[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgaw9qe7DEE?rel=0]

“How foolish they are to try to make something.” Here’s the classic 1981 BBC interview highlighting the work of theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.” You can also read Feynman’s book of the same name. 

For further reading and viewing on Feynman:

1. The ‘Dramatic Picture’ of Richard Feynman (Freeman Dyson, New York Review of Books, 2011)

“He never showed the slightest resentment when I published some of his ideas before he did. He told me that he avoided disputes about priority in science by following a simple rule: ‘Always give the bastards more credit than they deserve.’ I have followed this rule myself. I find it remarkably effective for avoiding quarrels and making friends. A generous sharing of credit is the quickest way to build a healthy scientific community.”

2. Los Alamos From Below: Reminiscences 1943-1945

Feynman on his work on the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bomb: “So I want you to just imagine this young graduate student that hasn’t got his degree yet but is working on his thesis, and I’ll start by saying how I got into the project, and then what happened to me.”

3. Ode to a Flower (Fraser Davidson, Vimeo, 1 min)

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