Feynman's Rainbow : A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life

As a young physicist, Leonard Mlodinow looked for guidance from his mentor, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Drawing on transcripts from their meetings during their time together at Cal Tech, Mlodinow shares Feynman's provocative thoughts and observations. At once a moving portrait of a friendship and an affecting account of Feynman's final, creative years, this book celebrates the inspiring legacy of one of the greatest thinkers of our time. Einstein’s Dreams meets Tuesdays with Morrie in Leonard Mlodinow’s touching memoir about the guidance granted him by his mentor, the brilliant physicist Richard Feynman. For some, it was that special connection with a grandparent or a football coach, a boss, or a cleric. For Leonard Mlodinow, as a young physicist struggling to find his place in the world, the relationship that would most profoundly influence his life was with his mentor, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Drawing on transcripts from his many meetings with Feynman during their time together at Cal Tech, Mlodinow shares Feynman’s provocative answers to such questions as “What is the nature of creativity?” and “How does a scientist think?” At once a moving portrait of a friendship and an affecting account of Feynman’s final, creative years, FEYNMAN’S RAINBOW celebrates the inspiring legacy of one of the greatest thinkers of our time. For some, it was that special connection with a grandparent or a football coach, a boss, or a cleric. For a young physicist struggling to find his place in the world, the relationship that would most profoundly influence his life was with his mentor, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Shares Feynman's provocative answers to such questions as "What is the nature of creativity?"--And "How does a scientist think?" At once a moving portrait of a friendship and an affecting account of Feynman's final, creative years, celebrates the inspiring legacy of one of the greatest thinkers of our time. Annotation. Academic scientist turned Hollywood screen writer, Mlodinow recounts his first year on the faculty at California Technical Institute, beginning in winter 1981, and his interactions there with renowned physicist Richard Feynman during his last years IN A GRAY CEMENT building on the olive tree-lined Caltech campus on California Boulevard in Pasadena, a thin man with longish hair steps into his modest office.