The Pleasure of Finding Things Out:
The Best Short Works of Richard P.
Feynman by Richard P. Feynman
Vintage Feynman!
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 previously
unpublished or difficult-to-find short works by maverick physicist Richard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. Its no wonder he was only grudgingly admired by
the establishment during his lifetime--read his Minority Report to the
Space Shuttle Challenger Inquiry to see him blowing off political
considerations as impediments to finding the truth. Feynman had a
fantastic 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 rather
than a scientific level. Freeman Dysons foreword and editor Jeffrey
Robbinss introductions to each essay set the stage well and are respectful
without being worshipful. Though Feynman has been gone now for many
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
Personal Review: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best
Short Works of Richard P. Feynman by Richard P. Feynman
This is another gem of a book which centers on the approach to life &
science taken by the great Richard Phillips Feynman. This book details
his musings on the philosophy of science, the definition of what science is,
the importance of drawing a dichotomy between between authentic
science and pseudo-science (what Feynman labels "cargo cult science"),
the space shuttle CHALLENGER catastrophe and the relationship between
science and other spheres of influence such as psychology and religion.
Reading books by Feynman are always like a breath of fresh air in a world
that's full of politically-driven science experiments and the demand for
science to be pragmatic at all costs. Feynman's involvement in the
investigation of the space shuttle CHALLENGER explosion show his
defiance to science being manipulated by politicians and bureaucrats.
Two of Feynman's most famous lines are "Nature will not be fooled" and
"The first rule is not to fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to
fool." Facts are facts, even when they're inconvenient.
The foreward was written by Princeton's own Freeman J. Dyson. While
visiting the Institute for Advanced Study, I had the opportunity of meeting
the legendary physicist in person. While professor Dyson was far more
interested in the cookie he was holding than he was in me, it was
nonetheless a great honor to meet a man who was one of Feynman's best
friends. Unfortunately, that is as close as I will ever come to meeting the
late Richard P. Feynman.
This is a book that is a must-have for Feynman enthusiasts out there. That
said, for people who are not familiar with his work I would recommend the
ever popular Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious
Character) 1st. SURELY has far more funny anectdotes than the present
book.
While Stephen Hawking gets a lot of press these days, I would venture that
Feynman had a great many more contributions to the realm of physics
than the great Hawking will have. The 20th century had more great
physicists than any other century to date; names such as Heisenberg,
Schroedinger, Witten, Einstein, Oppenheimer, Fermi, Pauli - the list goes

on. Feynman is a name that belongs to this pantheon as well. Read this
book & you'll find out why!
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