Adventures in science
Richard P.Feynman/Ralph Leighton
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.
“People often think I’m a faker, but I’m usually honest, in
a certain way—in such a way that often nobody believes me!
The physicist who won laurels during his lifetime including
a Nobel was
unconventional in his
thinking and more so in his actions from childhood.
Feynman did a stint as a teacher in Brazil.
“ One thing I could never set them to do
(The students) was to ask questions. Finally a student explained to me: If I
ask you a question
during the lecture, afterwards everybody will be telling me
“ why are you wasting our time in the class? We’re trying to learn something and
you are stopping him by asking a question.
The Caltech
professor took up art as a hobby, drew a few
pieces and at someone’s instance was honoured with one-man show.A prominent
industrialist held a reception after the art show.One of the art lovers came
upto him.” Tell me, professor, do you draw from photographs or from models?” “I
always draw directly from a posed model”
“Well, how did you get Madame Curie to pose for you?”
The ways of bureaucracy are same everywhere.Feynman attended
a few meetings in San Francisco( he
was based in Los Angeles)and the
expenses for the air trips were to be reimbursed..They insisted on receipts and
Feynman had none.It was a battle of wits and neither side would give in.
At a dinner given by the Nobel committee the physics
laureate’s small talk earned him
snubs.The Japanese ambassador who was witness to this gave him this
advice: Next time you give examples of things that everybody thinks about but
nobody knows about, please include international relations.
Feynman was opposed to teaching students only how to get certain results, rather than how
to do an experiment with scientific
integrity.Feynan’s tips on teaching are
excellent. The trouble is that in most teaching institutions even the teachers
know so little.Even if they do, they are held back by reasons other than
academic.Freedom is what they desire, the freedom to maintain the integrity championed
by Feynman.
Ends