Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman sure was an interesting character. Having just finished two of his books, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman and What Do You Care What Other People Think, I can say that Feynman is definitely role model status for me, up there with Theodore Roosevelt and Elon Musk. Here are some lessons I learned from him.

  • The world is amazing. If you accept that statement as a fact, you will forever be curious. In order to function at all, we must dumb our perception down and only operate on a human-scale level of things. But just consider how crazy the mere thought of existing is. Thirteen point eight billion years after a ridiculously huge explosion, a bunch of absolutely tiny particles have coalesced somehow into a sentient being that can interact with a various bunch of other absolutely tiny particles in ways to create and explore, rejoice and suffer, a little mirror, randomly spawned for the universe to look at itself. Feynman was always interested in the wonders of the world, and he loved a damn good riddle. Look beyond your blinkers (I just had to google that, they’re those things that limit horses field of vision to directly in front of them) and think of things differently than you usually do. You find a helluva lotta wonderful curiosities.
  • Fake it till you make it. Feynman was hilarious. Many of his best stories consisted of him having no idea of what to do but acting as if he did, and coming out of the situation all the better! In other words, if you’re at a loss for actions, think a bit and then just do something! You might be pleasantly surprised.
  • Always have fun. I watched a couple of Feynman videos on Youtube, and he always seemed like a jolly guy. Reading the books reinforced that notion. He just had fun doing everything! Playing in that Brazilian band, picking locks and pranking friends, solving physics problems, solving biology problems, talking to girls, visiting Japan, learning to draw; Feynman was always enjoying himself. Guess there’s no better way to go through life than to have fun.
  • There’s so much out there; try new things. Goes along with the point above. Feynman didn’t limit himself to specializing in one topic. His curiosity and fun-seeking nature led him to explore many different fields.
  • When you learn something, actually understand it, god damn it. Kinda goes along with a lesson learnt from being a teaching assistant: always, always ask questions. Never be content with not understanding something. Challenge your own knowledge. Be willing to admit you don’t understand something. Be willing to put in some damn mental effort to learn something worth it. Think of the last time you did that. It was hard, but after you understood it, I bet it was a good feeling. Make your knowledge deep.

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman and What Do You Care What Other People Think were two of my favorite books in a long, long time. I can’t wait to re-read them and read more of his books!