Richard Feynman

Today would have been Richard Feynman's 107th birthday. There was a certain good feeling about reading Godel, Escher, Bach while thinking of him. This was of course a physics Nobel Prize winner who took a year off to study biology while at Cal Tech and almost solved the riddle of the DNA double helix before Watson and Crick did - and he would have too if his year "off" didn't run out.

Feynman was notoriously famous for working on problems like the structure of DNA and then just putting it aside in a file. His file cabinet is said to be chock full of such half-finished problems. I have long thought that a great use for AI would be to put this amazing computing power to work to solve these "files" for the benefit of mankind.

As always I recommend the book Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman in his honor.

I would also recommend the essay What Impossible Meant to Feynman. Often when I learn something new I'd find myself exclaiming "Impossible!"

Richard Feynman

Today would have been the great Richard Feynman's 101st birthday.

To honor him you may want to go out and buy his book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (one of 10 books Tim Ferriss recommends for every entrepreneur).

Here's a nice appreciation of Feynman written in celebration for what would have been his 100th birthday last year.

If you want to feel a tug at your heartstrings - read Feynman's letter to his wife 16 months after her passing. The last line is pure Feynman.

What "Impossible!" meant to Feynman. This article is well worth your time.

Finally, below please find a short film on Feynman and Curiosity. Reid Gower, the filmmaker, also has one on Feynman and Beauty. As well as one on Feynman and Honors. Bravo Mr. Gower - nicely done.

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.