All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Like many of you, I was saddened to hear that Randy Pausch lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Friday. The college professor became a household name for giving an inspirational last lecture almost a year ago.
Though less notable than his lecture, his greatest achievements were made in computer science. He worked as a Disney Imagineer alongside artists and fellow techies. Later, he co-founded Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, known for encouraging left and right brained people to work together. We web workers still have a long way to go in bridging the gaps between designers and coders. We could learn something from the program Pausch helped start.
Pausch also founded a software project to help create the next generation of programmers. Alice is a 3D environment used to teach computer science concepts. The project aims to capture the imagination of children, especially girls, to encourage learning about a field often eschewed for being too technical.
Hooking children on programming is certainly something Webmonkey supports. We even wrote about it in our New Year's resolutions:
Again, this is another fine legacy that Randy Pausch has left behind. In fact, Electronic Arts recognized it when they created a scholarship fund for female CS majors.
Of course, the more obvious legacy is his last lecture, which has been viewed millions of times and featured on several national programs, including Oprah. Its success brought a book, which Pausch wrote over the phone with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow. The book is currently number two on Amazon's best seller list, and is temporarily out of stock.
If Pausch was around to answer, he might say his true legacy is his three small children. He might be right, as the lecture that made him nationally famous was dedicated to them. One of the biggest lessons to be get from Pausch's life is his ability to simultaneously achieve his dreams and keep the important stuff, like family, number one.
If you haven't seen the lecture, I encourage you to take the time to watch it below.
https://www.youtube.com/w
