The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist

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The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 2,003 ratings · 117 reviews

Many appreciate Richard P. Feynman’s contributions to twentieth-century physics, but few realize how engaged he was with the world around him—how deeply and thoughtfully he considered the religious, political, and social issues of his day. Now, a wonderful book—based on a previously unpublished, three-part public lecture he gave at the University of Washington in 1963—show...more

Paperback, 144 pages

Published April 6th 2005 by Basic Books (first published 1998)

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Apr 15, 2008 Richard rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Meaning of it All is based on lectures given by Richard Feynman to lay audiences at the University of Washington, Seattle, over three nights in April 1963, on science and its relationship to social problems and religion. (All of Feynman's published books are similarly based on recordings of lectures or conversations.) It pains me to say anything negative about a book by Feynman but this is one that probably should never have been published, except as part of a "Complete Works" set. This is p...more The Meaning of it All is based on lectures given by Richard Feynman to lay audiences at the University of Washington, Seattle, over three nights in April 1963, on science and its relationship to social problems and religion. (All of Feynman's published books are similarly based on recordings of lectures or conversations.) It pains me to say anything negative about a book by Feynman but this is one that probably should never have been published, except as part of a "Complete Works" set. This is partly due to a lack of editorial cleanup, and partly because Feynman appears to have been in rare bad form for these talks. (Of course, this is only bad form by Feynman's standards; if this were the only book of Feynman's philosophy in the world then it would be a flawed masterpiece.)

There's little material, if any, in this work that Feynman hasn't expressed elsewhere with far greater eloquence. In these lectures he makes a number of false starts and abrupt stops, and some minor errors most of which could easily have been corrected by an editor. At one point for instance, he uses "infinitesimal" when he obviously means to say "infinite." The only reason for leaving such mistakes intact is, I think, that the book was published posthumously and the publishers were afraid to touch Feynman's words without his approval. I'm sure that Feynman would have found that elevation of reverence over substance to be absurd. There's only one clear instance in the book in which an editor has touched the material; a parenthetical notation that Feynman had completed a sentence with a hand gesture instead of words.

At another point, Feynman apologizes for his limited knowledge of world religions and expresses the hope that "Hindus and Arabs" wouldn't feel excluded by his references to the religion with which he was most familiar, Christianity (Feynman had been born to a Jewish family but was an atheist). It's very likely that he was either winking at the audience when he said that, laughing at his own provincialism, or that he simply misspoke. In either case, although this error is trivial and irrelevant to his arguments, its unnecessary inclusion will, I suspect, give some overly sensitive readers an excuse to dismiss his arguments as the product of ignorance.

My recommendation to all but the most die-hard Feynman completists is to skip The Meaning of it all and instead pick up Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter and The Character of Physical Law. Surely You're Joking... is a collection of anecdotes reflecting Feynman's eclectic range of interests (nude portraiture, safecracking, bongo playing, hieroglyphic translating etc) and his singular outlook on life. QED and The Character of Physical Law are by far the deepest and yet the most accessible math-free science books that I've ever come across.(less)

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Jun 11, 2007 Trin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science, philosophy, american-lit

A trio of lectures Feynman gave in 1963 on the theme of "A Scientist Looks at Society." He discusses politics, religion, and the role of science. Feynman's thoughts aren't always perfectly organized, but much of what he says—especially about how people aren't trained to think scientifically, and how that's a detriment to a society that's pretty much conditioned to perceive itself as incapable of understanding science and logical thought—is still remarkably relevant today. This seemed to me almos...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Maurizio Codogno rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished

Questo libretto raccoglie tre conferenze - le Danz Lectures - tenute da Feynman nel 1963 su scienza, filosofia, religione e società. Il risultato a mio parere è inferiore a quanto mi aspettassi; ci sono degli ottimi spunti, soprattutto nella prima parte in cui spiega come funziona il metodo scientifico, ma poi si perde parecchio nella seconda parte, in cui cerca di spiegare perché la religione non è scientifica, cosa sulla quale tutti credo siano d'accordo. La terza e ultima conferenza, messa su...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Wanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was okay I guess. It might have helped if I didn't imagine Feynman's voice to be that of Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory.
Nothing special here, for the most part, with a lot of very dated references. He's read Richard Hofstadter's The Paranoid Style in American Politics--or read about it--and gives a garbled version of Hofstadter's ideas, without referencing him, recounts a weird example of a wife being terrified of her husband to illustrate paranoia (why would he have come up with that...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Leanne Kinkopf rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american, audiobooks, essays, non-fiction, science

This book is based off a series of lectures Feynman gave for laymen audiences. I don't think the editors changed enough to say it is "based off" the lectures, actually--even "Thank you for the laugh" and that sort of thing are left in. The lectures cover science and its relation to doubt, religion, and politics. Feynman is critical of his lectures, and with some reason to be, but none of the reasons matter much. It was a pleasure to listen to this, despite its faults.

The lectures were repetitive

...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Smcleish rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally published on my blog here in July 2001.

These three lectures, about science, society, philosophy, religion and so on, were delivered in the early sixties but not published until after Feynman's death. They read as though they are basically transcriptions of more or less off the cuff speaking rather than as composed in written form for the book.

Basically the theme of the talks is how science relates to society's other concerns, with interesting digressions on subjects like why politicia...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Eve Proofreads rated it 5 of 5 stars

So here it is, the greatest puzzle of all, life, the universe and everything, as discussed by the genius, Richard Feynman. The Nobel Prize winning physicist is often quoted in popular science; I thought it was about time I read him in his own words. This book contains three public lectures given in 1963. The first, entitled, ‘The Uncertainty of Science’, addresses the importance of doubt in science as the catalyst for ideas and progress and introduces his views on the remarkable process of scien...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Remo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2006, biografia, divulgacion-cientifica

De nuevo Feynman, en su salsa. Este libro está basado, como muchos otros suyos, incluyendo las magnas “Conferencias de Física”, en las transcripciones de una serie de conferencias –tres– que dio Feynman acerca de la ciencia, y su relación (o ausencia de ella) con, por ejemplo, la política, la ética y la religión. Feynman empieza reconociendo que no es experto en ninguna de las materias, salvo quizás la física, y que las opiniones que va a dar son las de “un ciudadano científico” (o un científico...more De nuevo Feynman, en su salsa. Este libro está basado, como muchos otros suyos, incluyendo las magnas “Conferencias de Física”, en las transcripciones de una serie de conferencias –tres– que dio Feynman acerca de la ciencia, y su relación (o ausencia de ella) con, por ejemplo, la política, la ética y la religión. Feynman empieza reconociendo que no es experto en ninguna de las materias, salvo quizás la física, y que las opiniones que va a dar son las de “un ciudadano científico” (o un científico ciudadano).

El estilo de hablar de Feynman es muy fluido, lleno de paraditas para comprobar si lo que está diciendo se entiende, repitiendo los conceptos y con alguna muletilla que llega a repetir ocho veces seguidas en un párrafo (and so on, para los curiosos). Pero se nota que está sintiendo lo que dice en cada momento, que está íntimamente convencido de las cosas que cuenta. Además, a veces suelta alguna fresca y uno se lo imagina sonriendo con media boca, enseñando el colmillo, con ojillos divertidos mientras el auditorio se parte de risa.

Feynman habla de experimentos de telepatía (fallidos, claro), de experimentos con ratones en los que el experimentador no sabe de estadística y obtiene conclusiones erróneas, de las encuestas que suelen hacer las revistas para saber, por ejemplo, si basándose en veinte respuestas usted será feliz con su pareja, de cómo la religión y la ciencia son compatibles según él, siempre que una no se inmiscuya en el ámbito de la otra. Habla de la época acientífica que le había tocado vivir (en la segunda conferencia explica por qué al s. XX, en el que la ciencia nos trajo la Relatividad y la Mecánica Cuántica, él lo llama “época acientífica”).

Como dato gracioso, Feynman comienza la tercera conferencia diciendo algo parecido a esto: “Me había preparado esta serie de conferencias para tener todas mis ideas estructuradas y ordenadas, para tener un esquema y unos contenidos desarrollados y pulidos que ir desbrozando paso a paso. Me puse a la tarea con esmero, y lo conseguí. Conseguí ordenar todos mis pensamientos y definir las ideas y los desarrollos en tan sólo dos conferencias. Así que esta última pienso improvisarla”.

El libro está estupendo, se lee fácilmente y es un alegato a favor del pensamiento racional. Como el último Sagan, más o menos, pero con un poco más de informalidad y salero. Mi nota: Muy recomendable.(less)

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May 05, 2011 Bob Nichols rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

These three lectures by Feynman are not particularly interesting. The most engaging lecture is on the uncertainty of science where Feynman stresses the value of doubt for the integrity of the scientific process. In this lecture, Feynman states, interestingly, that "The rules that describe nature seem to be mathematical....Why nature is mathematical is...a mystery."

In his second lecture on the uncertainty of value, Feynman argues that science and values are two separate realms and that science i...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Joseph D. Walch rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy, great-scientists

I really enjoyed this short book about truth, science, religion, values, ethics, and the way of one who seeks out the truth in all nooks wherever it may be found. I have enjoyed Dr. Feynman's wit and irrepressible enthusiasm for understanding the world around himself--including people and society. He presents himself as a non-dogmatic agnostic with clear sympathies (he quotes atheists as well as Catholic Cardinals with whom he agrees on values), but emphasizes the importance of remaining open to...more

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Jun 04, 2009 Matt rated it 2 of 5 stars

A publication of three lectures given by Feynman at the University of Washington in 1963. His musings are a quick read and give the feeling of a slightly drunk bar conversation with good friends. Not terribly probing, but comfortably contemplative. Since this is a transcription of a lecture, it rambles a bit but the book is short enough that I didn't really notice.

He seems to have fun with his last lecture and opens by stating "I have completely run out of organized ideas, but I have a large num...more A publication of three lectures given by Feynman at the University of Washington in 1963. His musings are a quick read and give the feeling of a slightly drunk bar conversation with good friends. Not terribly probing, but comfortably contemplative. Since this is a transcription of a lecture, it rambles a bit but the book is short enough that I didn't really notice.

He seems to have fun with his last lecture and opens by stating "I have completely run out of organized ideas, but I have a large number of uncomfortable feelings about the world which I haven't been able to put into some obvious, logical, and sensible form."

The agnostic in me appreciates this one: "People say to me, 'Well, how can you teach your children what is right and wrong if you don't know?' Because I'm pretty sure of what's right and wrong. I'm not absolutely sure; some experiences may change my mind. But I know what I would expect to teach them. But, of course, a child won't learn what you teach him."

In referring to "The Dan Smoot Report", something related to the voting record of Congressman and whether they were voting "for" or "against" the Constitution as originally drafted: "I tried to explain that they violate their own principles. According to the Constitution there are supposed to be votes. It isn't supposed to be automatically determinable ahead of time on each one of the items what's right and what's wrong. Otherwise there wouldn't be the bother to invent the Senate to have the votes. As long as you have the votes at all, then the purpose of the votes is to try to make up your mind which is the way to go."

And for a hint of self-aware hypocrisy: (Regarding medieval Arabian scholars) "They did a little bit of science themselves, yes, but they wrote commentaries on the great men that came before them. They wrote commentaries on commentaries. They described what each wrote about the other. They just kept writing these commentaries. Writing commentaries is some kind of disease of the intellect. Tradition is very important. And freedom of new ideas, new possibilities, are disregarded on the grounds that the way it was is better than anything I can do."

(less)

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Apr 29, 2009 Louis rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was decent, but suffers from supply and demand problems. There is/was a huge demand for Richard Feynman books since his death. The problem is that everything he has written was already published. Al of the 'new' books you find 'written' by Feynman in the last decade or so are just collections that reorganize his short anecdotes already published in different volumes.

This 'book' is a collection of talks that he gave late in his life. It has all the interesting ideas and anecdote you exp...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Nicholas rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book contains a series of three lectures given at the University of Washington on the role of science in modern society. Feynman himself was against the publication of these lectures feeling that they lacked polish, focus and ultimately wouldn't be the same on paper as they were in person. Anyone who's ever seen the man in action can readily attest to his electrifying personality; it is really quite conceivable that you could listen to him talk about anything forever. I have to say that Fey...more This book contains a series of three lectures given at the University of Washington on the role of science in modern society. Feynman himself was against the publication of these lectures feeling that they lacked polish, focus and ultimately wouldn't be the same on paper as they were in person. Anyone who's ever seen the man in action can readily attest to his electrifying personality; it is really quite conceivable that you could listen to him talk about anything forever. I have to say that Feynman's instinct was right. While he does make some interesting points and observations about the role of science and common misperceptions related to scientific endeavor, these lectures lack focus. There are tons of tangents and anecdotes, brilliantly funny and charming, to be sure, but of the sort that lend themselves to the type of barroom storytelling Feynman was famous for - not in a published work.

The outline of the lecture series is roughly as follows:

Lecture 1: What the heck do people mean when they talk about science? Feynman presents a three-part definition. Science is a method for finding things out about the universe, it is the corpus of things that we do find out (the information and knowledge), and it is the application of this information for practical purposes (technology). What value does it have? Why should we fund it? Pursue it? For the very fact that science is exciting. The things we learn themselves are valuable in and of themselves in that they give us a sense of wonder about the universe. He leads out with a point that seems counterintuitive and thus always misunderstood. Science is the pursuit of answers, but really, all good science rests on uncertainty. Science is never, ever certain of things. We sift through explanations for observable phenomena and as our technology and understanding progresses the holes in the sieve become smaller and more discerning. Any theory we have to explain things, the laws of the universe themselves, are merely our best guesses within a certain degree of uncertainty. The prime example of this is the relationship between motion and mass. It was thought, in the past that an object maintained its mass no matter how fast it traveled. This hypothesis was tested, using a spinning top. When scientists weighed the top in motion and at rest they found the mass to be "the same" - validating the theory and elevating it to a law of nature, and they were right, to within the degree of accuracy they were capable of measuring mass and to the extent they were able to speed it up. Relativity smashed this idea. It turns out, if you accelerate an object to somewhere near the speed of light, its mass does indeed change and becomes heavier. Even a top traveling at nonrelativistic speeds changes mass, but only to a few parts in a billion, and thus, it is almost imperceptible. Anyway, the point is we must be skeptical of all our ideas if science is to thrive and survive, even with our most cherished and commonsense laws. I think this notion especially pertinent in our age of undetectable dark matter. Seems like almost everyone I read is universally convinced of the existence of matter we have not seen or detected directly merely by the effect it has on matter we can see. It may well be true, that the presence of dark matter is the reason for faster than expected galactic rotation and the like - it is certainly the most plausible answer in a field of many, but the ridicule which MOND activists and people who challenge the idea of dark matter with alternatives receive seems unhelpful and indeed counterproductive to the advancement of science. Challenging ideas should be entertained and tested as hurdles which probable explanations need to fly over if they wish to survive. They should be welcome as tests, not dismissed as quackery outright because they don't presume to follow the generally accepted norm. These arguments very closely mirror those presented by Lee Smolin in The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science and What Comes Next and are worth taking seriously in physics departments and grant-giving institutions worldwide.

Lecture 2: What are the limits of science? In this lecture Feynman focuses pretty much on what science cannot be used for and particularly focuses on the realm of value judgments. He does so by pointing out frequent clashes between science and religion from a historical point of view and tries to ameliorate the tension between the two. His arguments are lucid, without condescension and full of the usual self-deprecating humor that I think many atheists today lack when dealing with religious people they disagree with chiefly by admitting his own ignorance on certain issues and relegating his criticisms to only pertinent parts of religions with which the scientific mind might conflict (these he terms metaphysics or the explanations given in religions for what things are, e.g. what is the universe, what kind of thing God is). In this realm, there have been great conflicts between religion and science that predate, but are most famously illustrated by the conflict between Galileo's observations and insistence in a heliocentric solar system and the Church's insistence on the ancient Ptolemaic model of geocentrism. Feynman admits in this respect the world's religions have been forced to give ground to science, but what has remained untouched are the values and ethics which religions harbor and inspire in humankind. Science can give no aid to deciding which ethical, or political systems for that matter, are superior to any other because it's not something science can directly measure through its chief analytical tool: observation. In the end, judgment must stem from the individual and because of our mutual uncertainty we should have tolerance and promote an acknowledgement of our own ignorance in matters - a viewpoint that naturally leads to humility and all of us getting along a lot better.

Lecture 3: In what areas can science or scientific thinking be put to broader use in society? This is probably the most jumbled and convoluted lecture in the series, but also the most charming and witty. The basic argument: if we were all a little more scientific and rational with our thinking perhaps we wouldn't be taken advantage of by advertisers so much and believe in dumb things like psychic powers and ufos. Again, the key to everything is uncertainty. There's no way to disprove all of these dumb things. So what makes them dumb? Their exceeding unprobability, not their lack of possibility.

If you're a big Feynman fan and know him very well, this might still contain some value for you, but if you're looking for some insight into one of the 20th century's greatest thinkers and personalities, you're better off sticking with Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, which is a shame because I think the core theme of acknowledging that we don't really know anything as certainly as we think we do is worth reminding a people and civilization in love with our own capability and strength. In an era when breakthrough follows breakthrough, it's important to remember that no matter how stunningly smart we think we are, we'll never know everything there is to know with absolute certainty - and why would we?! It would take the mystery and motivation out of the pursuit of science and we'd be a poorer culture for it. I'd love to get my hands on a recording of the lecture! I'm sure it would be much, much better!(less)

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Jul 14, 2010 Keya marked it as lectures · review of another edition

16 - Scientists take all those things that can be analyzed by observation, and thus the things called science are found out. But there are some things left out, for which the method does not work. This does not mean that those things are unimportant. They are, in fact, in many ways the most important.

27 - And it is of paramount imptance, in order to make progress, that we recognize this ignorance and this doubt. B/c we have the doubt, we then propose looking in new directions for new ideas. The...more 16 - Scientists take all those things that can be analyzed by observation, and thus the things called science are found out. But there are some things left out, for which the method does not work. This does not mean that those things are unimportant. They are, in fact, in many ways the most important.

27 - And it is of paramount imptance, in order to make progress, that we recognize this ignorance and this doubt. B/c we have the doubt, we then propose looking in new directions for new ideas. The rate of the development of science is not the rate which u make observations alone but, much more impt, the rate at which u create new things to test.

religion as metaphysics (revoked by evolutions of science); religion as ethics, and religion as inspiration:

42 - b/c if u r working for God and obeying God's will, u r in some way connected to the universe, ur actions have a meaning in the greater world, and that is an inspiring aspect.

47 - Western civilization, stands by 2 great heritages. One is the scientific spirit of adventure--the adventure into the unknown, an unknown that must be recognized as unknown in order to be explored, the demand that the unanswerable mysteries of the universe remain unanswered, the attitude that all is uncertain. To summarize it: humility of the intellect.
The other great heritage is Christian ethics--the basis of action on love, the brotherhood of all men, the value of the individual, the humility of the spirit.

115 - Writing commentaries is some kind of a disease of the intellect. Tradition is very impt. And freedom of new ideas, new possibilities, are disregarded on the grounds that the way it was is better than anything i can do. I have no right to change this or to invent anything or to thiink of anything.

119 - No matter how many things we've stuffed down their throats, we civilians have still been able to ctrl the military! I think that the military's discipline in knowing what its place is in the govt of the US is one of our great heritages and one of the very valuable things...

121 - On that everybody could agree. and keep on studying in that direction, on what everyone can agree, and never mind the machinery and the theory underneath, as long as possible. And then gradually, w/ the accumulation of experience, u find other theories underneath that r more satisfactory, perhaps... so the question is whether it is possible to do sth analogous w/ moral problems. i believe that it is not at all impossible that there be agreements on consequences, that we agree on the net result, but maybe not on the reason we do what we ought to do...laugh, but ppl were hurt by that. reputations were destroyed, ppl were killed [...:] and today we should learn that lesson and not have an argument as to the reason why we agree if we agree. (less)

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Jan 21, 2013 Gary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-technology

I opened this book with some excitement, as Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! is an all-time favorite of mine. Although I did enjoy The Meaning of It All, I just wasn't getting into it as much as Surely You're Joking and I wasn't sure why. Then it hit me.

I've seen word-for-word transcription of talks that I've given in the past and shuddered at how they came across in written form. A well-written book or article is very different from a well-presented lecture. I got the impression that the edi...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Steward rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is Richard Feynman for the concerned layman. These three lectures, given in 1963, are Feynman's attempt to elucidate the proper role of science in the issues of the day. The first lecture discusses the value of skepticism and uncertainty in the field of science itself. The second lecture concerns what light the scientific method might shine on religious and political thought. The third, and most interesting, lecture is an extemporaneous talk on the 'unscientific age' of the 1960s. You may b...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Dave rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Since my first introduction to Richard Feynman's memoirs, lectures, letters and the first hand stories about him I've been a fan. For me, Richard Feynman represents an embodiment of scientific curiosity, healthy skepticism and a powerful advocacy of acknowledging the limits of understanding and the importance of knowing we cannot be absolutely certain of many things. This short volume / audio production is a transcription / reading of three lectures the great physicist and practical joker gave a...more

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Aug 20, 2011 Dale rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, science

This is a set of three lectures given by Richard Feynman in 1963 at the University of Washington as part of the then new Danz lectures. The themes of the lectures are: the nature of science, the relationship of science to society and religion, and the unscientific American culture of the day.

I've seen films of other Feynman lectures and found him to be really engaging, personable, and down to earth. These qualities come across in these lectures as well, but it turns out that folksiness doesn't t...more

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Mar 10, 2011 QVT rated it 1 of 5 stars

Forgive me if this is a bit obvious, but these are just transcriptions of lectures given by that one professor on campus that everybody likes and is like "oh man you gotta take that guy" and then you go to his class that is hopefully on theoretical physics (or in my specific case, 1920s lit) and all he does is ramble about semi-random things and whenever he's about to talk about the nature of fucking reality itself (or violence as masculinity in hemingway, his personal valuation of the prose in...more

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Jan 29, 2013 James Marsh rated it 4 of 5 stars

These are 3 lectures that Richard Feynman gave in 1963 discussing the role of uncertainty in the scientific method and the role of science in religion, politics, society and whatever else he felt like discussing at the time. (He does get side tracked a bit in the third lecture which did not have the organization of thought and planning that the first two did.) It is nonetheless a fascinating look at a brilliant mind and of our universe, both the discreet and the non-quantifiable.
Don’t be intimid...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Melody rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: heard, memoir

Feynman on his worst day is better than 80% of the rest of us on our best. This series of 3 short lectures from 1963 is fascinating and, well, a little dated. For those of us from the US who remember the Cold War & the scary Communists there is some truly interesting stuff. There's also a lot of oddness and plenty of hilarity. This is Feynman the regular guy rather than Feynman the physics prof, and well worth picking up- especially if you're a fan. If you are new to Feynman, go with Surely ...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Dave Maddock rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion, science

There are some good passages here, but the book generally suffers from a lack of editing and reads as little more than rough transcripts--particularly the third part. Since it was published posthumously, I presume that the editor preferred to leave Feynman's original words alone. The editor of Tolkien's Finn and Hengest also took this approach and I was disappointed with the result there too.

The book is decent, but don't let this be your introduction to Feynman. Come back after you've read his o...more

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Jul 13, 2009 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

A lovely, humorous collection of lectures regarding physics and …well…the world. Absolutely fantastic. Additionally, my friend Alex resident fan/defender of Macs and Apple, will be happy to hear this bit of trivia from Wikipedia regarding Feynman:

"Apple's 'Think Different' ad campaign featured photo portraits of Feynman that appeared in magazines and on posters and billboards. One showed him in his early days as a teacher at Caltech. The other showed him toward the end of his life. That ad show...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Rico Cordova rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, 5-star

The Meaning Of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist

Feynman is an amazing person. This 3-part lecture series is as relevant today as it was then. This is the kind of mind-expanding insight that everyone should read. It's clever, well presented and relatively short (I read it in an afternoon).

Did I enjoy it? Arguably the best book I've read.

Would I recommend it? Not only would I recommend it - I'd insist.

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Nov 21, 2012 Rohit rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: scientific community

Shelves: science, physics, history

This is collection of public lectures of Richard Feynman. Good collection indeed. Book explores different aspects, scenarios and problems in the scientific community. Three parts of book gives insight on different perspectives. If you are working in scientific field, you will know that these conditions/problems are very trivial and we are facing everyday. Of course, solutions we are expecting from them are also similar. Overall, good book.I think it would be difficult to understand for non-scien...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Alexa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Every single human being on this planet.

Recommended to Alexa by: University of Washington

Shelves: favourites, classics, science

Incredibly interesting.

The whole time I was reading this book, I kept wishing Mr. Feynman was still alive. I would absolutely love to attend his lectures. I imagine he's one of those people who could talk for hours about 20 different subjects, all connected in one train of thought. This whole book is basically an intellectual train of thought, in which the speaker is very aware of the things he speaks of and how the audience perceives him. It was refreshing and different.

One of my favorite quot...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science

Here we have 3 lectures generally entitled "A Scientist looks at Society", transcribed verbatim, apparently. I can hear, even picture Feynman when reading it; he had a distinctive way of speaking that was very natural and not polished at all, including hesitations, corrections and minor mistakes of language. Not often did he memorise a speech.

Here, Feynman wades a long way beyond his own territory to examine the relationship of science to politics, religion and other aspects of wider Western civ...more

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Aug 15, 2008 Clif Hostetler rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: current-events

I respect Mr Feynman's intelligence and skill as a lecturer. His reputation makes me feel bad about giving this book only two stars. But this book isn't his best work. The three lectures in this book were given in 1963. It's interesting to speculate how his speech would be different if given today. In 1963 the lectures may have seemed more cutting edge. I was particularly interested in what he had to say about the relationship between religion and science. Well, he did a fine job describing the...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Jesse Markus rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wish Feynman was alive today to defend some of his arguments in this book. He is one of these types who believes that science and religion are compatible and that their domains do not overlap. His arguments foreshadow Gould's "non-overlapping magisterial". I wonder what Feynman would say about Sam Harris' Moral Landscape? That's a debate I would love to see. Alas, he passed too soon. This is a great book though - Feynman's personality shines through on every page, and I giggled out loud quite...more

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Dec 30, 2009 Alice Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

I swallow Feynman up like nothing. I used to read his actual physics lectures and books for fun, but it's been a long time since and I almost forgot about him. When I reached a point in my life where I really needed something to help bring perspective, I looked back to the point in my life where I had the most drive, and physics and Feynman came up as a chief inspiration. I was right, Feynman provided just the fix.

Perfect.

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About Richard P. Feynman

Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as work in particle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman was a joint recipient of the Nobel Pr...more

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“Words can be meaningless. If they are used in such a way that no sharp conclusions can be drawn.” — 19 people liked it

“It is surprising that people do not believe that there is imagination in science. It is a very interesting kind of imagination, unlike that of the artist. The great difficulty is in trying to imagine something that you have never seen, that is consistent in every detail with what has already been seen, and that is different from what has been thought of; furthermore, it must be definite and not a vague proposition. That is indeed difficult.” — 9 people liked it

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