Feynman's Rainbow

Richard Feynman was one of our more interesting physicists. Lodged at the California Institute of Technology (known affectionately as CalTech), he was the university's "resident genius and iconoclast." Although a book about Feynman (including his own) will always reflect the view of the author, in this entertaining and enlightening work, Leonard Mlodinow shares his memories of a remarkable year in the presence of a very mortal man.

Because Feynman was fighting cancer, perhaps Mlodinow had access to him at a time when his own ideas about life and priorities were changing. It's difficult to know, but we are given a portrait of a man who had always forged his own way in life and in academics. Known for making up his own rules for research, he nonetheless was responsible for some remarkable theories which were found unacceptable for many years. Some of his ideas about an unobservable particle like a quark, in fact, smacked of being a bit "over the edge" (they have since been determined more than reasonable by the scientific community). Mlodinow reports, however, that Feynman considered his theories to be solid science and that he would say, when the topic was brought up, that he had doctor's orders not to discuss metaphysics.

I remember seeing a television program that had some film from one of Feynman's school lectures. A strikingly handsome man, he had a charisma that made him seem rather romantic, yet he is arguably one of the brightest stars in our scientific universe. And I intend to learn more about this fascinating man who, in my mind, walked a similar path to another unusual physicist - Albert Einstein. Both men were willing to go their own way, to challenge the way science is carried out. Both have earned my respect and admiration.

Feynman's Rainbow is a good book. The science in it is accessible and much is explained for those who are not actually genius material ourselves, like me. I just love science. So I need someone to explain things in a language that I can grasp, and Mlodinow has done just that. His conversations with Feynman touch on the nature of science, art, mathematics, the creative process, God and even rainbows. A pure delight, but also an indepth look at the competitive and sometimes frustrating lives of our scientific leaders.

So if you're interested in Feynman, or physics, or both, be sure to include Feynman's Rainbow on your reading list. It's a quick read and one you won't soon forget.