Richard P. Feynman was a theoretical physicist. He led a team of calculators in the Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer singled him out as the smartest physicist there. He won a Nobel Prize ... The core of Feynman's genius was his insistence on understanding every concept from [[first principles]]. He visualized every problem to the point he could see a solution that, once shared with his colleagues, was instantly graspable (however how he got there was often not). He refused to let his colleagues explain anything to him. He would only read journal articles to understand the problem, and then would go and figure out the solution himself. Like many physicists, he maintained a boy-like wonder in his work. Twice he forgot this. In one anecdote, he watched a plate spinning in the Caltech cafeteria and was able to work out the relationship between spin and wobble of the plate. He showed his results to his boss Bethe who wondered why it was important, to which Feynman replied ... (for fun). In a second anecdote, he read the autobiography of a colleague and recognized a key lesson that he had forgot. In his notes and doodles he printed in large letters the word DISREGARD. In other words, to make progress, he needed to disregard the established wisdom to find his own way. Feynman is a favorite character amongst the PKM and productivity crowd. * 12 problems * Feynman technique His biography is [[Genius]] by [[James Gleick]]. Feynman wrote a few books about himself including *Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman*. His freshman-level lectures on physics are called the *Feynman Lectures* or simply the red books.