"Wonderful anecdotes from a brilliant mind "


A mixed bag of fascinating stories that fill in any of the gaps from Fyenman's life that weren't covered in Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman. Insightful and touching. Albeit very scattered and not particularly chronological

Чудесен е Файнман, иска ти се да го познаваш.

* * *

"Сега бих желал да се обърна към една трета ценност на науката. Тя е малко по-странична. Ученият има огромен опит с невежеството, колебанието и неувереността, и този опит според мен е от много голямо значение. Когато даден учен не знае отговора на един проблем, той е невеж. Когато му хрумне какъв трябва да е отговорът, той е неуверен. А когато той е твърдо уверен за това какъв трябва да бъде резултатът, той все още изпитва съмнение. Установено е, че за постигане на напредък е от огромно значение да признаем своето невежество и да оставим място за съмнение. Научното знание е съвкупност от твърдения с променлива сигурност, някои твърде несигурни, някои почти сигурни, но никога абсолютно сигурни."

(Из речта "Ценността на науката", произнесена през 1955 г. на есенното събрание на Националната академия на науките)

После "вы шутите мистер Фейнман" очень вторично.

Oh the ego!!! Thankfully, there are less lordly accounts of the Challenger disaster investigation. The implication that no one else would have solved the problem (which he admits he did not actually solve) is galling!

Ignoring the accounts of the investigation, what this really boils down to is: he’d been told one too many times that he was quirkily funny and he started to believe the hype. For me, given the level of his genius, such gullibility is a little bit pathetic. The stories were just okay with mostly forced humor.

The only good thing I can take away here is that this book contains one of my favorite Feynman quotes. It relates to over-confidence based on past results: “When playing Russian roulette, the fact that the first shot got off safely is little comfort for the next”.

'To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell. And so it is with science'

Brilliant book I read to find about the challenger disaster but the book contains much more than that, The story of his first wife battle with TB and her subsequent death was heartbreaking to read. I read the second book first so now I am going to read the first book.

Mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the beginning, which told about his life as a young man and his marriage to Arlene who always said to him "What Do You Care What Other People Think?". Tragic that she died at such a young age.

The next so many pages were filled with "this and that" in his life and then the whole second HALF of the book was all about his time with NASA to study the cause of the explosion of the manned space shuttle.

I became terribly frustrated with the inefficiencies and lack of honesty and follow through in the government. Although Richard Feynman died in 1988, we continue to hear about government inefficiencies and lack of honesty, particularly during this recent Presidential election cycle. Why can't we get it right?

For me, the last few pages (The Epilogue) were the best part of the book - giving the reader the opportunity to "wonder". To think. To marvel.

This is five star because of one particular essay, called 'The Value of Science' In that essay, Feynman conveys his sense of wonder with the natural world and likens that sense of awe and mystery with religious experience - one few people not educated in science have the priviledge to encounter. He also emplasises something I believe, but have never seen written about explicitly before - that one huge contribution of science is the realisation that it's entirely possible to live your life and make decisions while not being sure, even about fundamental things. Science is all about uncertainty - hypotheses are only true until someone proves them wrong. We can never be sure about the meaning of the universe (at least, not through science). So, doing science teaches people how to suspend judgement, and to take other views and possibilities into account. This essay is essential reading for young scientists (what are your responsibilities to wider society?), and anyone interested in philosophy (without the jargon).
Also really interesting is his account of being on the committee that investigated the Challenger disaster - a cautionary insight into how bureacracy can go badly wrong in even well-meaning organisations.
I'm unsure how much of his autobiographical stuff is exaggerated, and I am not sure how easy he would have been to live with! But I wish he'd written more about his own personal philosophies and opinions, because I find myself agreeing with him an awful lot. And considering he was instrumental in the Manhattan Project, that in itself is thought-provoking.

Writing a "review" of this book, which I read many years ago, seems rather pointless. Feynman was brilliant beyond any level that I can comprehend, and he lived a life that was brilliant in the same way: largely incomprehensible and mostly to be marveled at. But Feynman was also funny, quirky and intensely human. This book gives some wonderful insights into that; glimpses of an intellect that was truly "larger than life" in the best sense of the term.

It was an amazing read. Richard Feynman is seriously goals for me

Este libro te muestra ambos lados de la personalidad de Feyman: el científico y el humano.
Me hizo sentir más cercano a él y a la igualdad entre científicos (muchos lo idolatran y, personalmente, no estoy de acuerdo con esta postura).

4 ⭐

”To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell. What then, is the value of the key to heaven? It is true that if we lack clear instructions that enable us to determine which is the gate to heaven and which the gate to hell, the key may be a dangerous object to use. But the key obviously has value: how can we enter heaven without it?”

n  n

Finding a sequel to a book you love is like being asked out on a second date by an absolute bombshell, way out of your league. You know you’re wholly inferior and undeserving but there’s no way in hell you’re gonna say no! So here I am, on a second date with my man crush, Nobel prize winning theoretical physicist, Richard P. Feynman. This is kind of my cop-out Science book for 2022 (though I still plan to read Susskind’s ‘Theoretical Minimum’). I’ve had a string of Physics books lined up since being inspired by the first book in this duology, ’Surely you’re Joking, Mr.Feynman?’, but, as is integral to my nature, have become side-tracked; perhaps I’ll add a few Pop-sci books to the back end of the year, they’re always fun.

Unlike SYJMF, this book lacks any clear chronology or organisational coherence other than its breakdown into two parts and an unmissable Appendix/Epilogue. Ralph Leighton, who is responsible for recording Feynman relating stories of his life, makes it clear in the introduction that, in tone (and arrangement) this addition is not intended to be SYJMF #2. And he’s right.

Part 1 is more or less a continuation of the former book, however, it has a decidedly less jovial, more sombre tone as it relates primarily to the story of his first wife, Arlene, her diagnosis with tuberculosis and resulting death. This terribly sad story is interspersed with lessons he learned from his father as a youth as well as a number of lighter anecdotes, though, the overarching story regarding Arlene casts a melancholic shadow over the whole of part 1, giving these smaller stories the feeling of jokes being told at a funeral; not in a distasteful way, but in an effort to reflect the positive, humorous nature of the deceased.

As these stories are taken from a number of sources, including a BBC special that I’d previously watched along with other interviews, I often wondered if there was crossover with the first book or whether I’d just remembered them from one or more of those interviews; I can’t be sure.
This first part is wrapped up with a section displaying Feynman’s photos and drawings (he took up art lessons at the age of 44) and a series of letters from Feynman to his later wife, Gweneth, from Freeman (Dyson?) to a family friend displaying an admiration for Feynman, and from Henry Bethe to Gwyneth in memory of Feynman.

”Hardly anyone can understand the importance of an idea, it is so remarkable. Except that, possibly, some children catch on. And when a child catches on to an idea like that, we have a scientist. It is too late for them to get the spirit when they are in our universities, so we must attempt to explain these ideas to children.”

Part 2, which makes up a little over half of the book, covers Feynman’s time on the Roger’s commission, investigating the ’86 Space shuttle Challenger disaster. I didn’t know a lot about this subject and having now read Feynman’s account of it, which was absolutely compelling from beginning to end, it’d be difficult for me to have any degree of faith in another retelling. See, Feynman is a no-nonsense type operator; not in the boring sense that he’s not up for a bit of clowning around here or there, but in the sense that he despises embellishment of any kind. He can’t stand baloney and though he regularly and strategically feigns naivety, he can smell horseshit from a mile away. Hence, he very quickly sniffed out a “fishiness” or corruption within NASA’s upper/middle management as well as an active hinderance of his investigative procedures from the heads of the commission.

Failure of the two O-ring seals in one of the Space Shuttle's right solid rocket booster aside, Feynman, in his ’Personal Observations on the reliability of the shuttle (included ironically as an appendix in this very book) plainly calls NASA officials out for their clear lack of proper communication with lower level management and engineers as well as their proclivity for turning a blind eye to the reality of safe working statistics and making everything seem cherry ripe in the interests of receiving continued funding from Washington. This report is typically non-negotiable in its realistic and matter of fact condemnation of NASA’s higher-ups and as such it is evident, from my point of view, that Feynman was given the run-around by the heads of the commission with respect to adding his ‘personal observations’ to the final report (it was eventually added merely as an appendix after much piss-farting around) as well as trying to organise an official questioning of NASA leaders. A number of quotes can sum up Feynman’s experience and observations with the committee:

”I got the feeling we were being railroaded: things were being decided, somehow, a little out of our control.”

“If a guy tells me the probability of failure is 1 in 100,000, I know he’s full of crap—but I don’t know what’s natural in a bureaucratic system.

”You have to convince Congress that there exists a project that only NASA can do. In order to do so, it is necessary—at least it was apparently necessary in this case—to exaggerate: to exaggerate how economical the shuttle would be, to exaggerate how often it could fly, to exaggerate how safe it would be, to exaggerate the big scientific facts that would be discovered.”

”For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.”

”Maybe they don’t say explicitly “Don’t tell me,” but they discourage communication, which amounts to the same thing.”
- Feynman

”in the air force we have a rule: check six.” He explained, “A guy is flying along, looking in all directions, and feeling very safe. Another guy flies up behind him (at ‘six o’clock’—‘twelve o’clock’ is directly in front), and shoots. Most airplanes are shot down that way. Thinking that you’re safe is very dangerous! Somewhere, there’s a weakness you’ve got to find. You must always check six o’clock.” - General Kutyna

Finally, included as an epilogue is an inspirational speech made by Feynman (“The Value of Science”) in which he puts forth, somewhat in defiance of those who say Science would be used ultimately for evil, values besides the obvious practical application of science. This was a great piece to finish on as Feynman’s infectious, child-like curiosity and passion for discovery shines so brightly and leaves you with an intense desire to get out there and learn more yourself. An extraordinarily charismatic and endearing character, this book along with ‘Surely You’re Joking…’ are two that I would recommend whole-heartedly to anyone, Science-lover or not!

”Out of the cradle
onto dry land
here it is
standing:
atoms with consciousness;
matter with curiosity.

Stands at the sea,
wonders at wondering: I
a universe of atoms
an atom in the universe.
Richard P. Feynman (The Value of Science)

هذا الكتاب هو عبارة عن مجموعة من القصص والرسائل التي كتبها عالم الفيزياء الأمريكي ريتشارد فاينمان. في البداية يتحدث عن طفولته وعن دور أبيه في زراعة الفضول فيه والدافع إلى البحث والمعرفة. ثم يتحدث عن زوجته الأولى أرلين وكيف تطوّرت علاقتهما إلى أن توفيت بسبب مرض السل. هناك ذكر سريع لانجازات فايمان العلمية ولكن التركيز الأساسي هو على حياته الشخصية.

القسم الثاني من الكتاب يتحدث عن كارثة المكوك تشالينجر الذي النفجر بعد انطلاقه بقليل ومات رواده السبعة. يلعب فاينمان دوراً أساسياً في اللجنة التي شكلها الرئيس الأمريكي ريجان للتحقيق في أسباب الحادثة. ويروي لنا فاينمان هذه التجربة ببعض التفصيل.

في النهاية هناك كلمة لفاينمان ألقاها حول أهمية العلم وهي من الكلمات التي تكرر له بشكل كثير حيث يشرح فيها طبيعة العلم ولماذا هو مهم بالنسبة للبشرية. الكتاب يبيّن لنا شخصية هذا العالم وطريقة تفكيره

من أجمل المقاطع التي ذكرها هو كيف يفتح العلم لنا آفاقاً جديدة لرؤية العالم، هذه الزهرة الجميلة التي نراها يمكن لنا أيضاً أن نراها من منظور الخلايا وكيف تقوم بالبناء الضوئي، ويمكن لنا النظر لها أيضاً من منظار تطوري وكيف انتقت الحشرات هذه الألوان بالذات بما فيها ألوان لا نستطيع نحن البشر مشارهدتها (الموجات ما فوق البنفسجية) وما يمكن أن يعنيه هذا من امتلاك هذه الحشرات ذوق فني شبيه إلى حد كبير بذوقنا الفني.