The best part of this book was Feynman’s insights and stances on what constitutes learning: it’s being able to question concepts that others simply take as true. He touched upon issues like the flaws in our education system or the loss of scientific integrity. I loved the parts where he offered me new ways to catch things that are easy to overlook.

What didn’t sit right with me was how some of his anecdotes came across as misogynistic. Feynman was a brilliant man, but he was kind of creepy around women. One of our greatest scientists was also your run-of-the-mill womanizer.

On a similar note, I think there are more sides to Feynman than the world chooses to see. Feynman might be known for his work in physics, but I think he was also THE renaissance man of his time. Safecracking. Bongos. Nude painting. Pranks. He often said he lacked “culture.” But boy, he had a lot of it.

Feynman taught me that it’s fun to be unconventional. He seemed like the guy who picks up a random skill just because. Minus the “how to manipulate women for fun,” this candid spontaneity is an approach to life worth emulating.

Want to read a book that is full of bragging and humblebragging? Here’s a great option that fits the bill! Reading this was like sitting across a table with an interesting person, only to realise that he finds just one topic interesting: himself. Pompous prig alert!

I guess I went into this book expecting something that it wasn't. I read this with a book club and was expecting something a bit more biographic than what I was given. Rather than it laid out like a life story, it came off more like grandpa at the Thanksgiving table telling you the same sorts of embellished stories he's told you every year previous. Sure they're amusing anecdotes to a certain degree, but it's definitely not biographic.

If you take everything you read here at face value the guy clearly led an extremely varied life, which is more than I can say for myself. But the difference here is that, while I maybe lead a boring life in comparison, I'm not quite the quirky jerk that Mr. Feynman was in many of the stories laid out here. Many (most?) of the anecdotes here hinge on Mr. Feynman pulling one over on someone else, and reveling in how much more clever he is than everyone around him. It was funny in the beginning, but quickly got old for me.

I also thought his views on women around him were problematic, and while an argument can be made about him being a product of his time, it's never too late for improvement and self reflection. You won't find a lot of either here.

Цю книжку мені стільки разів радив мій хороший друг Petro Nek, що просто гріхом вже було не прочитати. То ж в першу чергу я висловлюю йому подяку за те, що так часто згадував історії Фейнмана в розмовах. За паперовий примірник окрема подяка Rostyslav Kryvyy.
Існує такий стереотип, що науковці - то неймовірні зануди, з якими нормальній середньостатистичній людині немає про що говорити. Можна далеко не ходити - на свята зустрічав товариша хіміка, розмова з яким - то просто таки величезна радість. Радість від того, що ти практично нічого не розумієш і, зважаючи на це, тобі намагаються донести інформацію в іншій, спрощеній формі, що, зрештою, не зменшує захоплення від почутого. Гадаю, фізики, як і хіміки, теж мають багато цікавих історій, пов'язаних не лише з наукою. Як от, Річард Фейнман, життя якого назвати нудним зможе лише повний невіглас. До речі, про розмови із занудними людьми - один з діалогів Фейнмана:
- О, то ви фізик?
- Так, фізик-теоретик.
- На жаль, я нічого не тямлю у фізиці, тому ми не зможемо поговорити на цю тему.
- О ні, поговорити на цю тему ми не зможемо, бо в ній тямлю я. Зате ми можемо говорити на тему, в яких ніхто з нас не тямить - прогноз погоди, високе мистецтво...
Мені б хотілося позиціонувати себе як всесторонньо розвинену людину. І в цьому плані Річард Фейнман може стати чудовим кумиром. Та легкість, з якою він, будучи фізиком-теоретиком, брався за хімію, ламанння сейфів, малювання та багато інших сфер діяльності, доводить, що маючи щиру зацікавленість у чомусь - ви, якщо і не досягнете великих успіхів, отримаєте неабияке задоволення від процесу. Давно я так щиро не хвилювався за персонажа з книжки, давно так голосно не сміявся над неймовірними історіями, в які потрапляв Фейнман завдяки своєму "ігровому" підходу до всього, що посилав йому випадок.
- На скільки Ви цінуєте життя?
- Шістдесят чотири.
- Чому Ви сказали шістдесят чотири?
- А як, Ви вважаєте, можна виміряти цінність життя?
- Ні! Я маю на увазі, чому Ви сказали «шістдесят чотири», а не «сімдесят і три», наприклад?
- Якби я сказав "сімдесят три". Ви поставили б мені те ж питання!

Nope, not wasting any more time on this clown. I read up through his chapter on how to neg a woman in order to trick her into sleeping with you and thought "Yep, I am done. Gave this the good ol' college try but the bad outweighs the good here." Who knew Feynman, as well as being a brilliant Nobel Prize winning physicist was also the patron saint of the PUA(Pick up artist) community?

I am honestly shocked at the number of rave reviews this collection of personal anecdotes has. I assume people are blinded by Feynman's intellect - which was staggering - and his joyful attitude towards learning for learning's sake. Perhaps if I had read a biography of Feynman, written by someone else, I wouldn't have had such a negative reaction to him?

It seemed obvious to me, both as a former SPED teacher and as the parent of someone on the autistic spectrum, that Feynman had undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. He often mentions his inability to understand social cues and to interact successfully with others. His story of using other people's nervous laughter as a clue that his behavior was incorrect was telling. He couldn't tell by unspoken body language or facial expressions or tone of voice - he needed actual tittering laughter to signal that he needed to adjust his behavior. Feynman used his prodigious intellect to help him work around his deficits in social behavior but often it wasn't enough.

The first painful story was that of the waitress and the tip. Oh wow. Even when telling the story, years later, he has no idea how egregious his behavior was. He pulled the juvenile trick of leaving the tip as coins with a full glass of water on top. Two glasses with the coins split between them. Just what a busy server in a restaurant wants to deal with. To add insult to injury, this was a restaurant he went to daily & a waitress that often served him. This is how he repays her for doing a good job. His motivation for being a jerk? He wanted to see if she would be able to figure out how to get her tip without making a big mess, though how he would know this is unclear, since he wasn't there when she attempted it. He returns the next day to find everyone angry at him & the waitress refusing to interact with him anymore. She didn't have time for his intellectual query - since, you know, she had an actual job she needed to be doing - and the water spilled everywhere & that made extra work for her, cleaning his mess up, and then later she slipped & hurt herself on the still damp floor. Feynman has no clue that he has done anything wrong & can't figure out why people are upset. Then - get this - HE DOES IT AGAIN WITH THE NEW WAITRESS SERVING HIM. Hardy har har, ain't he a hoot?

He tells many stories like this, where he is a complete asshole to people. He can't understand why people don't trust him and think he is a liar. One thing he enjoyed doing was pretending to be drunk when he wasn't - ugh, insert big eye roll here - because, I don't know honestly. Because he has no understanding of human emotions and common reactions?

I stopped reading after the anecdote about how he is a nice guy but woman still won't have sex with him - can't they see how nice he is, damn it?! - so he meets a guy who teaches him the trick is to treat women like whores and bitches.

" I adopted the attitude that those girls are all bitches, that they aren't worth anything, and that all they're in there for is to get you to buy them a drink, and they're not going to give you a goddamn thing. I'm not going to be a gentleman to such worthless bitches and so on. I learned it till it was automatic."

A good reminder that just because someone is an intellectual genius or has an amazing artistic talent or incredible physical prowess doesn't make them a decent or even likable person. People tend to ascribe positive characteristics to successful people whether they are truly worthy of them or not. Feynman is a good example of this.

n  

“The whole problem of discovering what was the matter, and figuring out what you have to do to fix it–that was interesting to me, like a puzzle.”

n 4 Stars // 81%
"Surely You're Joking" is the autobiography of Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist with a flair for the eccentric. Featuring many amusing anecdotes, essays, and lectures, it encompasses everything Feynman is in just a couple hundred pages, from his inner childish curiosity to his brilliant scientific pursuits. Not only is the tone irresistibly readable, but it's also witty and humorous as if you are sitting down with Feynman having a nice chat over a cup of tea.


(A sketch by Richard Feynman, 1 Minute Line Drawing)

In "Surely You're Joking", the scientific aspects work in tandem with the tales from Feynman's personal life to create a thorough memoir anyone can appreciate. You'll see the ways Feynman's humorous character influenced his career, and how his compulsive desire to figure things out is what drove him to innovate, explore, and experiment. The joy of science, after all, lies in the process of discovering. "Surely You're Joking" encourages readers to go out and harness that curiosity that's in every one of us for ourselves.

The only thing about this book that didn't mesh well with me was the fact that Richard Feynman seems to need to give an opinion on everything, whether the situation necessitates it or not. Many of his observations read as immature, and his oftentimes mean-spirited pranks can grate on you after a while. But no matter what you think of his actions, you can't deny that Feynman is one of the top geniuses of the twentieth century, full of smarts and full of snark.


(Another one of Feynman's sketches, Rufus)

All in all, "Surely You're Joking" is a pretty much perfect way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon. I would highly recommend this collection to anyone looking for an out of ordinary, enigmatic dip into the scientific world that will make you wonder, smile, and laugh out loud—all at once! Safe to say that Richard Feynman is now one of my favorite physicists of all time; anyone who can write a book that's equal parts inspiring and entertaining is a success by my standards.

n  I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. Of course, you only live one life, and you make all your mistakes, and learn what not to do, and that's the end of you.n

I can usually tell when I’m going to give a book 5 stars by one sign: I can’t shut up about it. Well, I couldn’t and can’t shut up about this book; it was simply great. This greatness sort of snuck up on me. I’d recently read a collection of anecdotes by a scientist (A Primate’s Memoir) and found it rather disappointing. Plus, the whole idea of reading a book of stories about a great physicist, without learning any actual physics, seemed silly. But my skepticism had withered away by the end of the first chapter; I was entranced by the man, absolutely fascinated, and remained so the whole time.

The subtitle of this book is perfect, because the two meanings of the word “curious” converge to encapsulate Feynman: he was curious in the sense of being odd, as well as curious in his love of learning. I was trying to figure out a way to describe Feynman’s personality, and this is the best I’ve come up with: Feynman is Huck Finn grown up to become a physicist. The qualities that make Mark Twain’s most famous character so endearing are also the qualities that endear Feynman to me: mischievousness, curiosity, cleverness, honesty, naiveté, friendliness, frankness, and an uncompromising moral principle. Like Huck, Feynman is always getting himself into absurd situations, and getting out of them with pure quickness of mind; like Huck, Feynman likes to fool other people and play tricks, but all without a hint of malice; and like Huck, Feynman will stick his neck out for what he feels is right.

There are some hilarious stories in here, which I won’t spoil. But what was more impressive to me was the amount of serious thought that could be found. Feynman’s criticism of the Brazilian school system—which relied overmuch on memorization by rote, and concentrated overmuch on passing tests, instead of teaching students how to make sense of the world around them—applies equally well to many aspects of the current U.S. school system. Equally relevant was Feynman’s chapter on the time he served on the board that oversaw the evaluation of math textbooks for the California school system; it was a Kafkaesque farce. But by far the most consistent intellectual theme that went through these reflections was an absolute distrust of pretension, reputation, convention, snobbery, prestige, and authority.

In my own life, one of the most interesting, and also most difficult, lessons that I’ve had to learn is that people are not nearly as competent as they’d like you to believe. When I was a kid, I had a lot of faith in all sorts of things. I thought that if an ‘expert’ said something, it must be true; I assumed that there was a particular ‘expert’ in every type of activity, be it business or science, to ensure that things ran the way they were supposed to. In short, I had the comforting illusion that very smart people in very white lab coats were behind the scenes, ensuring that things ran smoothly. The world certainly cooperated with this illusion for a while (after all, that’s the whole basis of advertising); but it wasn’t long after meeting people in the ‘real world’ that this illusion imploded: the world is run by people underqualified and overconfident.

I include this bit about myself because I don’t think I would have reacted so emotionally to this rather lighthearted book were it not that I had that experience. In a way, a distrust of all authority is Feynman’s central social message. He is constantly running into ‘experts’ who haven’t the slightest idea what they’re talking about. He goes to academic conferences full of pretentious windbags; he trusts the results of other people’s experiments, and later finds that they were seriously flawed.

So any time somebody makes a claim, he decides to test it out for himself; and the few times he doesn’t do this, he gets into trouble. This realization, that most people are inclined to trust claims from authority, is integral to his almost supernatural ability to navigate unfamiliar situations; Feynman is so easily able to bluff his way through because people take his word for things. So this central insight—to always check for youself—is both the heart of his scientific attitude, as well as his way of effortlessly gliding through the world. His ability to crack safes, for example, wasn’t due to his knowing a lot about safes, but simply realizing that most people used their safes foolishly, not resetting the factory combination or setting it to something obvious. Most of us assume that we couldn’t figure out how to crack a safe; but Feynman did what he always did, and saw for himself whether he could: and he could!

I honestly wish that this book was three times its length. Now, I must know more about Feynman. My favorite saints are the ones who would hate to be worshiped, and Feynman certainly would think this glowing review was nonsense. Well, perhaps it is; but the only way you’ll know for sure is by reading this book, and checking for yourself.

If you think all physicists are boring and studious as hell, well then it's time you checked this book out!
Richard Feynman was a genius with a super inquiring mind that is a hallmark of all great men, but what makes him so unique is that his life didn't just have one dimension. He was curious about so many fields and activities and the way he describes them in this book are so fantastic that you end up wanting to try those things out!

читала англійською, періодично звіряючи з українським перекладом. і от український переклад — це абсолютний провал, халтура, жах і треш, дуже багато чого неабияк спаплюжено. тому, якщо у вас є бажання почитати цю книгу Фейнмана — читайте в оригіналі.

мені дуже сподобалось як Фейнман проживав своє життя — дійсно по-справжньому! без цього образу типового кабінетного вченого, який ми дуже часто можемо зустріти деінде. і в цьому його яскравому житті були жінки, дивні розваги у барах, дитячі витівки у дорослому віці, Нобелівська премія, мистецтво, музика, пошук себе і ще багато чого іншого.

про деякі аспекти життя вченого мені було читати нудно. деякі глави (імхо) були абсолютно зайві — це я роблю зауваження в бік походеньок по барам, про пахабні вигуки у сторону жінок, сучок у барах, т.д.

проте, чесно, ця книга написана у 1985 році, а описані події — це 60-ті, то які інші коментарі у сторону жінок можна уявити, окрім опису БОМБІЧНА БЛОНДИНКА-ВАУ-ШТУЧКА. хоча завдяки цим описам стає ясно, що в дечому суспільство все ж таки стає краще, нехай і повільно.

а от розділи про науку, підхід Фейнмана до життя, абсолютна цікавість до усього, критика системи освіти — це були класні розділи, в багато чому надихаючі. але і сумні водночас, бо система освіти з роками тільки зіпсувалась.

та й у розділах про науку Фейнман не оминає свою роботу у Лос-Аламосі в Мангеттенському проєкті. а через декілька розділів і років потому — Фейнман вже на конференції в Японії, дає лекції і розмірковує про обмін культурами між США та Японією. ну чисто insane.

я чомусь думала, що в книзі більше смішного, але гумор з 1985 вже не той, як то кажуть… кхм.

10 ВЕЩЕЙ , КОТОРЫМ НАУЧИЛ БЫ МЕНЯ РИЧАРД ФЕЙНМАН,
БУДЬ ОН МОИМ ОТЦОМ :)

Я думаю, что каждый однажды читал одну какую-то книгу и думал о главном герое: Блин, вот бы мне таким быть.
У меня были похожие чувства с этой книгой. Вот только я думала: Блин, Вот бы Фейнман был моим батей :))
Ну реально, не в обиду моему папе будет сказано. Существует минимум 10 причин:

Папа Фейнман смог бы объяснять мне сложные вещи простыми словами.
Вся книга была простой и понятной, хотя в ней были и задачи с логарифмами, и исследования по физике, и опыты по биологии.

“Я придумал схему, которой пользуюсь и по сей день, когда кто-то объясняет мне что-то, а я пытаюсь это понять: я придумываю примеры.”

2. Папа Фейнман научил бы меня делать то, что мне действительно хочется, а не то, что считают правильным остальные.

“Ты все время говоришь себе: Я могу это сделать, но не буду. Но это не более чем другой способ сказать, что ты не можешь.”

“Если так лучше для тебя, то так и делай, не задумываясь.”

3. Папа Фейнман научил бы меня смотреть на мир под разным углом.

Физик, который при этом играл на барабанах, учился рисовать и даже провел персональную выставку картин. К слову на одной была изображена голая натурщица, фигура которой лампой подсвечивалась снизу, называлась картина “Мария Кюри и радий” (я его чувство юмора нереальное упоминала?).

А когда Фейнман учился в Принстоне, то сидел на обеденных перерывах по неделе с разными факультетами: биологами, математиками, философами. Ему был интересен мир со всех точек зрения.

“Я всегда так поступаю. Влезаю во что-то и смотрю, как далеко там можно продвинуться.”

4. Папа Фейнман научил бы меня вычислять “черного лебедя”.

Однажды на каникулах Фейнман случайно расшифровал календарь Майя. Только лишь потому, что сначала прикрыл газетой уже готовое толкование в буклете. Ему от скуки хотелось расшифровать самому. То что в буклете, оказалось ошибочным.

“Мне свойственно такое отношение, что произойти может все что угодно, а не то, как вы уверены, должно произойти.”

5. Папа Фейнман заставил бы меня понять и полюбить науку.

Проведя год в университете в Бразилии, на последнем вечере Фейнман заявил, что вся их система образования никуда не годится, так как студентам преподают лишь сухую теорию и не объясняют как это работает в природе. Прямо за кафедрой он открыл учебник на рандомной странице.
“Триболюминесценция - это излучение света раздробленными кристаллами. Есть здесь наука? Нет! Но если бы вы написали: Если взять кусок сахара и в темноте расколоть его щипцами, вы увидите голубоватую вспышку. Это называют триболюминесценцией”.

Блин, я тут же бегу проверять есть ли вспышка, а вы?!

6. Папа Фейнман не заставлял бы меня “расслабиться” в процессе познания.

“Меня все время просили расслабиться, относиться к рисованию проще. Я подумал, что в этом не больше смысла чем в том, чтобы убеждать расслабиться человека, который только учиться водить машину. Расслабиться можно тогда, когда точно знаешь, как это делать аккуратно”. (миллион раз да!)

7. Папа Фейнман объяснил бы мне для чего нужно искусство.

“Ты можешь создать что-то, что кому-то другому понравится настолько, то этот человек будет подавлен или счастлив из-за этой чертовой штуковины, что ты создал!”

8. Папа Фейнман научил бы не сдаваться, если что-то кажется не понятным или слишком сложным для твоего ума. Иногда люди боятся вновь почувствовать себя студентом и начать разбираться с нуля.

9. Папа Фейнман научил бы меня тому, что если к тебе ничего в жизни не приходит, то это потому, что не хватает настоящей деятельности и стимула.

10. Папа Фейнман сделал бы так, чтобы я родилась сыном и мы бы вместе восхищались красотой женщин и научил превосходному пикапу :))

I really like how human he is in this book. There was no heroic moment he mentioned about himself and he even admitted his mistakes! He was very curious. He was curious in almost all the area and he picked at them so quick especially in arts! He was good at arts and music.

I also like the part where he talked about ants. He redirect the ants’ route. When I was young, my sister and I did a bit experiment about ants too!

I would say he is mischievous at the offices. Messing around with people about safe! I want to hear more about his colleagues point of view too.

He reminds me of Forrest Gump. Both of them were so curious about everything and good at whatever they put foot in it.

Here are a few quotes that I like from the book. The last one was from the speech from Caltech commencement in 1974.

‘Of course, you only live one life, and you make all your mistakes, and learn what not to do, and that’s the end of you.’

‘The first principle is that you must not fool yourself- and you are the easiest person to fool.’

‘So I have just one wish for you- the good luck to be somewhere where you are free to maintain the kind of Inter gritty I have described, and and where you do not feel forced by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support, or so on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom.’

The only thing I don’t like about him is his involvement of Manhattan Project.

There ain't any books about stubborn men who are among the most curious creatures in the universe, love to play bongos and paint nude models, jump every now and then into sense-deprivation-hallucination-trigger capsules and master the art of moving their egos out of their bodies so that they can watch themselves from outside, can crack any damn safe in the world, steal people's doors, make an atom bomb, experiment with their own dreaming and ant psychology, study at MIT and Princeton, teach at Caltech, start their careers by giving presentation to people like Wolfgang Pauli and Einstein, and end up winning the Nobel prize.

So does it make any difference if such a book is written in a sloppy way? No matter how slapdash, it would end up just a tinge less then amazing, due to its extraordinary subject matter. Richard Feynman, may you rest in peace.