Lindsay speaks about love in Last Lecture

Professor of psychology John Lindsay delivered a final lecture Nov. 3. This wasn’t actually Lindsay’s last lecture, but it was delivered as such.

“The whole principle of Last Lectures is neat. Professors just come right out and say what they think the most important thing in life is. You can learn a lot from that,” said Andrew Burton, a senior literature major.

The principle of “The Last Lecture” originated from a lecture given by Randy Pausch, once a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University. Pausch was asked to give his hypothetical last lecture, but it turned out to truly be his last.

“It is the most important thing to you, and the one thing you want your students to learn from you,” Lindsay said.

Before his lecture, Pausch had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that metastasized throughout his body. Instead of making his speech about death, Pausch talked about life. He talked about the lessons he learned thorough his life rather than his discovery of his fast approaching death. Pausch’s speech has been the inspiration for many more similar speeches and has brought national attention to the idea of a last lecture.

Lindsay’s speech was similar, he talked about lessons taught by life. Taking some of his curriculum from his Seminar on Love class, Lindsay talked about living from a love platform versus a fear platform.

One of the most interesting aspects of the last lecture was its informality. Lindsay opened the floor to questions multiple times throughout the hour, and attendants would comment or ask questions. It was very discussion based.

“It was cool being able to actually talk rather than just listen,” said freshman Josh Bailey.

Held in the Arts & Sciences Auditorium, half of the lower seats were filled at the lecture. Campus Activity Board held a vote earlier this semester for the last lecturer. Students cast ballots on who they wanted to hear speak.

“I had Dr. Lindsay for psychology freshman year, and when I heard he was having a last lecture I knew I had to go,” said senior Dayne Sullivan.

Posted by MarkWatkins on Nov 11 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.