Over the past seven months I have had a lot of free time, and I have passed much of that time reading. Since I’ll be starting school up again in a month, I’ve decided to exercise my fuzzy brain by writing some casual reviews of some of my favorite books of the recent past. And because I have nothing else to blog about these days.
Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character” By Richard Feynman
While I am the first to admit I am completely incompetent and lost when it comes to science, and more so math, I am absolutely fascinated by it. Especially when it is presented in layman’s terms. This interest is probably heightened because the subject matter is such a mystery to me…it’s almost magical!
This book is an autobiography by Richard Feynman, a Nobel prize-winning physicist who was involved in the Manhattan Project (development of the atomic bomb during WWII). At some point during the project, Feynman and many of his fellow scientist began to realize the implications of their research, and his moral struggles are fascinating to read about. And because there’s no way I’m going to thumb through the book in order to recall his achievements in physics, Wikipedia told me this about him:
“…known for the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as work in particle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965…”
Anyone who can explain physics in a way that makes sense and even blows my mind is a genius. This guy is a genius. He’s even an amazing writer…what CAN’T he do?!
But, the best parts of the book are not the scientific descriptions, but the touching, humorous anecdotes of his life that literally made me l.o.l. I l.o.led in cafes, I l.o.l.ed late at night in bed when I literally couldn’t put the book down. It was just wonderful.
He had a passion for safecracking and drumming, likes topless bars and playing practical jokes on his friends and fellow scientists, which made him a well-rounded person indeed. Unfortunately, his romantic life was never as successful as his career; one might argue his over stimulated mind and hectic life left no room for keeping a consistent relationship. Poor Richard.
But, at the end of the day, his life was the perfect combination of inspiring, serious dedication to science, and vitality for carefree, enjoyable living with a quest for adventure, knowledge and new hobbies to explore. What a man. Oh, and if I had been around in his time, I would have called him a babe.
Feynman and his Bongos
It doesn't seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all their motions, and so on, all this complicated thing can merely be a stage so that God can watch human beings struggle for good and evil — which is the view that religion has. The stage is too big for the drama.
(1959), quoted by James Gleick in Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman (1992)
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