Randy Pausch是美国卡内基梅隆大学的计算机科学、人机交互及设计教授。2006年9月，他被诊断患有胰腺癌。2007年9月18日，他在卡内基梅隆大学做了一场风靡全美的“最后的演讲”，根据这次演讲，他出版的“The Last Lecture”一书则成为亚马逊网站上最为畅销的书籍之一。Randy教授所传达的讯息之所以如此震撼人心，是因为他以诚恳、幽默的态度去分享他独特的经验。他谈的不是死亡，而是人生中的重要议题，包括克服障碍、实现儿时梦想、帮助别人实现梦想、把握每一个时刻……

Hints:
Tammy
Jack Sheriff
quadratic
[-b±√(b^2-4ac)]/2a
"Up" and "Down"
pragmatism
For two days, with the help of my sister, Tammy, and my friend Jack Sheriff, I painted on the walls of my bedroom. My father sat in the living room, reading the newspaper, patiently waiting for the unveiling. My mother hovered in the hallway, completely nervous. She kept sneaking up on us, trying to get a peek, but we remained barricaded in the room. Like they say in the movies, this was "a closed set." What did we paint? Well, I wanted to have a quadratic formula on the wall. In a quadratic equation, the highest power of an unknown quantity is a square. Always the nerd, I thought that was worth celebrating. Right by the door, I painted: [-b±√(b^2-4ac)]/2a Jack and I painted a large silver elevator door. To the left of the door, we drew "Up" and "Down" buttons, and above the elevator, we painted a panel with floor numbers one through six. The number "three" was illuminated. We lived in a ranch house – it was just one level – so I was doing a bit of fantasizing to imagine six floors. But looking back, why didn't I paint 80 or 90 floors? If I was such a big-shot dreamer, why did my elevator stop at three? I don't know. Maybe it was a symbol of the balance in my life between aspiration and pragmatism.