작성일 : 08-10-29 16:50
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[N.Learning] A final farewell: Professor Randy Pausch
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랜디 포시교수, 세계의 심금 울리고 ‘마지막 강연’ 끝내다
입력: 2008년 07월 27일 17:58:12
말기암 투병 와중에도 희망을 역설해 세계인의 심금을 울린 ‘마지막 강연’의 주인공 랜디 포시 미 카네기멜론대 교수가 숨을 거뒀다. 포시는 지난 25일(현지시간) 버지니아주 체사피크의 자택에서 47세를 일기로 숨졌다고 AP통신 등 미국 언론들이 보도했다.
랜디 포시교수가 지난해 11월 미 버지니아주 샬롯빌에서 마지막 강연을 하고 있다.
포시는 지난해 9월 췌장암으로 투병하는 가운데 ‘진정으로 어린 시절의 꿈을 성취하기’란 주제로 인생에 대한 긍정과 꿈, 의지를 강조하는 강연을 했다. 시한부 인생에도 불구하고 밝고 유머 넘치는 모습을 보인 포시의 강연은 400여명의 학생을 사로잡았고, 이후 ‘마지막 강연’이라는 이름의 동영상으로 인터넷에 퍼지면서 전 세계인들에게 감동을 선사했다. 강연을 토대로 출간된 책은 29개국 언어로 번역됐다. 그는 강연에서 “여러분이 생각하는 것처럼 내가 침울하지 않아서 실망시켰다면 죄송하다”고 말했다. 포시는 어린 시절의 꿈이던 무중력 상태 체험과 세계 백과사전에 글쓰기, 월트디즈니사에서 일하는 것을 모두 이뤘다며 자신의 삶에 만족한다고도 했다.
포시가 남긴 ‘어록’은 수많은 사람들에게 자신의 삶을 되돌아보는 계기를 마련했다. “경험은 당신이 바라는 무언가를 갖지 못했을 때 얻는 것이다”, “벽은 무언가를 간절히 원하지 않는 사람들을 막기 위해 있다”, “옳은 길을 따라 살다보면 꿈은 이뤄진다” 등이다. “세상에서 가장 소중한 세 단어는 ‘to be honest(정직하라)’이다”면서 “여기에 세 단어를 추가한다면 ‘all the time(언제나)’”이라고도 했다.
아내 자이와의 사이에 딜런, 로건, 클로이 등 3명의 자녀를 둔 포시의 가족 사랑은 각별했다. 그는 “나 자신을 병 속에 집어넣어 언젠가 그 병이 해변에 닿아 아이들에게 전해지기를 바랐다”며 자신의 강연과 책이 아이들을 위한 것이라고 밝혔다.
포시는 2006년 8월 완치가 불가능한 췌장암 진단을 받고 몇 차례 항암치료와 수술을 받았지만, 이듬해 결국 암세포가 간과 비장 등에까지 퍼져 시한부 선고를 받았다. 포시의 구술을 토대로 책 ‘마지막 강연’을 저술한 제프리 자슬로 월스트리트저널 기자는 포시와 함께 일한 53일에 대해 “내 인생에서 가장 재미있는 시간들”이었다며 “마지막 장을 집필할 때 그는 약간 감정에 북받치는 듯했다”고 회고했다.
브라운대와 카네기멜론대에서 컴퓨터공학을 전공한 포시는 97년부터 카네기멜론대 컴퓨터공학과 교수로 재직했다. 과학자로서 인간과 컴퓨터의 상호작용, 가상현실 등에 관한 연구에 주력했고, 학제 간 프로젝트에도 관심이 많았다.
포시의 부인 자이는 “우리에게 사랑과 기도, 지지를 보내준 수백만명에게 감사한다”며 “남편은 자신의 강의와 책이 부모들에게 자녀와의 관계라는 우선순위를 다시금 기억하도록 한 것을 자랑스럽게 여겼다”고 밝혔다.
<김유진기자 actvoice@kyunghyang.com>
- 내손안의 모바일 경향 “상상” 1223+NATE -
REMEMBRANCES
Randy Pausch (1960 - 2008)
Professor Aimed 'Last Lecture'
At His Children ... and Inspired Millions
By JEFFREY ZASLOW
July 26, 2008; Page A5
In his final months, while millions of people world-wide were watching his inspirational last lecture, Randy Pausch was cocooned at home in Virginia with his wife and three young children.
Randy Pausch discusses reaction to his lecture and becoming an "accidental celebrity."
"Every time I'm with the kids now, there's this total sense of urgency that I try not to let them pick up on," he told me. "I can't say things and reinforce them in four years. My time is now."
The computer-science professor from Carnegie Mellon University died at home Friday morning at age 47 of pancreatic cancer.
I first met him when I attended his lecture last September and wrote a column about it for The Wall Street Journal. Weeks earlier, doctors had told him he had just months to live, but he didn't want to dwell on dying. Instead, he decided to give a humorous and life-affirming final lecture to 400 students and colleagues. The talk was videotaped -- WSJ.com posted highlights -- and footage began spreading across thousands of Web sites. (The full talk can now be seen at thelastlecture.com.) In the months afterward, I co-authored a book with Randy titled "The Last Lecture."
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• A collection of Randy Pausch videos Randy had always said that his talk was in large measure meant to be a "message in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children," now ages six, three and two. The fact that tens of millions of other people ended up watching it was thrilling for him, but he was most excited that his kids would one day see it. His last months were part of his continuing process of sharing lessons with them, and finding ways to build memories and show his love. In a sense, every day, he was continuing the lecture he began on stage.
He saw the book, also, as a gift mainly for his children. "How do you get 30 years of parenting into three months?" he asked me. "You write it down is what you do. That's all you can do." He approached his illness as an optimist, a scientist, but also as a realist.
We collaborated on the book while he rode his bike for exercise around his neighborhood in southeastern Virginia. That way he didn't take any time away from his family. While he spoke into a cellphone headset, I listened and tapped away on my office computer. We did this an hour a day for 53 days over the winter, and the book grew out of those conversations.
Randy Pausch, in 2007, holding his children Logan and Chloe, with Dylan on his shoulders.
I got to see his love of life from a front-row seat. Long before he was famous, Randy was celebrated in his field for creating the innovative educational software tool known as "Alice," and for pioneering the Entertainment Technology Center, a master's degree program that trains artists, actors, engineers and computer scientists to collaborate. He had earlier been a professor at the University of Virginia. In a statement Friday, the Association for Computer Machinery said Randy "reformed the art of teaching and mentoring in the computing field."
Randy spent his final months being lauded in arenas far beyond his specialty. ABC News declared him one of its three "Persons of the Year" for 2007. TIME magazine named him to its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. On thousands of Web sites, people wrote essays about what they had learned from him. As a book, "The Last Lecture" became a #1 bestseller internationally, translated into 30 languages.
In a letter Randy received last month, President George W. Bush wrote: "Your extraordinary story has helped to uplift the hearts of millions of Americans… Your love of family, dedication in the classroom, and passion for teaching will stand as a lasting legacy, and I am grateful for your willingness to serve. Your efforts reflect the best of the American spirit."
After Randy's death on Friday, his wife, Jai, said, "Randy was so happy and proud that the lecture and book inspired parents to revisit their priorities, particularly their relationships with their children." His friend Steve Seabolt, who was with him when he died at about 4 a.m. Friday morning, said Randy was still making a few wry jokes even at the end. He died "with his trademark intellect and quick wit intact," Mr. Seabolt said.
Last September, Carnegie Mellon announced a plan to honor the memory of its professor. As a scientist with the heart of a performer, Randy was always a link between the arts and sciences on campus. The Gates Center for Computer Science is now being built, and a footbridge will connect it to the nearby arts building. The bridge will be named the Randy Pausch Memorial Footbridge.
Previously
• Professor Delivers Lecture of a Lifetime
09/20/07
• The Professor's Manifesto: Readers Respond
09/27/07
• A Final Farewell
05/03/08
Write to Jeffrey Zaslow at jeffrey.zaslow@wsj.com
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