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  • The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

  • The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
  • By: Richard P. Feynman
  • Narrated by: Sean Runnette
  • Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (254 ratings)
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The Pleasure of Finding Things Out cover art

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

By: Richard P. Feynman
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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Summary

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the best short works of Richard P. Feynman, from interviews and speeches to lectures and printed articles. A sweeping, wide-ranging collection, it presents an intimate and fascinating view of a life in science - a life like no other. From his ruminations on science in our culture to his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, this book will delight anyone interested in the world of ideas.

"From the irregular trivia of ordinary life mixed with a bit of scientific doodling and failure to the intense dramatic concentration as one closes in on the truth and the final elation (plus, with gradually decreasing frequency, the sudden sharp pangs of doubt) - that is how science is done." (Richard P. Feynman to James D. Watson)

©1999 Michelle Feynman and Carl Feynman (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The most original mind of his generation." (Freeman Dyson, renowned theoretical physicist and mathematician)
"A sparkling collection." ( Wall Street Journal)
"Feynman’s distinctive voice rings out in this book…Feynman is both interesting and quotable." ( Scientific American)

What listeners say about The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

All you want to hear is already in the first book.

Not worth listening if you have already gone through "Surely you're joking...". and if not listen that instead. A lot of repetition and new material is not anything special.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

How children should be raised

What made the experience of listening to The Pleasure of Finding Things Out the most enjoyable?

Inspiring and vivid stories, full of insights into life, human behaviour, raising children, and nature...

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Pleasure of Finding Things Out?

Melville Feynman's deep understanding of inertia, and the way he explained it to his son

What does Sean Runnette bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Colour

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story about Arlene.

Any additional comments?

There is some overlap with other books, such as 'What do you care what other people think?'

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Old. Out dated. With some sparks of insights

Don’t expect epiphanies. There is some interesting thoughts and stories about his father. Most the stories are written 40 years ago so it’s outdated, not only technically but also socially. Shockingly outdated are expressions about the “female mind”. Valuable are the opinion on education and scientific methods. This book might be interesting to someone that will be a father/mother, though she/he would have to skim out a bit of tech-memorabilia.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Authentic Feynman

This is a great insight into the work, life and mind of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century.
Presented in his own words with great variety of topics, eras and personal anecdotes.
I highly recommend it to anyone either with or without scientific inclinations.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Repetitive, especially if your read Surely...

if you've read Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman then a huge amount of this book will be familiar to you. what's left is interesting.

if you've not read the previous book then you'll still finds this book repeats itself multiple times, as the same source material is used in different interviews, or Feynman gives the same answer, or he repeats the same anecdotes.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent but a little mathematical at times

I enjoyed this book in as much it was fascinating listening to stories of someone who knows so much about the world and universe.

However it lost me at times with the mathematical descriptions of nano mechanics for instance. Probably maths students or astronauts love those bits.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

captivating

as is always the case with works by or about Richard P. Feynman. Highly recommended!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best book i read

the narrator was good and i really understood alot how we act as humans and how easy it is to cross the line between good and bad (Los Alamos)

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Repeat of Surely you must be joking Mr Feynman

After have read Surely you must be joking Mr Feynman this book is much of a repeat.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Underwhelming compared with "Surely.." & "What.."

Severely lacking in content when compared with the other 2 books of assembled stories and interviews.

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