3 ms·

How was Feynman horrible to the women he worked with?

nostrademons 8y ago
There's a summary with links here: https://galileospendulum.org/2014/07/13/the-problem-of-richard-feynman/ https://galileospendulum.org/2014/07/13/the-problem-of-richa... But he also describes a lot of his attitudes toward women in Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman, and by modern standards they would basically fall into the PUA/RedPill category.
- phonon 8y ago
  I don't see anything there that backs up "utterly horrible to the women he worked with"
- microtherion 8y ago
  And James Gleick's biography of Feynman, "Genius", goes in considerable detail on this aspect: https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Life-Science-Richard-Feynman-ebook/dp/B004LRPQIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540489683&sr=8-1&keywords=genius+gleick https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Life-Science-Richard-Feynman-e...
- icebraining 8y ago
  I found that link before asking, and I read SYJMF, but neither actually talk about female coworkers, hence wondering if there was something more than I had missed. I have no intention of defending (or attacking) Feynman, I was merely curious.
danso 8y ago
Feynman is such an engaging writer in his autobiographies that if you only read stories from him about himself, some of his problematic attitudes can seem just funny quirky stories: https://restructure.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/sexist-feynman-called-a-woman-worse-than-a-whore/ https://restructure.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/sexist-feynman-... In his biography of Feynman, Lawrence Krauss apparently details incidents in which Feynman had affairs with his colleagues' wives, and even pretended to be a student to chase co-eds. Some biographers have suggested (but not justified) that Feynman's behavior is partly due to the loss of his young wife. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8586536-quantum-man https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8586536-quantum-man
packetslave 8y ago
From http://longnow.org/essays/richard-feynman-connection-machine/ http://longnow.org/essays/richard-feynman-connection-machine... The charming side of Richard helped people forgive him for his uncharming characteristics. For example, in many ways Richard was a sexist. Whenever it came time for his daily bowl of soup he would look around for the nearest "girl" and ask if she would fetch it to him. It did not matter if she was the cook, an engineer, or the president of the company. I once asked a female engineer who had just been a victim of this if it bothered her. "Yes, it really annoys me," she said. "On the other hand, he is the only one who ever explained quantum mechanics to me as if I could understand it." That was the essence of Richard's charm.
- icebraining 8y ago
  Thanks!

There's a summary with links here: https://galileospendulum.org/2014/07/13/the-problem-of-richard-feynman/ https://galileospendulum.org/2014/07/13/the-problem-of-richa... But he also describes a lot of his attitudes toward women in Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman, and by modern standards they would basically fall into the PUA/RedPill category.

phonon 8y ago
I don't see anything there that backs up "utterly horrible to the women he worked with"
microtherion 8y ago
And James Gleick's biography of Feynman, "Genius", goes in considerable detail on this aspect: https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Life-Science-Richard-Feynman-ebook/dp/B004LRPQIO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540489683&sr=8-1&keywords=genius+gleick https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Life-Science-Richard-Feynman-e...
icebraining 8y ago
I found that link before asking, and I read SYJMF, but neither actually talk about female coworkers, hence wondering if there was something more than I had missed. I have no intention of defending (or attacking) Feynman, I was merely curious.

danso 8y ago

Feynman is such an engaging writer in his autobiographies that if you only read stories from him about himself, some of his problematic attitudes can seem just funny quirky stories: https://restructure.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/sexist-feynman-called-a-woman-worse-than-a-whore/ https://restructure.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/sexist-feynman-... In his biography of Feynman, Lawrence Krauss apparently details incidents in which Feynman had affairs with his colleagues' wives, and even pretended to be a student to chase co-eds. Some biographers have suggested (but not justified) that Feynman's behavior is partly due to the loss of his young wife. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8586536-quantum-man https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8586536-quantum-man

packetslave 8y ago

From http://longnow.org/essays/richard-feynman-connection-machine/ http://longnow.org/essays/richard-feynman-connection-machine... The charming side of Richard helped people forgive him for his uncharming characteristics. For example, in many ways Richard was a sexist. Whenever it came time for his daily bowl of soup he would look around for the nearest "girl" and ask if she would fetch it to him. It did not matter if she was the cook, an engineer, or the president of the company. I once asked a female engineer who had just been a victim of this if it bothered her. "Yes, it really annoys me," she said. "On the other hand, he is the only one who ever explained quantum mechanics to me as if I could understand it." That was the essence of Richard's charm.

icebraining 8y ago
Thanks!