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Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

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Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#21

Post by Aeolun »

krastanov wrote: post #4
mkolodny wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You met me at the peak of my career when I seemed to you to be concerned with problems close to the gods." It sounds like Feynman remembered that his student thought highly of the problems he was working on late into his career. Feynman's encouraging his former student, as a recent graduate, to start out with low-hanging fruit. He goes on to describe some of the easier problems that he worked on in the beginning of…

Feynman, like everyone, has his virtues and vices, but humility is definitely not among his strong points. The majority of the stories he tells about himself are anecdotes in which he is the smart person in the room making (maybe lighthearted and friendly) fun of others with a cheaply superficial pretence of humility.

In most cases he probably was the smartest person in the room.

If he managed to stay lighthearted and friendly while making fun of others he’s doing a better job than me, because I’ve lost much of my patience for stupidity.

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#22

Post by erulabs »

petejames wrote: post #18
erulabs wrote: post #2

Great read. I've always loved Feynman - but the word "ego" might apply. "I was working on problems close to the gods", and his list of solved (and to be fair, unsolved) investigations remind me of his "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman". Clearly the most brilliant man, and also clearly with a healthy regard for himself. One has to look out at the world and, taking in the successful and unsuccessful, conclude that som…

True, it's inflated ego which is a problem. From what I've read about Feynman, I doubt his ego was inflated.

Indeed - if anything his ego was _accurate_ - he correctly thought of himself as the smartest in the room. The question is, did his success lead to his ego, or did his ego lead to his success? I certainly do not mean to defame him - I practically worship Feynman - I've just been exploring the idea that a little bit of ego can really aid in accomplishing big tasks.

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#24

Post by theonemind »

erulabs wrote: post #2

Great read. I've always loved Feynman - but the word "ego" might apply. "I was working on problems close to the gods", and his list of solved (and to be fair, unsolved) investigations remind me of his "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman". Clearly the most brilliant man, and also clearly with a healthy regard for himself. One has to look out at the world and, taking in the successful and unsuccessful, conclude that som…

> Too many engineers eschew ego

I'd like to work wherever you do. ;x

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#25

Post by watwut »

Aeolun wrote: post #21
krastanov wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feynman, like everyone, has his virtues and vices, but humility is definitely not among his strong points. The majority of the stories he tells about himself are anecdotes in which he is the smart person in the room making (maybe lighthearted and friendly) fun of others with a cheaply superficial pretence of humility.

In most cases he probably was the smartest person in the room. If he managed to stay lighthearted and friendly while making fun of others he’s doing a better job than me, because I’ve lost much of my patience for stupidity.

I don't know. I remember realizing when reading some of his stories, that they are fun to read but I would find that obnoxious/annoying in person.

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#26

Post by dwaltrip »

glacials wrote: post #14

Can someone explain why Mano's job description prompted this response from Feynman? I don't know enough to understand what this problem is, or why Feynman thinks any person solving it would be sad.

Feynman was sad that Mano seemed to have a low view of himself. He had described his work as trying to solve a “humble and down-to-earth type of problem” — in contrast to the supposedly more majestic problems that he had seen Feynman solve.

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#27

Post by LordHumungous »

erulabs wrote: post #2

Great read. I've always loved Feynman - but the word "ego" might apply. "I was working on problems close to the gods", and his list of solved (and to be fair, unsolved) investigations remind me of his "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman". Clearly the most brilliant man, and also clearly with a healthy regard for himself. One has to look out at the world and, taking in the successful and unsuccessful, conclude that som…

He had a gargantuan ego... and gargantuan accomplishments to back it up. The Michael Jordan of late 20th century physics, in more ways than one.

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#28

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

Aeolun wrote: post #21
krastanov wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feynman, like everyone, has his virtues and vices, but humility is definitely not among his strong points. The majority of the stories he tells about himself are anecdotes in which he is the smart person in the room making (maybe lighthearted and friendly) fun of others with a cheaply superficial pretence of humility.

In most cases he probably was the smartest person in the room. If he managed to stay lighthearted and friendly while making fun of others he’s doing a better job than me, because I’ve lost much of my patience for stupidity.

> In most cases he probably was the smartest person in the room.

Excepting the times, of course, when John von Neumann was there.

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#29

Post by jonahx »

totorovirus wrote: post #8

"You say you are a nameless man. You are not to your wife and to your child. You will not long remain so to your immediate colleagues if you can answer their simple questions when they come into your office. You are not nameless to me. Do not remain nameless to yourself – it is too sad a way to be. Know your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of your naïve ideals of your own youth, nor in t…

As I read it, this letter isn't about the problem of shyness. It's about feeling unsuccessful and unknown ("nameless") because of the small scope of what you're working on.

Re: Do not remain nameless to yourself (1966)

#30

Post by 082349872349872 »

totorovirus wrote: post #8

"You say you are a nameless man. You are not to your wife and to your child. You will not long remain so to your immediate colleagues if you can answer their simple questions when they come into your office. You are not nameless to me. Do not remain nameless to yourself – it is too sad a way to be. Know your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of your naïve ideals of your own youth, nor in t…

It took me a while to realise that following Dijkstra's dictum "do only, what only you can do" not only means tackling intellectual problems that one is uniquely suited to address, but also means being the husband and the father.

(the latter being unique up to isomorphism, but if we're not willing to accept a strict equality, it leads us into Ship of Theseus questions about personal identity...)

TIL Al was not only Feynman's student but also a possible inspiration for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudaemons , upon reading the wonderful:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/10/24/dres...

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