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''"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character'' is an edited collection of reminiscences by the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
–winning physicist
Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superflu ...
. The book, released in 1985, covers a variety of instances in Feynman's life. The anecdotes in the book are based on recorded audio conversations that Feynman had with his close friend and drumming partner
Ralph Leighton Ralph Leighton (; born 1949) is an American biographer, film producer, and friend of the late physicist Richard Feynman. He recorded Feynman relating stories of his life. Leighton has released some of the recordings as ''The Feynman Tapes''. These ...
.


Summary

The book has many stories which are lighthearted in tone, such as his fascination with
safe-cracking Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or the key. Physical methods Different procedures may be used to crack a safe, depending on its construction. Different procedures are required to open different safes ...
, studying various languages, participating with groups of people who share different interests (such as biology or philosophy), and ventures into art and
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music. Other stories cover more serious material, including his work on the
Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
(during which his first wife Arline Greenbaum died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
) and his critique of the science education system in Brazil. The section "Monster Minds" describes his slightly nervous presentation of his graduate work on the
Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory The Wheeler–Feynman absorber theory (also called the Wheeler–Feynman time-symmetric theory), named after its originators, the physicists Richard Feynman and John Archibald Wheeler, is an interpretation of electrodynamics derived from the assump ...
in front of
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
,
Wolfgang Pauli Wolfgang Ernst Pauli (; ; 25 April 1900 – 15 December 1958) was an Austrian theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics. In 1945, after having been nominated by Albert Einstein, Pauli received the Nobel Prize in Physics fo ...
,
Henry Norris Russell Henry Norris Russell ForMemRS HFRSE FRAS (October 25, 1877 – February 18, 1957) was an American astronomer who, along with Ejnar Hertzsprung, developed the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (1910). In 1923, working with Frederick Saunders, he deve ...
,
John von Neumann John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...
, and other major scientists of the time. The anecdotes were edited from
taped ''Taped'' is a 2012 Dutch thriller film directed by Diederik van Rooijen. The film won the Best Feature Film award at the 2012 Stony Brook Film Festival. Susan Visser was also nominated for the Golden Calf for Best Actress for her role in the ...
conversations that Feynman had with his close friend and drumming partner
Ralph Leighton Ralph Leighton (; born 1949) is an American biographer, film producer, and friend of the late physicist Richard Feynman. He recorded Feynman relating stories of his life. Leighton has released some of the recordings as ''The Feynman Tapes''. These ...
. Its surprise success led to a sequel, ''
What Do You Care What Other People Think? ''"What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character'' is an edited collections of reminiscences by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Released in 1988, the book covers several instances in Feyn ...
'', also taken from Leighton's taped conversations. ''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!'' became a national bestseller. The closing chapter, "
Cargo Cult Science Cargo cult science is a pseudoscientific method of research that favors evidence that confirms an assumed hypothesis. In contrast with the scientific method, there is no vigorous effort to disprove or delimit the hypothesis. The term ''cargo cul ...
," is adapted from the address that Feynman gave during the 1974 commencement exercises at the California Institute of Technology. The book's title derives from a woman's response at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
when, after she asked the newly arrived Feynman if he wanted cream or lemon in his tea, he requested both, being unfamiliar with the proper etiquette.


Criticism

Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann (; September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019) was an American physicist who received the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the theory of elementary particles. He was the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Theoretical ...
was upset by Feynman's account in the book of the weak interaction work, and threatened to sue, resulting in a correction being inserted in later editions. Feynman was criticized for a chapter titled "You Just Ask Them?" where he recounts picking up a woman by deliberately insulting her with a misogynistic term after the woman seemingly plays him for free food. Feynman states at the end of the chapter that this behavior was not typical.


Publication data

* ''Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character'', Richard Feynman, Ralph Leighton (contributor), Edward Hutchings (editor), 1985, W. W. Norton, , 1997 paperback: , 2002 Blackstone Audiobooks unabridged
audio cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...
:


See also

*
Cargo cult science Cargo cult science is a pseudoscientific method of research that favors evidence that confirms an assumed hypothesis. In contrast with the scientific method, there is no vigorous effort to disprove or delimit the hypothesis. The term ''cargo cul ...


References

*


External links

* {{Richard Feynman 1985 books American autobiographies Books about scientists W. W. Norton & Company books Works by Richard Feynman