The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
Ratings28
Average rating3.7
Meh. He’s got a great storytelling voice but the stories themselves are generally not particularly special.
mostly content that is also in biographies and other books. The few pieces that are not elsewhere are interesting.
This one is a simple collection of Feynman's interviews and speeches, along with some stories from the other two books (Surely you're joking and What do you care what other people think).
Since Feynman gave the interviews and speeches independent of each other, and much before anybody thought to publish this kind of book, there is quite a bit of repetition.
Keeping that in mind, the net content of this book is pretty good and helps you learn more about the technical bits and about Feynman's approach to things.
If you've read the other 2 books focused on stories by Feynman, this book can be skimmed.
Short and sweet. It's a beautifully inspirational account of what a love of math and physics feels like, on the inside. Highly recommended to anyone who doesn't feel warm and fuzzy about math or physics.
“I believe that we should demand that people try in their own minds to obtain for themselves a more consistent picture of their own world; that they should not permit themselves the luxury of having their brain cut in four pieces or two pieces even, and on one side believe this and on the other side they believe that, but never try to compare the two points of view. Because we have learned that, by trying to put the points of view that we have in our head together and comparing them one to the other, we make some progress in understanding and appreciating where we are and what we are. And I believe that science has remained irrelevant because we wait until somebody asks us questions...” I think this quote pretty much sums what this book is all about. Everyone loves science's final product but failed to get involved in the whole process (which sometimes it's pretty much more rewarding than the final product itself).
What I like the most about this book and why I give it 5 stars is that Feynmann invites us, in his particular way, to make up our minds and get a closer look into things. He invites us to form a curious character and what will let us find the joys of science and finding things out.