Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Feynman, Richard P., and Ralph Leighton. 1997. Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! W. W. Norton & Company.
Rating:
2
Summary:
Annoying enough to make me stop listening after the second CD
The book is a collection of essays/reminiscences, written by Richard P. Feynman, the famed physicist. The format is almost that of a journal, but it is less contemplative and more oriented toward a popular audience. The stories I listened to ranged from stories from his childhood interest in fixing radios to his time spent working in a hotel for his aunt to his college pranks at M.I.T. I only made it as far as the beginning of his graduate work before I turned off the CD… I explain why below.
Review:
I was excited to hear about the life of this supposedly ‘curious character,’ but, unfortunately, listening to it on CD was unbearable. At one point Feynman admits that he was utterly uninterested in anything other than science while in school. As a result, he took only one English class in college. Unfortunately, it shows. The single biggest problem with the essays is that they are grating on the ears. They are made up of short, simplistic sentences that turn the stories into unbearable staccato phrases. Admittedly it could have been the reader of the book (I was listening to it on CD), but I think the problem, at root, lay with the writing – it was awful!!! One word kept coming to mind – sophomoric. One or two more English classes really could not have hurt…
Coupled with the excruciating writing is the fact that the author, Richard Feynman, comes across as quite arrogant. This comes across in that he seems to think he is funnier than he really is. It also is expressed by the very purpose of the book; he must actually have believed people were going to be so interested in his life that they would be willing to listen to mundane stories about Feynman’s time spent fixing radios and emptying ashtrays. After the 88th radio fixed, I got the point: he’s inquisitive and likes to solve puzzles. Now tell me an interesting story!
Feynman’s arrogance also comes across in that he is demeaning of other people. He seems to think that anyone without a PhD in physics just isn’t smart enough to warrant the life they have. He pokes fun at anyone and everyone because he thinks he’s more intelligent than they are. He may have been, but unless he’s willing to grow his own food, build his own house, and dig the hole for his shit, he should tone down his arrogance and recognize the invaluable contribution that those ‘less intelligent’ people make.
As long as I’m harping on Feynman’s arrogance… Feynman also seems to think that he’s an expert on anything and everything. For instance, he spends quite a bit of time describing an essay he wrote for a course on philosophy about dreams. After spending a couple of months considering his dreams, he seems to think that he’s figured them out entirely and that any future study of dreams is pointless. While I happen to agree that most dreams are just random thoughts without any apparent meaning, I believe the physiology behind dreaming is still in its infancy. Feynman may have been an expert physicist, but he wasn’t an expert on everything and, unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have realized that fact.
Overall, while some of the stories are funny and a few were actually interesting enough to keep my focus despite the horrific writing, I didn’t feel the essays were informative enough or interesting enough to warrant listening to any longer than I did. Perhaps in book form this collection of essays makes a better impression. But on CD, this was more painful than entertaining. I respect Feynman as a scientist, but as a writer he certainly had room to improve. I don’t recommend this book.