Blog 20

I believe that all of the scientists that we have read up to this point have had unique childhood experiences that have shaped who they become. Richard Feynman’s unique experience was his love for radios. This love turned him into a gadget guru, where he would try to fix all sorts of radios and form gadgets to increase the efficiency of his work. Furthermore, he always loved to figure out riddles and challenges. This seems similar to myself, because I strive to complete a challenge, and will not stop trying to achieve this challenge until it is finished. On page 24 of “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”, he talks about how these scientific puzzles were the leading factor in him making discoveries saying that “the whole problem of discovering what was the matter, and figuring out what you have to do to fix it-that was interesting to me, like a puzzle.” This quote seems to fit in perfectly with the telos of a scientists, to discover the truths about the world to satisfy their curiosity.

When Feynman was older he also had similar experiences to other scientists, such as Barbara McClintock, as they were invited to join Greek life. Additionally, he realized that he had a different way of thinking about physics concepts due to the fact that he was mostly self-taught. This is similar to Einstein, which allowed both of them to solve problems that the majority of scientists could not. The most valuable piece that I gained from this reading was on page 63, were Feynman realizes that going to different schools for his undergraduate and graduate degrees allowed him to “Learn what the rest of the world is like.” As I am about to graduate and pursue further education in medical school, this was an interesting piece of advice that I did not previously consider. I think that Michigan State is a great school, and would love to pursue a D.O. degree at MSUCOM; however, maybe going to a different medical school would allow me to see the world from a different point of view. This could grant me greater insight on how to approach novel situations, and set me up for success later in my career.