I have always felt that the gravity of the message of death is what it tells us about life. This morning I finally read The Last Lecture, the book based on the lecture by computer science professor Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon University. A month before the lecture, he was told that he had no more than six months to live after the return of spreading pancreatic cancer, and he took on the lecture in part as a legacy for his three young children. Word got around of the lecture on Youtube, leading eventually to the book, where the ideas are extended with the help of co-author Jeffrey Zaslow.
It is impossible to read the book without rethinking the importance of how we spend our time, and what imprint we can leave. It struck me that a terminal disease has inspired the author to ensure that he leaves his children with a tangible sense of who he was. Yet we all know that life is terminal: not having a deadline we easily neglect the value of the moment. The Last Lecture is a great read, but I take two things away from it: first, to make the most of the moment, and second, to leave some evidence of who we are and will have been.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Friday, June 20, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Digitally Dumbfounded
The link on one of the LeedsBlogs really set me thinking. About a lot of stuff.
It is about a website showing a stupendous project: a collection of Polaroids that were taken every single day by one man over the course of eighteen years- right up to the date of his death in 1997.
The first thing I had to think about was the dedication and perseverance required for such a project.
The second is the inspiration.
The third is the richness of life that the photographs reflect.
The fourth is what constitutes suitable subject matter for a photograph.
The fifth is how easy such a project is today- yet how many who try it throw in the towel.
The sixth is, considering the resources available today, how much is being put to meaningful use? User-generated content is getting so much airtime at the moment (Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2007 was, after all “YOU”), but what is the quality that users are generating? After eight years of “generating content” myself, I think I am entitled to ask such a question.
The seventh, and final thing I had to think about is whether such a collection matters more once a life is no longer a work in progress.
It is about a website showing a stupendous project: a collection of Polaroids that were taken every single day by one man over the course of eighteen years- right up to the date of his death in 1997.
The first thing I had to think about was the dedication and perseverance required for such a project.
The second is the inspiration.
The third is the richness of life that the photographs reflect.
The fourth is what constitutes suitable subject matter for a photograph.
The fifth is how easy such a project is today- yet how many who try it throw in the towel.
The sixth is, considering the resources available today, how much is being put to meaningful use? User-generated content is getting so much airtime at the moment (Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2007 was, after all “YOU”), but what is the quality that users are generating? After eight years of “generating content” myself, I think I am entitled to ask such a question.
The seventh, and final thing I had to think about is whether such a collection matters more once a life is no longer a work in progress.
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