I don't have emotions.

I acted as primary care giver for an elderly relative with alzheimer's, broken hip, and a few other problems as well as losing my father to brain cancer. Of course I care, but I just think that everyone focusing on Dr. Pausch's issue while ignoring everyone else's is ... bad.

Besides, I'm sorry, but if you think that life is some how a beautiful thing or that there is some sort of divine purpose to it all, see if you feel the same way when you have to watch a person you've known and loved your whole life shit themselves or scream at people who aren't there to show their spouse who died twenty years ago.

Nature's a bitch, god's an asshole, then you turn into worm food.

Fortunately, though people don't know it, we are free to make our own way, and don't have to be held up to anyone's dogma about how to live life. Or buy their books.

I don't think Randy would ask you to buy his book or hold his beliefs above others. He'd ask you to think about things critically and take a bite out of life knowing it's not going to last.

Randy was a decent, intelligent guy who got dealt a bad hand and made the best of it. He was more like one of us than your random celebrity. He was a hacker who had time to look back on his life through a different lens and share his thoughts. That's one reason I read his book -- a shared background. And remember, a significant part of his drive to leave his thoughts was a parting gift to his children who are too young to know him now. Doesn't take anything away from all the other people with things to say.

I'm sorry. But I never said that "you don't have emotions". But, dude get a grip. The man is dead, show him some respect now. What if 5 years later his kid Googles his Dad and read your post?

I think it is more accurate to say "facing all this bravely" than "facing all this without fear". I am sure he was afraid as we all are, but he decided to face it with strength and courage.

This would be news without "The last lecture." He was a prominent, well-respected computer science whose research in computing education and virtual worlds will be missed. He was also, by all accounts, a great teacher at CMU.

You just don't get it. And I'm sorry that you don't, because someone like you wouldn't understand it if someone else tried to take the time to explain it.

Your attitude is like a cancer that feeds off apathy. Do this forum a favor and remove yourself from its discussion.

What attitude?

In the long term, we are all walking dead men and women, at least in this life.

What makes us live is whether we get down to the business of living or not.

Professor Pausch embraced life and lived it to its fullest.

The proof is in the pudding. Look at the life he lived.

He will be missed.

Neither I, nor you, have any way of knowing how he lived life. I wasn't with him all the time and neither was you. He could have been a jerk-royale for all we know.

People sometimes think nihilism is a bad thing but I think it's actually very liberating. IT's up to me to decide what "life to the fullest" is. I'm not even sure that phrase has any real meaning, though. Besides, I think what "makes us live" is cellular respiration.

How else should I judge him? His viral video? All of this media coverage, appearances, etc was to sell his book. I'm sure that's now he thought of it but the corporation that published his book sure did. His suffering is a gold mine for them ... which bothers me immensely and no one else seems to see this.

If nothing matters, why are you still posting here?

People are finding their own meaning here; let them be. Randy Pausch said that the best lecture he did was his Time Management lecture. Try judging him by that instead of his book deal (which has provided for his family just as much as his publisher).

the publisher got the lion's share of the revenue. ask anyone. i highly doubt that they would "let this one go" out of the good of it's heart. there's a profit edge, always.

besides, i'm not judging him. i just don't like being bullied into "living life to the fullest". It's like some kind of secular evangelism. Am I going to go to hell now?

The world is not a black and white place where profit equals evil. No one bullied you into living your life any particular way.

So what if someone is paid for their work? The publisher employs people, people whose kids need food, and medical treatment of their own. The beauty is that capitalism works, and it keeps us all from living lives that were nasty, brutish, and short.

To echo rms:

If nothing matters, why are you so insistent on letting us know that nothing matters?

People who work hard to convince us that nothing matters are afraid that actually, something might matter. Convincing others is a way to seek validation and assuage those fears.

In short it matters to them that nothing should matter. :)

>Do we listen to this man because we feel sorry for him? because we're afraid of dying as well? The whole concept just seems like so much saccherine [sic] from a dying man. In 20 years no one will remember this book or him

People listened to the man because of the way he lived. That he continued to live that way to his death is admirable if not inspirational, but ultimately inconsequential to that end.

It's awe-inspiring that he packed two auditoriums for those talks. Just consider how many lives he must have touched to be able to do that. How many of us could do the same? I know I couldn't.

Who knows how long he'll be remembered. I'll bet it will seem indefinite compared to the average individual, though.

You don't find value in what he said. I do. Seems like lots of other people do. We all listen (or don't, in your case) to him for personal reasons.

As for him doing pushups - he obviously knows he's dying. He obviously knows his health isn't good. He's just showing his spirit. I could never be as outwardly optimistic as him in such a situation. Your cynicism leads me to suspect you'd be even worse.

I actually think you could stand to learn a few things from Dr. Pausch.

Can't say much about this particular person, but I'm tired of being told who my heros ought to be. I will choose my own, thank you very much.

Loss of all is as sad as it is certain. I am sorry for him equally as for any other person I didn't know personally.

There is this thing about not saying bad things about the dead. Well, for one thing, he was very arrogant. Looking down on any student not from CMU. Such a lack of respect tells me a lot about a person.

He was an alumni of CMU and I think its fair to assume he had some amount of pride and spirit regarding his alma mater that he then spent teaching at. Just like many people have regarding their own university or college.

If you don't know or care who Dr. Pausch is, that's fine, but I'm not sure why the rest of us who respected, enjoyed or were inspired by his message and life should not have the opportunity to share our condolences and remember him together.