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The Character of Physical Law is one of my favorite books by Richard P. Feynman. It conveyed to me a deep understanding of what the universe is like, to the extent that we know it through science. He had a deeper understanding of what is actually going on, a feel in his head for how things work, that few physicists seem to know in the same immediate intuitive way that he knew.
I've recommended that book to friends dozens of times. It's an extraordinary book.
Now the original lectures the book is based on have been made available online by Bill Gates. I love Feynman so much. He's got such a passion for his subject, and has such a brilliant clear mind. If you're at all interested in how the universe works, in a deep understanding of the natural world, please watch these lectures.
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There's also a series of video lectures online here, of Feynman lecturing on quantum electrodynamics. These lectures were the basis for his book QED.
Posts: 1080 | Registered: Apr 2006
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Sean, thanks for the link to the QED lectures. I love that book as well, so I'll watch them next.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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I just watched the one about past and future. It was so awesome. I'm enjoying all of them but that one was particularly interesting, I thought. The thing I find most fascinating is when he generalizes at the end about what it all might mean and what implications these things have. He does that near the end of most of these lectures.
First he explains in pretty good detail a concrete concept, giving examples and using good metaphors so we come to understand it. Then at the end he sort of speculates or philosophizes or extrapolates to talk about what we know about the universe and nature because of these things. To me that's the most exciting part. But without those concrete ideas at the beginning to fix us in the ground of reality, the speculation part at the end could degenerate into just fantasy, you know? I love how it's tied to real understanding. I feel like he truly advances our knowledge this way.
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I've watched the first two of the QED lectures, now, after finishing the first set I linked to above. They're a lot of fun. Feynman is really fun to watch. He's a real showman.
He's also the indirect reason why anyone in the U.S. has heard of Tuvan throat singers, since he and his friend Ralph Leighton sort of made them well known.
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Alas, now I've watched them all, and don't know what to do anymore about my Feynman cravings. I guess I could reread Surely You're Joking.
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