Als den "brillantesten, respektlosesten und einflußreichsten theoretischen Physiker der Nachkriegszeit" bezeichnete die "New York Times" den 1988 verstorbenen Naturwissenschaftler R. P. Feynman. In seinem letzten Buch berichtet er von Menschen, die ihn geprägt haben, sowie von seinen Erlebnissen als "neugieriger Physiker" in Europa, Asien und Amerika.
Dieses witzige Buch des amerikanischen Physikers und Nobelpreisträgers dreht sich rund um den Menschen Feynman, der mit Anekdoten und Geschichten aus der Schulzeit, aus seiner Zeit in Alamo und schließlich als Professor aufwartet, die den Schluß zulassen, daß Feynman zeitlebens das war, was man hier als "Lausebengel" bezeichnen würde. Aber auch die Motivation Feynmans, zu den höchsten Gipfeln der Wissenschaft vorzudringen, wird aus diesen Geschichten deutlich: die Neugier.
A close friend of physicist Richard Feynman chronicles his relationship with the scientist and describes their ten-year quest to reach the remote country of Tannu Tuva.
A series of anecdotes, such as are included in <i>Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman</i>, shouldn't by rights add up to an autobiography, but that's just one of the many pieces of received wisdom that Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (1918-88) cheerfully ignores in this engagingly eccentric book. Fiercely independent (read the chapter entitled "Judging Books by Their Covers"), intolerant of stupidity even when it comes packaged as high intellectualism (check out "Is Electricity Fire?"), unafraid to offend (see "You Just Ask Them?"), Feynman informs by entertaining. It's possible to enjoy <i>Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman</i>, a bestseller ever since its initial publication in 1985, simply as a bunch of hilarious yarns with the author as know-it-all hero. At some point, however, attentive readers realise that underneath all the merriment simmers a running commentary on what constitutes authentic knowledge: learning by understanding, not by rote; refusal to give up on seemingly insoluble problems, and total disrespect for fancy ideas that have no grounding in the real world. Feynman himself had all these qualities in spades, and they come through with vigour and verve in his no-bull prose. No wonder his students--and readers around the world--adored him. --<i>Wendy Smith</i>
A Problem-Solving Supplement to the Feynman Lectures on Physics
This new volume contains four previously unpublished lectures that Feynman gave to students preparing for exams. With characteristic flair, insight and humor, Feynman discusses topics students struggle with and offers valuable tips on solving physics problems. An illuminating memoir by Matthew Sands who originally conceived The Feynman Lectures on Physics gives a fascinating insight into the history of Feynman’s lecture series and the books that followed. This book is rounded off by relevant exercises and answers by R. B. Leighton and R. E. Vogt, originally developed to accompany the Lectures on Physics.