Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman by Richard P. Feynman (PDF)

Description

I’m an explorer, OK? I like to find out! — One of the towering figures of twentieth-century science, Richard Feynman possessed a curiosity that was the stuff of legend. Even before he won the Nobel Prize in 1965, his unorthodox and spellbinding lectures on physics secured his reputation amongst students and seekers around the world. It was his outsized love for life, however, that earned him the status of an American cultural icon-here was an extraordinary intellect devoted to the proposition that the thrill of discovery was matched only by the joy of communicating it to others. In this career-spanning collection of letters, many published here for the first time, we are able to see this side of Feynman like never before. Beginning with a short note home in his first days as a graduate student, and ending with a letter to a stranger seeking his advice decades later, Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track covers a dazzling array of topics and themes, scientific developments and personal histories. With missives to and from scientific luminaries, as well as letters to and from fans, family, students, crackpots, as well as everyday people eager for Feynman’s wisdom and counsel, the result is a wonderful de facto guide to life, and eloquent testimony to the human quest for knowledge at all levels. Feynman once mused that “people are entertained’ enormously by being allowed to understand a little bit of something they never understood before.” As edited and annotated by his daughter, Michelle, these letters not only allow us to better grasp the how and why of Feynman’s enduring appeal, but also to see the virtues of an inquiring eye in spectacular fashion. Whether discussing the Manhattan Project or developments in quantum physics, the Challenger investigation or grade-school textbooks, the love of his wife or the best way to approach a problem, his dedication to clarity, grace, humor, and optimism is everywhere evident..

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐If you’re interested in a great man’s personal letters, this will be an interesting read. I was hoping for some actual science, but that’s not what this book was about. So I returned it after reading about 5% of it.LET ME REPEAT: if you want a look into a great man’s friendship and thoughts, this will be what you want. If you want hard science, buy another book.

⭐Im from the Uk and firstly I’d like to say thank you to Michelle Feynman (Richard Feynmans Daughter) for putting this book together. My interest in Feynman began at age of about 8 or 9 I think when I saw this extraordinary man on a BBC TV documentary program, I’m from the UK. Something about the voice and facial expressions, he just looked interesting, happy and fun. What I didnt realise was how unique a person he was, i just thought all scientists were like that!! Anyhow many many years passed (well 10) and i ended up doing a physics degree (nothing directly to do with Feynman just a coincedence, i had completely forgotten about the TV program), i started reading about famous physicists and Feynman just stuck out to me as an special. Richard Feynman born in Far Rockaway New York, (a fineman from a far rock away, conspiracy theorist know yourselves out!) So I read a few more books about him eg. ‘surely your joking…’, ‘pleasure of finging things out…’ etc. amd then in about 1993 i saw that bbc program and it all came back, this was (one of) the guy that got me so interested in science, and I now science has got me all interested in him!. I think seeing Feynman did have an affect on me through that TV program, i think it really did! I’m of ordinary intelligence and dont have extraordinary thinking or imaginative powers, but i can appreciare those that do, and I’m sure if he inspired me he has inpired others and those others HAVE gone on to do great things.I love this book, it really lets you get another glimpse at one of the most honest, kind, original and fundamentally decent human thinkers to walk around on out little planet, thank you so much…

⭐I’ve read all of Feynman’s books. I’m now approaching my 80th birthday and with a small team was awarded a small research and development contract at Los Alamos. One of my college roommates was a student at Cal Tech for the original Feynman lectures. Reading this collection of letters brings the man to life. I can’t recommend this volume too strongly. It provides insight into the person of Richard Feynman and makes you wish it were possible to share an hour or two with him observing the beauty of nature. This book is as close as any of us will get.

⭐Almost everything written by and about Feynman is refreshing, like a breath of mountain air, or, more often than not, a much-needed slap on the face. These letters are no exception. Much of this effect is a result of his take-no-prisoners attitude when it comes to purveyors of intellectual hokum-In particular, his insistence that what one is working on be falsifiable. In other words, if what you’re working on is not testable or not at least foreseeably testable to see if you are correct or incorrect, then what you are doing is not science, it is philosophy, and rather bad philosophy at that. These sort of refreshing reminders are particularly important today when “string theory” is all the rage, as popularised by Brian Greene et al, a theory which, even Greene admits, will probably not be testable in your or my lifetime.-Feynman, terse as always in such matters, expresses his opinion about string theory in one of these letters—“I don’t believe in it.” It is ironic that Greene cites Feynman so often in his books. But String theory aside, Feynman enthusiasts will find perhaps a wider, more three-dimensional perspective in these letters than in other books.—They will find, in his letters to friends students admirers etc., wonder of wonders – a wise, articulate man.

⭐For fans of Feynman this will be a rewarding read; the human side of a unique genius. The book is a compilation of the many letters between Feynman and not only his peers but letters he got from young people in high school and others from the general public. It begins with his early marriage to his first wife that died from TB while he was working at Los Alamos on the first Atomic Bomb, a very sad and very human story we can all relate to. So from the early 1940’s up through his illness and death in 1988 we get a marvelous story of a very decent man who had a serious love for life and humanity.This is a book I will read again. We lost a very unique mind and soul in 1988, way too early, in my opinion.

⭐A delightful insight: a wonderful tribute to an extraordinary man and a just plain terrific human being. I was surprised to find how easily the reading went. At the end of the day it was a refreshing and rejuvenating read, and I found myself often laughing out loud. Don’t miss it; you will feel better for this insight into genius and humor and humanity.

⭐This was a book that I bought off here and as soon as I received it I diligently read it over the course of a few days. It was interesting to see how he responded to people personally because I have only read the stories he had to tell from his books. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking more information about the personal life of Richard Feynman and will note that it is a very worthwhile read if you’re interested in his life. It takes his life from 21 years old up (it was weird reading it because I am 21 now) to a year before his death, I think. Life goes by so fast and he made the most of it as you will see from reading his letters.

⭐A delightful book whose 460 pages are so readable as to be all to quickly turned but so enjoyable that they will surely be revisited. The letters published here are immensely varied: at times awfully sad, at others filled with joy; some funny enough to raise an out-loud laugh, others plain and businesslike. Taken in all, they confound the perception of Feynman as a bit of a joker who was not a keen letter writer – though he could sometimes be slow to reply.Michelle Feynman, his daughter, has done an excellent job of collating the letters, and some other papers, within significant time frames and of providing context with the briefest possible explanatory notes.The title refers to Feynman’s views on teaching methods for high school students, as exemplified in his disagreement with Michelle’s teacher over the acceptability and merits of said child’s occasionally inventive approach to algebra problems. It does also encapsulate perfectly the man’s creative and inquisitive persistence, no matter what the task in hand: persistence so productive when directed at academic enquiry, so inspiring in the lecture room, but so baffling when let loose within the realms of political or administrative convention.The most enjoyable thing about reading these letters is the sheer niceness that they convey, to friends or family, of course, but also (and especially) when replying to letters from people he had never met: people uncertain of their capabilities, ambitions or understanding. That a man of such genius could take time to write long responses to questions from a child, a struggling teacher, even an outright crank, is a cause of fresh amazement every time it happens.It shouldn’t be, of course. That compulsion to provide real understanding was the bedrock motivation of his lectures, his books, his devoted advisory work on education. As with the formal lectures, these brief notes on problems composed for individual correspondents always take a fresh look at some aspect of the subject. (Well, they certainly made me think, anyway.)Do read this book of Feynman’s letters if you have liked any of his other works, whether his lectures or lighter stories.For a much better review than mine, one written by a physicist who knew and loved the man ‘this side idolatry’, read chapter 23 of Freeman Dyson’s “The Scientist As Rebel”, another superb book.

⭐Excellent – what a great man.

⭐magnificent book about an amazing teacher and scientist. Inspires me and my students.

⭐Arrived in excellent condition, as promised.

⭐After all the Feynman books this one is new, more personal and more moving. Feynman talked all the time and when he wasn’t talking he drew pictures. The letters in this book cover a long period in Feynman’s life adding details and anecdotes. A great teacher. A department head in Iowa compared me to Feynman. We were similar but I was an anatomist and not so smart. Still I’m glad she did. I feel I’ve met a friend.

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