Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life

A wonderful look inside the academic hallways of the upper echelons of physics. Mlodinow was talented but insecure and directionless when he landed a career job at Cal Tech. He had the chutzpah to impose himself on a reluctant Feynman and collect some of Feynman's personal wisdom, earned in success, loss, grief, and a fatal disease.

The gleanings of wisdom are worth the read. I am equally inspired by Mlodinov's parallel careers of both physics and writing. The world needs more of that. Chet Raymo comes to mind.

I think I will go read, and re-read some Raymo.

Enjoyable, quick read about physics student finding his path...and relying on Feynman's advice for understanding oneself better

Nesta narrativa divertida, sensível e altamente inspiradora, Leonard Mlodinow relembra os dias que compartilhou com o célebre físico Richard Feynman no prestigiado Instituto de Tecnologia da Califórnia, o Caltech. Na obra, ele revela as idéias que os dois exploraram e as opiniões que trocaram a respeito da vida e da física no início da década de 1980. Numa série de diálogos abrangentes e fascinantes, Feynman, ganhador do Prêmio Nobel de Física de 1965, examina a natureza da ciência, criatividade, amor, matemática, felicidade, Deus, arte, prazeres e ambição. Você mergulhará num universo de perguntas e respostas surpreendentes, bem-humoradas e muitas vezes comoventes entre um jovem físico inseguro quanto ao caminho a show more seguir e seu colega mais velho, que está com os dias contados por causa de um câncer. Ao mesmo tempo, conhecerá uma versão descomplicada dos conceitos da física, escrita numa linguagem simples e acessível. Nesta história estão sobretudo as preciosas reflexões de uma mente genial sobre a importância de sermos capazes de ver a beleza no trabalho que realizamos e de sempre olharmos para ele com admiração, alegria e simplicidade. show less

From the library of Anthony De La Puente, a true story of a young scholar and his experiences with his hero Richard Feynman. At times hokey, this book is saved by being true-to-life to its characters. Feynman has no desire to be an inspiration, a mentor, or the person who figures things out for other people. He’s above such pop psychology, yet Mlodinow still manages to find a whole lot of the above from his encounters with Feynman. Or maybe it all comes from himself as Feynman says? All in all, a good book about the timeless (and tired) themes of appreciating beauty in everyday life and being true to yourself. This book would make a good movie.

“The creative mind has a vast attic. That homework problem you did in college, that show more intriguing but seemingly pointless paper you spent a week deciphering as a postdoc, that offhand remark from a colleague, all are stored in hope chests somewhere in the creative person’s brain, often to be picked through and applied to the subconscious at the most unexpected moments. It is part of the creative process that transcends physics.” (p. 82)

“I thought, you don’t need cancer to die. It could come just like that, from a moment of carelessness. You get into the car. You are terminally ill, but you don’t even know it until the last moment when you are slamming the brakes.” (p. 148) show less

A wonderful look inside the academic hallways of the upper echelons of physics. Mlodinow was talented but insecure and directionless when he landed a career job at Cal Tech. He had the chutzpah to impose himself on a reluctant Feynman and collect some of Feynman's personal wisdom, earned in success, loss, grief, and a fatal disease.

The gleanings of wisdom are worth the read. I am equally inspired by Mlodinov's parallel careers of both physics and writing. The world needs more of that. Chet Raymo comes to mind.

I think I will go read, and re-read some Raymo.

4 1/2 stars, because it's really too short.
A coworker once recommended Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. I read it and I loved it. I also read QED: Quantum Electrodymanics, by Feynman. Finally, and on a whim, I read Subliminal, by Leonard Mlodinow. It was 3 for 3.

So I knew this would also be a winner. And it was.

A short memoir about Mlodinow's year as a post-doc fellow at California Institute of Technology, with transcripts from some key conversations he had with Feynman.

I will no doubt be reading this one again. I marked several pages to quote, for the way the author has with words.

Good stuff. One man's recounting of I guess what you'd call informal conversations with Richard Feynman. The author was appointed to the physics department at Cal Tech but struggled to some up with something to woirk on. So, it's about him, what it's like to be in a big-time physics department and what Feynman was like in his later years.