Think you know Richard Feynman? - comments

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a quiz related to Richard Feynman, exploring participants' scores and their familiarity with his life and work. The conversation includes reflections on Feynman's popularity compared to other scientists, particularly Einstein, and participants share their experiences and thoughts on the quiz questions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express that Feynman does not reach the same level of popular science fame as Einstein.
  • Several participants report difficulties with specific quiz questions, particularly question 5, suggesting it may contain errors.
  • Many participants share their quiz scores, indicating a range of familiarity with Feynman's life and contributions.
  • Some participants mention having read Feynman's autobiographies or biographies, which influenced their quiz performance.
  • A few participants highlight interesting facts they learned from the quiz, such as Feynman's synesthesia.
  • There are mixed feelings about the difficulty of the quiz questions, with some finding them challenging and others suggesting they could have been framed differently.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that Feynman's fame is less than that of Einstein, but there is no consensus on the accuracy of the quiz questions or the best way to assess knowledge about Feynman.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that their scores were influenced by guessing, and there are references to the difficulty of remembering specific details about Feynman's life and work.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those who want to learn more about Richard Feynman, his contributions to science, and how he is perceived in comparison to other prominent scientists.

  • #61
10/12

Just finished the audiobook of the Lawrence Krauss bio. Krauss uses the 1/200 number for Challenger
 
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  • #62
zoobyshoe said:
10/12

#2 needs to be changed to "drawing". And I'll need a citation for #5. I know that Richard Cytowic thinks Feynman had synesthesia, but I don't believe Feynman, himself, made any such claim.

Feynam said that he saw equations flying around in all sorts of colors.

I got 8, having read the books about ten years ago.
 
  • #63
Hornbein said:
Feynam said that he saw equations flying around in all sorts of colors.
I need chapter and verse from Feynman's mouth. I want to know the context.
 
  • #64
scored 3 :(
 
  • #65
'Satisfactory' 6/12 despite having read two biogs and an autobiography, his essays, QED and parts of Lectures.
But some of those fails don't worry me. Too bad sister didn't leave vivid impression on me. Those numbers were just a guess. What's syneasthesia? Why did he need a van?
 
  • #66
8
 
  • #67
10/12
 
  • #68
Raghav Gupta said:
I got 4 and failed:smile:.
By the way I don't know about him as he is not talked about in high school as Einstein is talked about.
Just took the quiz for seeing my luck.
2 answers I knew, other were guesses.

There is error in question 5 of "what condition he had"
It's showing the wrong answer that I have chosen but not the correct one.
Greg Bernhardt said:
Post your scores :)
11 out of 12 :)
 
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  • #69
7! Woo! I might be below average at physics but at least I'm a "satisfactory" fan-girl. :)
 
  • #70
I got a 4, but I didn't think I knew him that well.
 
  • #71
5/12. Fun quiz. His daughter published a book of his letters to her.
 
  • #73
i got 5. i was not sure about the guide of feynamann. i made a random guess. i got it correct surprising.
 

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