Obituary Randy Pausch (1960-2008)

摘要

In the introduction to his book, The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch wrote, "engineering isn't about perfect solutions, it's about doing the best you can with limited resources" (Pausch & Zaslow, 2008). Working in the field of interactive computer graphics, Pausch applied this engineering principle to the building of computer interfaces that were elegant, intuitive, and accessible to large numbers of people, including those with limited skills and limited means. Pausch loved technology, not for itself, but for what it allowed him and others to do. Employing today's technologies, people can fly, lift great weights, see distant planets, talk to people around the world, and explore virtual worlds that afford tele-portation, time travel, and magic carpet rides. It is to these latter possibilities-building virtual worlds that evoke experiences achievable by no other means-that Pausch devoted his academic life. He also held as a goal that these experiences should have value; they should be useful and/or fun.