
David Foster Wallace's Kenyon Commencement Speech (2005) - johnjwang
http://web.archive.org/web/20080213082423/http://www.marginalia.org/dfw_kenyon_commencement.html
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Jun8
Classic! I always thought that there should be a course (ideally starting from
middle school but definitely in college), perhaps called _Life Engineering_ ,
where kids/young adults are taught tools to help them shape their lives.
Alongside this, pg's essay "What You Wish You'd Known"
([http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html)) and
Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture"
([http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html)) would
be included in class materials.

This class should would also teach you important little life skills like how
to tie your shoes better using the Ian knot
([http://lifehacker.com/5451765/ditch-the-granny-knot-to-
tie-y...](http://lifehacker.com/5451765/ditch-the-granny-knot-to-tie-your-
shoes-more-efficiently)), how to match clothing items so that you don't look
like a total clown (unless intentional), how to write legibly with proper
handwriting, etc.

~~~
JoshMilo
I wish I had that kind of class growing up. Even a basic life skills class
would be helpful. It would be much better than all those "teachers aide"
classes I took in high school.

~~~
ilzmastr
[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/university_of_life](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/university_of_life)

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techpeace
Selections from this speech were used to create the "This is Water" video
(which I love) that made the rounds in 2013:
[http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/story-behind-water-
inspiring-v...](http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/story-behind-water-inspiring-
video-people-cant-stop-watching-149324)

~~~
zemvpferreira
I've found the youtube video of DFW delivering the speech to be much better.
It's unpolished and has no visuals, and there's a lot moRe silence in which to
digest: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-
ydFMI](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI)

~~~
wldcordeiro
I prefer this version as well. The other one shortens it and cuts out some
great parts.

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rudimental
Here's a link to audio of David Foster Wallace reading the speech:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYGaXzJGVAQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYGaXzJGVAQ)

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jtheory
I have to laugh a bit about his comments on point of view, and arrogance.

The atheist prays, and is rescued by a couple of passing Eskimos -- he credits
the Eskimos (no God involved), the believer credits God, and I (somewhat
arrogantly) notice that:

\- the "experiment" doesn't offer any evidence in either direction, BUT

\- prayer in a life-or-death situation _does_ seem like it would strengthen
religious belief, because if someone prays and dies, well, that's that.
They're not around to tell others how prayer failed them. But those that pray
and _survive_ will preach the seeming intercession to the world with utter
conviction.

This is why his other points about worship are excellent -- if I take
intellectual agility or rationality to the level of worship, and keep a self-
centered focus, well, I just have to run into someone who's mastered this far
more than I have to be deflated.

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pixelmonkey
My favorite part from this speech, "Everybody Worships."

[http://www.pixelmonkey.org/2014/11/26/everybody-
worships](http://www.pixelmonkey.org/2014/11/26/everybody-worships)

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joshjkim
I mean, this is the best.

Here's my random tip: I have this copy/pasted into an e-mail so that I can
forward to friends and random people when it comes up - easy way to share such
an insanely valuable read.

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juddlyon
This is a wonderful speech. Wish we still had him with us.

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olivierlacan
A beautiful video was made from this speech by The Glossary, it's available
here: [https://vimeo.com/68855377](https://vimeo.com/68855377)

The story behind it is here: [http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/story-behind-
water-inspiring-v...](http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/story-behind-water-
inspiring-video-people-cant-stop-watching-149324)

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TheMagicHorsey
I can't relate to the way this guy feels in traffic or in crowded
supermarkets.

