The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman (Helix Books) Paperback – April 6, 2005

good read

The short chapters are great for a read before bedtime. Always a pleasure.

Thought provoking and down to earth takes on the beauty, delight and importance of curiosity and science, from one of the great physicists of the 20th Century. I especially enjoyed his assessment of the social sciences and his thoughts on religion. I truly enjoyed the book, and wish I could have met him in person.

One could easily retitle this book "The Pleasure of Finding Feynman."Feynman deserved to be on the national bestseller list with this one. If anyone ever asks me to define a genius, I can do that in one word...Feynman. It has been a real joy for me to have found him and then to read his writings, view his lectures which are mostly collected at YouTube online and not necessarily easy going, and to read/hear what his contemoraries recall about his role in their lives.Knowing a genius isn't something that most of us will encounter in our lives. We may know some very smart people who are much smarter than ourselves. But a genius is so much smarter than those smart people and the rest of us that it makes me wish that I could live in the genius world that he inhabits. A genius is to a normal and even above normal mind as a cat is to a mouse...so much faster than lightening that the mouse can't even begin to imagine it...and is doomed to be lunch. I wish my mind could do what his mind does...even for a short time ("Flowers for Algernon" anyone?). The next best thing then is to get to know him, and since he is dead the only way to do that is to try to get to know him through what he writes, what he says, his lectures, his humor, his philosophy and his astonishing comtributions to Physics and many other fields.If I ever had the opportunity to sit down with him for a beer and have a conversation, I really wouldn't say very much at all. What I would do, is to listen as he pulls seemingly unrelated threads and things together to clearly illustrate his point in a way that even a layman can understand; and then I would hope that he had nowhere to go so that he could hang around and do that all over again with subject after subject until my ears were tired. Listening to his voice and seeing him deliver is just amazing.If you want a taste of Feynman and a glimpse into the mind of a genius, buy and read this book and travel a bit with him. You definitely do not have to be a physicist to take away your own sense of wonder, respect, and just plain joy at meeting Richard Feynman on the printed pages of this book.

Although some of the topics are “outdated,” specifically about small scale computing, the core message of these transcriptions are about the nature of science, the practice of science, and the purpose of science. Physicists would enjoy these short subjects, but scientists of any field would appreciate this book.

While some parts of this book are very enjoyable and provide a wonderful window into both Feynman's way of thinking, and the historical context (the "Los Alamos from Below" section, for example), I found others more difficult. Still worth reading, absolutely, just don't expect the same level of interest, humor, scientific detail, or just about any other aspect to be consistent from one section to another. This makes sense, as the book is a collection of items given to - and intended for - different audiences at different times. Unfortunately, at least for me, the inconsistencies meant that I could barely put the book down while reading some sections but found myself preferring other reading material over Mr Feynman's musings while working my way through the others.

If you are a passionately curious person, you may wish to consider picking this book up. Feynman's curiosity and zest for nature and all it's wonders is highly contagious. I especially enjoyed the short speech "There's plenty of room at the bottom" as it showcases a genius communicating a new, complicated, and exciting idea in a manner that nearly any man or woman can understand. He truly knows how to communicate complicated ideas in an easy to understand manner.Highly recommended.

The item arrived quickly and in excellent condition