Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

By Richard P. Feynman

Before this book, I only knew Richard Feynman from hearing about the Feynman Lectures (which I plan to read soon!), and apparently confusing him with Carl Sagan. I now know more about Feynman than maybe any other person I haven't met! This book is a series of stories and thoughts from Feynman throughout his life. From a young age, Feynman had a desire to learn and a unique charisma that allowed him to get in positions to do interesting things, and he kept these characteristics into his adulthood. He was a physicist at heart, but this book tells about his adventures in Brazil, playing drums for a ballet, cracking safes at Los Alamos, being a biologist for a bit, and much more. He especially liked to talk about picking up women, to what I think was to the detriment of the rest of the book. We get it, Richard, you think you are hot shit. It also comes across a bit sexist at times for a reader in 2021 (and was back then too, of course). There are many stories about him out-smarting someone else, or making someone look like a fool, or him being a badass at something. It's impossible to deny that Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is a well-written form a boasting.

But he did do amazing things. Maybe my distaste at some of his writing is based in jealousy!  He constantly tinkered and created in a self-made lab as a kid. He worked at Los Alamos on the theory behind the atomic bomb. He worked in a biology lab right after Watson and Crick discovered the helical shape of DNA. He became an amateur-professional artist and musician, and won a Nobel prize. 

Basically, he lived the fullest life he could. No moment was "wasted" - even when he was running experiments on ants to see how they knew where to go to, he was learning and interacting with the world in a way that everyone should more often. Never taking a fact at face-value, Feynman investigated anything he didn't understand until he did. Not just science, but art, relationships, history. This is the lesson that I learned from this book: be curious. Don't settle for half-knowledge, and ask questions whenever you can - you just may find an amazing answer. (4/1/2021)