FEYNMAN WEEK: Part 1

Not only did Richard Feynman have a brilliant mind, he also had a free and curious spirit. He called himself an explorer and always looked for new adventures to get into to with an almost childlike sense of fun. He travelled extensively, spending a lot of time in Brazil. He asked for a transfer there because he picked up a hitchhiker who told him it was a good place to visit. Feynman was like “Brazil huh? Okay, sounds like fun”. So he got a position at a Brazilian College, lived in a hotel at the Copacabana, studied Portuguese and learnt how to play percussion in a samba street band, eventually getting so good he danced and played in Carnival. He loved studying different disciplines and tried to ‘fake’ his way into that field. Besides playing in that samba band, he once played music for a ballet, gave some biology lectures (he was a physics teacher) and sold his paintings as a professional artist. Everything he did because he thought it was fun, including science.

– Feynman spent years at the end of his life trying to plan one more adventure – travelling to the tiny Russian country, Tuva. There was no particular reason he wanted to go, he just liked the name ‘Tuva’ and upon discovering it had barely been explored by westerners he was determined to gain access to the country. Unfortunately he died before he could fulfull his dream. There’s a documentary about his quest on YouTube.

– Do you know anymore Feynman stories? Share them in the comments – I’d like to know as much about him as possible.