Starship Asterisk*

Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was a legendary American physicist, lecturer and one helluva bongo player. During his Ph.D studies he was selected to work on the Manhattan project to develop the atomic bomb. From there he won the Nobel Prize for Physics and became professor at Caltech where he spent the majority of his career. Later in his life, he served on the committee that investigated the Challenger space shuttle disaster. However, he appeals to many non-scientists for his eccentric personality, zest for life and the beautiful, wonder-inspiring way he shared his love for science to the public.

One of the best things about this site is not only do I share my favourite people with you, but I’ve discovered new and exciting things from your quote submissions. I had never heard of Richard Feynman before I started Zen Pencils, but readers bombarded me with his quotes after I expressed my love for Carl Sagan and soon I was on my way. I watched all his YouTube videos and read his autobiography Surely You’re Joking, Mr Feynman! and now I’m totally obsessed with him. His way of thinking and looking at the world was breathtaking, and he communicated science with so much joy and fun – a truly remarkable man.

The first quote was taken from the brilliant Horizon episode The Pleasure of Finding Things Out. You can watch the short clip here but I highly recommend you watch the whole interview.

My favourite Feynman clip is this one where he talks about light waves, or as he puts it ‘the inconceivable nature of nature’. I watch this clip at least once a week and it never fails to put a smile on my face. It’s five minutes of magic. Why couldn’t my science teachers explain things like this?!

And here he is playing bongos and singing his Orange Juice song.

Not only did Richard Feynman have a brilliant mind, he also had a free and curious spirit. He called himself an explorer and always looked for new adventures to get into to with an almost childlike sense of fun. He travelled extensively, spending a lot of time in Brazil. He asked for a transfer there because he picked up a hitchhiker who told him it was a good place to visit. Feynman was like “Brazil huh? Okay, sounds like fun”. So he got a position at a Brazilian College, lived in a hotel at the Copacabana, studied Portuguese and learnt how to play percussion in a samba street band, eventually getting so good he danced and played in Carnival. He loved studying different disciplines and tried to ‘fake’ his way into that field. Besides playing in that samba band, he once played music for a ballet, gave some biology lectures (he was a physics teacher) and sold his paintings as a professional artist. Everything he did because he thought it was fun, including science.

Feynman spent years at the end of his life trying to plan one more adventure – travelling to the tiny Russian country, Tuva. There was no particular reason he wanted to go, he just liked the name ‘Tuva’ and upon discovering it had barely been explored by westerners he was determined to gain access to the country. Unfortunately he died before he could fulfull his dream. There’s a documentary about his quest on YouTube.