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All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

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Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#21

Post by wallace_f »

arrmn wrote: post #11

On kind of a related note, I've recently read "Surely you're joking mr. Feynman" it's a funny and engaging book. It's really amazing what he was able to learn. Thanks for posting the lectures, I'll take a look.

I quite enjoyed that book, it's one of my favourites, actually.

One part that caught me by surprise was Feynman's praise for the quick decision to use the atomic bomb. That stood out as something in apparent disagreement with the character of his which I learned of, and I didn't know what it was about that that he respected.

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#22

Post by kevinwang »

jayajay wrote: post #16
arrmn wrote: post #11

On kind of a related note, I've recently read "Surely you're joking mr. Feynman" it's a funny and engaging book. It's really amazing what he was able to learn. Thanks for posting the lectures, I'll take a look.

That book was so funny. My favorite is the story where he finds out he can get the radio broadcast an hour early, and so he uses that to troll his relatives into thinking he can predict the outcome. I forget exactly what it was -- a sports game, or something. There was also an interesting one about how he and some of the other physicists tracked the passage of time differently. Like one guy would imagine a little clo…

Yeah, if I recall correctly, he concluded that those who thought visually about the time could do other auditory tasks in parallel, but not visual tasks. The opposite was true for those who thought audio-ly about time.

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#23

Post by ue_ »

sasas wrote: post #18

From the site: However, we want to be clear that this edition is only free to read online, and this posting does not transfer any right to download all or any portion of The Feynman Lectures on Physics for any purpose. [1] Do the content creators understand the basic mechanics of how web browsers work? If someone was to watch the cached video on their drive are they then breaking the policy stated? [1] http://www.fey…

There's always been a disconnect between people who understand technology and people who write disclaimers and laws. Being smart doesn't protect you from doing something which is a violation of the law, even though there may be gray areas. Yes, watching the cached video might be a gray area - but the spirit of the disclaimer is obviously to prevent storing it in such a way that you can't access it unless they can provide it at the point of request.

https://xkcd.com/1494/

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#24

Post by zeroer »

wallace_f wrote: post #21
arrmn wrote: post #11

On kind of a related note, I've recently read "Surely you're joking mr. Feynman" it's a funny and engaging book. It's really amazing what he was able to learn. Thanks for posting the lectures, I'll take a look.

I quite enjoyed that book, it's one of my favourites, actually. One part that caught me by surprise was Feynman's praise for the quick decision to use the atomic bomb. That stood out as something in apparent disagreement with the character of his which I learned of, and I didn't know what it was about that that he respected.

It's been a long time since I've read it, but I'm guessing the saving lives part of dropping the bomb.

Also, they didn't have the norm of a 70 year history of not nuking other countries over disagreements, and had been in a brutal war for years, so they probably though differently about the use of nukes.

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#26

Post by andars »

CaptSpify wrote: post #19
jimhefferon wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are not the Feynman lectures. Are there videos of those?

Is that these? https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLzGzdSNup63lMYeOpU9Hax...

No. The Feynman Lectures were the lectures in his physics classes at Caltech in the 60s. The notes were adapted into the three volumes of the book.

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#27

Post by wallace_f »

zeroer wrote: post #24
wallace_f wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I quite enjoyed that book, it's one of my favourites, actually. One part that caught me by surprise was Feynman's praise for the quick decision to use the atomic bomb. That stood out as something in apparent disagreement with the character of his which I learned of, and I didn't know what it was about that that he respected.

It's been a long time since I've read it, but I'm guessing the saving lives part of dropping the bomb. Also, they didn't have the norm of a 70 year history of not nuking other countries over disagreements, and had been in a brutal war for years, so they probably though differently about the use of nukes.

> It's been a long time since I've read it, but I'm guessing the saving lives part of dropping the bomb.

I wasn't baiting an argument about the bombs, but I just don't want to let it slide by. That is with almost certainty a false claim. I know we don't admit in America that we are capable of producing and consuming propaganda, so it's exceptionally difficult to communicate that idea despite what facts & what leadership at the time said that is in the historical record. Something swept under the rug was that there were many senior military leaders who pleaded to not use the bombs on urban, civilian population centers, at the very least. Also contrary to popular belief, the Japanese leadership was actually desperately looking to find a way out of the war. It was over by that point. Hirohito had no way for his empire to survive, and he selfishly did not want to relinquish his role as emperor (he otherwise offered to surrender if he could).

Feynman wasn't a military general at the time and he likely had no way or time available of knowing the full consequences of use of the bomb.

My high school history textbook told me that the bombs saved lives. President Eisenhower said there was no reason to drop them. There are two sides to that story.

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#28

Post by abecedarius »

wallace_f wrote: post #21
arrmn wrote: post #11

On kind of a related note, I've recently read "Surely you're joking mr. Feynman" it's a funny and engaging book. It's really amazing what he was able to learn. Thanks for posting the lectures, I'll take a look.

I quite enjoyed that book, it's one of my favourites, actually. One part that caught me by surprise was Feynman's praise for the quick decision to use the atomic bomb. That stood out as something in apparent disagreement with the character of his which I learned of, and I didn't know what it was about that that he respected.

Did he praise that decision? I don't remember that, and I do remember him praising the one guy who quit after Germany surrendered -- Feynman said roughly that the rest of them, including himself, kept working without reflecting that their original motive was gone, and that was a mistake.

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#29

Post by wallace_f »

abecedarius wrote: post #28
wallace_f wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I quite enjoyed that book, it's one of my favourites, actually. One part that caught me by surprise was Feynman's praise for the quick decision to use the atomic bomb. That stood out as something in apparent disagreement with the character of his which I learned of, and I didn't know what it was about that that he respected.

Did he praise that decision? I don't remember that, and I do remember him praising the one guy who quit after Germany surrendered -- Feynman said roughly that the rest of them, including himself, kept working without reflecting that their original motive was gone, and that was a mistake.

> Did he praise that decision?

That's the way I remember it, and that's what I thought was so surprising. I remember him saying something close to 'you have all these people's lives on the line and are able to make that decision,' and respecting that ability to make that decision

Re: All of Richard Feynman’s physics lectures are now available free online (2014)

#30

Post by abecedarius »

wallace_f wrote: post #29
abecedarius wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did he praise that decision? I don't remember that, and I do remember him praising the one guy who quit after Germany surrendered -- Feynman said roughly that the rest of them, including himself, kept working without reflecting that their original motive was gone, and that was a mistake.

> Did he praise that decision? That's the way I remember it, and that's what I thought was so surprising. I remember him saying something close to 'you have all these people's lives on the line and are able to make that decision,' and respecting that ability to make that decision

Hmmm, I remember a passage sort of like that: he'd been sent to consult on safety arrangements at Oak Ridge, and concluded that it just couldn't work unless workers there knew something of the nature of the dangerous radioactive materials they were processing. He escalated to a general or some other high military figure, who listened, thought for a couple minutes, and decided right there to do what Feynman recommended. Feynman at the time was a twentysomething just out of grad school, and Oak Ridge was already a big deal.

Does that ring more of a bell? Maybe it's my memory instead, though I've read this book a few times now.

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