Introduction

In 1961-1963, Richard Phillips Feynman taught an introductory physics course at California Institute of Technology that resulted in the three volumes of The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Feynman was initially unwilling to deliver physics lectures to freshmen, but he changed his mind when he believed that there was no great physicist who had presented this course to young students or the new generation of scientists (Sands, 2005). Feynman’s physics lectures were a compulsory course for freshmen and sophomores whose majors could be astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, mathematics, and physics. These timeless lectures have been translated into more than a dozen languages and have worldwide impact for a long time. Interestingly, these three volumes of textbooks are written in a conversational style that is humorous and honest. Unlike other “dishonest” textbooks, Feynman frequently uses phrases such as “we do not know” and “we do not understand.”

Impacts of Feynman Lectures:

The Feynman Lectures are well received by many notable physicists. Douglas Osheroff, a Nobel laureate, believes that The Feynman Lectures is an extremely important part of his education because they contribute greatly to the development of his physical intuition (Ekspong, 2003). Another Nobel laureate, Steven Chu, feels that The Feynman Lectures are inspirational and that Feynman’s love of physics can be shown through every page (Ekspong, 2003). Furthermore, Frank Wilczek, yet another Nobel laureate, shared his joy of reading Feynman Lectures by putting the first volume into the hands of Devine, and waited for her to express the delight she would surely feel as soon as she started reading (Wilczek & Devine, 2006). It is worth mentioning that Wilczek read The Feynman Lectures when he was a high school student.

According to a reviewer in Scientific American, The Feynman Lectures are “tough, but nourishing and full of flavor. After 25 years it is the guide for teachers and for the best of beginning students (Feynman, Leighton, & Sands, 2006, p. vii).” On the other hand, in a survey on the use of The Feynman Lectures as textbooks, many provided feedback that there should be more help with problem solving; very few undergraduates expressed displeasure in reading these lectures (Stabler, 1967). Interestingly, the term Feynman effect was coined to describe how some of his undergraduates were gradually replaced by graduates and his colleagues (Bartlett, 1992). However, the undergraduates of California institute of technology are supposed to be “the best of the best (Feynman, Gottlieb, & Leighton, 2006, p. 17).” If some of the best students were having difficulties in understanding his lectures, this implies many average students might not be able to learn physics satisfactorily from these lectures.

Errors in Feynman Lectures:

In the New Millennium Edition of The Feynman Lectures, 885 errata (332 in volume I, 263 in volume II, and 200 in volume III) are corrected with the help of Thorne, Gottlieb, Hartl, Bode, and many others. Most of the errata can be classified as three types: (1) typographical errors in prose; (2) typographical and mathematical errors in equations, tables and figures, as well as errors in missing subscripts, summation signs, parentheses and terms in equations; (3) incorrect cross-references to chapters, tables and figures. These three types of errors do not really matter to physicists, but they can be confusing to many students. However, there were also some criticisms on Feynman’s language, for example, “he speaks such dreadfully sloppy English” (Feynman, 1994, p. 11). Thus, his use of language in his lectures may not be well received by all students.

More importantly, there are still many pedagogical and terminological issues in The Feynman Lectures that can be misleading or confusing to students. For instance, some readers have expressed difficulties in learning lectures from “Six Easy Pieces” that are supposed to be more accessible to the general public. According to a physics teacher (my friend), there are too many digressions in the chapter on The theory of Gravitation that he found it difficult to grasp the main idea. In addition, The relation of Physics to Other Sciences, another chapter, seems unbalanced and irrelevant because there are far more discussions on Biology as compared to Chemistry, Astronomy, and Geology. It should be worthwhile to have a sharing of different perspectives or difficulties in understanding Feynman’s lectures. Thus, I plan to write a blog about “Meditating The Feynman Lectures.” This is also in response to the last statement of Feynman’s preface in his lectures that “perhaps they will have fun thinking them through — or going on to develop some of the ideas further.”

Note: In his autobiography, Feynman (1997) mentions that Fermi was ten times better than him in complicated calculations. Fermi was also wise to ask his wife Laura to help him in writing a textbook for high school students. For instance, when Fermi wrote that “it is evident that in a nonuniformly accelerated motion the ratio of the speed to the time is not constant” (Fermi, 1961, p. 60), Laura argued that it is not evident. On the other hand, a feminist group accused Feynman of being anti-woman because one of his lectures discusses concepts of velocity that involved a woman driver being stopped by a cop. However, Feynman explained that the cop was also a woman.

References:

1. Ekspong, G. (Ed.). (2003). Nobel lectures in physics 1996–2000. Singapore: World Scientific.

2. Fermi, L. (1954). Atoms in the Family: My Life with Enrico Fermi. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

3. Feynman, R. P. (1994). No Ordinary Genius: The Illustrated Richard Feynman. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

4. Feynman, R. P. (1997). Surely, you’re Joking, Mr Feynman. New York: Norton.

5. Feynman, R. P., Gottlieb, M. A., Leighton, R. (2006). Feynman’s tips on physics: reflections, advice, insights, practice: a problem-solving supplement to the Feynman lectures on physics. San Francisco: Pearson Addison-Wesley.

6. Feynman, R. P., Leighton, R. B., & Sands, M. (2006). The Feynman Lectures on Physics, The Definitive Edition: Vol I: Mainly mechanics, radiation, and heat. San Francisco: Addison-Wesley. 

7. Sands, M. (2005). Capturing the wisdom of Feynman. Physics Today, 58(4), 49–55. 

8. Stabler, H. P. (1967). COLLEGE: Teaching from Feynman. Physics Today, 20(3), 47–50. 

9. Wilczek, F., & Devine, B. (2006). Fantastic Realities: 49 Mind Journeys and a Trip to Stockholm. Singapore: World Scientific.