June 23, 2020

Surely You Are Joking, Mr. Feynman: Entertaining Anecdotes of Nobel Prize's Winner Richard P. Feynman and His Engaging Insights on Life and Physics

7 minutes

This book is about the interesting life of Nobel Prize winner Richard P. Feynman. Richard P. Feynman was acknowledged by many as the most intelligent scientist after Einstein. However, Feynman’s life was not all about physics. His hobbies ranged from cracking open safes and making bets, to playing pandeiro.

Though surprising, this is true. This man, whom Bill Gates and Steve Jobs regarded as an idol, had a mischievous personality and was always full of passion. Since childhood, Feynman was unconventional by nature. The first time the wife of the Dean of the Princeton Graduate College met him, she exclaimed, "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!”

Feynman was born full of curiosity for everything. With his father's guidance and education, he had a strong desire for knowledge since childhood. Although most of the book centers on Feynman's jokes and mischief, between the lines we can see the traces of Feynman's genius.

This book revolves around the anecdotes that occurred in Feynman's life starting from his childhood. He grew up with a persistent personality, being determined to thoroughly figure out all that he was interested in. In addition, he did not study for usefulness, but instead simply for fun. Even when he later joined the "Manhattan Project" that created the atomic bomb, Feynman continued on in his pranking ways.

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