He wasn't joking. 10 July, 2011

In an effort to take more out of the books I read and to get back on the writing routine, I've decided to write little reviews, really just cobbled together thoughts, on the books I read. I tend to do this over at goodreads, but I've fallen out of the habit or I'll write a one line thought about it. So to the blog world! I'll steer clear of summaries because this isn't 5th grade and amazon/goodreads does a great job of that already.

So last week I read Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, which I assumed would be a more biographical  about Richard Fenyman, but in fact it turned out to be a delightful collection of his own writings and lectures.

He is one funny theoretical physicist. Several times I would laugh out loud while reading this on the subway. Feynman is a fantastic writer. He writes with such each and weaves some funny stories about the more absurd parts of his life. He steers clear of the events you would expect--working on the Manhattan Project-- and focuses on the absurd situations he finds himself in, like fighting in bars or randomly patenting nuclear technologies before they existed just because he thought it  could be done. This is a mind that solved some major problems with Physics (and other academic pursuits), but Feynman spends a lot, and I do mean a lot, of the bemoaning his in ability to pick up women. I really enjoyed how when he was interested in something he just did it--like studying Mayan Hieroglyphics or learning Japanese.

I would definitely want to have a drink with this curious character.