Post: #1

Our book for this month will be physicist Richard Feynman's autobiography, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"

Feynman was a prankster, a genius, and a notorious lothario. The book is a series of short anecdotes about his life, including:

• How he sold the patent for a nuclear submarine for a dollar, and used it to buy candy.
• How he went from a geeky science nerd to a literal international playboy.
• How he broke the safes containing the secrets of the atomic bomb - for fun.
  

Because of the structure of the book, it doesn't lend itself well to the set of questions that've been asked the last two months. Here are a few to get us started, if anyone else has any other observations or things they'd like to point out, by all means go ahead.

What is your take on Richard Feynman? Arrogant jerk? Talented? Funny? Not as smart as he thinks he is? Smarter than he thinks he is?

A lot of what Feynman writes about women (Which isn't really a huge portion of the book, but sticks out given the content of this forum) matches what we'd call "game" very closely. The experiences he's describing took place in the 50's. How applicable (or non-applicable) do you think they are today, and what does the way they've changed (or not changed) tell us?

This is just a random thought I had, but I'd be interested in your take on it. Feynman talks early in the book about how he learned a very practical, hands-on approach by working with radios. Back then, he says, they were simple devices with only a few parts. I've read a lot of smart people say similar things; that they learned computers back when computers were only a few parts, and they'd never learn anything with the integrated modern stuff where you can't fix or replace anything. Is it possible that the switch to a "throw-it-away" society from a "fix-it" society is making us dumber?

The book is available for free here as a PDF. If you're at all interested, I highly encourage you to check it out and add your thoughts.

Post: #2

Awesome, thanks for taking a turn Faust. I've never read this book and yet I've read a lot about Feynman through this section of the net, will be
Interesting to read his own words about his life.

Post: #3

I'm in.

Post: #4

In.

Post: #5

Just 17 pages in and I've already learned more and been more entertained than I have been by entire books.

Post: #6

I'm in. My dad was a physicist before he retired and he had this on his bookshelf in the living room for years. Should've read it when I was in high school, I would've learned something no doubt.

Post: #7

Okay, we're getting near the end of the month. I've been working since 7:30 this morning and I'm a little too beat to write up anything, but I'll put my thoughts on the book up in a day or two.

Post: #8

Late to the (non-existent) party, but here's Feynman's "red pill" realization:

"That relieved me a great deal. It explained everything. I had been telling all the girls the simple-minded, stupid truth, and I never knew what the
trouble was. It was perfectly obvious that I was being shunned by one girl after another when I did everything perfectly nice and natural and was
polite, and answered the questions. Everything would look very pleasant, and then thwoop --it wouldn't work. I didn't understand it until this woman
fortunately called me a damn liar.

So then I tried to avoid all the questions, and it had the opposite effect: "Are you a freshman?"
"Well, no."
"Are you a graduate student?"
"No."
"What are you?"
"I don't want to say."
"Why won't you tell us what you are?"
"I don't want to . . . --and they'd keep talking to me!"

Post: #9

"OK," he says. "The whole principle is this: The guy wants to be a gentleman. He doesn't want to be thought of as impolite, crude, or especially a
cheapskate. As long as the girl knows the guy's motives so well, it's easy to steer him in the direction she wants him to go.

"Therefore," he continued, "under no circumstances be a gentleman! You must disrespect the girls. Furthermore, the very first rule is, don't buy a
girl anything--not even a package of cigarettes--until you've asked her if she'll sleep with you, and you're convinced that she will, and that she's not
lying."

-- Feynman learning "game" from an MC and his wife in the 40s/50s

Post: #10

Read this last year. Great book, that I'll definitely have to re-read at some point