Musings of an Analyst

Like a number of folks that I know, I have admired Richard Feynman for some time. His physics lectures are inspiring and intimidating for me at the same time. Every time I read one of his lectures, I take away a new insight. And, I leave with a renewed perspective on the limits of what I personally know and understand. I do not have near the understanding and knowledge that Feynman had. I want to have something closer to what he had. The fundamental insights and understanding that he had are just amazing to me.

For some time, I have been working backwards and forwards through his lectures and the course material from when we taught his sequence of lectures at Caltech. I am slowly making my way through the material and through the textbook that he used.

In one of his lectures, he commented that there was more material in each lecture than anyone could ever learn. I have found that that is certainly the case for me. His anecdote on Tycho Brahe, for me, was profound and thought-provoking. The idea that Tycho Brahe’s approach to measure what actually happened was a profound change in the history of science is obvious after looking at it and thinking about in terms of Feynman’s observations. What prompted Feynman to notice that? Why didn’t someone before Tycho Brahe have that same insight.

Similarly, while I understand that there is a great deal of knowledge and wisdom that is contained in the “Atomic Hypothesis” or the “Atomic Fact,” I also recognize that Feynman saw knowledge and theory radiating from that sentence in a way that I can barely begin to recognize. My personal journey in this area is just beginning.

I am not sure what the milestone will be that will make me think I have attained a meaningful understanding of the material that I don’t feel like I understand well enough today, but I know that I don’t have it yet.