Randy Pausch
Pausch delivered his "Last Lecture", titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", at CMU on September 18, 2007. He gave an abridged version of his speech on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in October 2007. The talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", with a topic such as "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" Before speaking, Pausch received a long standing ovation from a large crowd of over 400 colleagues and students. When he motioned them to sit down, saying, "Make me earn it", someone in the audience shouted back, "You did!"
Robert Todd Carroll
Carroll spoke at several skeptic conferences. In 2003, he was invited to give a talk at the first Amaz!ng Meeting. In the same year he gave a speech at the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal conference on frauds and hoaxes. In 2004, he gave a speech to the Irish Skeptics in Dublin on scientific proof for the paranormal. In 2007, he conducted a critical thinking workshop at the 5th Amazing Meeting. On May 29, 2011, Carroll led a discussion concerning the "Five Myths About Skeptics" at the 2nd annual SkeptiCalCon event held in Berkeley, CA.