
What are worthwhile problems: Feynman's moving letter - hhm
http://scienceblogs.com/thescian/2008/03/what_are_worthwhile_problems_f.php
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mynameishere
_[K]now your place in the world and evaluate yourself fairly, not in terms of
your [naive] ideals of your own youth, nor in terms of what you erroneously
imagine your teacher's ideals are._

It's actually very humdrum advice. I remember reading Robert Frost's
biography, and when he taught high school he coached the debate club--he told
kids that, when they had some important point to make, always attribute their
own words it to George Washington or so-and-so, in order to be more
persuasive.

It's an annoying fact...anybody could give Feynman's advice and it would be
passed over without another thought. But when words get attached to someone in
authority, they are suddenly "moving".

Lin Yutang said that it was desirable in China to grow old because there is a
basic rule that old people get to speak first. So something quite manifestly
bad, aging, is considered good because of a rule of manners. I think that, in
general, people want to become famous through science, or art, or basketball,
or _anything_ , to ennoble their own words.

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jey
That's not really very fair. Yes, a lot of advice is pretty "humdrum", but we
admire Feynman because of the person he was _altogether_ , not because he
rehashes tired old advice. There are plenty of other Nobel Prize-winning
scientists and plenty of other wacky characters, but there are really not many
people who approached life with zest as Feynman did. Many people will pay
lipservice to Feynman's ideas and ideals, but few actually take it to heart
and live their lives by it. Our society's screwy ideals have too strong of a
hold on us.

You should read "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", I [nearly] guarantee
that you'll enjoy it.

~~~
akkartik
This is all true. But try saying what he said to a friend or student, try
writing 2 paragraphs in response to one sentence about humble problems,and I
suspect you will be thought condescending.

~~~
jey
You're right, anyone who does that should win a Nobel Prize first. ;-)

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mleonhard
Maybe the student was just being humble? With a Japanese name, like Koichi,
maybe he was expressing the Japanese cultural tendency toward humility and
self-deprecation when communicating with superiors?

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DaniFong
I remember reading this in a dark period a few years ago, after struggling
with a problem in physics. I cried, and folded back the page, knowing I'd read
it again. I'm pleasantly surprised to find it would be here.

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henning
This makes me feel better about working on yet another CMS/blog/wiki thingie.

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meat-eater
Very nice advice from Feynman. It is always something I also try to live by.
If you enjoy working on something, then it's worthwhile. But for me, a lot of
times this may mean working beyond my field, as my interests are varied. I
also enjoy problems that cross the boundaries of different disciplines.

