Insightology

Richard Feynman was one of the pre-eminent physicists of the 20^th century. The leader of the Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheimer, had described him as the most brilliant young physicist, even among the elite group that came together to work on the bomb. While his primary contribution was to help physicists understand and think about physics in a new way, he also had several other noteworthy contributions such as pioneering the thinking on superconductivity and nanotechnology. Ultimately what made him famous to people outside physics were exploits in a wide range of fields and a quirkily unconventional personality. Considering the other things he has dabbled in, contributed to or mastered, it is very hard to imagine that he was also a Nobel prize-winning physicist for whom the word genius was considered acceptable even in the rarified air of particle physics. Two very different books provide insight into the personality and science of Richard Feynman. If you want an easy, funny read, go with "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!" that he himself wrote. For a much more comprehensive immersion into the Feynman biography it's hard to beat James Gleick's account Genius - The Life and Science of Richard Feynman.

"Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman"  is a series of vignettes narrated by Feynman starting with his early life in New York through MIT, Princeton, Los Alamos during the war for building the bomb, then to Cornell and finally Caltech. The subtitle is "Adventures of a Curious Character" and it lives up to its billing as Feynman explains everything from his perspective. It is a very conversational book where is easy to get absorbed into the adventures and not realize that the author is operating at a different intellectual level than the reader. Then he talks about learning trigonometry by himself complete with self created symbols, or explaining calculus to much older students and you realize who you are dealing with. But the vast majority of the book is focused on his experience of the world and hence provides an enjoyable read and a unique perspective into this wonderful life.

Genius on the other hand is a real biography. James Gleick is a terrific science writer and has a worthy subject in Feynman. As Gleick explains, while Feynman was a great physicist what makes him a compelling figure is all the other exploits that surround him. Here are some examples. Once during a sabbatical he learned enough biology to make a real contribution to genetic mutation. His thoughts on very small machines led to the field of nanotechnology. He experimented with consciousness and hallucinations in various times of his life. He learned how to pick locks, crack safes and make metal stick to plastic. He once drew a design for a nuclear powered rocket that was plausible enough that the government immediately classified it. He trained dogs to do counter-intuitive tricks and taught himself to track people like a bloodhound. He taught himself to mimic foreign languages, mentally keep track of time and, of course, do calculus in his head. He taught himself to become a skilled enough drummer who could impress even classically trained musicians.

This was a life that was lived in full. Feynman was famous within the physics community when he was a young scientist. His multifaceted personality started becoming famous to people outside physics as he got older. He became a household name in the wake of the space shuttle Challenger disaster when he demonstrated the cause by simply dipping a piece of rubber in ice water. This was when he was suffering from cancer just a couple of years before his passing in 1988.                   

You can get a flavor of Feynman from the movie Infinity where Matthew Broderick and Patricia Arquette play the young scientist and his wife. Click here  for a full collection of Feynman related stuff.