Does anyone know if this was his personal blackboard? For example, would've his students seen this blackboard?
Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
11–20 of 284 posts
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
By who standard? It seems like an unsolvable problem to know every problem that is actually been solved correctly...
I think he's being sarcastic
It doesn't strike me as likely that Feynman would have written this with sarcasm behind it. Maybe someone knows the details better. Personally, I think it looks more like the sort of goal that you aim for even it's not literally possible. "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#13Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is one of my favorite books. We lost him much too soon.
"the sham legacy of Richard Feynman" is about Feynman being famous because of this book rather than because of his physics. The YouTuber, an obsessed physicist who had spent months reading all Feynman books, provides a critical analysis and explains the cultural impact of "Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman!" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKpj2ISQAc
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Autobiographies.
As Churchill said, "For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself."
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#14His motto "What I cannot create, I do not understand" has been one of the driving forces in my own quest to understand more about the world around me. A good friend had picked up a corollary which was "What I cannot teach, I do not understand" which I think was quite similar. Definitely one of my heroes.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#15Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is one of my favorite books. We lost him much too soon.
"the sham legacy of Richard Feynman" is about Feynman being famous because of this book rather than because of his physics. The YouTuber, an obsessed physicist who had spent months reading all Feynman books, provides a critical analysis and explains the cultural impact of "Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman!" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKpj2ISQAc
Yeah, it's hard not to see some truth in what Murray Gell-Mann said, which is that he spent as much time trying to come up with stories about himself as he did working.
Also while breaking the rules might be fun, lockpicking desks & sending coded messages out of Los Alamos "for fun" is maybe not for the best.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#16Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is one of my favorite books. We lost him much too soon.
"the sham legacy of Richard Feynman" is about Feynman being famous because of this book rather than because of his physics. The YouTuber, an obsessed physicist who had spent months reading all Feynman books, provides a critical analysis and explains the cultural impact of "Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman!" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKpj2ISQAc
And his Nobel Prize, the highest acclamation by his peers that exists. The people eager to tear him down seem to forget that.
[EDIT] Oops, somehow this post appeared twice?
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#17Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is one of my favorite books. We lost him much too soon.
"the sham legacy of Richard Feynman" is about Feynman being famous because of this book rather than because of his physics. The YouTuber, an obsessed physicist who had spent months reading all Feynman books, provides a critical analysis and explains the cultural impact of "Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman!" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKpj2ISQAc
And his Nobel Prize, the highest possible acclamation by his peers. The people eager to tear him down seem to overlook that.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#18Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is one of my favorite books. We lost him much too soon.
How much of that book do you think is the literal truth and how much do you think was embellished? When I read it my impression is that Feynmann is the kind of storyteller that doesn't let the boring real life details get in the way of a good story. Some of it is completely believable, like the general telling people to never have their safes open when he is around, but others came across as a bit fanciful to me, especially when he started talking about women. I'm guessing every story has at least a grain of truth in it, but I would like to hear perspectives from the other people in the stories.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
"the sham legacy of Richard Feynman" is about Feynman being famous because of this book rather than because of his physics. The YouTuber, an obsessed physicist who had spent months reading all Feynman books, provides a critical analysis and explains the cultural impact of "Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman!" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKpj2ISQAc
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Autobiographies. As Churchill said, "For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself."
Watch the video. Feynman didn't write a single book.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think he's being sarcastic
It doesn't strike me as likely that Feynman would have written this with sarcasm behind it. Maybe someone knows the details better. Personally, I think it looks more like the sort of goal that you aim for even it's not literally possible. "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
dhosek was being sarcastic, not Feynman