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    the sham legacy of Richard Feynman

    Angela Collier

    5 HN recommenders · recommended in 6 months, 2024–2025

    YouTube

    2:48:11 · 1.2M views · Nov 28, 2024

    Physicist Angela Collier's nearly three-hour critique of Richard Feynman's public legacy. She examines how his books, written with Ralph Leighton, shaped a mythologized great-man image, and covers his personal behavior.

    HN recommends it as a sobering counterpoint to the Feynman myth for people whose view comes from Surely You're Joking.

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    9 comments from Hacker News

    1. @artifact_44Feb 2025· in “Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)”

      Because she thoroughly de-articulates the fabricated mystique around Feynman, and openly discusses the toxic effect his legacy has had on science. (Including the fact that a lot of his legacy was fabricated by people that either admired him, or wished to capitalize on that legacy.) Her video on Feynman is long and detailed, and very sobering. I highly recommend it. It absolutely/expertly challenged everything I thought I knew about him. this video

      Strongly recommendsView on HN
    2. @tovejFeb 2025· in “Richard Feynman's blackboard at the time of his death (1988)”

      He hasn't written a single book (surprising I know), I assume you're talking about "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman", which contains exaggerated anecdotes designed to make Feynman look like a hero. That one was written by a fanboy (Ralph Leighton) based on stories that Feynman told him, which have been revealed to be either fake or exaggerations (they found notes in his office of him writing and rewriting these hero stories). It's a terrible book, in my opinion. If you want to know why, Angela Collier says it better and in more detail than I could: this video Is that the video you're referring to? Watch the video and I think you'll see why he is "getting a bad rep these days".

      RecommendsView on HN
    3. @renhanxueJun 2025· in “What Problems to Solve (1966)”

      Astrophysicist Angela Collier's video essay "the sham legacy of Richard Feynman" [0] is a good introduction. Her accounts of her own encounters with "Feynman bros" are heart-wrenching. [0] this video

      RecommendsView on HN
    4. @hughesjjDec 2024· in “Fermat's Last Theorem – how it’s going”

      I'd be careful taking anything from "surely you're joking" as a fact btw. There's a good popsci comms video on why here this video

      RecommendsView on HN
    5. @blackenedgemDec 2024· in “Fermat's Last Theorem – how it’s going”

      You may want to watch this if Surely You're Joking read years ago is your main reference point: this video

      RecommendsView on HN