Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was a unique, flamboyant individual who made incredible
contributions to the field of theoretical physics over the course of his lifetime.
Feynman worked on the atomic bomb project, won a Nobel Prize, and made multiple
contributions to the field of theoretical quantum physics. Many of the modern ways
theoretical physicists conceptualize particle and wave interactions is founded on
Feynman’s work. Feynman is also credited as a founder of modern nanotechnology.
However, as a person, Feynman was more than the sum of his contributions; he was
a unique and brilliant individual who insisted on taking his own path in life, frequently
shunning social and scientific norms in the process.
Throughout his childhood, Feynman had a positive, healthy relationship with his
mother and father. Having predicted his son (if it were a son) would be a scientist
before birth, Feynman’s father constantly encouraged him to question how things
work, and to ask why things are the way they are. Feynman’s mother was encouraging
and accepting of his curiosity even when it endangered or disrupted their household.
For instance, when his mother was asked by her friends how she could stand the noise
and occasional smoke (and trash-can fires from electrochemical experiments gone
awry) she simply replied, “It’s worth it.” In this way, Feynman’s parents played
a key role in shaping their son’s life trajectory and personality; his parents’
high expectations, encouragement, tolerance of his inquisitive nature, and lack
of insistence that their son follow strict social protocol resulted in Feynman developing
a positive, unique sense of self. By encouraging his cognitive strengths (and not
overly criticizing any social weaknesses), I believe Feynman’s parents played a
large role in cultivating his ability to freely investigate the nature of the universe
from his own, personal viewpoint, devoid of too many “shoulds” and “musts.”
This kind of accepting, encouraging mentality was pervasive in the community in
which Feynman was raised; Feynman grew up in a Jewish community of relatively poor
immigrants. During the 20’s and early 30’s when Feynman was growing up, science
was viewed as a respectable profession, largely devoid of anti-Semitism, and for
his parents the sciences seemed like an open door towards a better life for their
children. In addition, the Jewish community encouraged children to pursue respectable
professions such as science; the self-esteem of parents often revolved around bragging
rights to their sons’ and daughters’ successes. This pride in accomplishment fostered
a community where competition amongst families and siblings was encouraged, yet
the competition remained friendly and took place within a supportive environment.
The homogeneity and cohesiveness of the community provided Feynman with a safe environment
in which he could explore his environment and his scientific interests, freely.
In summary, the Jewish community, lower socio-economic status (with hope for the
future), combined with a safe environment facilitated Feynman’s parents’ accepting
and encouraging behavior.
From a very early age, Feynman took pride in his unique problem solving methods.
For instance, as a child, Feynman took an interest in the inner workings of radios.
During his teen years, he billed himself as the kid who could “fix your radio by
thinking.” Using logic and his understanding of physics and electronics, he quickly
identified the source of the radio malfunction. As a child and continuing throughout
his life, Feynman stubbornly rejected explanations for physical phenomena until
he was able to conceptualize both the problem and an approximate solution in his
own mental space. As early as grade school, this personal (and often novel) approach
towards solving problems was apparent; in math, he broke apart complex equations
into simpler components so that he was able to fully visualize the problem from
multiple angles at once. This ability to conceptualize complex problems from multiple,
simultaneous angles was arguably his biggest mental asset throughout his life; many
of his finest accomplishments in theoretical physics stemmed from taking a classic
problem and approaching it from a novel viewpoint. From an observer’s perspective,
Feynman appeared to solve problems through pure intuition. Personally, I believe
Feynman’s apparent intuition was comprised of a unique and flexible mental-visual
workspace in which he could weave ideas together with great ease. Although Feynman
may have had a genetic predisposition towards such a unique, free-wheeling workspace,
I believe his parents, schooling, and self-selected extracurricular participation
(i.e. math club) played a role in encouraging its development.
Although he was adept at conceptualizing complex problems, Feynman was less skilled
at understanding social cues and protocol. Possibly because of this apparent deficit,
he worried greatly about social interaction as a child and throughout his early
adult life. However, through observation and intelligence, he overcame this deficit
by developing sets of complex social rules that allowed him to successfully interact
with, and often manipulate, others. I believe Feynman might have been very mildly
autistic; social rules did not come naturally, and when he was observant enough
to learn an accepted protocol, he often rejected it. Although he greatly cared what
people thought about him (his first wife often teased him about this), he took great
care to be unique and different from his peers and friends.
Feynman first met Arline Greenbaum during childhood while down at the beach near
his house. Feynman enrolled in social clubs and art classes in order to spend time
with her. He and Arline began seriously dating later in high school, and when Feynman
went to MIT, she visited him regularly as his date for dances and other social get-togethers.
Feynman’s relationship with Arline was described as very playful, and Feynman displayed
fun, spunky, playful attributes during this period of his life. However, Arline
was constantly ill, and after many incorrect diagnoses, she was finally diagnosed
with Tuberculosis. Feynman and Arline married before Feynman graduated college,
after she was diagnosed; they both knew Arline would not live a long life. This
was met with much disapproval from Feynman’s family and colleagues. His marriage
and dedication towards tending for Arline caused an uncomfortable rift to form between
Feynman and his mother, which was not repaired for many years.
While Feynman worked on the atomic bomb project at Los Alamos, Arline lived in a
nearby Albuquerque hospital. On weekends they visited each other, and they frequently
sent love notes back and forth. In 1945 before the atomic bomb project was finished,
Arline died, and Feynman was thoroughly crushed. The death of Arline caused a deep
depression and brought about many personality changes in Feynman. After Arline’s
death Feynman became more calloused and serious. Reading his biography, I got the
sense that it took Feynman almost fifteen years to fully recover from Arline’s death.
Feynman took pride in being different, often to the point where he stubbornly shunned
social and scientific protocols. The way Feynman’s child-like personality was described
gave me the impression that he viewed almost everything in life as a game, with
sets of rules that could be learned. Feynman was adept at learning rules, and once
he had learned the rules in any area (be it dating, seducing women, national security
regarding the atom bomb, or academia), the rules became something to be taken advantage
of for his amusement and personal benefit. For instance, Feynman and his first wife
Arline sent letters back to each other while Feynman was working on the atomic bomb.
They both knew the letters were being read, so Feynman would point out obscure mathematical
facts, such as “how the decimal expansion of 1/243 repeats itself: .004 115 226
337 448 (p186)” in order to frustrate the officials who screened the letters for
secret code. Arline played along as well; she sent him a letter as a jigsaw puzzle
at one point. Later, when living in Brazil, Feynman developed a set of rules, protocols,
and prescribed behavior to successfully seduce women. In addition to shunning social
protocol, Feynman made it a goal to stay naïve in the world of academia; Feynman
claimed that staying ignorant of the current physics literature kept his conceptualizations
of physics flexible and personal.
After graduating from MIT, Feynman went to Princeton to get his Ph.D. When the US
entered the war, Feynman chose a patriotic job and began work on the Manhattan project.
His time working at Los Alamos on the atomic bomb allowed close contact with the
finest mathematicians and physicists in the world, and it also allowed Feynman to
further prove himself as a genius in the area of theoretical and practical physics.
I believe Feynman thrived in this environment; he had a solid relationship with
his wife and he was mentally stimulated.
After the Manhattan project, Feynman took a job as a professor at Cornell. In addition
to losing Arline, Feynman was still very much at odds with his mother about marrying
an ill, non-Jewish woman. This meant that on top of his recent loss, he had little
family support. After four years at Cornell, Feynman had only lived in faculty guest
houses and student residences; he had never settled into any house or apartment.
He predicted nuclear war in the upcoming years, and he constantly sank into depression.
Although he was performing his job well and making huge advances in the area of
theoretical physics, happiness eluded him. To escape it all, he took a job at the
up-and-coming school, Caltech. He was offered an immediate sabbatical year as part
of his terms of employment, and he went to Rio, South America to teach for a year.
Without a solid relationship, Feynman struggled, personally. In addition, he took
great personal risks, pursuing women in ways that violated all proper rules. This
became especially pronounced during his time in Rio; he dated undergraduates, hired
prostitutes, and slept with wives of several friends. Since Arline’s death, Feynman’s
philosophy of love had changed into an “all’s fair” mentality. When he returned
from Brazil, he surprised everybody by immediately marrying Mary Bell, a woman he
had met at Cornell and with whom he had remained in correspondence while overseas.
Their marriage was a disaster on all accounts and ended four years later.
His feelings about love, and life in general, appeared to shift while at a Rochester
conference, where he met Gweneth Howarth, an English woman who was working as a
nanny. Something clicked between the two of them, and after a long correspondence
and several visits, Gweneth agreed to come live with Feynman as his “maid.” Their
relationship grew quickly and they married in 1960. They had two children together,
Carl and Michelle. After marrying Gweneth, I got the impression that Feynman settled
down into a fairly stable, happy mid-life, working at Caltech. Although he was constantly
restless and branching out into new areas with his work, he enjoyed spending time
with his family and raised two healthy children. Other than embarrassing his children
with his eccentric and boisterous personality, Feynman was described as a wonderful
and caring father. Although Feynman is best known for his work in physics, he seemed
happiest when he was able to love and care for others; the emotional landscape of
his life coincided more with positive family relationships than with anything related
to work. In fact, Feynman’s life foundation seemed to be built upon family and relationships;
if his first wife hadn’t died, Feynman might have had a much happier, even more
productive life.
In 1965, Feynman and two colleagues won the Nobel Prize for their “fundamental work
in quantum electrodynamics with deep ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary
particles (p378).” After winning the Nobel Prize, Feynman made it a goal of his
to remain unchanged by fame. He refused honorary degrees, turned down administrative
jobs, and refused to edit articles for prestigious journals. Although he disappointed
many peers, he remained successful in continuing his work, mostly undeterred by
the hassle of being famous.
As a child, Feynman would try to watch his thoughts as he fell asleep. As he grew
older, he returned to his childhood interest in dream states, experimenting with
sensory deprivation, and trying marijuana and LSD. In 1977 Feynman became ill and
passed out on a trip to the Swiss Alps. The next year the doctors found a huge tumor
in his abdomen, and he was diagnosed with abdominal cancer. He knew he would likely
be dead within five years, so even after a successful operation, death was not far
from his thoughts.
During his later years Feynman spent time at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California,
which he described as a hotbed of antiscience. During his stays there, Feynman listened
to Ram Das, soaked in hot tubs, flirted with nude young women, learned to give massages,
and practiced out of body experiences. Although he didn’t buy into the whole mystical
spiel, Feynman was happy to “imagine his ego floating here or there, outside himself,
outside the room, outside the sixty-five-year-old body that was failing him so grievously
(p407).” Even though he was a physicist, Feynman’s enjoyment of antiscience fit
his personality; his genius had stemmed from remaining open-minded and discarding
currently accepted “knowledge.”
In his old age, Feynman remained practical and “hands-on,” and retained his enjoyment
of rejecting the accepted protocol. For instance, while helping investigate the
Challenger disaster, Feynman ignored political sensitivity and demonstrated the
failure of the o-rings by dipping the material into a glass of ice-water in front
of the entire audience.
In October 1987 (age sixty-nine), another abdominal tumor appeared and doctors made
a last attempt at surgery. The surgery led to kidney failure, and Feynman refused
further dialysis. During the five days it took him to die, Gweneth, Joan, and his
cousin Frances remained with him. Having family and his wife there likely made those
five days much easier; although Feynman is defined by his work, his life and family
relationships were the single-most important foundation for his happiness. Feynman
took a similar approach to death as he had taken to his life: “I don’t have to know
an answer. I don’t feel frightened by not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious
universe without any purpose, which is the way it really is as far as I can tell.
It doesn’t frighten me (p438).” His playful, joking nature, which came out during
times in his life when he was in a loving relationship, was also present in his
last words: “I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring (p438).”