What a thought-provoking video by Stanford University:

Paul Kalanithi, MD, was a Stanford neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with lung cancer in his mid-30s. He wrote a popular op-ed for The New York Times in early 2014 on confronting mortality. Here, he reflects on his changing perception of time as doctor, patient and new father. He died at 37 on March 9. The Stanford community mourns his loss.

For some reason, rather than inspiring or motivational, I always find these stories profoundly terrifying.

Also, here’s an excerpt from Dr. Kalanithi’s article on The New York Times, the one mentioned in the description above, titled “How Long Have I Got Left?”:

But the range of what is reasonably possible is just so wide. Based on today’s therapies, I might die within two years, or I might make it to 10. If you add in the uncertainty based on new therapies available in two or three years, that range may be completely different. Faced with mortality, scientific knowledge can provide only an ounce of certainty: Yes, you will die. But one wants a full pound of certainty, and that is not on offer.

Bone-chilling. Via Kottke.