As a young physicist, Richard Feynman had already established himself as an outstanding figure in his field.
The leading scientists of the time, including Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Pauli, and the great Danish physicist Niels Bohr, who made significant contributions to our understanding of the atomic structure, immediately began engaging with Feynman.
When Niels Bohr and other prominent scientists had finished one such session, Bohr pulled his son [who had also been present] aside and said:
‘I have something to tell you.’
‘You know that young guy at the back, Feynman. Let’s have a separate discussion with him before our next session and then share our results with the rest of the group.‘
‘Why father?‘
‘Well, because, every time I say something, the others just say ‘You must be right, Dr Bohr’. He is the only one who has the courage to tell me I am wrong.’
Feynman, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, later stated that during discussions of the subject, he often forgot who he was talking to. He was just concerned with whether or not the physics was correct.
The life of Richard Feynman is intriguing to learn about. He was fluent in several languages and possessed a voracious appetite for knowledge. But what really stood out was how straightforward his methods were for fixing problems.
Feynman has said:
“The moment I start to think about Physics, and have to concentrate on what I’m explaining, nothing else occupies my mind.”
At the end of the day, a physics problem was still a physics problem. He did not allow the presence of the other person or the immediate surroundings to cloud his judgment. So, his response to Niels Bohr would be the same as it is to you and me.
His greatness lay in his uncomplicated nature.
Let’s remember Feynman’s approach when we face a difficult problem.
rochemamabolo 