Professor Professes His Own Imperfections

When professor Darren Zook was 7, he did not receive the typical race car when he opened his presents on Christmas Day.

Zook, showing early signs of an academic career, was overjoyed when he received a brand new dictionary instead.

"I thought, ‘Hey, this will really help me get the ladies!' I could say, ‘Did you want me to look that up for you?'" joked Zook, who was honored Tuesday as the first recipient of the ASUC Outstanding Teacher Award at Arthur Andersen Auditorium in the Haas School of Business.

The political science and international and area studies professor gave an "ideal last lecture"-the theme of the lecture series-to more than 140 students and colleagues in which he strayed from his areas of expertise to talk instead on tidbits of "things I don't know and probably never will."

"I realized that for my last lecture, I would be expected to expand on the tenets of wisdom I have accrued over the years, and I realized that I couldn't talk about what I knew. I'd rather admit what I didn't know," Zook said. "I've made peace with not knowing everything."

The talk, which was the first annual Rabbi Martin Ballonoff Memorial Lecture, was sponsored by the ASUC with the support of the Haas School of Business and Berkeley Hillel.

Zook, who won the award after students nominated him on the ASUC Web site, emphasized the importance of realizing his limitations. Zook said through embracing his ignorance on subjects, he has gained a greater sense of humility and an enriched appreciation for the things he is certain of.

Keeping in line with the theme of his talk, Zook tackled the meaning of the universe, an issue of which he said he has little understanding.

"Despite being in the social science, I still have a penchant for science fiction. I am fascinated by life in outer space," Zook said. "I know that when I look into the night sky, there is a sense of wonder. It keeps me humble."

The immensity of outer space leaves him awe-struck, Zook said.

Zook also touched on another universe-the universe within the human brain.

"I have no idea how the human brain works, and I love the fact that I still am a stranger to myself. I do not know myself, and I am OK with it," Zook said.

Although he also touched on the power behind human hatred and violence, he also noted that just because he does not know something does not mean he could not ever find the answer.

On that note, Zook put an end to a long-running joke with his students by pulling a Red Bull energy drink from a brown paper bag and taking a swig from the can.

Zook, who was met by applause and laughter, had always been teased by students for never trying the energy drink before.

Zook ended by urging students to ask complex questions in life and not be afraid if answers are hard to come by.

"If you have answers to the questions you've asked in your lifetime, you aren't making big enough questions," Zook said, quoting his motto, which prompted a standing ovation from the crowd.

"I came because I missed hearing him speak. I can look back and say, ‘I was glad that I had him as a teacher,'" said junior Quinn McCutchan, a political science and French major who has taken classes with Zook in the past.

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