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Commencement Address

Atul Gawande and the Mistrust of Science

Continuing on with Commencement Season, Atul Gawande gave an address to the students of Cal Tech last Friday, delivering a message to future scientists, but one that applies equally to all of us as …

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Life Advice: Be Careful of Life Advice

Nassim Taleb, the modern philosopher best known for his ideas on Randomness, The Black Swan, and Antifragility, gave his first commencement address at an American University in Beirut. Like him or …

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Gary Taubes and the Exquisite Balancing Act of Getting it Right

Last year, the wonderful Gary Taubes, whose ideas about nutrition we have written about before, gave a commencement address to the students of the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman …

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Cargo Cult Science: Richard Feynman On Believing What Isn’t True

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) has long been one of my favorites — for both his wisdom and heart. Reproduced below you can find the entirety of his 1974 commencement address at Caltech entitled Cargo …

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Steve Jobs 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” If you were to make a list of the best commencement addresses ever, you’d find this one from Steve Jobs up there with the likes of David Foster Wallace, …

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10 Life Lessons From a Navy SEAL

“If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.” *** Naval Adm. William H. McRaven delivers an amazing University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement …

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Michael Lewis: Don’t Eat Fortune’s Cookie

Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, Boomerang, and Liar’s Poker, gives a commencement speech on the role of luck. Thank you. President Tilghman. Trustees and Friends. Parents of the Class of …

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Make Good Art: One Of The Best Commencement Speeches Ever

Although Neil Gaiman never attended college, he gives one of the best commencement speeches ever. This is right up there with the Steve Jobs and David Foster Wallace commencement speeches. People who …

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This is Water by David Foster Wallace (Full Transcript and Audio)

David Foster Wallace‘s 2005 commencement speech to the graduating class at Kenyon College, is a timeless trove of wisdom — right up there with Hunter Thompson on finding your purpose and living …

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