She does not like him, and trashes him. She also explains that all his books are ghostwritten.
Several books are attributed to him, especially his two autobiographies.
The books have many amusing stories, and she argues that most of them are made up.
She has a funny personality, different from most physics, and she is entertaining. She makes some good arguments. Watch it, and lower your opinion of Feynman.
She does have a bunch of positive things to say about him. Her main point is that the legend is very misleading.
Feynman is HIGHLY overrated. Also, he is responsible for killing a man and never stood trial for it. Josef Papp was demonstrating his plasma engine at Caltech in 1966. Feynman was convinced it was a "perpetual motion machine hoax" so he went over and yanked a power cord which was vital for powering control circuitry. The engine ran out of control and EXPLODED, injuring three people and KILLING one man. This was all because Feynman sabotaged it! Papp sued Caltech and Feynman who settled out of court. No explanation was given as to WHY Feynman wasn't arrested for negligent homicide! But I bet we can all guess(hint: it's related to unusual headgear)!!
ReplyDeleteHere's some more info about my previous comment. It appears the incident occurred in 1968. From the San Bernardino County Sun 21 November 1968:
ReplyDeleteThe explosion of an experimental automobile engine that killed one man and injured eight others: apparently did not involve criminal negligence, sheriff's investigator Harold White said. An unidentified observer [later revealed to be Feynman!] who removed the engine's control wires during a demonstration Monday apparently wanted only to assure himself the engine was not working off electricity, deputies said. A pressure buildup exploded the engine. Jack Hartman. 40, of Torrance was dead of schrapnel and a possible heart attack. One of the eight other victims, Joseph Auglclti, 52, of Palos Verdes, remained in critical condition Tuesday.