The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the best short works of Richard P. Feynmanfrom interviews and speeches to lectures ...
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Nov 15, 2010
Maurizio
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Feynman è un nome che dovrebbe essere relativamente noto a chiunque sia interessato alla scienza, e per la precisione alla fisica. Ma è anche stato un oratore sempre pronto a stupire il pubblico con i suoi effetti speciali, e le sue conferenze erano scoppiettanti. Nel primo dei suoi due libri che ho ultimamente letto Jeffrey Robbins raccoglie una "dozzina del fornaio" (cioè tredici) discorsi tenuti dal Nobel presso varie sedi, in modo da dare un'idea della sua arte oratoria... e natura
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Jan 08, 2009
Chris
rated it: 
Here's the problem with having high expectations: they're so often dashed.
In my years trawling the web and being a science nerd, I've heard a lot about Richard Feynman. There are legends about him, that he was the Puck of physics - brilliant, untamed, and really, really funny. When I got the book, I was expecting to read a lightning-quick volley of ideas that would set my mind alight with the wonder and infinite possibilities continued within a lifetime's pursuit of science.
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In my years trawling the web and being a science nerd, I've heard a lot about Richard Feynman. There are legends about him, that he was the Puck of physics - brilliant, untamed, and really, really funny. When I got the book, I was expecting to read a lightning-quick volley of ideas that would set my mind alight with the wonder and infinite possibilities continued within a lifetime's pursuit of science.
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Nov 28, 2011
Lo
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This book was a unique one for sure. If you enjoy watching the "Big Bang Theory", have a group of sciencey friends, or you have some interest in learning about the life of Richard Feynman, then this would be a good book for you to read.
This book is lighthearted and straightforward to read, comparable to listening to one of your grandparents telling stories. However, depending on your nature, you may find this book to be more of a rollercoaster ride. I would be laughing jovi More...
This book is lighthearted and straightforward to read, comparable to listening to one of your grandparents telling stories. However, depending on your nature, you may find this book to be more of a rollercoaster ride. I would be laughing jovi More...
Apr 17, 2010
Dennis
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Feynman, Richard P. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman (1999)
Brilliance and charm: Feynman as a teacher
I very much enjoyed this entertaining and delightful collection of lectures, talks and essays by the world-renown and sorely missed Professor Feynman, Nobel Prize winning physicist, idiosyncratic genius and one of the great men of the twentieth century.
I particularly enjoyed the subtle yet unmistakable way he scolded the More...
Brilliance and charm: Feynman as a teacher
I very much enjoyed this entertaining and delightful collection of lectures, talks and essays by the world-renown and sorely missed Professor Feynman, Nobel Prize winning physicist, idiosyncratic genius and one of the great men of the twentieth century.
I particularly enjoyed the subtle yet unmistakable way he scolded the More...
Jul 18, 2010
Oleg
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I'd peeked into Richard Feynman's other books so I when I slipped The Pleasure of Finding Things Out into my CD player I expected much of the same. What I got was a Feynman's humor and genius tempered by some strange editorial choices. Why, even though the editor mentioned that he would remove repetition, was there still plenty of it? I'm not just referring here to anecdotes, but also ideas like Feynman's definition of science. Why did the interviews seem like they were edited to hit exactly the
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Dec 29, 2011
Ray
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I learnt my physics at the feet of Feynman. Metaphorically speaking. As a student of theoretical physics at Cambridge in the 1970's, I spent dreary days in stuffy lecture-halls listening to boring old farts droning on about Wronskians and Greens Functions (ugh!). But then I'd come home and open my copy of the Feynman Lectures on Physics, whose pages brimmed with inspirational tales of quantum mechanics, and quirky ways of looking at the physical world. Feynman made physics fun, and gave me my fi
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Sep 18, 2009
Robert
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For those who might not know, Richard Feynman was a Noble Prize winning theoretical physicist, canny self-promoter and renowned teacher who worked on the Manhatten Project before he had even finished his Doctoral Thesis. Many books by and about him have been published and he has become a kind of miniature industry since his death; almost anybody who attended one of his lectures and scribbled some notes has tried to get them published, there are biographies and a volume of letters, CDs of improm
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Aug 03, 2009
Meredith
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Audio.
The only thing keeping it from being 5 stars was that I had to [what's the auditory equivalent of 'skim'?:] some of the parts that got too technical...I would have been able to read them and understand, but while driving in the car, listening, I just couldn't follow it.
But I really enjoyed the stuff about his interactions with his father, and especially the last part about his views on faith vs. science. Some of the material was repetitive - the same anecdotes over again, bu More...
The only thing keeping it from being 5 stars was that I had to [what's the auditory equivalent of 'skim'?:] some of the parts that got too technical...I would have been able to read them and understand, but while driving in the car, listening, I just couldn't follow it.
But I really enjoyed the stuff about his interactions with his father, and especially the last part about his views on faith vs. science. Some of the material was repetitive - the same anecdotes over again, bu More...
Jan 22, 2010
Elena
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Like my affinity for Harold Bloom, Richard Feynman can do no wrong in my book. He was a man that thought outside the box, and was ahead beyond the technology of his time. However, what left the most lasting impression in this book is when Feynman turns into a bit of a philosopher and it made me think for days.
Feynman discusses the Heritages of Western Civilization:
Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientifice spirit of adventu More...
Feynman discusses the Heritages of Western Civilization:
Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientifice spirit of adventu More...
Jan 31, 2009
T
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An amazing man, with some amazing stories. This is not just a science book but his ideas on different aspects to life.
Two of my favorite stories were of his time rebelling against the censorship at Los Alamos while developing the atomic bomb. Being pulled in and questioned of the code he was using to write his letters wife (a grocery list), and sneaking out the fence and confusing the guards when someone who had never left came waltzing up to come back. All the while picking locks t More...
Two of my favorite stories were of his time rebelling against the censorship at Los Alamos while developing the atomic bomb. Being pulled in and questioned of the code he was using to write his letters wife (a grocery list), and sneaking out the fence and confusing the guards when someone who had never left came waltzing up to come back. All the while picking locks t More...
May 02, 2010
Brackman1066
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This book is more technical in some areas than either of the two "Curious Character" books, and was written for an audience somewhere between that of those books and the audience of his "Six Easy Pieces*. I'm not a physicist or computer scientist (my degree is in English literature) but my husband has been one or the other for years, and so I admittedly had an advantage from having listened to him talk about what he does.
I very much enjoyed the speeches in this--I thin More...
I very much enjoyed the speeches in this--I thin More...
Nov 17, 2010
Patrick
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Feynman is a wonderful character, even though often an egotist and misogynist and various other not-so-good qualities.
With that said, this book is delightful to read. Feynman's antics at Los Alamos had me laughing out loud on several occasions, and some of his philosophy (though he'd probably hate me for using that word) on science is interesting and eloquent, though we're not always on eye level.
A slight problem I have with the book is that there are certain things that are More...
With that said, this book is delightful to read. Feynman's antics at Los Alamos had me laughing out loud on several occasions, and some of his philosophy (though he'd probably hate me for using that word) on science is interesting and eloquent, though we're not always on eye level.
A slight problem I have with the book is that there are certain things that are More...
May 26, 2011
Milla
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A wonderful collection of essays, stories and thoughts. I picked up this book completely randomly, just out of curiosity. Personally I was not familiar with Mr. Feynman and my limited understanding of science was limited to what few courses I took in high-school. This book and it's enthusiastic take on things was a sort of an eyeopener for me. And even though I am still very much aware of my own limits when it comes to science and especially anything to do with numbers, I found out that I am abl
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Feb 06, 2012
John
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Probably not worth reading this and 
, because it repeats about 50 pages of material from that (on balance, maybe this is the one to get? There's probably more variety.)
Having read What Do You Care..., as well as Don't You Have Time To Think? (a collection of letters to/ from him), I knew what to expect: accessible writing about science, and that was what I got. More...
, because it repeats about 50 pages of material from that (on balance, maybe this is the one to get? There's probably more variety.)Having read What Do You Care..., as well as Don't You Have Time To Think? (a collection of letters to/ from him), I knew what to expect: accessible writing about science, and that was what I got. More...
Jun 13, 2011
Paulo
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Richard P. Feynman is wonderful, a genius (no doubt about the works in the back of the book). His view of the world is unique and he surely had a lot to teach (even though he constantly says he doesn't). Most of his talks are really inspiring and motivational, while making you want to search deeper into subjects (he especially talks about the difference about knowing something and understanding something). He talks about science and religion, teaching and morals, his wonderful adventures in Los
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Apr 11, 2010
Eric
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I've always heard that Richard Feynmann was the "bad boy" of the early quantum physicists (If a physicist can really be described as such). I had tried listening to one of his lectures, and though he was an engaging teacher, I was missing two things: a view of the blackboard he was writing on and any sort of understanding of what he was talking about.
This is a series of short essays, speeches and interviews done by (or on) Feynmann. Some of the science of it was beyond me More...
This is a series of short essays, speeches and interviews done by (or on) Feynmann. Some of the science of it was beyond me More...
Oct 19, 2007
Mara
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This is mostly a book of essays by Feynman on a number of different subjects, and less the personal stories that have exemplified his other books, but with a mind as quick and witty as his, they're as pleasurable as his adventures. Again, my only grumpiness is with his adamantly irrational atheism--he points out how rightly impossible it is for us to fully understand how the universe works and then uses that as a reason why God must NOT exist, which doesn't really strike me as scientifically rig
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May 26, 2008
Jen
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I really enjoyed the plain old storytelling aspects of this book - especially the parts about Los Alamos. I got little out of the science lectures and interviews though, embarassingly. I haven't read other Feynman so don't know if this is standard or the leftovers that they tossed into this compendium because they weren't already published. The way I see it, I don't have enough of a background in, say, nanotechnology to listen to a lecture from 50 years ago and sort out what ideas were revolu
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Mar 21, 2010
Raj
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This collection of writing and lectures by Richard Feynman really shows his delight in science as a means of understanding the world around us. Certain themes crop up again and again: knowledge for its own sake; his distaste of philosophy; the dangers of pseudoscience. His style is assured and draws you in. Well worth the read.
And it also taught me how to calculate square numbers around 50 in my head :-).
And it also taught me how to calculate square numbers around 50 in my head :-).
Jul 29, 2011
Jason
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Feynman is one of those inspirational scientists - so in love with the process of learning that it captures everything about his worldview.
This collection of writings was really neat to read, I think there are few opportunities I've really been able to be inspired by a scientist for the kind of level-headed purity that Feynman had lived by (a lot of world-changing scientists were real kooks).
This collection of writings was really neat to read, I think there are few opportunities I've really been able to be inspired by a scientist for the kind of level-headed purity that Feynman had lived by (a lot of world-changing scientists were real kooks).
Apr 11, 2010
Brett
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Not quite as good as "Surely You're Joking Mr.Feynman", but still a great read. This book is a collection of essays and transcripts from speeches given by Feynman over the years. It feels a bit of a hodgepodge at times, and some of the chapters are certainly better than others. That said, many of the chapters that are good are very good. The trademark Feynman wit is on display, as is his ease at explaining complex subjects, and a sense of humble curiosity. His chapters explaining
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Jan 05, 2011
Michael
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Gotta love Feynman. His zest for life and discovery comes through in these pieces, most of which were delivered to an audience. Because of that the style is looser than you might expect. With a mind as lucid as his, the science presented is not too tough; mostly he's telling stories without pretense. Essential reading for anyone interested in science, education, learning, or religion.
Aug 27, 2010
Martin
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The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is the second Feynman book I've read, the first being Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. This book differs slightly from that as it is a collection of his works from speeches, interviews and articles and contain none of the womanising and strip-club frequenting tales which made up his memoirs.
It was, as are most things that involved Richard Feynman, very interesting, in particular his personal report about the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster whic More...
It was, as are most things that involved Richard Feynman, very interesting, in particular his personal report about the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster whic More...
Aug 19, 2009
Kathy
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Some of these "best short works" are quite interesting - for instance,"Cargo Cult Science" which discusses pseudoscience and such - and a few are mere random chatter with an occasional densely packed scientific paragraph attached. I think Feynman was probably a fascinating conversationalist and personality, but he doesn't make it so well on the printed page.
Dec 18, 2011
Beth
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Not quite as much fun as Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character, but still a good glimpse into Feynman's thinking and antics.
Jul 09, 2009
Kimber
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I really enjoyed this book. Richard Feynman is such a character and an interesting person. I especially like the topic because my research is in nanoengineering and he is considered the father of nanotechnology. This is a collection of interviews and speeches so it's a little different from normal writing. I got such a kick out of chapter 3. It's fairly technical, but it's worth it once you get to the end. I plan on reading more of his books.
Nov 10, 2011
Wes
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Interviews, speeches, and lectures by Feynman; he was witty, erudite, and brilliant, and it shows in these works. The chapter entitled Cargo Cult Science should be read by anyone aspiring to a career in science, and also by anyone who wants to understand what science is really about.
Oct 10, 2011
Ronald
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Feynman's popular works are written so well, you will probably read them cover to cover without putting down the book. He has an infective joy in exploring and relating to others the universe around him. This book truly attempts to communicate that rare pleasure of finding things out.
Jun 23, 2011
Helie
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I love me some Feynman. Though there were a few repeats from his two autobiographies (Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think?) it was still really interesting. I skimmed over some of the physics, but thoroughly enjoyed his essays and narratives.
Oct 06, 2010
Hans
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A collection of wonderful talks and essays of one of the smartest minds in physics, sharing is ideas and experiences from picking locks of his coworkers of the Manhattan Project to developing the theory of quantum electrodynamics (for which he won the nobel prize in physics).
