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Richard Feynman was a man of many talents: accomplished author, lively lecturer, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, halfway decent bongo player. Among his arsenal of skills was an unwavering tendency to speak his mind, bluntly and sometimes brutally. Many may take this for granted, but in truth, it was vital to his success as a person and as a scientist.
In today's society, which increasingly seems awash in political correctness, Feynman's straightforward style is a breath of fresh air. Here is a selection of some of his more penetrating insights and opinions. (Warning: you might be offended.)
On Tipping:
"There were certain things I didn't like, such as tipping. I thought we should be paid more, and not have to have any tips. But when I proposed this to the boss, I got nothing but laughter. She told everybody, 'Richard doesn't want his tips, hee, hee, hee; he doesn't want his tips, ha, ha, ha.' The world is full of this kind of dumb smart-alec who doesn't understand anything."
- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
On Philosophy:
“Philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds.”
- Unsourced
On Government:
"The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued on too philosophical and abstract a basis. Theoretically, planning may be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity—and until they do (and find the cure), all ideal plans will fall into quicksand."
- 1963 letter to his wife Gweneth
On the Humanities:
"The theoretical broadening which comes from having many humanities subjects on the campus is offset by the general dopiness of the people who study these things."
- Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman (1992) by James Gleick
On Science:
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts."
- address "What is Science?", presented at the fifteenth annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association, in New York City (1966)
On String Theory:
"I do feel strongly that this is nonsense! … So perhaps I could entertain future historians by saying I think all this superstring stuff is crazy and is in the wrong direction. I think all this superstring stuff is crazy and is in the wrong direction. … I don’t like it that they’re not calculating anything. … why are the masses of the various particles such as quarks what they are? All these numbers … have no explanations in these string theories – absolutely none! … I don’t like that they don’t check their ideas. I don’t like that for anything that disagrees with an experiment, they cook up an explanation—a fix-up to say, “Well, it might be true.”
- interview published in Superstrings: A Theory of Everything? (1988) edited by Paul C. W. Davies and Julian R. Brown, p. 193-194 ISBN 0521354625
On God:
"God was always invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand."
- interview published in Superstrings: A Theory of Everything? (1988) edited by Paul C. W. Davies and Julian R. Brown, p. 208-209 ISBN 0521354625
On Belief:
"[I call myself] an atheist. Agnostic for me would be trying to weasel out and sound a little nicer than I am about this."
- The Voice of Genius: Conversations with Nobel Scientists and Other Luminaries by Denis Brian (1995), Basic Books, p. 49.
On Physics:
"Physics is to mathematics what sex is to masturbation."
- Lawrence M. Krauss, Fear of Physics: A Guide for the Perplexed (1993), p. 27
On Quantum Mechanics:
"I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics."
- The Feynman Lectures on Physics
On Himself:
“I'm smart enough to know that I'm dumb.”
- The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, BBC
Getting Tired of Political Correctness? Here's Some Blunt Honesty, Courtesy of Richard Feynman. | RealClearScience
In today's society, which increasingly seems awash in political correctness, Feynman's straightforward style is a breath of fresh air. Here is a selection of some of his more penetrating insights and opinions. (Warning: you might be offended.)
On Tipping:
"There were certain things I didn't like, such as tipping. I thought we should be paid more, and not have to have any tips. But when I proposed this to the boss, I got nothing but laughter. She told everybody, 'Richard doesn't want his tips, hee, hee, hee; he doesn't want his tips, ha, ha, ha.' The world is full of this kind of dumb smart-alec who doesn't understand anything."
- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
On Philosophy:
“Philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds.”
- Unsourced
On Government:
"The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued on too philosophical and abstract a basis. Theoretically, planning may be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity—and until they do (and find the cure), all ideal plans will fall into quicksand."
- 1963 letter to his wife Gweneth
On the Humanities:
"The theoretical broadening which comes from having many humanities subjects on the campus is offset by the general dopiness of the people who study these things."
- Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman (1992) by James Gleick
On Science:
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts."
- address "What is Science?", presented at the fifteenth annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association, in New York City (1966)
On String Theory:
"I do feel strongly that this is nonsense! … So perhaps I could entertain future historians by saying I think all this superstring stuff is crazy and is in the wrong direction. I think all this superstring stuff is crazy and is in the wrong direction. … I don’t like it that they’re not calculating anything. … why are the masses of the various particles such as quarks what they are? All these numbers … have no explanations in these string theories – absolutely none! … I don’t like that they don’t check their ideas. I don’t like that for anything that disagrees with an experiment, they cook up an explanation—a fix-up to say, “Well, it might be true.”
- interview published in Superstrings: A Theory of Everything? (1988) edited by Paul C. W. Davies and Julian R. Brown, p. 193-194 ISBN 0521354625
On God:
"God was always invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand."
- interview published in Superstrings: A Theory of Everything? (1988) edited by Paul C. W. Davies and Julian R. Brown, p. 208-209 ISBN 0521354625
On Belief:
"[I call myself] an atheist. Agnostic for me would be trying to weasel out and sound a little nicer than I am about this."
- The Voice of Genius: Conversations with Nobel Scientists and Other Luminaries by Denis Brian (1995), Basic Books, p. 49.
On Physics:
"Physics is to mathematics what sex is to masturbation."
- Lawrence M. Krauss, Fear of Physics: A Guide for the Perplexed (1993), p. 27
On Quantum Mechanics:
"I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics."
- The Feynman Lectures on Physics
On Himself:
“I'm smart enough to know that I'm dumb.”
- The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, BBC
Getting Tired of Political Correctness? Here's Some Blunt Honesty, Courtesy of Richard Feynman. | RealClearScience
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