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.

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Greg Bernhardt submitted a new PF Insights post

Think You Know Richard Feynman?

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Greg Bernhardt said:
Post your scores :)
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.
 
He doesn't quite reach the level of pop sci fame that Einstein does.
 
Greg Bernhardt said:
He doesn't quite reach the level of pop sci fame that Einstein does.
That's true.
 
No option is coming correct for question 5.
I've tried the quiz 4 times for seeing the correct answer.
 
Raghav Gupta said:
No option is coming correct for question 5.
I've tried the quiz 4 times for seeing the correct answer.
Fixed, thanks
 
2?
Odd.
It's been only 20 years since I've read his biography.
 
6/12
 
  • #10
5/12 - the only thing I was fairly sure of was his doctoral advisor.
 
  • #11
8/12
 
  • #12
I didn't know any of these. Guessed on all of them and got 3/12, as one might expect.
 
  • #13
I got 11/12 and in my opinion Richard Feynman is my favorite scientist.
 
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  • #14
10/12. I don't know if I am ashamed or proud of this.
 
  • #15
6, all guesses except picking locks,

I've only read a bit of him, but seen a fair bit of video / lectures, and yea he is great! I really enjoyed his take on the discovery inquiry, as sincere as he is bright i guess. hmmm...makes me wonder if there are Einstein lecture videos?
 
  • #16
8/12

I've read Gleick's Genius and Surely You Must Be Joking ...

These covered family (Joan), Wheeler, Manhattan and locks, Cornell, Brazil, painting, FD's on the van. Couldn't quite recalll IQ, off by 5. Knew Challenger failure odds were low, but thought 1:100. Never read about the synaesthesia, and couldn't be bothered to look up the exact year for QED.
 
Last edited:
  • #17
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.
 
  • #18
5. I read his autobiography about 25 years ago, so I'm not surprised.
 
  • #19
6/12

I kinda like Feynman more than Einstein. Feynman seems, real. Colorful. Human.
 
  • #20
Greg Bernhardt said:
Post your scores :)
8.

I read his autobiographies a long time ago, so I knew a few things, e.g that he was a painter. But the questions were very difficult. It's not that easy to know the exact year he won the Nobel (I actually guessed that one right), or that probability that he estimated. It would probably have been better to ask what he got the price for, or who he shared it with, and to ask what investigation he was involved in.
 
  • #21
9. Woohoo.. Told you I'd do better on Feynman than on Einstein.
 
  • #22
That being said, it was very informative. Didn't know he had synesthesia.
 
  • #23
Fredrik said:
8.

I read his autobiographies a long time ago, so I knew a few things, e.g that he was a painter. But the questions were very difficult. It's not that easy to know the exact year he won the Nobel (I actually guessed that one right), or that probability that he estimated. It would probably have been better to ask what he got the price for, or who he shared it with, and to ask what investigation he was involved in.
Too easy :)
 
  • #24
6 out of twelve, but that's what you get for guessing. Fun quiz.
 
  • #25
9/12 woo . got the date and IQ wrong because numbers are hard to remember.
 
  • #26
2/12... Seems I heard about him first time. One Confession: I forgot quantum mechanics long ago:biggrin:
 
  • #27
8 but I had luck on 5 of my guesses :-)
 
  • #28
8, including a couple of guesses.
 
  • #29
10/12 guessed the 1/200 given I knew his IQ test was 125 and they were going to be mutually exclusive middle answers.. really thought it'd be barber though given it was kind of the odd one out
 
  • #30
10 out of 12
 

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