What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character

Further Adventures of a Curious Character [Richard P. Feynman, Ralph Leighton] on leondumoulin.nl *FREE* What Do You Care What Other People Think?.
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Growing in size and complexity living things masses of atoms DNA, protein dancing a pattern ever more intricate. Out of the cradle onto dry land here it is standing: Stands at the sea, wonders at wondering: I a universe of atoms an atom in the Universe. I liked this a lot, especially the chapters about Feynman's experiences as a commissioner in the Challenger shuttle accident investigation. The last quote by Feynman at the very end stood out and struck me, as a sort of inter-ocular impact: Feynman was surely NOT joking when he penned that, and I for one will remember his legacy as a scientist and most curious character indeed.

Albeit very scattered and not particularly chronological. Its not about writing style or just a grand adventure, its about a character. Feyman has it, few people in history had it. I would give the book 4,5 stars but my admiration for him pushed me to give it 5. Well, i had my own indelible journey with him written in my mind.

Starting now as 1st of Feb and go backward: I do enjoy them but not as much as his l Its not about writing style or just a grand adventure, its about a character.

I do enjoy them but not as much as his life journey and the end where he philosophized about life and science. The story of a brilliant scientist who loved his wife so much that they both knew she was gonna die from tuberculosis but still got married and had their contented mortal time together.. Challenger 86 and Denver Airport , the reports are long and arduous. Ofcourse, Challenger is much more interesting for me although until now i still have no ideas about technical details described in Shuttle design and failure.

One point he and many other scientists mentioned: The imagination of nature is far far greater than human's. I am compelled to find out what this really means even though heard it, thought about it many times. I still have some vivid memories about his humor, quite libertarian personal philosophy and life experiences. He was so good at seeing, then demonstrating clearly, some basic truths that needed telling.

See his account, and the historical record, on his part of figuring out what happened to the Challen 17 Nov. See his account, and the historical record, on his part of figuring out what happened to the Challenger spacecraft explosion. You will be amazed at how simple and effective good creative communication can be. I recommend this book, and it's earlier companion: Thank you Ross Overbeek, for investing in me with the earlier book.

I am eternally grateful. Really difficult to review this without comparing it to "Surely You're Joking", which is a shame since this book is pretty good all on its own, but is a bit scattershot which it admits right at the beginning , and about half of it covers the Challenger explosion in more details than I really cared about. For the Feynman completist or NASA disaster junkie this will be really interesting, for the average reader probably not.

However the first essay, about how parents can instill a love of learning Really difficult to review this without comparing it to "Surely You're Joking", which is a shame since this book is pretty good all on its own, but is a bit scattershot which it admits right at the beginning , and about half of it covers the Challenger explosion in more details than I really cared about. However the first essay, about how parents can instill a love of learning and a sense of scientific curiosity in children, should be handed out to all prospective parents - read this book if only for that one chapter.

To every man is given the key to Heaven. The same key opens the gates of Hell. Richard Feynman is one of the most famous twentieth century Physicists. He is one of those rare scientists who have managed to go beyond the success in the narrow confines of his field of research and become a public celebrity. A big part of this success comes from his persona which combined incredible brilliance with the irreverent and down-to-earth attitude to most problems in life, be they "big" ones like working on the atomic bomb, or the everyday ones that almost all of us are familiar with Richard Feynman is one of the most famous twentieth century Physicists.

A big part of this success comes from his persona which combined incredible brilliance with the irreverent and down-to-earth attitude to most problems in life, be they "big" ones like working on the atomic bomb, or the everyday ones that almost all of us are familiar with.

'What Do You Care What Other People Think?': Further Adventures of a Curious Character

It's the latter ones and his quirky and unorthodox approach to them that made Feynman endearing to the general public. His earlier book "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman" was a classic and an inspiration to generations of young scientists who were shown that you can have lots of fun while pursuing a life in science. I myself had read it in single sitting, and had completely been mesmerized by Feynman's wit and irreverent attitude.

Book Details

Some of these had been told by others over the years, but in this book they all come together in a single volume as told by Feynman himself. Some of the events and stories presented come from the last few years of his life, and it is hard not to feel the poignancy of the fact that these were some of his last thoughts on subjects and situations that he cared about. Almost half of the book is dedicated to the investigation of the Challenger disaster.

Feynman was on the presidential commission that investigated that disaster, and here we get a full insight into what had been going on during commission's session. Many reports have made it seem that Feynman had single handedly figured out the true cause of the disaster - the faulty o-rings that were not meant to be used in really low temperatures.

In this book he sets the record straight and explains that although he was the public face that brought attention to the o-rings, there had been many people behind the scenes who had suspected a problem with them for quite a while. This part of the book is also a very useful and revealing glimpse into the workings of a big governmental and scientific agency like NASA.

The book concludes with few musings on the responsibility of science for social problems. In these musings Feynman turns uncharacteristically philosophical, even almost spiritual. He might not have been the most sophisticated thinkers in these matters, but his instincts were very acute and well worth listening to. All of those who appreciate Feynman's work and brilliance will be grateful for this honest and easy-going narrative.

It is also hard not to think that with Feynman's passing a whole era of Physics had come to an end. Those of us who think that somewhere along the way theoretical Physics had lost its way and had become a caricature of its former self, may wonder if all of that could have been avoided had Feynman lived for another ten years or so. We'll just never really know.

We played with them, my father setting them up vertically on my highchair like dominoes, and I would push one end so they would all go down. Letters, pictures, arts and intelligent questions and remarks. When young, Feynman interest in Science took its root because of his father. He taught him to observe and reason things around him, rather than looking.

As a salesperson at an okay enterprise with okay reputation his hunger for science is planted in his own son. As Feynman has said, if his father brought science in his life then his mother taught him compassion and laughter. To Arlene, who is responsible behind the book's name. This part has touched my school days of learning mathematics and physics. His whole idea of contributions to science can be clearly seen here. How would I know that Neil Armstrong, the first man to land on moon actually belonged to the same group Feynman worked in? Of course, because he didn't landed. The problem in the shuttle space is only a fraction of evidence towards what in NASA.

Being a renowned professor and scientists of that time, he suggested to questions the big shots at higher levels in NASA like the management at the lower levels. He made his effort into fighting the bureaucratic system. There are lots of loose ends from my side, as my knowledge to Physics in particular is limited. Anyhow, I am glad I took out time to read this book.

"What Do You Care What Other People Think?" | W. W. Norton & Company

Feynman, a sequel to "Surely You're Joking, Mr. This time, we witness his teenage and adult life, and his early relationship with his father and wife, which didn't show much in the first book. Furthermore, we take a closer look at the details of his experience working with NASA on a committee to investigate the space shuttle disaster in Personally, I think the first part of the book, as usual, is funny in Feynman's ways due to his curiosity of everything surrounding him, but for the second part is a bit not enjoyable to go through since I'm not really into technical stuff involving in engineering, but if you are, you would love it.

What attracts me the most is his epilogue concerning the value of science, which was so elegantly and fascinatingly written. It is our responsibility to leave the people of the future a free hand. In the impetuous youth of humanity, we can make grave errors that can stunt our growth for a long time. This we will do if we say we have the answers now, so young and ignorant as we are. It has been done so many times before.

It is our responsibility as scientists, knowing the great progress which comes from a satisfactory philosophy of ignorance, the great progress which is the fruit of freedom of thought, to proclaim the value of this freedom; to teach how doubt is not to be feared but welcomed and discussed; and to demand this freedom as our duty to all coming generations.

Unlike 'The Meaning of It All,' this book sounds like Feynman - not pretentious, approachable, and appreciative of a wide range of subjects. He's known for being able to explain complex ideas in layman's' terms without resorting to technical terms or vague explanations. And that's the way science should be taught Not as lists of facts and vocabulary words. And yes, I did enjoy the second part of the book about Feynman's participation in the Com Unlike 'The Meaning of It All,' this book sounds like Feynman - not pretentious, approachable, and appreciative of a wide range of subjects.

And yes, I did enjoy the second part of the book about Feynman's participation in the Commission that investigated the shuttle disaster.


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I didn't spend time thinking about the engineering data, but I did try to follow Feynman's line of thought. What did he want to know about the shuttle? How did he pursue answers to his questions? What did he think of the workings of the Commission? I saw all of this explanation as a way to gain insight into the man.

Richard Feynman - Disrepect for Authority

Here, too, the incident of the o-ring and the ice water is recounted in Feynman's words. One little thought that I latched onto was his reaction to the 'group think' process, namely the use of 'brainstorming. Sometimes, it's omitted altogether, while at other times a list of brainstormed ideas is generated, but it's never used appropriately, which is what seems to have frustrated Feynman. Ah well, I'm in good company. View all 7 comments.

Further Adventures of a Curious Character

This book is a collection of stories told by the Nobel laureate, Richard Feynman. The first half of the book is largely focused on several of Feynman's early influences, particularly his first wife, Arlene. A few of these stories are light, but a lot are emotionally heavy as Feynman recounts how he and Arlene dealt with her battle with tuberculosis.


  1. The Cube and other stories;
  2. What Do You Care What Other People Think? - Wikipedia.
  3. "What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character!
  4. Silver and Gold.
  5. Blest Retreat.
  6. See a Problem?.
  7. Spiritual Wanderer.

    8. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. The landing on March 18, , of the orbiter Discovery and its crew marked another successful mission for the space program, back on line after the two-year break that followed the Challenger disaster of January The safety policies accompanying this most recent flight of Discovery STS were exemplary and reflect progress made since the Challenger and its aftermath.

    The Final Voyage documented the tragedy and presented the findings and recommendations of the Rogers Commission Challenger. Feynman, physicist and Nobel Prize winner, was asked to serve on that commission to help determine "what went wrong with the shuttle! The humor is so tasteful that the book maintains decorum in treating the shuttle explosion and loss of the astronauts and the.

    Further Adventures of a Curious Character. The book is much more loosely organized than the earlier Surely You're Joking, Mr. It contains short stories, letters, photographs, and a few of the sketches that Feynman created in later life when he had learned to draw from an artist friend, Jirayr Zorthian. Of note is the story of his first wife, Arline, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

    She died while Feynman was working on the Manhattan Project ; the book's title is taken from a question she often put to him when he seemed preoccupied with his colleagues' opinions about his work, which echoed his earlier words to her. The book concludes with "The Value of Science," an address he gave at the autumn meeting of the National Academy of Sciences.

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