Richard Feynman (1918-1988) is regarded as a hero and an inspiration, not only by many of his contemporaries but also by many of the smartest scientists alive today. Few people have made an impression on generations of curious intellectuals like the brilliant American theoretical physicist.
Along with Carl Sagan, Feynman is widely regarded as one of the best science communicators of the 20th century.
As a child, he didn't utter a word until 3. When he finally did get a handle on language, his friends said he "spoke like a bum." As a student, his notebooks were riddled with spelling errors.
In high school, a test revealed his IQ to be around 125 — higher than average but much lower than what you would expect of someone destined for physics greatness. It's likely, however, that the test emphasised his weak area: verbal ability. Feynman’s dominant strength was mathematics.
During the period that most of us were still struggling with Pythagoras’s theorem, the 15-year-old Feynman taught himself trigonometry, advanced algebra, and both differential and integral calculus. At 21, he obtained the highest scores ever recorded on the math/physics portions of the Princeton admission exams, while scoring poorly in (you guessed it) the English portion.
Of course, a little bad grammar wasn’t going to stop the insatiably curious physics professor from bringing his love of science, storytelling and bongo drums to the world’s attention. Despite a distinguished career, which included a Nobel Prize in 1965 for his work on quantum electrodynamics, Feynman is best remembered for his collection of anecdotes, including “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” (1985), his famed introductory physics lectures, and many enthralling video interviews that are easy to find online.
It is somewhat ironic that Feynman was ultimately known for his genius communication given his early start; however, there was no denying his ability to communicate complex ideas and transmit his enthusiasm in written word and over film.
In the list below, I have tried to capture the essence of Feynman’s world-view in statements that bear out recurring or underlying “first principles” that seem to permeate his work, and thus presumably, underlie his thinking. Many of these principles have been hugely influential in my own life. In fact, I am not able to bring to mind another scientist with a more incisive package of points for thinking clearly and rationally about the world. If you know of one, please let me know.
— Richard Feynman, theoretical physicist, scientist, teacher, raconteur and drummer