Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman

Author: Richard P. Feynman
Started: 2024-08-01
Finished: 2024-08-20
Rating: 7/10

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: This is still in draft mode as I figure out some formatting issues.

There are two reasons to read this book. The first is to be entertained by the colorful life and adventures of this legendary physicist. The second is to understand the traits of a genius. is such a legendary figure and this autobiography is so widely read and loved, that there is nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said better by someone else. So instead of attempting an original analysis – a daunting task – I will simply share some quotes and insights I gleaned while reading the book.

I think we are all fascinated by how geniuses come to be that way. Maybe part of us even hopes that there is a method by which we can become like them. This is one of the areas in which this book really shines. The anecdotes Feynman shares about his life reveal some of the traits that made him such an original and productive thinker:

First among these is just how damn persistent he was. In the first chapter, he tells us

Starting sentence, which leads into a quote:

I finally fixed it because I had, and still have, persistence. Once I get on a puzzle, I can’t get off. If my mother’s friend had said, “Never mind, it’s too much work,” I’d have blown my top, because I want to beat this damn thing, as long as I’ve gone this far. I can’t just leave it after I’ve found out so much about it. I have to keep going to find out ultimately what is the matter with it in the end.

Richard Feynman

GIF is a bitmap image format. salamanders

Ctrl + Alt + Del

Now include something else, and footnote.¹