Murray Gell-Mann talks about Richard Feynman
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters cite it for Gell-Mann's candid and not always flattering view of Feynman's showmanship and character.
What it is
In a short interview clip, physicist Murray Gell-Mann talks about working alongside Richard Feynman at Caltech. He describes how the two men clashed in personality and image despite similar brilliance.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2013 to 2022.
What Hacker News said
Cites emini_guy · 2013-05 · on “The Feynman File (2005)”
Feynman was a bit of a hipster. I am a fan of his, being a theoretical physicist by training and having read more than one book by him and about him, but to tell the truth nobody is perfect and Feynman's showmanship was at times considered cheap and annoying by some of his friends and collaborators. Here is what Murray Gell-Mann has to say about this side of Feynman's personality: [this video]
Cites stiff · 2014-01 · on “A Short Talk about Richard Feynman (2005)”
None of those quotes are derogatory toward Feynman, and I don't see how Wolfram being pleased by Feynman liking his idea says anything about Wolframs ego. In fact, this was very modest for Wolfram standards, and a much more interesting and cultured homage to a friend, than the ones by Susskind or Gell-Mann: [LINK] [this video] I must say I in general don't understand the hate a lot of people have for Wolfram, he clearly is a bit narcissistic, but what he writes and says is always otherwise genuinely interesting, even if not as earth shattering as he would like. Certainly his work is not cargo cult science, he did genuinely advance the research in cellular automata, and he even did some lasting mi
Cites shadowfox · 2014-01 · on “FBI files on Richard Feynman ”
> Seems not everyone was a fan of Mr. Feynman Oh. Many people didn't really like him (in spite of acknowledging his ability). For example, Murray Gell-Mann - [this video]
Cites OldGuyInTheClub · 2020-02 · on “Ramanujan Surprises Again (2015)”
From Murray Gell-Mann: [this video] Several clips from Gell-Mann's Web of Stories interview (late 1990s) pertain to his on-again off-again collaboration with Feynman. [LINK]
Cites dralley · 2022-02 · on “Feynman on group decision-making at Los Alamos (1985)”
>Being humble in the search for truth can sometimes even seem arrogant socially. It means that you'll regularly question not only your own beliefs but those of other people as well. Although according to Murray Gell-Mann, Feynman might have gone a bit too far in that regard [this video]