> Know how to solve every problem that has been solved.
I wonder how developers nowadays can related to that since -some of them- relate on AI to watch it doing their craft.
Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
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Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#162> Know how to solve every problem that has been solved. I wonder how developers nowadays can related to that since -some of them- relate on AI to watch it doing their craft.
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Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#163> Know how to solve every problem that has been solved. I wonder how developers nowadays can related to that since -some of them- relate on AI to watch it doing their craft.
They don't, and they can't. They don't even know that they can't.
The mathematics mindset and the programming mindset could not be more different.
Writing a mathematical proof is similar to writing everything from scratch each time.
However, and this is a serious affirmation: learning to write mathematical proofs will make anyone a much better developer, because of the changes in the mental processes involved in the creation and expression of ideas.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
> to be honest, he's probably not in the top 10 physicists of the 20th century Who would you put in the top 10 ahead of him?
Without the 20th century restriction, she rants against the list "Einstein. Newton. Feynman." She says, "The list should be: Newton, Maxwell, Einstein. The answer is Maxwell, if you're making this list, right? James Clerk Maxwell, his complete theory of electrodynamics, the best, most important thing to come out of the 1800s in physics. It's Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, okay? Like Feynman is great, but he's not up ther…
I would agree that Maxwell belongs above Feynman if we're talking about modern physicists and not limiting ourselves to the 20th century.
What really amazes me is that Maxwell got as far as he did with the incredibly clunky notation he was using. Our modern notation, IIRC, is due to Heaviside, and was a huge improvement.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
Love his books! Although, it seems like he’s getting a bad rep these days. How did that happen? PS: I’m referring to that video that pops up on top when you google him for example.
All the first page results of my Google search are positive, except for the one video (not near the top of the results) that has a provocative title but is 2 hours long. I’m not going to watch that. Can you link to the negative stuff you’re seeing?
That is the one I was talking about. Watching the first 5 minutes is enough I think.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm reminded of a passage from the last psychiatrist blog: “One of the great insights of psychoanalysis is that you never really want an object, you only want the wanting, which means the solution is to set your sights on an impossible ideal and work hard to reach it. You won’t. That’s not just okay, that’s the point. It’s ok if you fantasize about knowing kung fu if you then try to actually learn kung fu, eventually…
I once wanted to learn how to change the oil in my car. I learned, and then I changed the oil in my car. It was never about wanting to want to learn about my car.
Of course, some desires are straightforward. But if every want was just about the thing itself, marketing departments would be out of a job.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#167> Know how to solve every problem that has been solved. I wonder how developers nowadays can related to that since -some of them- relate on AI to watch it doing their craft.
They don't, and they can't. They don't even know that they can't. The mathematics mindset and the programming mindset could not be more different. Writing a mathematical proof is similar to writing everything from scratch each time. However, and this is a serious affirmation: learning to write mathematical proofs will make anyone a much better developer, because of the changes in the mental processes involved in the…
What? Every mathematical proof is built on top of other proofs, especially when you look at research that is happening today.
Mathematics and Computer Science mindsets are closer than most other pairs of academic streams. There’s a reason why so many universities have their CS departments under their Math Departments.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#168His 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.
> "What I cannot teach, I do not understand" And the corollary to that, from 17th century French writer Nicolas Boileau: "Ce que l'on conçoit bien s'énonce clairement, et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément." - What we understand well, we express clearly, and words to describe it flow easily.
He was a life long teacher so if he believed teaching is understanding, he'd have said so.
Making or building is a much deeper level of understanding in real life than teaching would ever be, ergo - those who can't do, teach.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#169He was a con artist with a Nobel Prize.
Re: Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "What I cannot teach, I do not understand" And the corollary to that, from 17th century French writer Nicolas Boileau: "Ce que l'on conçoit bien s'énonce clairement, et les mots pour le dire arrivent aisément." - What we understand well, we express clearly, and words to describe it flow easily.
He was a life long teacher so if he believed teaching is understanding, he'd have said so. Making or building is a much deeper level of understanding in real life than teaching would ever be, ergo - those who can't do, teach.
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