In reality , MIT 's commencement speaker in 1997 was Kofi Annan and Vonnegut had never been a commencement speaker there .
The essay soon became the subject of an urban legend which claimed it was an MIT commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut .
In reality , MIT 's commencement speaker in 1997 was Kofi Annan and author had never been a commencement speaker there .
The essay soon became the subject of an urban legend which claimed it was an MIT commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut .