Think you know Richard Feynman? - comments

[StatGuy2000]

10 out of 12 for this test -- I got the question about his favourite place to travel wrong which I should have answered right (Mexico, instead of Brazil). Ouch!

 

[aleazk]

8/10, no guesses. I read SYAJMF some years ago.

 

[RaulTheUCSCSlug]

I did completely terrible, (as I thought I would) but did enjoy learning some new facts about the Dick himself! I also remember hearing that he was very fond of strippers. And enjoyed learning new facts about the legend himself.

5/12

 

[Stephanus]

6/12

I kinda like Feynman more than Einstein. Feynman seems, real. Colorful. Human.

Einstein was also humorous.

 

[fluidistic]

I got 5, but I really knew only 3.

 

[Dr Transport]

9... and he is still my favorite physicist of all time.

 

[KrisOhn]

10, I've read most of his books and the ones about him.

 

[e.bar.goum]

11/12! I missed the one about the odds of catastrophic failure in the Challenger investigation. Clearly, there's some stuff stuck in the dim corners of my memory.

(ETA: And it's not like he's a hero of mine either. So I don't even know where that stuff came from.)

 

[cobalt124]

9/12.

 

[pinball1970]

9. I do better on the trivia than I do understanding the damn physics!

Thats why I am here

 

[ShayanJ]

10-very good!

 

[Lisa!]

5...

 

[PAllen]

10 / 12.

 

[Muti]

Some brilliant peoples here... judging by score they are getting

 

[wabbit]

5/12, which is 1.3 sigma above a completely random result. Will wait a bit more before claiming I know something about Feynman : )

 

[Nugso]

Congratulations – you have completed Richard Feynman Quiz.

You scored 11 points out of 12 points total.

Your performance has been rated as Excellent.

Ah, didn't know he taught at Cornell.

 

[phion]

I've read/listened/watched almost all there is regarding Feynman, and I scored a 7.

 

[DiracPool]

8/12. I never knew he had synethesia. You think that would have been mentioned somewhere in his bios.

 

[Puma]

6 - it's been a long time since I read his excellent autobiography.

 

[mabs239]

3/12, All Guesses.

 

[PeterDonis]

8/12, would have been 10/12 if I had trusted my first instinct on two questions (Brazil and Professor).

Also I'm not sure about question 10. I answered 1 in 100, while the "correct" answer is given as 1 in 200. What is the source for that number? In his famous Appendix F to the commission report (famous enough for me to have borrowed its last sentence for my sig, anyway ), the final estimate is given as "on the order of a percent" (i.e., 1 in 100). The number 1 in 200 doesn't appear anywhere.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

What is the source for that number?

I think I found it on his wiki page

 

[PeterDonis]

I think I found it on his wiki page

Ah, another illustration of how Wikipedia can't always be trusted. I see the "1 in 200" figure there, but the only source given is Appendix F to the commission report, which I linked to, and which does not contain that figure anywhere. The only figure I think is justified by that document (which is the correct primary source) is "1 in 100". The two key quotes from that document are, first, from the opening paragraph:

"The estimates range from roughly 1 in 100 to 1 in 100,000. The higher figures come from the working engineers, and the very low figures from management."

Second, from the conclusion:

"They [the Shuttles] therefore fly in a relatively unsafe condition, with a chance of failure of the order of a percent (it is difficult to be more accurate)."

(The Wiki page does mention Feynman's book, What Do You Care What Other People Think, the second half of which is his telling the story of the Challenger investigation. It's possible that the "1 in 200" figure is given somewhere in there; I don't have my copy handy to check. Even if it is, though, I would say the "official" primary source is still the Appendix F document, so I should still get 1 more point of credit for this quiz, which is of course my real agenda here. )

 

[technotoltec]

5 correct

though i knew he painted some, but wasn't he passionate about drumming.

 

[Xsnac]

6/12

 

[Franco_Carr14]

10/12, his books are so inspirational in my opinion,

 

[phion]

I can't believe my score. I read so many of his books...

 

[Dembadon]

Scored 8.

Honestly, I guessed on a couple, so let's say 6.

 

[fireflies]

Well, I just know his name. I haven't read so much about scientists. So, all the questions I left unanswered. But the comment says I must read about him :)

 

[tommyxu3]

Got 3 wrong... I don't know his IQ...