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Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character
[03-03-04]
Feynman is regarded by the scientific community as one of the greatest minds ,
on a par with Einstein. Yet amidst this, he managed to teach me a lesson that
helped me with my attitude. "What do you care what other people think?".
Usually books from physicists suffer in their attempt to make the language of
mathematics understandable to the public by means of analogies that confuse
the issues even more. This book will not confuse the layman. But it'll
befuddle anyone lacking in a sense of humor. Was this the same scientist who'd
written about the photons and path-integrals and other confusing mathematical
nonsense? It was indeed! And he has won an noble prize for the same.
This book details, in Feynman's own words, various anecdotes which should more
properly be termed 'misadventures'. This Nobel laureate relates his tales of
him lock picking safes at the Manhattan Project (Testing of First Nuke) , of
stealing doors from dormitories, and leaning how to draw as an excuse to see
naked women. It shows that even our greatest scientists can be just regular
guys like you and me. Stories of him being the only scientist at Trinity
(where the first atom bomb he worked on was detonated) to get out from the
protected bunker so he could "see" the detonation (jumped behind the glass in
his truck because he WAS PRETTY SURE the gamma and X-rays wouldn't harm his
eyes) and him leading a protest against the shutting down of a local strip bar
(where he would spend many of his final days doing drawings), this book
details the life of one of the bravest, most accomplished, and dynamic men of
all time.
The real message I got out of these stories was how Feynman was so willing to
try everything - particularly the things he was not very good at. He's a bad
artist, so he decides to learn how to draw and ends up getting his own art
show. He's not very musical, so he learns to play drums and ends up recording
the music for a ballet. He doesn't know any biology, so he starts learning and
ends up doing experiments with JD Watson. In one section he delves into Mayan
history and starts deciphering the codecs. In another memorable chapter he
learns the art of safecracking while at Los Alamos. This book sort of inspires
me to try something I stink at and see how much I can accomplish. He even
helps you out on how to have a girl with minimum of efforts. For Feynman, it
seems like there was nothing he couldn't do.
PAPILLON by Henri Charrière
Never been
one to read autobiography’s I now have 5 on my desk in between the mounds of
physics textbooks, inspirational art and design books and scribbled on
notepads and it’s all down to Henri Charrière “(In my words, not his) I am a
member of the Paris underworld, I am no murderer though. I was arrested and
framed by the courts for the killing of a pimp. They put into penal servitude
for life, but I will not be held, I will escape or I will die in the
attempt". His journey will take you from French Guiana to Colombia, with stops
and experiences along the way; this is far more than an escape story, far more
than an adventure story, it is the story of a mans 13 year pursuit of freedom.
HITCH
HIKERS GUIDE TO GALAXY by Douglas Adams
Adams
writes well, has a fertile and sometimes bizarre imagination, peoples his
stories with self-absorbed characters and isn't afraid to make the central
hero a pessimistic boor. There has been science fiction comedy before this but
Adams has earned the crown for the best Sci-Fi satirist, in my opinion at
least.
This five-book trilogy revolves around Arthur Dent, supposedly a typical
English loser. Poor Arthur gets thrown into one difficult situation after
another, not because he is in any way special, but because his best friend,
Ford Prefect, happens to be an alien reporter for the most popular book in the
history of the universe, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Ford saves
Arthur from Earth's immanent destruction, thus derailing Arthur's equilibrium.
He doesn't regain his balance until four books later when he falls in love.
His dialogue is so witty and surprising, that when I first read these books it
was impossible to hold in my laughter. And it's not just the occasional quip,
sprinkled into an otherwise standard tale; the whole thing tends to build into
a crescendo that is almost too funny to bear.
CATCH 22
by Joseph Heller
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22,
which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that
were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and
could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would
no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to
fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly
them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want
to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute
simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed. I 'ld like to conclude" You 'll
like it"
DAY OF
THE JACKAL by Frederick Forsyth
The
amazingly realistic and interesting set of characters makes the story more
readable, they are people to whom you either love or loathe, the characters
range from the Assassin who acts like a true gentleman to a rather large OAS
gorilla who cares about one person more than anyone, no not himself but his
daughter. I suggest that if you are thinking of buying the book, DON'T THINK
DO! It is a brilliant book that will keep you thinking and wondering, can this
possibly be fiction.
-Signing off
Chandan
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