4 ms·

What are worthwhile problems: Feynman's moving letter

75 points by hhm 19y ago

henning 19y ago
This makes me feel better about working on yet another CMS/blog/wiki thingie.
mynameishere 19y ago
[K]now your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of your [naive] ideals of your own youth, nor in terms of what you erroneously imagine your teacher's ideals are. It's actually very humdrum advice. I remember reading Robert Frost's biography, and when he taught high school he coached the debate club--he told kids that, when they had some important point to make, always attribute their own words it to George Washington or so-and-so, in order to be more persuasive. It's an annoying fact...anybody could give Feynman's advice and it would be passed over without another thought. But when words get attached to someone in authority, they are suddenly "moving". Lin Yutang said that it was desirable in China to grow old because there is a basic rule that old people get to speak first. So something quite manifestly bad, aging, is considered good because of a rule of manners. I think that, in general, people want to become famous through science, or art, or basketball, or anything, to ennoble their own words.
- jey 19y ago
  That's not really very fair. Yes, a lot of advice is pretty "humdrum", but we admire Feynman because of the person he was altogether, not because he rehashes tired old advice. There are plenty of other Nobel Prize-winning scientists and plenty of other wacky characters, but there are really not many people who approached life with zest as Feynman did. Many people will pay lipservice to Feynman's ideas and ideals, but few actually take it to heart and live their lives by it. Our society's screwy ideals have too strong of a hold on us. You should read "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", I [nearly] guarantee that you'll enjoy it.
  - akkartik 19y ago
    This is all true. But try saying what he said to a friend or student, try writing 2 paragraphs in response to one sentence about humble problems,and I suspect you will be thought condescending.
    - jey 19y ago
      You're right, anyone who does that should win a Nobel Prize first. ;-)
- asdflkj 19y ago
  Advice of this type is generally not logical or scientific, so it's hard to separate bad advice from good. And being original or catchy doesn't make it good, either. So, one way is to look at who gave it, and whether you admire that person and his work and life. Why is that "annoying"? Look at pg's advice on this site; a lot of it is basically "yes" or "no", and it's all highly rated, as it should be.
  - anewaccountname 19y ago
    By this logic, advice from someone named "asdflkj" (or, "anewaccountname" for that matter), someone who couldn't even bother to think of a real account name, should be negatively rated through the floor.
    - asdflkj 19y ago
      Maybe not negatively rated, but disregarded. Which is why I mostly refrain from giving advice, and instead stick to arguments.
- aswanson 19y ago
  not in terms of your [naive] ideals of your own youth What else are we, at our best, but the naive ideals of our own youth? Has the world added a worthy addendum? Not in the case of yours truly, at least....
- sah 19y ago
  The aphorism you quoted isn't the advice. Feynman's advice was not to be ashamed to work on problems that you feel you can make progress on, however "humble" they are, because those are the kind where your work matters. I think that's much more specific and insightful. Also, his closing remarks have a lot more weight if you take in them in the context of being directly addressed from the teacher in question to the former naive, idealistic student.
DaniFong 19y ago
I remember reading this in a dark period a few years ago, after struggling with a problem in physics. I cried, and folded back the page, knowing I'd read it again. I'm pleasantly surprised to find it would be here.
mleonhard 19y ago
Maybe the student was just being humble? With a Japanese name, like Koichi, maybe he was expressing the Japanese cultural tendency toward humility and self-deprecation when communicating with superiors?
meat-eater 19y ago
Very nice advice from Feynman. It is always something I also try to live by. If you enjoy working on something, then it's worthwhile. But for me, a lot of times this may mean working beyond my field, as my interests are varied. I also enjoy problems that cross the boundaries of different disciplines.

75 points by hhm 19y ago

This makes me feel better about working on yet another CMS/blog/wiki thingie.

[K]now your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of your [naive] ideals of your own youth, nor in terms of what you erroneously imagine your teacher's ideals are. It's actually very humdrum advice. I remember reading Robert Frost's biography, and when he taught high school he coached the debate club--he told kids that, when they had some important point to make, always attribute their own words it to George Washington or so-and-so, in order to be more persuasive. It's an annoying fact...anybody could give Feynman's advice and it would be passed over without another thought. But when words get attached to someone in authority, they are suddenly "moving". Lin Yutang said that it was desirable in China to grow old because there is a basic rule that old people get to speak first. So something quite manifestly bad, aging, is considered good because of a rule of manners. I think that, in general, people want to become famous through science, or art, or basketball, or anything, to ennoble their own words.

jey 19y ago
That's not really very fair. Yes, a lot of advice is pretty "humdrum", but we admire Feynman because of the person he was altogether, not because he rehashes tired old advice. There are plenty of other Nobel Prize-winning scientists and plenty of other wacky characters, but there are really not many people who approached life with zest as Feynman did. Many people will pay lipservice to Feynman's ideas and ideals, but few actually take it to heart and live their lives by it. Our society's screwy ideals have too strong of a hold on us. You should read "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", I [nearly] guarantee that you'll enjoy it.
- akkartik 19y ago
  This is all true. But try saying what he said to a friend or student, try writing 2 paragraphs in response to one sentence about humble problems,and I suspect you will be thought condescending.
  - jey 19y ago
    You're right, anyone who does that should win a Nobel Prize first. ;-)
asdflkj 19y ago
Advice of this type is generally not logical or scientific, so it's hard to separate bad advice from good. And being original or catchy doesn't make it good, either. So, one way is to look at who gave it, and whether you admire that person and his work and life. Why is that "annoying"? Look at pg's advice on this site; a lot of it is basically "yes" or "no", and it's all highly rated, as it should be.
- anewaccountname 19y ago
  By this logic, advice from someone named "asdflkj" (or, "anewaccountname" for that matter), someone who couldn't even bother to think of a real account name, should be negatively rated through the floor.
  - asdflkj 19y ago
    Maybe not negatively rated, but disregarded. Which is why I mostly refrain from giving advice, and instead stick to arguments.
aswanson 19y ago
not in terms of your [naive] ideals of your own youth What else are we, at our best, but the naive ideals of our own youth? Has the world added a worthy addendum? Not in the case of yours truly, at least....
sah 19y ago
The aphorism you quoted isn't the advice. Feynman's advice was not to be ashamed to work on problems that you feel you can make progress on, however "humble" they are, because those are the kind where your work matters. I think that's much more specific and insightful. Also, his closing remarks have a lot more weight if you take in them in the context of being directly addressed from the teacher in question to the former naive, idealistic student.

DaniFong 19y ago

I remember reading this in a dark period a few years ago, after struggling with a problem in physics. I cried, and folded back the page, knowing I'd read it again. I'm pleasantly surprised to find it would be here.

mleonhard 19y ago

Maybe the student was just being humble? With a Japanese name, like Koichi, maybe he was expressing the Japanese cultural tendency toward humility and self-deprecation when communicating with superiors?

meat-eater 19y ago

Very nice advice from Feynman. It is always something I also try to live by. If you enjoy working on something, then it's worthwhile. But for me, a lot of times this may mean working beyond my field, as my interests are varied. I also enjoy problems that cross the boundaries of different disciplines.