AD‘ VENT U% RESOF A CURIRes eto5 us$ CCH ARACTER SAR n A tee PS S A Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/surelyyourejokinOO00feyn_d3n1 “SURELY YOU’RE JOKING, MR FEYNMAN!” “When great problems blocked the way of modern physics, Richard Feynman’s .zest, eye for the central point, and unquenchable sense of adventure carried him through. Nowhere more delightfully than in this collection of (mostly non-physics) stories can one see the lively mind that made a great discoverer.’ John A. Wheeler Director, Center for Theoretical Physics, University of Texas ee abee s ceae el td tics e m| e aelg~ 4 OTe ey" i ePeOWeeeaee , ee Richard P. Feynman “SURELY YOU’RE JOKING, MR FEYNMAN!” Adventures of a Curious Character as told to Ralph Leighton E0ITED BY, Edward Hutchings q/ Velo NaieA. cE First published in Vintage 1992 14 16 18 20 19 17 15 Copyright © 1985 by Richard P. Feynman and Ralph Leighton This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser First published by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1985 Vintage Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA Random House Australia (Pty) Limited 20 Alfred Street, Milsons Point, Sydney New South Wales 2061, Australia Random House New Zealand Limited 18 Poland Road, Glenfield, Auckland 10, New Zealand Random House (Pty) Limited Endulini, 5a Jubilee Road, Parktown 2193, South Africa The Random House Group Limited Reg. No. 954009 www.randomhouse.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this book is available es the British Library Papers used by Random House are natural, recyclable products made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin ISBN 0 09 917331 X Printed and bound in Norway by AIT Trondheim AS THE STORIES in this book were collected intermittently and informally during seven years of very enjoyable drumming with Richard Feynman. I have found each story by itself to be amusing, and the collection taken together to be amazing: That one person could have so many wonderfully crazy things happen to him in one life is Pretace sometimes hard to believe. That one per- son could invent so much innocent mis- chief in one life is surely an inspiration! RALPH LEIGHTON ten "eit lat | Noew ‘yetiieny aeP icliibiaien ‘. ce Heinh ese 5 ew Sarah a Aca Blike abe} Pr pons OF . ; : 453 ork} Pres <3 ig ee Introduction by Albert R. Hibbs Vitals FROM FAR ROCKAWAY TO MIT Part 1 He Fixes Radios by Thinking! String Beans Who Stole the Door? Latin or Italian? Contents Always Trying to Escape The Chief Research Chemist of the Metaplast Corporation THE PRINCETON YEARS Part We “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” 59 Meeeeeeeceeee! A Map of the Cat? Monster Minds Mixing Paints A Different Box of Tools Mindreaders The Amateur Scientist FEYNMAN, THE BOMB, AND THE MILITARY 99 Part $i Fizzled Fuses 99 Testing Bloodhounds 104 Los Alamcs from Below 107 Safecracker Meets Safecracker 137 Uncle Sam Doesn’t Need You! 156 FROM CORNELL TO CALTECH, WITH A TOUCH OF BRAZIL 165 Part 4 . The Dignified Professor 165 8 Contents Any Questions? 175 I Want My Dollar! 180 You Just Ask Them? 184 Lucky Numbers 192 O Americano, Outra Vez! 199 Man of a Thousand Tongues 220 Certainly, Mr. Big! 221 An Offer You Must Refuse 232 THE WORLD OF ONE PHYSICIST 237 Part ) Would You Solve the Dirac Equation? 237 The 7 Percent Solution 247 Thirteen Times 256 It Sounds Greek to Me! 258 But Is It Art? 260 Is Electricity Fire? 279 Judging Books by Their Covers 288 Alfred Nobel’s Other Mistake 303 Bringing Culture to the Physicists 313 Found Out in Paris 318 Altered States 330 Cargo Cult Science 338 Index 347