This week’s learning draws inspiration from ‘Surely you’re joking Mr.Feynman’ by Richard.P.Feynman
Richard Feynman had gained quite a reputation as a young Physicist. As a result, Feynman was soon part of many discussions with the top scientific names of the day like Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Pauli and the Danish Physicist Niels Bohr, whose contributions to understanding atomic structure made him legendary.
Right after one such discussion with a group of eminent scientists including Niels Bohr, Bohr called his son (who was also part of the session) aside and said –
‘You know that young guy at the back – Feynman. Let’s have a separate discussion with him before our next session and then share our results with the rest of the group.’
‘Why father?’
‘Well, because, every time I say something, the others just say ‘You must be right, Dr Bohr’. He is the only one who has the courage to tell me I am wrong. ‘
Nobel Laureate Feynman later admitted that, once he got into a discussion on Physics, he completely lost sight of who he was speaking to. All he worried about was whether the Physics was right.
Richard Feynman’s story is a fascinating one. He was an incredibly curious man, an accomplished painter and drummer, while also being proficient in multiple languages. What stood out, however, was his uncomplicated approach to problem solving. A physics problem was, at the end of the day, a physics problem. He didn’t let factors like the person or the environment complicate it. As a result, he would have the same answer to a Niels Bohr as he would to you and me.
In that simplicity lay his greatness.
Here’s to remembering Feynman’s approach when we encounter a tough problem this week!
A Learning a Day 