Emily's Reviews > Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character
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This book of anecdotes is written in a very casual, fun way that makes it easy to read. The problem is that the author, Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Dick Feynman, is annoying. All the anecdotes involve him discovering a hidden talent, using it, delighting others (or himself if that's his real goal) and then being applauded for it (sometimes only by himself). For example, he discovers that he's a great artist, musician, safecracker, and critic. Everything revolves around him showing off and being somewhat of a jerk. There were many times when I thought, yeah buddy, *you* think it's funny but no one else does. A few stories like this and it's quirky but piled on top of each other, it's annoying.
I can't really recommend this book. Maybe mischevious self-aggrandizing guys would enjoy it but otherwise, I suggest a pass.
I can't really recommend this book. Maybe mischevious self-aggrandizing guys would enjoy it but otherwise, I suggest a pass.
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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!.
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Reading Progress
June 30, 2007
– Shelved
Started Reading
March 2, 2009
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Finished Reading
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Kathleen
(last edited Aug 25, 2016 11:55AM)
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Aug 09, 2007 08:06AM

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The man changed physics. His lectures on legendary. The world would be better off if there were more Richard Feynmans in it. He is good at things because he "solves" them. He's not bragging, he's proving to you that anything can be solved. Lesson not learned, I guess. I'm an English Major, and even I can appreciate his talent as a scientist.

The man changed physics. His lectures on legendary. The world would be better off if there were more Richard Feynmans in it. He is good at things because he "solves" them. He's not bragging, h..."
I picked this book up because of my admiration for Feynman. But just because he's a great scientist doesn't mean he can't be annoying and a little full of himself. (In fact, some argue that genius and arrogance go hand-in-hand.) There's no question he was a brilliant scientist. However, appreciation of his literary prose is something separate and open to subjective interpretation. (Hmm, you'd think an English major would know about that.)











I got this vibe from the review... sort of a shame really, ive generated an interest in Feynman from interviews ive seen...





I tried reading this after I saw it recommended in various places but I just don't get what everyone sees in this book. I gave up about 50 pages in.
Don't get me wrong, Feynman was a great scientist but dear god this book makes him sound like an obnoxious person. Playing pranks on people, laughing at others' expense, reveling in his own smugness, these are things that bullies do!


You seem to be mistaken. 欧宝娱乐 is not an e-book distribution website. It's a place where you review books you've read or are reading. Think "Yelp" not "iTunes". :)

And it wasn鈥檛 actually written by him. It鈥檚 just his conversations with a close friend. He didn鈥檛 actually think to tell it in exactly this way to the whole world.
I remember there were a few stupid jokes but they were all done mostly as experiments and were pretty harmless. It's a really common thing for a mathematicians to be a little senseless.
(PS i loved it and him. I think he is very funny and cute as he is a bit of a weirdo as all real scientists are
It鈥檚 so really sad that so many people didn鈥檛 enjoy this book)

So, before writing a review like this (and judging people who loved this book), make sure that you can achieve even 1% of what Sir Richard Feynman did.. and know that you are not the reference frame of this universe.

Jeez guy, it's just someone's opinion on a book, stop laying it on so thick and remember that not everyone has the same opinions on everything.



He wasn't full of himself, he was open to every possibility, and willing to try. Not many people think this way though, so it's easy to see how it could be misunderstood as egotistic.

Don't get me wrong, Feynman was a great scientist but dear god this book makes him sound like an obnoxious person. Playing pranks on people, laughing at others' expense, reveling in his own smugness, these are things that bullies do!"
Totally agree with this. Whoever wrote or edited this book - he did a disservice for Feynman's reputation, at least in my eyes. Now i can't think about him without disgust. Now i think he is an example of a brains without a heart, without an ability to love and genuinely care for other people, without an ability to see personalities in other people. He cares only for his coolness and solving math problems and the likes.
For me it looked like he was stuck in his teen ages and never matured.
There were many moments in this book when he, being so "bright" and "clever", made way too fast humiliating conclusions about people. And too fast self-bragging conclusions of him being so amazingly talented and quick in almost everything. Except physics, i often thought they were unreasonable and that he was being childish. I really hated the way he behaved himself with people, especially with women.
And i never saw him being sorry enough for the consequences of the nuclear bomb and for the common people, who suffered from it.


He was a great man, but some of the stories in this book made me think less of him as a person.



Exactly. And moreover, it's not even a written book.



Being full of oneself doesn't necessarily mean being a narcissist. It means contentment with life, and it is required. The world is already full of misery. Let's not make it more miserable.
And moreover, this is not even a written book. I don't know how else do you respond truthfully to questions you are being asked, when you have achieved so much in life!