car talk
Click and clack were my commencement speakers, and they were awesome. Who wants to listen to a politician give a forgettable, canned speech? Who wants to hear a writer ramble self-indulgently on their own peculiar creative process? Who wants to hear pretentious celebrities or actors try to don the mantle of wisdom for 20 minutes? It usually leads to priceless commencement quotes like " Lots of hairy guys are pervs". (yes, it's fictional)
Here's a crazy idea: why not look through your roster and invite back two alums who have become wildly successful practicing some of the things they did at MIT and then share with the grads how they dit it? This should happen more often, but unfortunately Click and Clack were the exception, not the rule. And I'm floored I got them on my graduation! They went crazily over time, and I still remember the big picture message "unencumbered by the thought process", which was a reminder to open your mind, have the courage to do the things that you enjoy, that you're good at, and good things will follow. I'm not claiming anything about how well I followed any of that advice, but it's the sort of thing that when you hear it you feel as though you're a better person for just thinking about it! I think I was channeling Paris there.
Anyway, the point (I think) is that Click and Clack are out there making a career by using their brains. They never get to see any of the callers' actual vehicles, and they figure out the problems most of the time. You have to think to fix cars. There's a concept.
I'm working my way around to something I've been pretty excited about, which is a new PBS show coming up this summer: as the wrench turns with none other than click and clack. And I'm pretty psyched about it because the more people on television who actually think and use their brains and set a good example for the rest of us, the better off this crazy world is going to be.