Parting thoughts
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Some of you are still taking the last of your finals, and some of you have already departed. For the seniors and those not taking AP Physics next year, I won’t have you in class again. I’ve enjoyed teaching all of you, and I wish the best of luck in your future endeavors. As you depart, I have a few things I’d like to share with you.
I’m going to tell you a secret now: My primary objective as an educator this year was not to teach you physics.
Yes, you read that correctly. It’s true I want you to learn physics and do good science and things, but there are more important lessons to be gained from a scientific approach to the world. Things like the power and importance of rational thought. Like the universe follows this basic set of rules, and we can describe those rules by using the language of mathematics. Anything that happens will follow these rules, and if you have a basic understanding of them you can really appreciate the beauty and interconnectedness of this world we share.
As you leave, let me share a video with you. This is the famous Last Lecture, given by Randy Pausch. Dr. Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and in September 2006 he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He was 45. His lecture is about achieving your goals and the legacy you leave behind. The video is long, over an hour, but it is well worth your time and I recommend you watch it.
Randy Pausch died on July 25, 2008 at the age of 47.
