""Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"" [.]

[fiefoe]

Hardwares evolve, algorithms less so. Parallel computing was done with punch cards, and the description of safecracker books sounds like the last book I read on hacking - 'In the beginning there are some stories of the fantastic achievements of the safecracker... In the second part of the book,... there are all kinds of ninny-pinny, dopey things, like "It might be a good idea to try a date for the combination..."'

Words and deeds of a man of science:

• (To get rid of ants in his larder, he ferried ants to a mound of sugar outside his door:) Eventually the ants found their way from sugar to their hole, so this new trail was being doubly reinforced, while the old trail was being used less and less.
• (The psychiatrist) says, "For instance, do you think any of the boys waiting on the benches are staring at you now?" While I had been waiting, I had noticed there were about twelve guys on the benches waiting for the three psychiatrist, and they've got nothing else to look at, so I divide twelve by three - that makes four each - but I'm conservative , so I say, "Yeah, maybe two of them are looking at us."
• (Hans Bethe) was nearly always able to get the answer to any problem within a percent. I was easy for him - every number was near something he knew.
• (On reviewing a math problem:) I explode in horror...  Perpetual absurdity! There's no purpose whatsoever in adding the temperature of two stars. ...maybe to then take the average temperature of stars, but not to find out the total temperature of all the stars!
• I think the educational and psychological studies I mentioned are examples of what I would like to call cargo cult science.
• Of course, you only live one life, and you make all your mistakes, and learn what not to do, and that's the end of you.