In The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch wrote a section titled “Earnest is better than hip”. This section discusses the lesson Randy learned and the incident that taught him this lesson. Randy begins by expressing his preference for earnest individuals over hip ones. He defines a hip person as someone who lacks seriousness and frequently jokes around. On the contrary, he describes an earnest person as someone who is honest, hardworking, and reliable.
The incident for Paul was that he was interviewing people for a job, and he had one person who was an eagle scout at one time. This person was well dressed and appeared hardworking and trustworthy. However, Paul also interviewed some other people who he describes as “hip,” and he did not trust them enough to hire them. Paul stated that he preferred to hire the Eagle Scout above anyone else because he believed this person to be hardworking and trustworthy.
The incident taught Paul a valuable lesson – he prefers the company of earnest individuals over hip ones. One reason for this preference is that hip individuals tend to enjoy parody, but there is no limit to parody. The crucial aspect is that Paul holds greater respect for someone earnest, who accomplishes things that have a lasting impact. Therefore, when faced with the choice between hip and earnest, consider whether you would rather be with someone diligent and reliable or someone who frequently jokes around and lacks trustworthiness.
