Philosophy
There is no denying that Richard Feynman was an eccentric genius, even by eccentric genius standards. It is just a cold fact of life that most of us will never be quite that creative or productive. Still, that doesn't mean that we couldn't train ourselves to be more like him. To begin with, a substantial percentage of what made him stood out was his refusal to just accept any proposition given to him as obviously true. It doesn't matter if we're talking science, philosophy, art, social mores, etiquette, etc. You don't have to be doing quantum electrodynamics to be like him. If you think anything is obvious in any of the familiar realms above, you're already failing to question and become inquisitive, to ask yourself why such propositions are accepted as true.
And when you combine that curious nature with his scientific integrity: his wholehearted commitment to honesty and the discovery of truth, you end up with a fascinating and thought-provoking little lecture like this:
Check out Feynman speak about his love of the pleasures of discovery.
- Brian Cox's Guide To Quantum Mechanics
Ok, so last time we talked about the properties of light on this blog, in the Light Fantastic documentary series, we saw Thomas Young was able to account for color by arguing that light must be some sort of wave: different frequencies would produce different...
- No Evidence, But Pubically Accepted...richard Feynman's "cargo Cult Science"
"More on the crisis in research: Feynman on 'cargo cult science'" by Michael Hiltzik October 28th, 2013 latimes.com After reading my weekend column about the crisis in life science research, Hajime Hoji of USC's linguistics department reminded...
- Feynman's Physics Lectures...online
"Bill Gates puts Feynman physics lectures online" by Mike Magee July 15th, 2009 TG Daily A collection of lectures delivered by physicist Richard Feynman and privately bought by Microsoft founder Bill Gates have been posted online. Feynman shared...
- "little Things That Jiggle: Richard Feynman And Atomic Physics"
Little Things That Jiggle: Richard Feynman and Atomic Physics is an interesting six minute or so film of a compilation of bits and pieces of public domain film whose central theme revolves around Richard Feynman' physics. It has been posted at various...
- Book Review--"feynman's Rainbow: A Search For Beauty In Physics And In Life"
Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life by Leonard Mlodinow ISBN: 0759547599 "This is another amazing book about the personality and point of views of Richard Feynman. In the early 80’s, Leonard Mlodinow, a recent doctor admitted...
Philosophy
Richard Feynman - Cargo Cult Science
There is no denying that Richard Feynman was an eccentric genius, even by eccentric genius standards. It is just a cold fact of life that most of us will never be quite that creative or productive. Still, that doesn't mean that we couldn't train ourselves to be more like him. To begin with, a substantial percentage of what made him stood out was his refusal to just accept any proposition given to him as obviously true. It doesn't matter if we're talking science, philosophy, art, social mores, etiquette, etc. You don't have to be doing quantum electrodynamics to be like him. If you think anything is obvious in any of the familiar realms above, you're already failing to question and become inquisitive, to ask yourself why such propositions are accepted as true.And when you combine that curious nature with his scientific integrity: his wholehearted commitment to honesty and the discovery of truth, you end up with a fascinating and thought-provoking little lecture like this:
Check out Feynman speak about his love of the pleasures of discovery.
- Brian Cox's Guide To Quantum Mechanics
Ok, so last time we talked about the properties of light on this blog, in the Light Fantastic documentary series, we saw Thomas Young was able to account for color by arguing that light must be some sort of wave: different frequencies would produce different...
- No Evidence, But Pubically Accepted...richard Feynman's "cargo Cult Science"
"More on the crisis in research: Feynman on 'cargo cult science'" by Michael Hiltzik October 28th, 2013 latimes.com After reading my weekend column about the crisis in life science research, Hajime Hoji of USC's linguistics department reminded...
- Feynman's Physics Lectures...online
"Bill Gates puts Feynman physics lectures online" by Mike Magee July 15th, 2009 TG Daily A collection of lectures delivered by physicist Richard Feynman and privately bought by Microsoft founder Bill Gates have been posted online. Feynman shared...
- "little Things That Jiggle: Richard Feynman And Atomic Physics"
Little Things That Jiggle: Richard Feynman and Atomic Physics is an interesting six minute or so film of a compilation of bits and pieces of public domain film whose central theme revolves around Richard Feynman' physics. It has been posted at various...
- Book Review--"feynman's Rainbow: A Search For Beauty In Physics And In Life"
Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life by Leonard Mlodinow ISBN: 0759547599 "This is another amazing book about the personality and point of views of Richard Feynman. In the early 80’s, Leonard Mlodinow, a recent doctor admitted...