The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman (Helix Books)

Amazon.com Price: $9.39 (as of 10/10/2019 21:27 PST- Details)

Categories: , , , , , , , ,

Description

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the most productive short works of Richard P. Feynman—from interviews and speeches to lectures and printed articles. A sweeping, wide-ranging collection, it presents an intimate and fascinating view of a life in science-a life like no other. From his ruminations on science in our culture to his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, this book will fascinate anyone interested on the earth of ideas.

Why do we do science? Beyond altruistic and self-aggrandizing motivations, many of our best scientists work long hours seeking the electric thrill that comes only from learning something that nobody knew before. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, a collection of up to now unpublished or difficult-to-find short works by maverick physicist Richard Feynman, takes its title from his own answer. From TV interview transcripts to his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, we see his quick, sharp wit, his devotion to his work, and his unwillingness to bow to social pressure or convention. It’s no wonder he used to be only grudgingly admired by the establishment throughout his lifetime–read his “Minority Report to the Space Commute Challenger Inquiry” to see him blowing off political considerations as impediments to finding the truth.

Feynman had an implausible sense of humor, and his memoirs of his Manhattan Project days roil with fun despite his later misgivings about nuclear weapons. Though one or two pieces are a bit hard to follow for the nontechnical reader, for the most part the book is easygoing and engaging on a personal reasonably than a scientific level. Freeman Dyson’s foreword and editor Jeffrey Robbins’s introductions to each and every essay set the stage well and are respectful without being worshipful. Though Feynman has been gone now for a few years, his work lives on in quantum physics, computer design, and nanotechnology; like any great scientist, he asked more questions than he answered, to give future generations the pleasure of finding things out. –Rob Lightner

Related products

Home » Shop » Books » Subjects » Biographies and Memoirs » Professionals and Academics » Scientists » The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman (Helix Books)

Recent Products