Feynman had a great sense of humor. Here is a condensed version of one of the stories in Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character: When Feynman first arrived at Caltech, he was invited to a party hosted by another professor, Professor Bacher. Feynman had recently been on sabbatical in Brazil, where he had learned enough Portuguese to give his lectures there in the native language. Bacher decided to play a joke on Feynman, and he told his guests: “This guy Feynman thinks he’s smart because he learned a little Portuguese, so let’s fix him good: Mrs. Smith here [who is completely Caucasian] grew up in China. Let’s have her greet Feynman in Chinese.” So when Bacher introduces Mrs. Smith to Feynman, she says: “Ai, choong, ngong jia!” Now Feynman doesn’t know any Chinese, and he hasn’t the foggiest idea what Mrs. Smith just said. But without missing a beat, and with complete confidence, he politely bows and replies: “Ah ching, jong jien!” At which Mrs. Smith loses her composure and exclaims: “Oh, my God! I knew this would happen—I speak Mandarin and he speaks Cantonese!”
[Feynman's "Cantonese" was, of course, completely made-up nonsense which he pulled out of the air on the spur of the moment. Because Feynman doesn't know any Chinese, I'm 99.9% sure that in his version of the story Mrs. Smith's "Mandarin" is made-up nonsense, too.]
Feynman was a brilliant physicist, but he also had many other interests. He was known for safecracking, deciphering Mayan hieroglyphics, demystifying magic tricks, painting nudes, storytelling and playing the bongo drums (he once provided the music for a ballet). Many of his published stories were originally told to friends during drumming sessions.
Here are some of my favorite Feynman quotes:
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.
Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.
The principle of science, the definition, almost, is the following: The test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of scientific 'truth.'
Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.
I was born not knowing, and have only had a little time to change that here and there.
If you wish to learn more about Richard Feynman, you should certainly read Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character. I also recommend:
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
Two good biographies about Richard Feynman are:
Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick
No Ordinary Genius: The Illustrated Richard Feynman, edited by Christopher Sykes
If you wish to experience Feynman's gift for explaining complex scientific ideas in simple terms, I recommend Six Easy Pieces (also available on audio CD). Feynman gave a layman's explanation of his Nobel prize winning achievements in quantum electrodynamics in QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. A collection of Feynman's letters was published in 2005 by his daughter: Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From The Beaten Track.
