Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Feynman Parts 1-3

    Feynman's childlike interjections, prevalent in his description of his childhood, are especially powerful.  These interjections are just the basis of the point I would like to make, though.  Feyman's remarks that certain concepts were "sensational" or "great" seem to follow him beyond simply his childhood.  His passion for science is obvious and believable.  Feyman's autobiography is written in an engaging, conversational tone.  We finally have a scientist that seems like he's talking to/for us! And he's good at it, too.
       Although it seems cryptic, I think Feynman has a fairly specific point that he makes in his opening chapters.  With his experiences, from impressing a man by fixing a radio to annoying his coworkers at a hotel, Feyman is sharing with us an odd and undesirable characteristic that many humans have: We give up. Feyman's ability to think through problems, without taking constant action, seems to be one of his best qualities as a scientist.  And yet, people in his life are sometimes astounded by this quality and sometimes ignorant of its worth.  This "every problem has a solution" is the driving force behind Feyman's passion for science.  On the other hand, these struggles help Feyman realize the difficulty in innovation.  As a scientist, does your work truly help if it cannot be understood by others?  I see a glimpse of McClintock in this question.   Feyman's belief that some people can learn, but not apply learned material, is interesting.  Maybe the difficulty in innovation is not in the explanation of concepts, but in the inability of some to apply knowledge to practical situations.

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