Once when a visitor asked him whether he was an “intuitive” engineer, he answered, “I think I’m an intuitive engineer, yes. There is such a thing as a talent for things. I think I have a talent for it. . . . You know, it depends on how you want to use your tools, and how you want to do your analysis. I can almost go in a trance. . . . I can get fully absorbed in a problem, to the point of almost—well, you really have to distract me to get my attention.” How long does this last? he was asked. “I don’t know. I really don’t know. Oh—sometimes days and weeks. You can’t stand it but so long.
