Bravo. This 48 second video is more motivational than all those generic 10min videos, who show people exercising while a voice narrates some nonsense , combined.
My uncle was Abe Bader, Feynman's high school physics teacher. I remember him telling my father, when I was probably about 11, that he once had a student who could learn more physics in a weekend than he could learn if he studied all summer. He also said he had given this student some very advanced books to study I was amazed by the idea that someone could be that smart, that's probably why I have remembered that conversation all these years. I didn't know that my uncle meant Feynman until decades later, after Feynman, and my uncle, had died. I think to reach the level of accomplish Feynman reached, it takes talent plus work. I have seen this in the arts as well.
I think it still comes down to hard work and dedication. You'd be shocked at how much you could learn in a day, in any given field if you faced the material with no distractions and intense focus.
nidurnevets What you say disproves exactly what Feynman said ... There ARE people born with extraordinarily high and special and gifted faculties which the "average person" just doesn't have. Miracle is a stupid term invoking some mystical element. But Feynman seems to be denying his own genetic/neurological differentness (ie specialness) from birth which he then used through study to get ahead. He probably also had upbringing and educational opportunities which so many people with great potentialities cannot access.
A physics teacher once told me: "There are two kinds of physicists. The ones who, it might be said, have certain 'innate' abilities, and the ones who work hard. Of course, the ones who are both kinds, are the ones with their names inscribed in thousands of textbooks."
This "study hard" thing is a little misleading. It sounds like you have to force yourself. But actually it means that you give yourself a lot of time and dedication for your interests such that you "study joyfully" all the time.
@@omniyambot9876 that's his point, ideally you should be enjoying it and you definitely need interest so as to have steady perseverance or you won't go far, once a few obstacles come your way that's why if it sounds hard, you might not have too much interest right now or maybe there's an underlying cause that's blocking you
@@acidset honestly when you take it as a challenge, when you're really a curious person, you'll just have an exponential amount of questions that would make you imagine, think, observe and absorb every infos you could have.
If you have the passion studying hard can actually be quite joyful. I remember when I had the passion for programming and could spend days and nights doing it. That's not possible anymore.
@S B yea even feynman had periods of burnouts and periods of time where he had the flow and could hack it till late. "Surely you're joking mr.feynman" is a great book that reveals many humbling insights of a dedicated worker and his process
I always say that talent is just a word invented by people without passion. if they truly had a passion, they'd know that all the people they find so talented are just people who love what they do, and work very hard to improve.
Reading a book won't help. " It is safe to say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." - Richard Feynman You can learn to do the calculations that allow predictions based on the principles of quantum mechanics, but understanding how and why it works that way is beyond anyone's knowledge so far.
Yeah really. It's like bart simpson said when he tried to play the guitar without practicing, who wants to put effort into something that's hard, I want it to be easy without any effort at all!
It is in part about understanding relationships, seeing the big picture, and motivation or interst.. I failed Algebra in high school, and avoided math at all cost through college. As a teenager working as a carpenter, I was cutting rafters on a hip roof for a journeyman carpenter and throwing them up to him as he would nail one and call down the next size. these were a compound angle cut with 16" spacing, it wasn't long out of boredom a light went off in my head as I realized I could calculate the next size in my head. I "saw" the pattern. I started throwing up the pcs before he yelled down the size. To my surprise he shouted down to me: " I wondered how long it would take you to figure that out' That is education.
Engineering student here, third year, a couple of weeks from finals. I have come across many people in my years as a student so far, I've seen the bad and the good of students and I have, and possibly still am, trying to figure out how to be good and effective at learning. I can tell you within this context that from what I understand, hard-work really is the backbone of it all. Some people might argue "mark zuckerberg was a prodigy, so was bill gates, einstein, feynman..." and I'll answer you. In fact, if you consider the upbringing of these bright successful individuals you will notice that they all have one thing in common: they were subjected to the domains they excelled in at a young age. That gave them what some consider to be prodigy-exclusive abilities. I like to look at it as if we are building momentum, the sooner you start running the more punch you pack along the way and it so happens these guys got the amazing luck of having the proper environment to build it up very early on. For the record, I really appreciate Mr.Feynman's way of thinking.
XenoContact im also in engineering and i agree I inundated myself with scientific thinking with documentaries and reading from like 10 and now i would say that as long as you keep exercising your brain constantly somehow, you will become more intelligent and better at learning
@Sudan Nutella well, I would worry more about your programming skills of youre looking at IT but no one is ever good at anything "now" read some books practice maths or whatever it is, youll do alright it will take a lot of time to really be good. Have patience and self discipline.
Perfect answer. You are 100% right. Feynman actually had a great father who helped him with his curiosity. His father would explain things in extremely detailed logical manner as well as made sure young Richard would repeatedly question reality. All this was done at a young age. Now imagine someone not blocking a childs curiosity and helping them figure out things. The child will of course become more and more curious. This is what helped Feynman, his early environment. A place where he was able to get the answer and question the answers themselves. His father was also quite knowledgable to a certain point until he couldnt help Feynman anymore. By then the father had laid the foundation for Feynmans curiosity.
I think you might be on to something there I think you would agree it should not be a discouragement Rather the opposite; take up interest and enthusiasm and you may be surprised how far you can get
This is exactly why I get actually mad when people call me smart. Calling someone smart is a very easy way of discrediting all the hard work they’ve done. There is a very small line between stupid and smart. I don’t believe there is a spectrum, you’re either one or the other. The person with the better grade just so happened to try harder than you and dedicated himself more to the concept. I feel offended when people call me “smart.” And I view the person who did as “lazy” or “not as interested in it as I am.”
It’s a interesting that someone like him got hooked for whatever reason and pursued day and night for years and I bet in even his dreams QED and other physical phenomena, it’s a miracle some would say. He’s over looking that miracle that he’s part of .
One of the reasons one of his wifes divorced him was due to Feynman solving calculus problems in his head and "daydreaming". He would do it all day and all night and would keep ignoring/not listen to what the wife was saying.
Was it Einstein who was first spellbound by his father pushing a needle through a cork then floating it in water? He witnessed the creation of a simple compass, and was fascinated in the unseen forces acting upon it. His intense curiosity was sparked.
"It just happens that they got interested in this thing and they learned all of this stuff." ... ;D ... So incredibly matter of fact and to the point. This is obvious stuff but somehow it's often forgotten in the public discourse.
Geniuses do exist. They inhabit all areas of life from the arts to sport to science. Child prodigies without virtually any input from others have proclivities at certain tasks or have certain curiosities that other kids don't get near. Only hard work and plenty of practice are skills honed and progressed but we do have genetic as well as nurturing differences that make all the difference.
This holds true, except for poverty and lower-class people that can't afford to do all that; they got bills to pay and they don't come from a financially-strong family. Sad reality
A guy in the comments says "studying hard" means studying joyfully but it's not always true. In the beginning it's all training (maybe enjoyable) but the fun comes much later. To achieve that state of flow you must work hard
There is no innate wisdom. Knowledge is acquired through a volitional act. Things may come to you, but they come to you as part of the experience gained and one's mind's process of integration.
Given Feynman's Generation. Yes it would have Taken a Miracle for about One Billion of His Generation to have the Opportunity and Support Structure to become a Scientist. But Yes He is Right if Others were Offered that Miracle Opportunity then Yes They Stand a Chance to become a Scientist.
I love science, scientists and reading, and I spend most of my time reading about them and about physics, but I am afraid to go into this field and then realize that my choice was wrong..What should i do ?
No, IQ matters. Intellectual temperament and inquisitiveness matter too, of course. But it shouldn't be denied that many people are intellectually incapable of the feats of learning it takes to become proficient in a scientific discipline.
No, there are types of nervous systems. Some are impulsive, some can maintain focus for long, some notice patterns better, and some fjcus on sensation. Different architectures. That is the main difference.
@@longlostwraith5106 Neuroplasticity is significantly lower in adults’ brains compared to children’s. There’s only so much that training can do as far as entirely changing the way that the brain is organised and functions.
@@anonymoussaga8723 Neuroplasticity helps to form the brain in children and to rewire it after a serious injury. It has nothing to do with a child's or an adult's ability to learn.
Classic behaviour of intelligent people...they tend to underestimate their capacity!....but there are gifted and less gifted people...science proved it!
derek xiao I don't know where you picked up on that implication, since it wasn't there at all. There's a genetic component to how well you can play basketball, and you can only improve within the limits that imposes on you. Height, hand size, reflex speed, ratio of fast twitch to slow twitch muscle fibres etc. it all carries some weight. The same is true with everything, including intellectual ability, despite what Feynman says.
I do believe you are making all of this up because there has been no final scientific study done on intelligence, and the only book ive seen that comes close is the Bell Curve which only implies a portion of overall intelligence being hereditary. For example, if Michael jordan was born with no interest in basketball and never played a game until perhaps 25, when he suddenly discovered his talents he would be nowhere near the level that he could have been if he started at an earlier age. In other words, environment contributes a lot to over ability as well as genetics.
I can grasp concepts like E=MC2 but I can't remember the names or spell them. It is kind of a prison in my own head. I love ideas but hate spelling and fancy names.
There are no miracle people in this subject..but take music for example..You have to be gifted with voice. And Mozart composed music when he was a kid..Take another kid with interest and tell him to do that
If one uses a term like "miracle", fraught with religious meaning, then agreed. There are not miracles. But that obscures the issue. Same as the 10,000 hours theory. Sure, you have to work hard to master something. Few indeed are so gifted that they must do less. But- Interest in some particular thing is not a wholly conscious choice. The predilection to apply oneself, the motivation to achieve, are not evenly distributed. A person can, and should if inclined, dabble in a lot to see what interests them, push themselves to see what of these resources they have. Some will not be inclined to, and that itself is not wholly a choice. Those that do push will not all find the same capacities. Those who find great capacities in themselves will not find that they are applicable evenly to every, or even many, areas of knowledge. I did well in school without working too hard, got two degrees. I was even a bit interested in some of the sciences, but no amount of personal choice or arbitrary will could have made them my passion, nor any amount of self-torture have made me a physicist even if it had been my passion. We are fools when we sell ourselves short, fools still when we assume every person could do every thing merely with effort. Feynman was a leader of his field, but he's not the first or the last generous-spirited leader to make mistakes about what is possible outside of it. I think something was in the water in the mid-20th century.
Feynman was definitely a great scientisti and a great teacher, but he's wrong on this one. People are genetically born with a certain IQ - which can increase or decrease slightly based on childhood and education - and not everyone can become a successful scientist or engineer, no matter how much interest and effort they put into it. They can of course contribute by helping in different roles, but only an incredibly small minority become an Einstein, Hawking, or Feynman.
@Adam Fraser I fully agree with you that Luck has a HUGE impact, especially the country and the family you are born. There are however overwhelming statistical researches that show that IQ is one of the best predictors of life success. Well in a sense, having an high IQ is also part of luck, but then we would reduce everything to Luck, which is not a good form of analysis ;P
The human brain has 100 billion neurons. The typical neuron has 10,000 connections. You have a vast computer in your head! It does take a certain amount of time and focus to program it to do what it wants to do.
Read,read, read all kind article. Even you not into it or not being a doctor but learn what medical do. So if we got sick we know how to survive without going to hospital. Or read about science even people laugh at us. Study about it. Learn what the scientist doing.Always listening what other people says. They might give you something knowledge about something interesting.
As much as i'd like to agree with Dick on this, it simply isn't true; sure hard work and dedication can get you much further than you can probably imagine, but it is absolutely undeniable that genius or "miracle" people exist, people that simply defy all thought and even their wildest expectations time and time again. And considering Feynman's own genius i'm sure he knew all about this, and that's what make his words so much more meaningful in the interview.
I dont think he was a genius. I think he was raised by great parents. His father specifically made him question everything and would give answers in a very logical scientific way. All of this at a very young age. His father made sure not to shun away his curiosity rather to uplift and build it towards the right direction. From this the momentum kept building and rolling. Genius to me is someone like Newton, Lev Landau, Dirac, and Von Neumann.
with every Richard Frynman video there is a comment section full of people trying to say something smart when its already been said in the video. Please delete the internet.
I completely disagree. Everyone has innate limitations. An average person could study forever and not understand quantum mechanics. Hard work cannot elevate a person above their fundamental mental and physical limitations.
@Adam Fraser Why do you care so much about my opinion? Do you simply listen to every authority without questioning them? Whatever. The reason he says that is simply because he's humble.
I found no matter how hard I study, sometimes I just can't be bothered to solve that extra proof or problem. And some other guy who *happens* to be more interested comes along, and he can solve it. At first it feels like he's lucky and has this inherent interest which is unobtainable and he almost was born with it. I personally believe the "interest" token is actually a single event in your life, and it's like a spark. To me, it only happened when I was 17, a bit too late, went to do my A-Levels, and eventually got into a university and studied theoretical physics. But someone who had that 'spark' at age 10, well they would have 7 years head start on me. It's only now in my post graduate years that I'm really starting to get addicted and interested and thinking of maths/physics almost every hour, while that 10 year old probably was doing this 7 years ago. :'(
You can't waste time thinking about these things, you have the rest of your life to think about math and physics so use it! I'm 19 and I've practically almost just started. No time for thinking about all this 'meta' stuff, cheers :)
This not strictly true. Feynmann is a very modest person. His interest grew directly as a result of his deep understanding of physics. This came not just from study and hard work but from his superior intellect.
Every time I hear Feynman talk, I just cannot resist smiling. He’s the most enthusiastic person when it comes to talking about curiosity, science, questions, etc. His smile just says it all, all the wonder and curiosity provoked by our existence, you can’t help but smile and laugh, perhaps even cry at the wonder and aw of the beauty of the complexity of our reality.
I love watching this whenever I feel overwhelmed and stuck on a concept. It helps me breath and gives me courage to go look at the problem again. Thanks for this!
That is what my mom said and I never listened to her. Though there is another thing that people have their own limits they may reach a point but every one takes their own time to reach there. So don't panic if you are slow or dull but you must have the interest , the hunger for your goal.
It's interesting the way he puts it. I went to art school (it's certainly not anything like physics), but for illustration, we studied an amazing artist: Andrew Loomis. He had this to say about being good at art (and I'm paraphrasing): Maybe once every hundred years there might be some type of prodigy, but the reality is that real talent comes from practice and knowledge.
That's the flip side of the dunning kruger effect. The most competent people have a hard time really comprehending how dumb other people really are, and they're like "oh I'm not anything special, anyone could do that, it's really simple when you see it the right way". But getting those others to understand it is like teaching a cat to talk.
It’s so motivating to hear Feynman of all people say this. I guess we’re so conditioned to idealize these people who’ve revolutionized our understanding, to think they were just born special. These were actually just everyday people with a great deal of passion and curiosity about these things.
The reason why some people may appear smarter than others is because they have been pre-exposed to the material such as physics or chemistry before. The reason why some people can learn faster is because at a young age they developed skills that allows them to recognize patterns. They also devote countless time towards studying the subject and work hard at it everyday. It took Einstein decades to come up with the theory of special relativity, it didn't come to him in one night.
Decades ?Special relativity was published in 1905 and Einstein was 26 back then ,so since the minimum number of decades is two ,are you suggesting that he was working on it since he was six... :P Actually it was general relativity that took einstein one decade to develop and complete.
Actually, Feynman already was against political correctness. I refer to the incident where he was called a bigot and a feminist protest group stormed into one of his presentations.
Also, voting for Trump is a smart move. You wanna know something about Hitler? Everyone loved Hitler! It's the one's that everybody loves that you have to look out for. Everyone hates Trump, so statistically, he is more likely to be your true ally. I learned through running groups of over 40people that the people you initially think are your enemy turn out to be your greatest ally when you need to change something for the benefit of the group.
Xforeverlove21 I have tutored.College level Physics, Chemistry and Genetics for over 30 years and I can assure you that the reason some people appear smarter (at certain things) is because they are smarter, some profoundly so! Interest and hard work help to develop innate ability, but in most human populations there is great genotypic variability, and so one should not be shocked to find large phenotypic variability. Given what is known about evolutionary theory it's extremely hard to imagine otherwise.
It's a beautiful video, BUT ... ... Feynman was many things, and one of those things was: he was a consummate boull-shoot artist. No, you, and your kids, cannot become world-changing physicists just by putting in a lot of time and grit. Lots of people put a lot of time and grit into what they do, and most of them don't get very far even so.
As much as I respect Feynman, he's not right about this. It's hard for someone like Feynman to imagine not being someone like Feynman. I teach maths, and I know from personal experience that there are people who can't ever get above an elementary level no matter how hard they try. I've had kids burst into tears, because they worked their fingers to the bone, and still couldn't pass a test. There is such a thing as natural ability, which is probably the way the brain developed at a very young age; certain connections and processes have to be in place. I don't think you have to be a Feynman to be a successful physicist, but you have to have a certain minimum level of basic ability. After that, it's all hard work, and also a capacity to keep thinking about something with a steely determination. You have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, so that you can keep thinking about something until you understand it. Most people don't like being outside their comfort zone for too long, so they give up or settle for an inferior solution. You have to become mayor of the discomfort zone, if you want to be a Feynman. It reminds me of something Einstein said, "It's not that I'm smarter than other people, I just stay with the problems longer". It's true, to an extent.
They can become scientists, of course. But it is simply not possible for an ordinary person to apply themselves to math and be as good at is as Feynman, he was genuinely beyond almost everyone else in the world in his time.
and how do you know its because of his talent and not his work ethic and interest? also math isnt necessarily that hard. the first attempt of university math is a bit frightening cause of the abstract approach but afterwards its mostly interest and hard work
how do you think he did it? it magically appeared? no he put a lot of effort in it and most importantly had joy doing it. you also need to add luck to that equation because of 1. education by parents etc and 2. simply have luck to find something. there are people finding something which is already discovered etc. im not denying feynman was extraordinary. he clearly was. math isnt really that hard when you get behind the basic ideas. by that i mean harder than other stuff. everything can get difficult ofc. inventing stuff, like mathematical tools, its always about trial and error, lot of experience and training. it also helps a lot to think different.
That's the half full way of thinking about it. Where are all the 123 IQ (2 in every standard classroom) Noble winners in the world? It's not just about learning, but also 'developing'. True, there are countless people who struggle learning basic math, but consider how many people actually develop to their full potential. Their was a case in the 80's of a Los Angeles teacher, Jaime Escalante, who taught a bunch of typical children from the Mexican ghetto AP Calculus (the basis for the movie Stand and Deliver). Now how many other teens from the ghetto will ever be able to learn and fluently process information at that level, especially at that age? - probably not many at all (for that matter, not all too many adolescents from affluent schools will be doing that). So Escalante was producing, for all practical purposes (and pro-IQ, tautological grounded resistance) 'gifted children'. I personally recall having trouble learning in high school, but was able to manage a 4.0 as a STEM major, well into college. My professor told me that I achieved the highest score ever recorded in Calculus class, 105% (a course where 30% of the University students have to take, and had numerous repeat), I also was one of 2 people (of 150) who passed Dr. Gilbert's infamous Chemistry II course - who's grading was so hard, it resulted in formal protests, and even graduate students complaining about it years later (see RateMyProfessor). All of this type of empirical footwork (blended with the limited faculty of my reasoning) is occurring at some significant, adult theoretical level, which should draw high brows to the validity of IQ, since I was assessed at the 44th percentile/15SD (98 IQ). Of course, I ended up developing and selling 3 computer programs as an adult in my 20's and early 30 - that type of stuff is only associated with 'high' 120ish IQs. This is what leaves me to believer, there is a finer line between education/empirical thought and intelligence proper ('intelligence proper' being true intelligence, not just IQ level), similar to the line between empiricism/rationality. So by all means, I am an empiricist, and I would hope that any teacher in modern Academia is an empiricist, as well - as those who uphold reason don't believe in change of the individual.
Though I love Richard Feynman, I have to disagree with him on this. I have a fountain of curiosity and could work very hard at physics. Though I have a PhD in it, I don't regard myself as having much understanding of anything I absorbed myself in, not even my particular field of study. At the end of 5 years I realised I was perhaps closer to being able to ask the right questions, but remained light years behind any true understanding. I suspect if I had had Feynman's mind, it would have seemed a lot more obvious.
This is nonsense, but what else could he say? That he was just born smarter than 99.99% of people? If he said that he 'd sound like a douchebag. It's still the truth, he just couldn't say it.
It reminds me of back when I was a "mature" student back in school after a decade of work, working with current college students who'd only had summer jobs and the like. I was getting As, and they were getting by. And I'd try to explain the difference in our grades in terms of the hours of studying I did, and they'd just say, oh, you're just smarter than we are. That was their excuse for being happy with Cs and the occasional B.
“Surely, you’re joking Mr Feynman” is by far my favourite book to read and a number one recommendation to all of my friends. I stress, it’s not a book about physics as many people think when they think of autobiographies about physicists. It’s a book about having fun and being curious. It’s the only book to this day that’s made me shed a tear at the thought someone like this existed while simultaneously making me cry with laughter for the antics he used to get up to, just for the hell of it. For the sake of curiosity.
Hindsight is twenty twenty , notice again Feynman says people can ‘understand’ , not invent or discover QD . Sure perhaps most people can understand QD If you provide them with way they understand but even the ability to teach is a gift . This guy ‘invented’ QED. He had a gift and people can’t handle it . Some people think they can do anything.
The question is, how much is on each side of the coin. Thomas Edison said genius was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, but he was just a lifelong asshole trying to sound humble when he said that. What is the real percentage. It ain't 99-1, I know that much.
Aaaaaaand this is why I love Feynman's teaching. He treats everyone like a scientist in his lectures. When presented with an expectation from him that you will do well, you can't but help and go all in
Some People are born Geniuses, ordinary people have to work much harder, and still will probably never achieve the proficiency of a Genius. That is a Fact.
I'm currently working on a degree in math, I'm not a genius and some of the people around me are, i work harder to understand a lot of it compared to some of the natural high iq people around me, that's all I'm suggesting. If you don't believe in IQ then i can't really have a discussion with you.
I like Feynman a lot, but this is not true. There are vast differences betweeen peoples IQ‘s e.g. their congnitive abilities, so in order to be truly exceptional you have to have not just interest and devotion, but also a high IQ. Another example would be a person training just as hard as Usain Bolt, but in order to be as fast as Usain Bolt this person has to have the genetics...
What if mentally disabled people are to normal people what normal people are to geniuses? No matter how hard the disabled person studies, though he/she might improve significantly, their abilities will be limited and most likely always below what a normal person can understand. But there's probably only a very tiny fraction of people who are geniuses as to be on another level
@Adam Fraser judging by the last part of your paragraph, if anyone provides you with a merit worthy study you're going to deny it; so I'll rather show you how logically incoherent your assertion is. If you honestly think that high intelligence is purely caused by good environmental factors ( purely being the key word) then why aren't Celebrities and The Royals the most intelligent people, and why do some geniuses come from poor families?
@Adam Fraser I'm fresh out of high school. We both know you wouldn't approve of anything I give you. as a fellow crusader of knowledge and a believer of the scientific method surely you can understand that facts exist independent of our opinions. Ask yourself whether you want to know the truth or want a world where intelligence doesn't exist.
@Adam Fraser from the whole comment that's what stood out for you🤦 😂😂😂 cringe all you want, but one day you'll look back and say I got schooled by a kid. Let's hope you learn how to use logic soon.🤦
Exactly there is no magical innate ability out there in the ether anyone is born with to just “get” maths or science, those like feynman just worked harder than everyone else and made themselves into that. Just like how bruce lee was never perfect at martial arts, why did he become a legend?, he worked harder than litteraly anyone else at his craft and he learned 23 different styles but the point is he, like feynman, never stopped challenging himself to do harder things and be better constantly.
I think greatest of people in any field have above average IQ coupled with intense interest and love for the subject. But I find even if you have average IQ but intense interest you can still make it quite far and enjoy a successful career. Interest( Concsiously., Subconcsiously and passionately) thinking about one thing helps grasp even toughest concepts. Time to understand might vary.. But you will get it..
IQ is an illusion and it's bad for society to use IQ as a means of measuring someones intelligence. It basically tells the vast majority that they can't do certain things. Even if it was true, there is no meaning to justify why.
@Vsauce Micheal It depends. If you want to do research in the science field and breakthrough discoveries then yes but if you just want good grades, want to do web programming or a job, etc then no.
@@kattenelvis1778 I am not sure about IQ but I think some people are more gifted than other. Some can paint very well. Some sing like out of the world and some can understand complex things easily. I am not saying people who can solve math or physics questions are intelligent. It's just some people are good in certain skills :) P.S. and I am in none 😢
This infuriates me. I was interested in Engineering, tried my hardest and focused. But I just wasn't meant to be in it. I got on and off probation for the first year and a half and finally changed to a business major. Is talent a factor? Fuck yes. Can anyone do anything? No.
