I must admit that this outpouring of praise for Randy Pausch -- from a bunch or professional psychologists, no less -- has me a little baffled. Don't get me wrong. Pausch seemed like an energetic, optimistic guy who would be fun to be around, and his death as so young an age is a tragedy. But his view of human behavior was, well, naive at best.
If you really think that the world of behavior is so simple that it can be reduced to Tiggers and Eeyores, and, what is more, that we all have the power to simply choose which kind of person we'd like to be, then I suggest you read the column that Dick Cavett wrote on depression in the New York Times a few weeks ago: http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/smiling-through/ It strikes me as being much more sensible and realistic, even if it isn't quite as "uplifting." Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ "Part of respecting another person is taking the time to criticise his or her views." - Melissa Lane, in a /Guardian/ obituary for philosopher Peter Lipton ================================= --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
