Why You Should Read On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres

Recently, I found myself reading an “autobiography” of a professor who had written it after learning that he had developed terminal pancreatic cancer. What is ironic, however, is that the book, The Last Lecture, is mostly about him preparing for an assignment where the lecturer was to pretend that it will be his or her last lecture. In Randy Pausch’s case, he didn’t need to pretend, this was going to be his real “last lecture.” Many professors are actually assigned to give a “last lecture.” They are expected to give “final” parting ideas to the audience, talk about what matters most and “reflect” on their legacy. Randy Pausch, however, knowing that he had terminal pancreatic cancer, approached the assignment differently than other professors. 

This book does not actually contain any of the “transcript” of the lecture, so to speak, but I was curious anyway and read the lecture transcript (There’s a Youtube video too). The lecture was mostly about him and his childhood dreams, his goals, and his difficulties, about overcoming the impossible and helping others achieve. He tells of his unrealistic dreams, of becoming an NFL player or being in zero gravity. He takes the lasting wisdom of his teachers, and gives it to the audience. In a quote from the lecture, Pausch talks about his first football experience, where he showed up but the coach didn’t bring any balls. “And Coach Graham said, right, how many men are on a football field at a time? Eleven on a team, twenty-two. Coach Graham said, all right, and how many people are touching the football at any given time? One of them. And he said, right, so we’re going to work on what those other twenty-one guys are doing.” This experience allowed him to better realize the importance of fundamentals. 

There are more stories, some more realistic dreams, such as winning a giant stuffed animal. But the one that stood out to me the most was his lifelong goal to become a Disney Imagineer. According to Pausch, a trip to Disneyland when he was eight years old helped him realize his one of his dreams. After “biding his time,” (AKA going through college and getting a Ph.D) he was ready to apply, “but they sent me some of the damned nicest go-to-hell letters I have ever gotten.” He talks about the brick wall that he faced, how it was there to stop the undetermined people, not the determined ones. 

I would recommend this book regardless of what genres you prefer to read. Although it is an autobiography of sorts, it is not boring like other biographies, which you may have come to expect. The tone is humorous and a little ironic, and it is easy to associate with Pausch because he was not some extremely famous person, who often seems unreachable. The book almost acts as a memoir of an “average” professor and their geeky ways. 10/10 rating!