Best of Feynman

Best of Feynman
Summaries, Takeaways & Recommendations
Compiled by @BooksWisdom
Amusing Anecdotes of Feynman

Best of Feynman: Summaries, Takeaways & Recommendations
And the best thing to do is to relax and enjoy

this:
the tiny-ness of us, and the

enormity of the rest of the universe.
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Table of Contents
A Timeline of Feynman’s Life and Work 3

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! By Richard Feynman 4
What Do You Care What Other People Think? 7
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out 9
Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Richard
Feynman 14
100 Mental models 16
Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track 17
More Book Recommendations 22
Famous Speeches by Feynman 23
Lectures, Talks and Videos available for FREE 29
The Feynman Technique: The Most Effective Way to Learn 30
Tools Recommended 31
The Feynman Lectures on Physics for FREE 33
Courtesy: Caltech Archives for images and transcripts used in the book.
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A Timeline of Feynman’s Life and Work:
● 1918 Feynman is born in Queens, NYC

● 1933 Feynman taught himself trigonometry, advanced algebra, infinite series,
analytic geometry, and integral and differential calculus.
● 1936 Feynman is turned down from Columbia because they've already
fulfilled their Jewish quota for the year. He goes to MIT instead
● 1936-1939 Feynman switches from majoring in mathematics to electrical
engineering to physics
● 1939 Feynman aces the Princeton entrance exam in physics but does poorly
on history and English. Again, he was almost not let in because he was Jewish
(although a professed atheist)
● 1939 Feynman had a seminar with Einstein. The rules of his scholarship
dictate he may not be married to his sweetheart, who is dying of tuberculosis
● 1941 Feynman is recruited to the Manhattan Project
● 1942 Having received his doctorate, Feynman marries Arlene Greenbaum in
the city office with no friends or family present.
● 1943 A bored Feynman takes up lock-picking as a hobby, breaking into top
secret areas for fun
● 1944 Fellow physicist Klaus Fuchs speculates Feynman may be a spook which
ensures the FBI gets a full file on Feynman. It is later revealed to be Fuchs that
was the spook
● 1945 Feynman's wife Arlene dies. The first atom bomb is tested
● 1949 Feynman returns from Rio with a Brazilian girl and a new passion for
bongo drums. He is still of high interest to the FBI
● 1952 Feynman marries Mary Bell. They divorce in 1958
● 1953 Feynman starts teaching at Caltech
● 1960 Feynman creates a now famous curriculum overhaul which survives as
The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
marries Gweneth Howarth
● 1960s Feynman begins granting interviews that become Surely You're Joking,
Mr Feynman!
● 1965 Feynman wins The Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Sin-Itiro
Tomonaga and Julian Schwinger “for their fundamental work in quantum
electrodynamics.”
● 1988 Feynman dies after a ten year battle with cancer.
His last words were "I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring."
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Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! By

Richard Feynman
Reader’s reflections
Wonderfully personal, detailed, and amusing account of many of

Feynman's famous stories.
Fun anecdotes. Very enjoyable read.
Notes Buy this book
Mischief big part of his personality.
Obsessed with radios as a young kid and figured out how to build
and fix broken ones.
When you say, “I could do that, but I won’t” - it’s just another way of saying that you
can’t.
“I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by understanding,
they learn by some other way — by rote or something.
Their knowledge is so fragile!”
Sees things so logically and is so curious that it causes problems often and puts
him in difficult situations. Hates arrogant fools more than anything
“But you have to have absolute confidence. Keep right on going, and nothing will
happen.”
Wins the Nobel Prize but doesn’t want to deal with all the hassle but ends up
accepting it.
Simply an incredibly curious person who enjoyed solving things and being with
other people. Seemed very pragmatic and disliked arrogance of any kind
“They had wasted all their time memorizing stuff like that, when it could be looked
up in fifteen minutes.”
Becomes incredibly skilful at cracking safes.
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“So I have just one wish for you— the good luck to be somewhere where you are free
to maintain the kind of integrity I have described, and where you do not feel forced
by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support, or so
on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom.”
“After a lot of investigation, I finally figured out that the students had memorized
everything, but they didn’t know what anything meant.
When they heard “light that is reflected from a medium with an index,” they didn’t
know that it meant a material such as water.
They didn’t know that the “direction of the light” is the direction in which you see
something when you’re looking at it, and so on.
Everything was entirely memorized, yet nothing had been translated into meaningful
words. So if I asked, “What is Brewster’s Angle?” I’m going into the computer with
the right keywords.
But if I say, “Look at the water,” nothing happens— they don’t have anything under
“Look at the water!””
“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to
accomplish.I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake,
not my failing.”
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself— and you are the easiest person
to fool. ”
Feynman’s Los Alamos ID Badge

Photo
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“Fall in love with some activity, and do it!
Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it
doesn’t matter. Explore the world.
Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it
deeply enough.
Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things
you like to do the best. Don’t think about what you
want to be, but what you want to do.
Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so
that society doesn’t stop you from doing anything at
all.”
[Richard P. Feynman]
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What Do You Care What Other People

Think? by Richard Feynman & Ralph
Leighton
Reader’s reflections Buy this book
Filled with funny and thought-provoking stories from

Feynman's "adventures."
Time on NASA exploring the Challenger disaster.
The stories of his childhood, how he got interested in science,

and the role his dad played in inspiring his curiosity.
Notes
Dad read encyclopedia out loud to him. Translated what he read into the reality
around then young Feynman.
Learned to translate what he read into what it really means in the physical world.
“I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and
knowing something.”
Mom taught him that the highest forms of understanding we can achieve are laughter
and human compassion.
“Have no respect whatsoever for AUTHORITY.

FORGET who said it and instead look at what he starts with, where he ends up, and
ask yourself, “Is it reasonable?””
“Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things you like to do the best.”
“Don't think about what you want to be, but what you want to do.”
“Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so that society doesn't stop you
from doing anything at all.”
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On the NASA Challenger Disaster
“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations,
Nature cannot be fooled.”
Richard Feynman’s Love Letter to Arline

(Sixteen months after her death)
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The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
The book includes exceedingly funny tales from his early

years as a student and the experiments that he undertook at
that age.
Feynman was famously eccentric and varied in his hobbies.
He played the bongos, spent years as an artist drawing nude

models, and cracked a safe with top secret information about
the atomic bomb inside.
Notes
The first way in which science is of value is familiar to everyone. It is that scientific
knowledge enables us to do all kinds of things and to make all kinds of things. Of
course if we make good things, it is not only to the credit of science; it is also to the
credit of the moral choice which led us to good work.
Scientific knowledge is an enabling power to do either good or bad — but it does not
carry instructions on how to use it. Such power has evident value — even though the
power may be negated by what one does.
I learned a way of expressing this common human problem on a trip to Honolulu. In

a Buddhist temple there, the man in charge explained a little bit about the Buddhist
religion for tourists, and then ended his talk by telling them he had something to say
to them that they would never forget — and I have never forgotten it. It was a proverb
of the Buddhist religion:
“To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of
hell.”
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I don’t see that it makes any point that someone in the Swedish academy just decides
that this work is noble enough to receive a prize — I’ve already gotten the prize.
The prize is the pleasure of finding a thing out, the kick in the discovery, the
observation that other people use it — those are the real things. The honors are
unreal to me. I don’t believe in honors.
On The Making Of The Atomic Bomb
“The original reason to start the project, which was that the Germans were a danger,
started me off on a process of action[…] at Los Alamos, to try to make the bomb
work. […] It was a project on which we all worked very, very hard, all cooperating
together. And with any project like that you continue to work trying to get success,
having decided to do it.
But what I did – immorally I would say – was to not remember the reason that I said
I was doing it, so that when the reason changed, because Germany was defeated, not
the singlest thought came to my mind at all about that, that that meant now that I
have to reconsider why I am continuing to do this. I simply didn’t think, okay?”
On Beauty of a Flower
“I have a friend who's an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don't agree
with very well. He'll hold up a flower and say "look how beautiful it is," and I'll agree.
Then he says "I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take
this all apart and it becomes a dull thing," and I think that he's kind of nutty.
First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I
believe. Although I may not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is ... I can
appreciate the beauty of a flower.
At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the
cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it's
not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there's also beauty at smaller
dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colors in the
flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; it means that
insects can see the color. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the
lower forms? Why is it aesthetic?
All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the
excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower.It only adds. I don't understand how
it subtracts.”
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On Doubt & Uncertainty
“We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and there is no
learning. There is no learning without having to pose a question. And a question
requires doubt. People search for certainty. But there is no certainty.
People are terrified — how can you live and not know? It is not odd at all. You only
think you know, as a matter of fact. And most of your actions are based on
incomplete knowledge and you really don't know what it is all about, or what the
purpose of the world is, or know a great deal of other things. It is possible to live and
not know.”
“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it's much more
interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong.”
Feynman’s drawings (curated by his daughter Michelle)
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“The things that mattered were honesty,
independence, willingness to admit ignorance.”
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Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics

Explained by Richard Feynman
Key principles that Feynman covers in his classic lectures of

Physics.
A fun introductory lesson into some key physics ideas and into
Feynman’s thinking process.
Notes
We learn how all physics is rooted in the notion of law—the

existence of an ordered universe that can be understood by the
application of rational reasoning. However, the laws of physics are not transparent to
us in our direct observations of nature.
Physics is continually linked to other sciences while leaving the reader in no

doubt about which is the fundamental discipline.
Feynman diagrams are a symbolic but powerfully heuristic way of picturing what
is going on when electrons, photons, and other particles interact with each other.
These days Feynman diagrams are a routine aid to calculation, but in the early
1950s they marked a startling departure from the traditional way of doing theoretical
physics.
Feynman was a theoretical physicist par excellence.Newton had been both

experimentalist and theorist in equal measure. Einstein was quite simply
contemptuous of experiment, preferring to put his faith in pure thought.
Feynman was driven to develop a deep theoret‐ical understanding of nature, but he
always remained close to the real and often grubby world of experimental results.
Feynman could read nature like a book and simply report on what he found, without
the tedium of complex analysis.
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Each piece, or part, of the whole of nature is always merely an approximation to the
complete truth, or the complete truth so far as we know it. In fact,everything we
know is only some kind of approximation, because we know that we do not know all
the laws as yet.
Therefore, things must be learned only to be unlearned again or, more likely, to be
corrected. The principle of science, the definition, almost, is the following: The test
of all knowledge is experiment.
If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed,and only one
sentence passed on to the next generations of creatures,what statement would
contain the most information in the fewest words?
I believe it is the atomic hypothesis (or the atomic fact, or whatever you wish to
call it) that all things are made of atoms—little particles that move around in
perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but
repelling upon being squeezed into one another. In that one sentence, you will see,
there is an enormous amount of information about the world, if just a little
imagination and thinking are applied.
The difference between solids and liquids is, then, that in a solid the atoms are
arranged in some kind of an array, called a crystalline array, and they do not have a
random position at long distances; the position of the atoms on one side of the
crystal is determined by that of other atoms millions of atoms away on the other side
of the crystal.
Most simple substances, with the exception of water and type metal, expand upon
melting, because the atoms are closely packed in the solid crystal and upon melt‐
ing need more room to jiggle around, but an open structure collapses, as in the
case of water.
As we decrease the temperature, the vibration decreases and decreases until, at

absolute zero, there is a minimum amount of vibration that the atoms can have,
but not zero. This minimum amount of motion that atoms can have is not enough
to melt a substance, with one exception: helium.
Helium merely decreases the atomic motions as much as it can, but even at absolute
zero there is still enough motion to keep it from freezing.
Helium, even at absolute zero, does not freeze, unless the pressure is made so great
as to make the atoms squash together. If we increase the pressure, we can make it
solidify.
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There is a rule in quantum mechanics that says that one cannot know both where
something is and how fast it is moving.
Better to have a jumbled bag of tricks than one orthodox tool – imprecise
shortcuts and hacks are more effective than rigid planning.
Nature does not care what we call it, she just keeps on doing it.
If our small minds, for some convenience, divide this glass of wine, this universe,
into parts—physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology, and so on—remember
that nature does not know it!
So let us put it all back together, not forgetting ultimately what it is for.
100 MENTAL MODELS
Mental models are the most important ideas of

each science: philosophy, mathematics, physics,
statistics, engineering, chemistry, biology,
psychology, economics and history
Understand the big ideas from big disciplines.
Get your copy of the “100 Mental Models”
Make Better Decisions.
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Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the

Beaten Track
(The Letters of Richard Feynman)
“This collection of letters shows us for the first time the son caring for
his father and mother, the father caring for his wife and children, the
teacher caring for his students, the writer replying to people throughout
the world who wrote to him about their problems and received his full and
undivided attention.” —Freeman Dyson, [Fellow of Royal Society]
Noteworthy Letters
→ Letter to a former student Koichi Mano, Feb 3, 1966
A former student wrote to extend his congratulations. Feynman responded, asking

Mr. Mano what he was now doing. The response: “studying the Coherence theory
with some application to the propagation of electromagnetic waves through
turbulent atmosphere. . . a humble and down-to-the-earth type of problem.”
Dear Koichi,
I was very happy to hear from you, and that you have such a position in the Research
Laboratories. Unfortunately your letter made me unhappy for you seem to be truly
sad. It seems that the influence of your teacher has been to give you a false idea of
what are worthwhile problems.
The worthwhile problems are the ones you can really solve or help solve,
the ones you can really contribute something to.
A problem is grand in science if it lies before us unsolved and we see some way for us
to make some headway into it. I would advise you to take even simpler, or as you say,
humbler, problems until you find some you can really solve easily, no matter how
trivial.
You will get the pleasure of success, and of helping your fellow man, even if it is only
to answer a question in the mind of a colleague less able than you. You must not take
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away from yourself these pleasures because you have some erroneous idea of what is
worthwhile.
You met me at the peak of my career when I seemed to you to be concerned with
problems close to the gods. But at the same time I had another Ph.D. Student (Albert
Hibbs) was on how it is that the winds build up waves blowing over water in the sea. I
accepted him as a student because he came to me with the problem he wanted to
solve.
With you I made a mistake, I gave you the problem instead of letting you find your
own; and left you with a wrong idea of what is interesting or pleasant or important to
work on (namely those problems you see you may do something about). I am sorry,
excuse me. I hope by this letter to correct it a little.
I have worked on innumerable problems that you would call humble, but which I
enjoyed and felt very good about because I sometimes could partially succeed. For
example, experiments on the coefficient of friction on highly polished surfaces, to try
to learn something about how friction worked (failure).
Or, how elastic properties of crystals depends on the forces between the atoms in
them, or how to make electroplated metal stick to plastic objects (like radio knobs)..
General theory of how to fold paper to make a certain type of child’s toy (called
flexagons). The energy levels in the light nuclei. The theory of turbulence (I have
spent several years on it without success). Plus all the “grander” problems of
quantum theory.
No problem is too small or too trivial if we can really do something about

it.
You say you are a nameless man. You are not to your wife and to your child. You will
not long remain so to your immediate colleagues if you can answer their simple
questions when they come into your office. You are not nameless to me. Do not
remain nameless to yourself – it is too sad a way to be. now your place in the world
and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of your naïve ideals of your own youth, nor
in terms of what you erroneously imagine your teacher’s ideals are.
Best of luck and happiness.
Sincerely,
Richard P. Feynman.
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→ Letter to James Watson about his book The Double Helix, Feb 10, 1967
Early in 1967, while both visiting the University of Chicago, James Watson gave
Feynman a copy of the manuscript for the book that would later be published
as The Double Helix.They had met when Watson visited Caltech to give lectures on
the coding systems of DNA. The following letter was Feynman’s reaction.
Don’t let anybody criticize that book who hasn’t read it thru to the end. Its apparent
minor faults and petty gossipy incidents fall into place as deeply meaningful and
vitally necessary to your work (the book — the literary work I mean) as one comes to
the end.
From the irregular trivia of ordinary life mixed with a bit of scientific doodling and
failure, to the intense dramatic concentration as one closes in on the truth and the
final elation (plus with gradually decreasing frequency, the sudden sharp pangs of
doubt) — that is how science is done. I recognize my own experiences with discovery
beautifully (and perhaps for the first time!) described as the book nears its close.
There it is utterly accurate.
And the entire ‘novel’ has a master plot and a deep unanswered human question at
the end: Is the sudden transformation of all the relevant scientific characters from
petty people to great and selfless men because they see together a beautiful corner of
nature unveiled and forget themselves in the presence of the wonder? Or is it because
our writer suddenly sees all his characters in a new and generous light because he has
achieved success and confidence in his work, and himself?
Don’t try to resolve it. Leave it that way. Publish with as little change as possible. The
people who say “that is not how science is done” are wrong.
In the early parts you describe the impression by one nervous young man imputing
motives (possibly entirely erroneous) on how the science is done by the men around
him. (I myself have not had the kind of experiences with my colleagues to lead me to
think their motives were often like those you describe — I think you may be wrong —
but I don’t know the individuals you knew — but no matter, you describe your
impressions as a young man.)
But when you describe what went on in your head as the truth haltingly staggers
upon you and passes on, finally fully recognized, you are describing how science is
done. I know, for I have had the same beautiful and frightening experience.
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→ Letter to Mike Flasar (now a NASA Scientist, then a student), Nov 9, 1966
Mr. Mike Flasar

Boston, Massachusetts
Dear Sir:
The information you have about the number and need for theoretical
and experimental physicists is quite correct.The B in mathematics is of no
consequence, as that kind of mathematics, although popular, is not really
necessary in physics, theoretical or experimental.
Work hard to find something that fascinates you.When you find it you
will know your lifework.
A man may be digging a ditch for someone else, or because he is forced to, or is
stupid—such a man is “toolish”—but another working even harder may not be
recognized as different by the bystanders—but he may be digging for treasure. So dig
for treasure and when you find it you will know what to do.
In the meantime, you don’t need to make the decision—steer your practical affairs so
the alternatives remain open to you. In any of the graduate schools you mentioned
there is always the opportunity to change from theory to experimental or vice versa
at any time.
While looking for what fascinates you, don’t entirely neglect the possibility that it
may be found outside of physics.The man happy in his work is not the narrow
specialist, nor the well-rounded man, but the man who is doing what he loves to
do.You must fall in love with some activity.
Yours sincerely,
Richard P. Feynman
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Dancing with
Gweneth at the Nobel
Ceremonies.
Interacting with
students during the
coffee break.
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More Book Recommendations
→ The Feynman Lectures on Physics Buy this book
The legendary introduction to physics from the subject's

greatest teacher.
Ranging from the most basic principles of Newtonian physics through
such formidable theories as general relativity and quantum
mechanics,
Feynman's lectures stand as a monument of clear exposition and deep

insight.
→ Feynman's Tips on Physics Buy this book
Advice, Insights, Practice - Problem-Solving Supplement to the

Feynman Lectures on Physics.
Feynman discusses topics physics students often struggle with and

offers valuable tips on addressing them.
Included here are three lectures on problem-solving and a lecture on
inertial guidance omitted from The Feynman Lectures on Physics.
→ Genius: by James Gleick Buy this book
A biography—which was nominated for a National Book Award.
Gleick goes into the fascinating history, personality, and

accomplishments of Richard P. Feynman
Feynman struggled for a long time to figure out which problems to

work on. He rarely pursued ideas to their end, even when he was
encouraged to do so and the results would likely to lead to
breakthrough findings and research papers.
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Famous Speeches by Feynman
→ Cargo Cult Science [Caltech’s 1974 commencement address.]
Some remarks on science, pseudoscience, and learning how to not fool

yourself.
During the Middle Ages there were all kinds of crazy ideas, such as that a piece of
rhinoceros horn would increase potency.
Then a method was discovered for separating the ideas—which was to try one to see
if it worked, and if it didn’t work, to eliminate it. This method became organized, of
course, into science.
And it developed very well, so that we are now in the scientific age. It is such a
scientific age, in fact, that we have difficulty in understanding howwitch doctors
could ever have existed, when nothing that they proposed ever really worked—or very
little of it did.
And I think ordinary people with commonsense ideas are intimidated by

this pseudoscience.
A teacher who has some good idea of how to teach her children to read is forced by
the school system to do it some other way—or is even fooled by the school system
into thinking that her method is not necessarily a good one.
Or a parent of bad boys, after disciplining them in one way or another, feels guilty for
the rest of her life because she didn’t do “the right thing,” according to the experts.
So we really ought to look into theories that don’t work, and science that
isn’t science.
I think the educational and psychological studies I mentioned are examples of what I
would like to call Cargo Cult Science.
In the South Seas there is a Cargo Cult of people. During the war they saw airplanes
land with lots of good materials, and they want the same thing to happen now.
So they’ve arranged to make things like runways, to put fires along the sides of the
runways, to make a wooden hut for a man to sit in, with two wooden pieces on his
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head like headphones and bars of bamboo sticking out like antennas—he’s the
controller—and they wait for the airplanes to land.
They’re doing everything right. The form is perfect. It looks exactly the way it looked
before. But it doesn’t work. No airplanes land.
So I call these things Cargo Cult Science, because they follow all the apparent
precepts and forms of scientific investigation, but they’re missing something
essential, because the planes don’t land.
Scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of

utter honesty—a kind of leaning over backwards.
For example, if you’re doing an experiment, you should report everything that
you think might make it invalid—not only what you think is right about it: other
causes that could possibly explain your results; and things you thought of that you’ve
eliminated by some other experiment, and how they worked—to make sure the other
fellow can tell they have been eliminated.
Details that could throw doubt on your interpretation must be given, if you know
them. You must do the best you can—if you know anything at all wrong, or possibly
wrong—to explain it.
If you make a theory, for example, and advertise it, or put it out, then you must also
put down all the facts that disagree with it, as well as those that agree with it. There
is also a more subtle problem.
When you have put a lot of ideas together to make an elaborate theory, you want to
make sure, when explaining what it fits, that those things it fits are not just the things
that gave you the idea for the theory; but that the finished theory makes something
else come out right, in addition.
In summary, the idea is to try to give all of the information to help others to judge the
value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgment in one
particular direction or another.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the
easiest person to fool.
So you have to be very careful about that. After you’ve not fooled yourself, it’s easy
not to fool other scientists. You just have to be honest in a conventional way after
that.
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So I wish to you—I have no more time, so I have just one wish for you—the good luck
to be somewhere where you are free to maintain the kind of integrity I have
described, and where you do not feel forced by a need to maintain your position in
the organization, or financial support, or so on, to lose your integrity.
May you have that freedom.
Read the complete speech here.
→ Seeking New Laws
[Messenger Lectures on “The Character of Physical Law” at Cornell University on

November 9, 1964]
What I want to talk to you about tonight is strictly speaking not on the character of
physical laws.
But I don’t want to talk about nature, but rather how we stand relative to nature now.
I want to tell you what we think we know and what there is to guess and how one
goes about guessing it.
First of all is matter, and remarkably enough, all matter is the same. The matter of
which the stars are made is known to be the same as the matter on the earth, by the
character of the light that’s emitted by those stars– they give a kind of fingerprint, by
which you can tell that it’s the same kind of atoms in the stars.
As on the earth, the same kind of atoms appear to be in living creatures as in

non-living creatures. Frogs are made out of the same goop in a different arrangement
than rocks.
So that makes our problem simpler. We have nothing but atoms, all the same,
everywhere. And the atoms all seem to be made from the same general constitution.
They have a nucleus, and around the nucleus there are electrons.
Now I’m going to discuss how we would look for a new law. In general, we look
for a new law by the following process.
First, we guess it.
Then, we compute– well, don’t laugh, that’s really true.
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Then we compute the consequences of the guess, to see what, if this is right, if this
law that we guessed is right, we see what it would imply.
And then we compare those computation results to nature. Or we say, compare to

experiment or experience. Compare it directly with observation, to see if it works.
If it disagrees with experiment, it’s wrong. And that simple statement is the
key to science. It doesn’t make any difference how beautiful your guess is, it doesn’t
make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is. If
it disagrees with experiment, it’s wrong. That’s all there is to it.
Incidentally, some people, one of the ways of stopping the science would be to only
do experiments in the region where you know the laws.
But the experimenters search most diligently and with the greatest effort in exactly
those places where it seems most likely that we can prove their theories wrong.
In other words, we’re trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible
It’s therefore not unscientific to take a guess, although many people who are not in
science think it is. For instance, I had a conversation about flying saucers some years
ago with laymen.
Because I’m scientific, I know all about flying saucers. So I said, I don’t think there
are flying saucers. So my antagonist said, is it impossible that there are flying
saucers? Can you prove that it’s impossible? I said, no, I can’t prove it’s impossible,
it’s just very unlikely.
What is it about nature that lets this happen, that it’s possible to guess from one part
what the rest is going to do? That’s an unscientific question, what is it about nature. I
don’t know how to answer.
And I’m going to give therefore an unscientific answer. I think it is because nature
has a simplicity and therefore a great beauty.
Thank you very much.
[TEXT] Read the transcript of the speech here.
[VIDEO] Watch the complete speech here.
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26
→ There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom
[This transcript of the classic talk that Richard Feynman gave on December 29th 1959 at the annual
meeting of the American Physical Society at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)]
The principles of physics, as far as I can see do not speak against the possibility
of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any law; it is
something in principle that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done
because we are too big.
I imagine experimental physicists must often look with envy at men like
Kamerlingh Onnes, who discovered a field like low temperature, which seems to
be bottomless and in which one can go down and down. Such a man is then a
leader and has some temporary monopoly in a scientific adventure.
The biological example of writing information on a small scale has inspired me

to think of something that should be possible.
Biology is not simply writing information; it is doing something about it. A biological
system can be exceedingly small. Many of the cells are very tiny, but they are very
active; they manufacture various substances; they walk around; they wiggle; and they
do all kinds of marvelous things — all on a very small scale.
Introducing the concept of nanotechnology in 1959.

Feynman is considered the father of modern nanotechnology.
High school competition
Just for the fun of it, and in order to get kids interested in this field, I would propose
that someone who has some contact with the high schools think of making some kind
of high school competition.
After all, we haven't even started in this field, and even the kids can write smaller
than has ever been written before. They could have competition in high schools. The
Los Angeles high school could send a pin to the Venice high school on which it says,
"How's this?" They get the pin back, and in the dot of the 'i' it says, "Not so hot."
Perhaps this doesn't excite you to do it, and only economics will do so.
Then I want to do something; but I can't do it at the present moment, because I

haven't prepared the ground. It is my intention to offer a prize of $1,000 to the first
guy who can take the information on the page of a book and put it on an area
@BooksWisdom
27
1/25,000 smaller in linear scale in such manner that it can be read by an electron
microscope.
And I want to offer another prize – if I can figure out how to phrase it so that I don't
get into a mess of arguments about definitions – of another $1,000 to the first guy
who makes an operating electric motor – a rotating electric motor which can be
controlled from the outside and, not counting the lead-in wires, is only 1/64 inch
cube.
I do not expect that such prizes will have to wait very long for claimants.
[The tiny motor prize was claimed within a year by a Pasadena electrical engineer named William McLellan.]
[VIDEO] Watch the complete speech here.
[TEXT] Read the transcript of the speech here.
The McLellan Micromotor
The invention is considered a pioneer in the then-novel

field of nanotechnology.
[Feynman to Mclellan]
“Dear Mr. McLellan
I can’t get my mind off the fascinating motor you showed

me Saturday. How could it be made so small?”
@BooksWisdom
28
Lectures, Talks and Videos available for

FREE on Youtube.
→Messenger Lectures on “The Character of Physical Law” at

Cornell University
Feynman's Lectures on Physics - The Law of Gravitation
Feynman's Lectures on Physics - The Relation of Mathematics and Physics
Feynman's Lectures On Physics - The Great Conservation Principles
Feynman's Lectures on Physics - Symmetry in Physical Law
Feynman's Lectures on Physics - The Distinction of Past and Future
Feynman's Lectures on Physics - Probability and Uncertainty
→FUN TO IMAGINE with Richard Feynman Lectures on BBC
The complete FUN TO IMAGINE with Richard Feynman
Feynman's Lost Lecture (ft. 3Blue1Brown)
Richard Feynman Lecture -- "Los Alamos From Below"
Richard Feynman: Can Machines Think? [Artificial Intelligence]
BBC - The Fantastic Mr Feynman
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29
The Feynman Technique: The Most Effective Way to

Learn Anything
There are four key steps to the

Feynman Technique:
1. Choose a concept you want to

learn about
2. Explain it to a 12 year old
3. Identify knowledge gaps
4. Organize, Review and

Simplify
Let’s explore these in more detail
Step 1: Choose a concept you want to learn about.
The first step is to choose a topic you’ve recently studied and/or a topic you’d like to
test your knowledge and understanding.
Step 2: Explain it to a 12-year-old/child
Now that you think you understand a topic reasonably well, explain it to a child.
Try to remove any jargon or complexity.
Only use simple words. Only use words a child would understand.
Step 3: Identify Knowledge Gaps

Go back to the source material, reviewing the parts you don’t quite understand yet.
Repeat until you have a simple explanation.
Step 4: Organize, Review and Simplify
Involves re-organising our thoughts so the explanation flows more naturally and
finishing incomplete thoughts.
The next time you’re listening to someone explain something using jargon or
complicated terms, ask them to explain it in simple terms.
If they get frustrated, it’s a sign they don’t fully understand what they’re talking
about
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30
Tools Recommended
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Twitter growth tool.
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→ Audible
The most important membership you’ll have.
The easiest way to consume books on the go, Audible syncs across all your devices,
has an amazing mobile app and gives you access to everything on Amazon for half the
price of a Netflix membership.
You can get a copy of any book on this list by joining Audible for free. Cancel any
time within 30 days and you’ll pay nothing, plus you get to keep the book.
Limited Time Offer: Includes 1 audiobook of your choice each month and listen all
you want to thousands of Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
No commitments. Cancel anytime.
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31
→ Kindle
Buying a Kindle is one of the best purchases you’ll ever make. If you’re wanting to
read more, you need to get one.
Books on Kindle are usually 30% up to 90% cheaper than the Print Versions, they’re
delivered instantly rather than waiting for postage, you can carry an entire library in
your pocket and you can read a free sample of every book on your device before
purchasing.
Plus if you lose or upgrade your Kindle, you can just immediately load all your
purchases onto a new device from the Amazon cloud.
The basic Kindle is more than good enough and you’ll make your money back on
cheaper books within 6 months, but the Paperwhite and Oasis are both worth it if
you can spare the cash.
Shop Kindle ($79.99)
Shop Kindle Oasis ($279.99)
Shop Kindle Paperwhite ($149.99)
Affiliate Disclaimer
In this guide, I recommend products and services. Some of those recommended products have affiliate links tied to them
meaning if you purchase the product using my link. I receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
Best of Feynman participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to
provide a means for sites to earn advertising commissions by linking to Amazon.
@BooksWisdom
32
The Feynman Lectures on Physics for FREE

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, the most popular physics book ever written, are
completely online.
Read it here:
Volume 1: https://feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_toc.html
Volume 2: https://feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/II_toc.html
Volume 3: https://feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/III_toc.html
Make sure you log back into Gumroad and click the “five stars”
It really helps me out and means a lot to me. 🙏

Please consider donating to support the Feynman project further.
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33
“I... a universe of atoms, an atom in the universe.”
@BooksWisdom
34

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Amusing Anecdotes of Feynman

And the best thing to do is to relax and enjoy

the tiny-ness of us, and the

A Timeline of Feynman’s Life and Work 3

A Timeline of Feynman’s Life and Work:

● 1918 Feynman is born in Queens, NYC

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! By

Wonderfully personal, detailed, and amusing account of many of

Notes Buy this book

Mischief big part of his personality.

Becomes incredibly skilful at cracking safes.

Feynman’s Los Alamos ID Badge

“Fall in love with some activity, and do it!

Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it

doesn’t matter. Explore the world.

Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it

Work as hard and as much as you want to on the things

you like to do the best. Don’t think about what you

want to be, but what you want to do.

Keep up some kind of a minimum with other things so

that society doesn’t stop you from doing anything at

What Do You Care What Other People

Reader’s reflections Buy this book

Filled with funny and thought-provoking stories from

Time on NASA exploring the Challenger disaster.

The stories of his childhood, how he got interested in science,

“Have no respect whatsoever for AUTHORITY.

On the NASA Challenger Disaster

Richard Feynman’s Love Letter to Arline

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

Reader’s reflections Buy this book

The book includes exceedingly funny tales from his early

Feynman was famously eccentric and varied in his hobbies.

He played the bongos, spent years as an artist drawing nude

I learned a way of expressing this common human problem on a trip to Honolulu. In

On The Making Of The Atomic Bomb

On Doubt & Uncertainty

Feynman’s drawings (curated by his daughter Michelle)

“The things that mattered were honesty,

independence, willingness to admit ignorance.”

Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics

Reader’s reflections Buy this book

Key principles that Feynman covers in his classic lectures of

We learn how all physics is rooted in the notion of law—the

Physics is continually linked to other sciences while leaving the reader in no

Feynman was a theoretical physicist par excellence.Newton had been both

As we decrease the temperature, the vibration decreases and decreases until, at

100 MENTAL MODELS

Mental models are the most important ideas of

Understand the big ideas from big disciplines.

Get your copy of the “100 Mental Models”

Make Better Decisions.

Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the

(The Letters of Richard Feynman)

Reader’s reflections Buy this book