Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman

Richard Feynman was a very interesting character and I enjoyed his "autobiography". I use the words in quotations because it was really more a collection of stories. Feynman, along with two others, won the Nobel Prize in 1965 for his work on quantum electrodynamics. But that's barely a blip in the book. In fact I don't think it is even mentioned until there were about 50-pages left in the book.

Feynman was a one-of-a-kind character. A man who was always curious and always learning. As a kid he was interested in how radios worked and soon became the go-to person for adults to see to get their radios fixed (back in the days before TV). While working on the Manhattan Project he became interested in becoming a safe cracker and soon became expert on that too. Drumming, Samba music, Portuguese, Japanese and painting became other interests of his. Can you see why Feynman was considered so unique?

Recently Feynman has come under some criticism because the Don Draper misogyny of the 60's isn't tolerated by today's PC culture. But Feynman was a man of his time and a man who enjoyed the company of beautiful women. I wouldn't hold that against him.

Someday I am interested in trying to make it through the Feynman Lectures on Physics which Cal Tech has been kind enough to post online.

I enjoyed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman and would recommend the book.