Name: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Rating: 3.2 (58 reviews)
Author: Richard P. Feynman

What’s in it for me? Insights into the mind of a path-forging scientist.

Meet Richard P. Feynman: the perfect encapsulation of what happens when sheer genius meets irrepressible mischief. From the halls of Los Alamos during the making of the atomic bomb to disguising his identity during college lectures, Feynman's life was an exhilarating ride of curiosity and laughter – a hefty dose of fun with a splash of quantum physics.

When he won the Nobel Prize in 1965, Feynman suddenly found himself burdened by fame and ceremonial duties. Though the prize was an honor, it also threatened to distract him from his priorities. Yet Feynman reacted to his new celebrity status in his own signature iconoclastic way, avoiding pomp and remaining committed to hands-on science education.

In this condensed Blink, we’ll cover just one of the many chapters of his life captured in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! – a period where he grappled with a dilemma: How does a celebrated researcher maintain focus when they’re abruptly thrust into the spotlight? Feynman's story provides some amusing and thought-provoking answers.

Feynman's unconventional Nobel Prize reaction

One morning, Richard Feynman received a very early phone call that woke him up at 4:30 a.m. The caller informed him that he’d won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Still half-asleep, Feynman thought it was a prank and dismissively said he was sleeping before hanging up. When he told his wife about the call, she didn't believe him either, as he was known for playing jokes on her.

After getting up, though, the news started to sink in. Feynman contemplated whether he could refuse to accept the Nobel Prize without causing too much of a stir. He called a reporter at Time magazine off the record, asking if there was any way out of accepting the award. The reporter regretfully told him there was no way to refuse it gracefully. So, reluctantly, Feynman accepted that he would have to go through with the pomp and ceremony around receiving the prize.

The Swedish consulate in Los Angeles wanted to host a reception for Feynman. They asked him to provide a guest list, which Feynman kept short with around 8 people – including his neighbor. In contrast, the consulate's own guest list had 300 names, including governors and other VIPs. Amusingly, there was no overlap between the two lists. Feynman ended up calling the consulate back to cancel the reception altogether, much to the relief of the consulate organizer who didn't want to host it either.

This left only the formal thank-you speech. Feynman became anxious about how to craft a speech that was honest but also had the expected polite niceties. He didn't really want the Nobel Prize but knew he couldn't just blithely say a typical “thank you very much.” Eventually, he gave a clever speech explaining that he had already gotten everything he wanted from his career – the pleasure of discovery and seeing his work used. He said the supportive letters from old friends after the prize meant more to him than the prize itself.

The speech allowed Feynman to be truthful while also meeting convention – a characteristic compromise.

Feynman's incognito lecture at UC Irvine

After winning the Nobel Prize, Richard Feynman was frequently invited to give public talks about physics all over the United States. For each talk, he would carefully prepare technical lectures aimed at students studying advanced physics. But although the talks were advertised for physics students, Feynman kept finding himself speaking to audiences of a couple hundred people. He realized there couldn't possibly be that many advanced physics students on any given campus.

This bothered Feynman. He wanted to please the audiences who came to hear him speak, but he knew his talks were too technical for general public consumption. He was unsure how to cater to such varied groups within the same audience.

What is Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! about?

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985) shares amusing and illuminating anecdotes from the life of Nobel Prize–winning physicist Richard Feynman. From his unorthodox problem-solving methods to his rejection of pomp and pretense, it offers an insightful look at Feynman's iconoclastic personality and approach to science.

About the Author

Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988) was an American physicist. He studied at MIT and Princeton before joining the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos during World War II, where he helped develop the atomic bomb. After the war, Feynman taught at Cornell and Caltech, where he had a distinguished career until his death. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 for his groundbreaking work in quantum electrodynamics. In 1986, he contributed to the investigation of the Challenger space shuttle disaster as part of the Rogers Commission.