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on April 30, 2017
He tels some of his private story, not his great scientific achievements. mHe loved to stir up stroubles as a young person, but had to do a in mostly brilliant ways.
on July 17, 2016
This is my favorite book of all time. I've bought so many copies over the years as I have frequently given it away.
This book details the antics and life of Richard Feynman, perhaps the greatest physicist of all time.
It will make readers want to go in science with the engaging stories and fun nature of telling them.
I recommend this book to everyone.
This book details the antics and life of Richard Feynman, perhaps the greatest physicist of all time.
It will make readers want to go in science with the engaging stories and fun nature of telling them.
I recommend this book to everyone.
... high school junior physics class and immediately fell in love with his writing and his general humor
on January 19, 2017
I was first exposed to this book in my high school junior physics class and immediately fell in love with his writing and his general humor. I loved it so much that I went through the trouble to purchase another copy that was just as worn as my old copy from high school. Feynman is hilarious and offers a humorous insight into his life and career as a physicist. To say the least, this book has inspired a number of pranks between my brother and me, as well as my brother's decision to pursue his career in physics.
on September 23, 2013
I originally read parts of this as a teenager, in Russian translation and it was entertaining, with the stories of opening safes and finding flaws in uranium refinement facilities. Reading the full book, I found more entertaining stories, like about playing drums at Rio carnival. And then I finished the book, and things clicked together into something more important.
Feyman has accomplished quite a lot, so what can we learn? Between funny stories, we see that he was gave focused attention to everything he tried, even such things as playing drums or cracking safes or painting. He did not care much about social norms (visiting strip clubs to drink some 7-up), or impressions (calling stupid ideas as such right away), or being organized (nearly sleeping in a pile of fallen leaves once). The last chapter say the most important thing is to be "utterly honest".
By the contrast, social ideal these days appear to be a person who is serious, polite, socially-acceptable and is into "getting things done" - but does not necessary tries his best to check the important things - much like book reviewers Feyman describes, who gave A rating to a book having nothing but empty pages. And later, such people become just "pompous fools". We all need to try staying as utterly honest as possible, and making it into key social norm, above all forms of pretense
Feyman has accomplished quite a lot, so what can we learn? Between funny stories, we see that he was gave focused attention to everything he tried, even such things as playing drums or cracking safes or painting. He did not care much about social norms (visiting strip clubs to drink some 7-up), or impressions (calling stupid ideas as such right away), or being organized (nearly sleeping in a pile of fallen leaves once). The last chapter say the most important thing is to be "utterly honest".
By the contrast, social ideal these days appear to be a person who is serious, polite, socially-acceptable and is into "getting things done" - but does not necessary tries his best to check the important things - much like book reviewers Feyman describes, who gave A rating to a book having nothing but empty pages. And later, such people become just "pompous fools". We all need to try staying as utterly honest as possible, and making it into key social norm, above all forms of pretense
on February 22, 2017
Interesting book on a genius physicist. His comments on scientific honesty at the end of the book should be mandatory for all in any scientific capacity.
on September 20, 2013
This book is a masterful mixture of hilarious pranks, fun stories, and a grand tour of the life of one of our greatest Physicists. I greatly enjoyed listening to it.
Feynman's way of seeing the world made for a very fun narrative, and oh the pranks and accomplishments he pulled off... Take the fact that there was a guy sneaking around the Manhattan Project breaking into safes, but he was on our side and doing it to prove they were insecure (and because it was fun). That was Feynman. He took a vacation by studying another field of science (biology), instead of hitting the beach. He was a womanizer, a professor, a prankster, and a physicist. And yet he fit all these together seamlessly into a single, coherent, brilliant person. The contrasts make him all the more likable.
There are some dark or sobering moments in the book as well, including: his reactions to seeing the nuclear bomb's power and imagining what might come next, his scary brush with the threat of alcoholism, trying to fix the problems with Brazil's educational system at the time, and his frustrations with people believing in bad (poorly done) and outright fake science. These moments help balance the story's hilarity, but such moments are still rare. Overall the book is very upbeat and funny.
Feynman's way of seeing the world made for a very fun narrative, and oh the pranks and accomplishments he pulled off... Take the fact that there was a guy sneaking around the Manhattan Project breaking into safes, but he was on our side and doing it to prove they were insecure (and because it was fun). That was Feynman. He took a vacation by studying another field of science (biology), instead of hitting the beach. He was a womanizer, a professor, a prankster, and a physicist. And yet he fit all these together seamlessly into a single, coherent, brilliant person. The contrasts make him all the more likable.
There are some dark or sobering moments in the book as well, including: his reactions to seeing the nuclear bomb's power and imagining what might come next, his scary brush with the threat of alcoholism, trying to fix the problems with Brazil's educational system at the time, and his frustrations with people believing in bad (poorly done) and outright fake science. These moments help balance the story's hilarity, but such moments are still rare. Overall the book is very upbeat and funny.
on November 21, 2016
I read this many years ago and enjoyed it very much. My Granddaughter has a great sense of humor and is quite interested in many different things, besides being an excellent student, that I thought she might be very interested in a man like Mr Feynman.She's been taking college courses for a few years and just passed a test to skip her senior year and go to college now. I thought the way he looks at problems and his thinking was so original, that she would be intrigued by this book. I hope I'm correct.
on November 16, 2016
This book is an honest self assessment of the humanistic psyche of a top notch physicist. Those wonderful theorist had human lives, dreams, and desires that we all have. This book takes away the impenetrable wall between equations and human behaviors and gives us a solid understanding of why scientists must methodically pursue truth and endure the full brunt of questioning attitudes. We could not have progress this far without them; we can only progress further when we don't give up on the truth.
on March 6, 2017
Richard Feynman was a character, and I found it very interesting to read this autobiographical book. I'm planning to read more of his work.
