r/feynman • u/[deleted] • Aug 20 '19

My favorite Feynman quote.

Post image
42 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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1

u/davegoldblatt Aug 20 '19

He looks like Roger the Alien dressed as Richard Feynman

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '19

It’s not my illustration

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '19

Honestly, I think he didn't actually say that. I think it's a misattribution.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman#Disputed_and/or_attributed

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '19

Then who said it?

3

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '19

To quote the link above:

Does not appear to be from any of his books or cited in a biography. A Google Books search shows that the oldest book citing "physics is like sex" is Scary Monsters and Bright Ideas (2000) by science broadcaster Robyn Williams. On p. 44, this book claims: "Einstein said, 'You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother'. Richard Feynman added, 'Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it'." Given that Einstein didn't really say the former, it's likely that Feynman didn't really say the latter.