Insights Think you know Richard Feynman? - comments

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers around a quiz about Richard Feynman, highlighting participants' scores and experiences with the quiz. Many users express their admiration for Feynman, noting his unique personality and contributions to science, often comparing him to Einstein. Several participants report difficulties with specific quiz questions, particularly question 5 regarding Feynman's condition, which was noted to have an incorrect answer. Participants share their scores, with some achieving high marks while others struggled, often attributing their results to guessing. The conversation also touches on Feynman's interests outside of physics, such as painting and drumming, and includes debates about the accuracy of certain quiz questions and the sources of information regarding Feynman's life and work. Overall, the thread reflects a mix of appreciation for Feynman's legacy and a light-hearted engagement with the quiz format.
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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.
 
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  • #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
 
  • #31
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! :eek:
 
  • #32
8/10, no guesses. I read SYAJMF some years ago.
 
  • #33
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
 
  • #34
rollingstein said:
6/12

I kinda like Feynman more than Einstein. Feynman seems, real. Colorful. Human.
Einstein was also humorous.
 
  • #35
I got 5, but I really knew only 3.
 
  • #36
9... and he is still my favorite physicist of all time.
 
  • #37
10, I've read most of his books and the ones about him.
 
  • #38
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.)
 
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  • #39
9/12.
 
  • #40
9. I do better on the trivia than I do understanding the damn physics!

Thats why I am here
 
  • #42
5...:oldtongue:
 
  • #43
10 / 12.
 
  • #44
Some brilliant peoples here... judging by score they are getting :nb):nb)
 
  • #45
5/12, which is 1.3 sigma above a completely random result. Will wait a bit more before claiming I know something about Feynman : )
 
  • #46
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.
 
  • #47
I've read/listened/watched almost all there is regarding Feynman, and I scored a 7.
 
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  • #48
8/12. I never knew he had synethesia. You think that would have been mentioned somewhere in his bios.
 
  • #49
6 - it's been a long time since I read his excellent autobiography.
 
  • #50
3/12, All Guesses.
 

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