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Richard Feynman’s Mental Models:

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How to Think,

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Learn,

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and Problem-Solve Like a Nobel Prize-Winning Polymath (Learning how to Learn Book 23)

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Written by

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Peter Hollins,  narrated by russell newton.

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“Keep your eyes wide open,

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approach everything with

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circumspection,

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don’t accept any truth without deep

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thought,

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expose and eradicate half truths and

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demagoguery,

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learn to wonder at the beauty of the

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world around you and,

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above all,

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think!—about everything."

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—Richard Feynman What do you know?

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How do you know the things you know?

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Could there be a better way to know,

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and how could you find it out?

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What don’t you know,

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and how might you learn?

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Could you be wrong,

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and what would that look like?

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What is,

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and what faculties do you have to

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perceive and understand it?

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These are the sorts of questions that

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most of us seldom get around to asking.

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Epistemology is the field of inquiry

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that asks about inquiry itself,

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and questions the limits,

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characteristics,

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and sources of our knowledge.

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Being able to think about how we are

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thinking,

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and know more about the process of

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accumulating knowledge about the world,

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requires a mindset shift all its own.

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Nobel Prize–winning theoretical

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physicist Richard Feynman is one of the

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best-known and most-loved scientists of

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our time.

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He was involved in the development of

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the atomic bomb and did pioneering work

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in nanotechnology,

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superfluidity,

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and quantum computing.

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What made Feynman so relatable,

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however,

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was his ability to popularize his work,

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and his many books and autobiographies

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captured the public imagination and

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earned him a legacy in the public eye

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as the face of intellectual rigor,

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scientific progress,

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and the powers of the rational mind.

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But there is not some special access to

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reality that is afforded to theoretical

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physicists alone—what made

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Feynman’s mindset and worldview so

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compelling was how he thought,

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not what he thought.

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In other words,

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he was consistently led to ask himself

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about what he knew,

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how he knew it,

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and how he could do better and learn

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more.

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This is precisely what this book is

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about.

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Using the inimitable Feynman as our

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guide and inspiration,

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we will peer beyond the realm of

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physics and engage with the underlying

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nature of inquiry itself,

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and how we might become students of

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life,

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in the very broadest sense.

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Whatever your vocation,

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skill set,

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expertise,

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special interest,

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or personal challenges,

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your life can be improved by learning

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to learn.

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No matter if you are primarily

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concerned with personal relationships,

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your occupation,

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your life path in general,

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or the grand,

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overarching philosophical questions

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that have teased and taunted even the

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greatest minds,

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you cannot help but improve your

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situation by fine-tuning those

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intellectual faculties that have the

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sole job of orienting you in the

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universe and helping you make sense of

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it.

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Consider this fine-tuning process a

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kind of meta-skill that is transferable

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to any area of life.

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Learn how to observe,

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to synthesize information,

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to analyze,

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to create,

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to solve problems,

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to extract meaning,

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to ask questions and seek their

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answers—in other words,

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learning to think—and you will master

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yourself and your world to whatever

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extent is possible for a human being.

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The ability to really think (and we

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will soon see how most of us have a

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complete misunderstanding of what

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thinking is)

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will never go out of fashion or lose

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its value.

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Your brain is a tool that will inspire

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the elevated use of every other tool

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you encounter.

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It’s the kind of tool that possesses

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a fascinating potential—the ability

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to change and adapt itself as needed.

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Like the physicists who have learned to

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operate at the very vanguard of human

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comprehension,

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you,

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too,

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will be able to ask “What do I have

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to be,

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and how ought I to think,

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to understand this?"

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Think Like a Martian  In an interview,

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Feynman once shared a game that his

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father had taught him as a child.

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They’d sit at the dinner table

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engrossed in discussion of a topic,

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and his father would playfully ask

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something like,

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“Suppose we were Martians who had

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come to the Earth for the first time

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and were looking at things from the

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outside,

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having never seen them before.

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What would that be like?

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What would we see?"

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On the one hand,

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this is a simple child’s fancy,

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but on the other,

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it captures the spirit of scientific

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inquiry.

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It’s a “game” that asks us what

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radically curious perception would look

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like,

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with zero preconceptions.

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What would the world look like to you

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if you had no pre-existing beliefs

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about it,

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no biases,

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no prior understanding to cloud your

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observations?

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It’s a question that gets deeper and

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deeper the more you think about it.

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With fresh eyes,

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everything would start to look wildly

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interesting.

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You would take nothing for granted.

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For example,

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being a Martian,

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let’s suppose you never slept and had

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no need for it.

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You didn’t know what sleep was and

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had never even imagined it before.

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It was not only not a part of your

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world,

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it wasn’t even something you

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acknowledged as being strange or

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impossible.

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Now imagine you came to Earth and

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observed that within every

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twenty-four-hour cycle,

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human beings of every kind would fall

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into a period of unconsciousness,

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and they would close their eyes and

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grow still and lie horizontal,

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their breathing slowing.

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You’d notice they’d get into big

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pouches made out of foam and layers of

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fabric,

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roughly the same size as their bodies,

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and stay there for a handful of hours.

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Now,

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if you were a scientist Martian,

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you would have a load of questions!

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Where would you even start?

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You’d wonder what was happening and

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why.

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You’d be curious about what it felt

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like to suddenly lose consciousness

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this way,

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and what purpose it was serving,

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and what it meant that humans seemed to

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vary in their practice of this habit.

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You’d wonder what their experience

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was like—what does it actually mean

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to not be awake?

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Does your brain still “work”?

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Does your consciousness go off all at

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once or does it happen gradually?

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Why?

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For a Martian who only knows one state

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of being—wakefulness—thinking about

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the idea of sleep must be like human

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beings imagining some other,

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third state of consciousness in

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addition to sleep and wakefulness.

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You have started with something

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completely arbitrary,

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obvious,

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and kind of boring (sleep),

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and in no time you are grappling with

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very deep questions of what it means to

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be conscious,

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how we can actually know what another

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person’s consciousness feels like,

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and what we are really talking about

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when we use an everyday word like

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“awake” or “aware."

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Now,

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such questions can be fun if they

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inspire a renewed appreciation for the

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strangeness of life ...and can

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certainly be good starting points for

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writing science fiction!

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But let’s go deeper.

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Feynman gave an analogy where he

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described the process of seeing a bird

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in a tree.

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Someone might ask you what bird it is,

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and you could give its name.

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Now,

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does that mean you know what the bird

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is?

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Do you really grasp the meaning of what

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is in front of you,

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and can you say you have knowledge of

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it?

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Consider that the name you give will be

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in your language.

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You say the bird is a “lark,” but

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an Italian speaker says it’s an

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“allodola” and a Greek speaker says

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it’s a “korydallos” and Hindi

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speaker says it’s a “लवा”!

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Maybe a Martian comes down and,

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when asked what he sees,

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blows air bubbles out a little funnel

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on his head ... You get the picture.

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Knowing the arbitrary symbols assigned

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to a thing is not knowing it.

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Recognizing certain patterns and

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features and mapping them onto

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pre-existing mental models is,

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in a way,

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the opposite of really knowing it.

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Have you ever really seen a bird?

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Look again.

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What do you really see?

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Imagine you have never been told

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anything about birds and have stumbled,

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brand new,

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with a fresh and unused brain,

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into the world.

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There is a phenomenon unfolding in

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front of you—a kind of movement of

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light,

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a noise,

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a being.

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What is it?

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So,

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if you were the Martian observing Earth

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people sleeping,

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go a step deeper and imagine that you

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have no idea what “consciousness”

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is,

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and no pre-existing beliefs about this

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00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:51,160
thing called “the mind."

292
00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:51,840
After all,

293
00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:53,880
if someone were to ask you right now,

294
00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:54,720
what is the mind,

295
00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,040
do you think you could easily explain

296
00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:58,840
it to them if they didn’t already

297
00:09:58,840 --> 00:09:59,160
know?

298
00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,640
The Martian question is a powerful tool

299
00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:04,880
for getting beyond the limits of our

300
00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:05,160
language.

301
00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:06,720
Sometimes,

302
00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:08,640
we think of learning as an accumulative

303
00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:10,720
process—that we are ignorant,

304
00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:12,960
and then we pile knowledge on top of

305
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:13,800
that ignorance,

306
00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:15,320
adding to our understanding.

307
00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:16,440
But in many ways,

308
00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,440
really grasping the nature of reality

309
00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,760
is just as much about taking away—by

310
00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:24,480
peeling back the layers of assumption,

311
00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,360
we clear our perception and look at

312
00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:28,240
things afresh.

313
00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:31,480
The biggest impediment to understanding

314
00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:32,480
the world as it is,

315
00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:32,720
then,

316
00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,200
is the insistence that we already know

317
00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:35,840
what it is.

318
00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,960
We see someone lose consciousness in a

319
00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:40,600
pouch made of foam and fabric,

320
00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:41,800
and we confidently say,

321
00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:43,080
“She’s gone to bed."

322
00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,640
The language gives the impression we

323
00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:48,480
have a more comprehensive understanding

324
00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,520
of what has occurred ...but do we?

325
00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,040
When you ask the Martian question and

326
00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,080
try on a fresh perspective on things

327
00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:58,400
you think you already understand,

328
00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:00,840
you change the kinds of questions you

329
00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:01,200
ask.

330
00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:02,920
And that means you change the kind of

331
00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:04,440
answers you expose yourself to,

332
00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,400
and therefore the kinds of solutions

333
00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:07,000
you can dream up.

334
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,720
You “think outside the box” because

335
00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:11,720
you are able to see that there is a box

336
00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:12,400
in the first place,

337
00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,520
and you become curious about who put it

338
00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:15,400
there and why,

339
00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,520
and what it would mean if it didn’t

340
00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:18,680
exist anymore.

341
00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:23,440
The Martian Question in Real Life  This

342
00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:27,720
might seem great if you’re a

343
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:29,840
children’s author or a prize-winning

344
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:30,640
physicist,

345
00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:32,680
but can it really be applied to real

346
00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:33,280
life?

347
00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,680
Do you have to reinvent the wheel every

348
00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:37,320
time you want to make toast for

349
00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:37,840
breakfast?

350
00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:41,800
Consider the example of inventor Martin

351
00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:42,000
Cooper,

352
00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,160
the man who is credited with being the

353
00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,760
“grandfather of the mobile phone."

354
00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,880
He didn’t just create a fun new

355
00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:49,440
gadget.

356
00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,600
He looked at the world of telephone

357
00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:52,920
communication as it was in the early

358
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:54,320
1970s,

359
00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:55,840
and asked a question - “Why do you

360
00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,400
have to always call a place—why

361
00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:00,440
can’t you call a person?"

362
00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:02,360
You see,

363
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,240
his shift in perspective was the very

364
00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,080
idea that you could detach the ability

365
00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:09,520
to make telephone calls from any

366
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,600
particular place—it seems obvious to

367
00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:13,240
us today,

368
00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:14,920
but it wasn’t back then.

369
00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,120
He pioneered the idea of a phone as a

370
00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:18,840
personal thing,

371
00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:21,320
saying he wanted to create a

372
00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,240
“personal telephone—something that

373
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,680
would represent an individual so you

374
00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:28,120
could assign a number;

375
00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,000
not to a place,

376
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:31,000
not to a desk,

377
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:32,360
not to a home,

378
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:33,960
but to a person."

379
00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,240
Martin Cooper asked interesting

380
00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,360
questions not because he was an

381
00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:40,960
intelligent inventor and engineer,

382
00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,480
or an expert in the field of

383
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,680
communications (he was both these

384
00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:45,280
things),

385
00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,360
but because he was able to look at the

386
00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,040
situation with fresh eyes.

387
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,920
The question that defined his

388
00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:55,080
career—and arguably the era of mobile

389
00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,000
devices—was the kind of question a

390
00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:58,080
five-year-old might ask.

391
00:12:58,080 --> 00:12:59,840
Today,

392
00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:01,600
we don’t think of this leap in

393
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,640
imagination as anything all that

394
00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:04,320
special,

395
00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,560
since it has become part of our world.

396
00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:08,040
In the same way,

397
00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,080
we don’t look around and see the vast

398
00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,480
potential for ideas that we simply have

399
00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:15,280
not had the insight to ask about until

400
00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:15,600
now.

401
00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:17,280
They are there,

402
00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:17,520
though,

403
00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:18,960
hiding in plain sight,

404
00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,400
just beyond the same kind of simple,

405
00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,040
even obvious question that Martin

406
00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:25,400
Cooper asked himself.

407
00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:28,440
Get in the habit of asking these kinds

408
00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:29,480
of questions yourself.

409
00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,800
What would this situation look like to

410
00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,240
me if I knew nothing at all about it?

411
00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:37,400
What assumptions,

412
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:38,880
expectations,

413
00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,760
and foregone conclusions am I taking

414
00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:42,480
for granted?

415
00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,520
What if I remove those?

416
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,320
How might my life look to a complete

417
00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:49,120
outsider?

418
00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,520
To someone from a different planet,

419
00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:52,680
a different country,

420
00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:54,640
a different historical period?

421
00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,920
What about a younger or older version

422
00:13:57,920 --> 00:13:58,760
of myself?

423
00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,080
When I answer a question with a term or

424
00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:02,160
label,

425
00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,880
do I actually know what this word means?

426
00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,240
What is interesting here?

427
00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:09,280
Could it be some other way?

428
00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,880
Feynman’s Advice .- Play More!

429
00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:17,600
One of the themes we will return to

430
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,080
again and again in this book is that of

431
00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:21,320
intellectual newness,

432
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:22,600
freshness,

433
00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,360
and lack of preconception.

434
00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,840
This “childlike” state of mind is

435
00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,440
not just a metaphor—children are in

436
00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,680
many ways the natural experts of

437
00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:32,000
learning,

438
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,920
since that is precisely what their

439
00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:36,040
brains are designed to do.

440
00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:37,640
Sadly,

441
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,360
we lose this knack for plain

442
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:41,040
perception,

443
00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:42,480
curiosity,

444
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,440
and joy as we grow older and are taught

445
00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,680
that learning is not about new things,

446
00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:48,800
but about old,

447
00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:49,480
dusty,

448
00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:50,520
tried things!

449
00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,720
When left to their own devices,

450
00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:54,920
children don’t learn by forcing

451
00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:57,720
themselves to sit in structured lessons

452
00:14:57,720 --> 00:14:59,480
and making a big deal out of

453
00:14:59,480 --> 00:14:59,880
unpleasant,

454
00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:00,400
boring,

455
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:02,040
and deadly serious “school”—which

456
00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,440
is somehow separate from the rest of

457
00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:04,840
life.

458
00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:05,840
Rather,

459
00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:07,160
they play.

460
00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,320
Constantly.

461
00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,600
And in their play they learn vast

462
00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:13,640
amounts about the world they inhabit.

463
00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,040
Feynman is said to have come up with

464
00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:18,560
his Nobel Prize–winning idea by

465
00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,240
watching students spin plates in a

466
00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,120
cafeteria in Cornell University,

467
00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,400
where he worked at the time.

468
00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,400
Finding a solution to a physics

469
00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,280
question is something as mundane as

470
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:33,360
tossing plates around in a cafeteria,

471
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,480
which tells you just how powerful

472
00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:38,240
playful curiosity can be.

473
00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:39,800
According to Feynman,

474
00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:43,120
“Physics disgusts me a little bit

475
00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:43,520
now,

476
00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,000
but I used to enjoy doing physics.

477
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,040
Why did I enjoy it?

478
00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:49,720
I used to play with it.

479
00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:52,520
I used to do whatever I felt like

480
00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:54,680
doing—it didn’t have to do with

481
00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:56,480
whether it was important for the

482
00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:58,280
development of nuclear physics,

483
00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:00,400
but whether it was interesting and

484
00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,400
amusing for me to play with.

485
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,400
When I was in high school,

486
00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:07,000
I’d see water running out of a faucet

487
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:07,960
growing narrower,

488
00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:10,600
and wonder if I could figure out what

489
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:11,960
determines that curve.

490
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:14,960
I found it was rather easy to do.

491
00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,000
I didn’t have to do it;

492
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:18,880
it wasn’t important for the future of

493
00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:19,560
science;

494
00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:21,920
somebody else had already done it.

495
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:23,760
That didn’t make any difference.

496
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:25,920
I’d invent things and play with

497
00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:27,960
things for my own entertainment.

498
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,080
So I got this new attitude.

499
00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,160
Now that I am burned out and I’ll

500
00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:34,240
never accomplish anything,

501
00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,680
I’ve got this nice position at the

502
00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:38,840
university teaching classes which I

503
00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:39,840
rather enjoy,

504
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,680
and just like I read The Arabian

505
00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:43,440
Nights for pleasure,

506
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,920
I’m going to play with physics,

507
00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:47,240
whenever I want to,

508
00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,680
without worrying about any importance

509
00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:50,200
whatsoever.

510
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:53,680
Within a week I was in the cafeteria

511
00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:54,880
and some guy,

512
00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:55,600
fooling around,

513
00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:56,600
throws a plate in the air.

514
00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:58,560
As the plate went up in the air I saw

515
00:16:58,560 --> 00:16:59,920
it wobble,

516
00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:02,760
and I noticed the red medallion of

517
00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:04,960
Cornell on the plate going around.

518
00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:07,120
It was pretty obvious to me that the

519
00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:09,160
medallion went around faster than the

520
00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:09,800
wobbling.

521
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:11,520
I had nothing to do,

522
00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,760
so I start to figure out the motion of

523
00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:15,600
the rotating plate.

524
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,240
I discovered that when the angle is

525
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:19,080
very slight,

526
00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:22,680
the medallion rotates twice as fast as

527
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:23,680
the wobble rate.

528
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:24,720
Then I thought,

529
00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,480
‘Is there some way I can see in a

530
00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:28,680
more fundamental way,

531
00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,400
by looking at the forces or the

532
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,520
dynamics?’  I don’t remember how I

533
00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:34,760
did it,

534
00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,280
but I ultimately worked out what the

535
00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:39,720
motion of the mass particles is,

536
00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:42,320
and how all the accelerations

537
00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,200
balance... I still remember going to

538
00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:46,840
Hans Bethe and saying,

539
00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:47,320
‘Hey,

540
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:47,960
Hans!

541
00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:49,000
I noticed something interesting.

542
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,800
Here the plate goes around so,

543
00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:55,080
and the reason it’s two to one is

544
00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:56,520
...’ and I showed him the

545
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:57,640
accelerations.

546
00:17:57,640 --> 00:17:58,440
He said,

547
00:17:58,440 --> 00:17:59,840
‘Feynman,

548
00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:00,880
that’s pretty interesting,

549
00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,120
but what’s the importance of it?

550
00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:05,600
Why are you doing it?’  ‘Hah!’ I

551
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:06,400
said.

552
00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,040
‘There’s no importance whatsoever.

553
00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,320
I’m just doing it for the fun of

554
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,320
it.’ The diagrams and the whole

555
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,120
business that I got the Nobel Prize for

556
00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:18,880
came from that piddling around with the

557
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:19,760
wobbling plate."

558
00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,520
Relaxation,

559
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:23,880
daydreaming,

560
00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:25,200
creativity,

561
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:25,640
and yes,

562
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,840
fun are not impediments to serious

563
00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:30,840
intellectual activity—they are an

564
00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:31,960
important part of it.

565
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,040
Your mind is naturally curious about

566
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:35,560
the world.

567
00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,000
Curiosity and playfulness are a big

568
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,080
part of how it survives and evolves.

569
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,760
But who taught us that this survival

570
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:45,360
necessarily has to be a boring,

571
00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:46,240
difficult thing?

572
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,920
Where did we learn that the real living

573
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:50,520
of life happens only when we are

574
00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:52,600
working and working hard,

575
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:57,000
and that play and joy and curiosity are

576
00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,760
only “recreation” and don’t count

577
00:18:58,760 --> 00:18:59,280
for much?

578
00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:01,240
Now,

579
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:02,120
before we go further,

580
00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:04,960
it’s worth saying that Feynman’s

581
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:07,200
sentiments about “serious play” are

582
00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,160
not about being lazy,

583
00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:10,440
uncoordinated,

584
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,360
or simply sitting and waiting for a

585
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:14,240
fully formed prize to fall into your

586
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:15,760
lap.

587
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:17,520
There is certainly a time and place for

588
00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:18,360
deep work,

589
00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:19,280
effort,

590
00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,160
and pushing through challenges to grow

591
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:23,160
our abilities.

592
00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:24,600
Feynman believed,

593
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:24,800
then,

594
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:26,480
that it was a balance.

595
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:27,400
Work hard,

596
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:28,840
then let go.

597
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:30,400
Then work hard again.

598
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,440
Think of it a little like a muscle

599
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:34,600
growing stronger.

600
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,960
It’s essential to challenge the

601
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:38,000
muscle to work hard,

602
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,120
but it’s also essential to rest,

603
00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:44,160
or just to spontaneously let the body

604
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:46,920
sometimes do what it feels is best

605
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:48,400
(maybe dancing?).

606
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:53,000
Many of us who are ambitious and/or

607
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,000
have been indoctrinated into the

608
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:57,000
ideology of “all work and no play”

609
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:58,840
will find it difficult to let go.

610
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,760
Learning to trust ourselves to be

611
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:02,360
spontaneous,

612
00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:03,280
relaxed,

613
00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:05,760
and joyful can take some practice.

614
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,080
If you’re someone who is suspicious

615
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,120
of Feynman’s “play more” advice

616
00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:13,360
and want to know exactly what makes it

617
00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:14,840
different from being a lazy bum,

618
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:19,440
then consider the following -  Serious

619
00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,000
play still requires domain knowledge.

620
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,520
Watching the spin and angle of rotating

621
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:27,720
plates is great and all,

622
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,120
but you’ll notice that Feynman had a

623
00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:32,480
hefty dose of pre-existing domain

624
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:32,840
knowledge,

625
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,200
and so his question about why the

626
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:36,720
plates moved as they did could be

627
00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:38,440
answered with the skill set he already

628
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:38,960
possessed.

629
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:41,600
Perhaps if he had been a musician,

630
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:43,640
he might have used that knowledge to

631
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:45,360
explore the concept of spin a little

632
00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:45,840
differently!

633
00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,440
Just because play is important,

634
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,520
it doesn’t mean it’s not worth

635
00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,840
working really hard to fill up your

636
00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,640
intellectual inventory with tools,

637
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:57,480
concepts,

638
00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:58,040
ideas,

639
00:20:58,040 --> 00:20:58,720
theories,

640
00:20:58,720 --> 00:20:59,320
and skills.

641
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,480
When you have a burning question and

642
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,000
are genuinely curious about something,

643
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,040
then you can whip out these tools and

644
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,400
use them—all the better if you’re

645
00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:09,720
very comfortable with using them

646
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:10,280
already!

647
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:13,880
Pablo Picasso was often accused of not

648
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,120
being a real painter since it appeared

649
00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:18,200
that his more famous works could be

650
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,520
created by anyone without any artistic

651
00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:21,520
talent or technique.

652
00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,120
But look at some of his earlier

653
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:24,680
paintings,

654
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:26,320
and you will see that the modern artist

655
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,280
knew all the conventional rules of

656
00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:30,360
painting (and was indeed a very

657
00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:32,360
competent and accomplished painter)

658
00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:33,960
before he broke them.

659
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:35,520
Feynman,

660
00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:35,880
too,

661
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:37,440
had to be fully versed in the

662
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,000
conventions of his field before he

663
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,720
started to question them,

664
00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:42,800
or make his own contributions.

665
00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,800
Serious play is still focused.

666
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,640
There is value in rest and recuperation.

667
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:53,840
The composer Bach often had inspiration

668
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:55,800
strike him while he was not at work,

669
00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:57,920
but outside walking in nature,

670
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,520
letting his intellect relax and loosen.

671
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:02,320
Serious play,

672
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:02,680
however,

673
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,560
is not the same as relaxation.

674
00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:06,640
It is not distracted and

675
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:08,160
scattered—rather,

676
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:08,880
it is deeply,

677
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,040
deeply focused on one task.

678
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:13,880
Watch a child as they play and you will

679
00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:14,840
see this focus.

680
00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:17,560
They have seemingly infinite energy,

681
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:18,280
patience,

682
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:20,040
and attention for a task they are

683
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:20,600
engrossed in.

684
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,400
Replicate this by spending as much time

685
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:25,520
as you can on the things you’re

686
00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:26,120
interested in.

687
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,320
Don’t expect world-changing insights

688
00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,320
and paradigm shifts for something you

689
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,960
do half-heartedly or for a few minutes

690
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:34,440
once a week.

691
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:36,000
For Feynman,

692
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,200
everything in his life was physics

693
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:40,800
(even within the field,

694
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,280
he focused on those areas he was most

695
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:43,880
interested in).

696
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:46,880
He might not have been as effective if

697
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:48,960
he had tried to apply himself over many

698
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,200
disparate fields at the same time.

699
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,600
Serious play has a purpose.

700
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,760
When we are “killing time” or just

701
00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:01,560
seeking mindless entertainment,

702
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:04,040
it is not the same as serious play.

703
00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,360
This kind of activity is open-ended,

704
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:07,440
curious,

705
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:08,200
and joyful,

706
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:10,760
but it also has a definite point.

707
00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:12,120
It’s not a free-for-all.

708
00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:15,400
Feynman was just itching to understand

709
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,760
why the plates behaved as they did.

710
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,560
He was attacking the problem as though

711
00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:21,160
it were a game,

712
00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:23,640
but definitely one in which he was

713
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:24,760
trying to win,

714
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:26,600
trying to solve the puzzle.

715
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,720
Try to be purposeful in the same way.

716
00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:31,840
A little healthy obsession is a

717
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,040
powerful thing!

718
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:37,720
An Unexpected Cure for Burnout

719
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,400
Granted,

720
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,640
most of us don’t want to completely

721
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,720
upend the paradigm we’re working in,

722
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,520
invent the next big thing,

723
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,680
or be breakout disruptors who leave a

724
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:51,880
big mark on the world (if you do,

725
00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:53,000
though—great!).

726
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,480
Learning to play more and mastering the

727
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,080
kind of serious play that Feynman spoke

728
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:01,400
about is not just a way to create or

729
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:02,120
solve problems.

730
00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:04,320
In Feynman’s own example,

731
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,640
he describes how returning to a

732
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,400
childlike sense of wonder and interest

733
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,880
was how he broke through a growing

734
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,400
sense of boredom and dullness in his

735
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:14,680
work.

736
00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:16,160
In other words,

737
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:19,440
it was only when he could reconnect to

738
00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,480
curious and engaged play that he broke

739
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,520
out of a rut and made real progress

740
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:25,480
(not,

741
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:26,400
incidentally,

742
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,120
in his office but while on a break in a

743
00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:30,000
cafeteria).

744
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,680
It would be no exaggeration to say that

745
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:34,640
post-pandemic,

746
00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:36,960
the world is burnt out.

747
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,440
Whether you are an entrepreneur or work

748
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:41,040
for someone else,

749
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,400
there’s a strong chance you’ve

750
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:45,760
experienced exhaustion and lack of

751
00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:46,320
motivation.

752
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,240
It is no coincidence that messing

753
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,040
around with plate rotation in the

754
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,720
cafeteria “just for fun” is what

755
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:55,840
actually led to one of Feynman’s

756
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:57,320
greatest contributions.

757
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,560
He was able to work beyond his previous

758
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:02,320
limits because he’d allowed himself

759
00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:02,680
to play.

760
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,040
If you are tired,

761
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:06,520
unmotivated,

762
00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:07,440
or even bored,

763
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,400
it may be time for serious play to

764
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,440
breathe some life into your world.

765
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,040
You need a fresh perspective and the

766
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,440
energy that comes with genuinely being

767
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,800
excited and curious about something.

768
00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,560
If you are legitimately fascinated and

769
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,840
having fun answering a question,

770
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:29,520
then you are instantly tapped into a

771
00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,360
source of energy and power that can

772
00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:34,640
never be rivaled by any other incentive.

773
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,040
Feynman didn’t care when fellow

774
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,320
scientists asked him what on earth he

775
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,680
was doing and what the point of it was!

776
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:43,720
That’s because he was driven from

777
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:44,120
within.

778
00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:45,440
Because it was fun.

779
00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,600
Try to play with your work again.

780
00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:50,720
Whenever you want to,

781
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,720
in whatever direction you want to.

782
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,560
Give yourself permission to follow

783
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,120
trivial observations and ask

784
00:25:57,120 --> 00:25:59,080
questions—even if they are

785
00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:00,440
“useless” ones to ask.

786
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,840
Creative play can soothe stress,

787
00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:05,720
make you more resilient,

788
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:07,480
and help you focus longer.

789
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:11,000
Too many of us appreciate the value of

790
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,280
hard work but completely undervalue our

791
00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:14,920
own energy,

792
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:16,640
excitement,

793
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:17,280
and pleasure.

794
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,320
Here are a few examples to show what

795
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,160
that might look like even if you’re

796
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:23,200
not a physics genius -

797
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,000
•You’re learning the piano,

798
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,080
but getting demotivated and bored.

799
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,080
So you make sure that a few times every

800
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:32,760
week (unscheduled)

801
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:34,400
you just sit down at the piano and do

802
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:35,080
what you want.

803
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:36,920
It’s not about working through the

804
00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:38,520
pieces your teacher has assigned you,

805
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:40,680
or ticking off a list of scale

806
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:41,320
exercises.

807
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,880
It’s just about you playing around

808
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:44,560
with the instrument.

809
00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:46,440
You don’t know what you’ll do until

810
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:47,160
you try it.

811
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,640
When something piques your interest,

812
00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:51,880
you follow that feeling of pleasure and

813
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:52,440
excitement.

814
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,440
You notice that even though it feels a

815
00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:56,320
bit awkward at first,

816
00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,360
you enjoy these sessions the most and

817
00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:00,840
always end up playing for longer than

818
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:01,680
you thought you would!

819
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,040
•You’re trying to write a novel,

820
00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,760
but continually hitting creative blocks

821
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:09,440
and finding yourself procrastinating.

822
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,440
You decide to start every planned

823
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,640
writing session with a crazy,

824
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:16,600
out-of-the-box game.

825
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:17,760
Whatever you feel like.

826
00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,720
You write crazy dialogues between the

827
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,480
characters and envision them as Punch

828
00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:24,360
and Judy puppets.

829
00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:27,000
You put five minutes on a stopwatch and

830
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,080
see what happens when you write

831
00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,000
continuously without thinking about it.

832
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,040
Or it seems like it would be fun to

833
00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:35,480
deliberately try to write a really

834
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:36,120
awful book,

835
00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,440
just because it would be funny and you

836
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:39,560
want to try it.

837
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:44,480
•Your job as a nurse is exhausting

838
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:45,400
and unrewarding.

839
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,360
You’re close to giving up and feel

840
00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:50,800
desperately sad to have lost what you

841
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:52,240
thought was your life’s calling.

842
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,600
So you take all the pressure off

843
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:55,000
yourself,

844
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,240
quit your job,

845
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,240
and start volunteering at an old

846
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:00,000
folk’s home instead.

847
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,160
Money’s tight and you still have to

848
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:04,720
figure out what job you’ll do next,

849
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:05,760
but slowly,

850
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:08,160
by working more on your own terms,

851
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,040
you reconnect with what made you fall

852
00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:12,800
in love with nursing in the first place.

853
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,440
Your energy stores fill up again.

854
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,640
You remember your vocation and passion.

855
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,000
When it comes time to apply for new

856
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:21,360
jobs,

857
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:23,960
your mindset has completely changed,

858
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,240
and you find yourself accepting a

859
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,480
completely different role from the one

860
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,480
you always thought you wanted.

861
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,800
Burnout is complex,

862
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,080
and the world of work is

863
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,560
complicated—not all of us have as

864
00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:40,280
much opportunity to rest,

865
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:41,360
recuperate,

866
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:42,560
and play as we’d like.

867
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,120
Nevertheless,

868
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,760
if you are feeling flat about your

869
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:46,920
work,

870
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:48,400
uninspired,

871
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:49,920
or plain old bored,

872
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,440
then rest assured that there is always

873
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,240
a source of energy and motivation you

874
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,800
can tap into .- It’s called the joy

875
00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:58,560
of curiosity,

876
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,760
and play will teach you how to find it

877
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:03,920
and how to re-energize yourself.

878
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,640
The Scientific Method According to

879
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:12,120
Feynman  Learning to “see” the

880
00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,560
world as a scientist sees it requires -

881
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,680
1. the presence of mind to suspend

882
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:19,520
everything you already think you know,

883
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,920
and    2. being able to look at what

884
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:24,720
you really observe with a sense of

885
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,080
childlike playfulness,

886
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:26,920
joy,

887
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:28,360
and deep curiosity.

888
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,400
These are not methods so much as

889
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:32,200
mindsets.

890
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:33,120
However,

891
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,720
when a certain mindset becomes natural

892
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:36,000
for you,

893
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:38,600
you can’t help but develop a method

894
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,240
for how you tend to approach the

895
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:41,320
project of learning,

896
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:42,760
understanding,

897
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,160
and making meaning.

898
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:47,880
This curiosity and open-mindedness is,

899
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:48,640
in fact,

900
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:50,960
the birthplace of what is arguably one

901
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:54,320
of mankind’s best inventions - the

902
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:55,120
scientific method.

903
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,520
The first thing to know about the

904
00:29:57,520 --> 00:29:59,360
scientific method is that it’s not

905
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:00,320
really about science.

906
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:01,080
Rather,

907
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,680
it’s a way to structure our thinking,

908
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:05,440
and our approach to observation,

909
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:06,880
gathering data,

910
00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:08,880
making predictions and theories,

911
00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,560
and inching our way closer to truth and

912
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,400
understanding using reason and

913
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:16,200
empiricism.

914
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,040
Physicist Brian Cox once spoke to

915
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,800
students at Manchester University about

916
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:23,520
black holes,

917
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,120
and showed them a video clip from a

918
00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:29,280
1960s lecture by Richard Feynman.

919
00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,960
Cox introduced the clip by saying it

920
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,480
was simply the best explanation he had

921
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,200
yet encountered about the spirit of

922
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:39,360
science and what the scientific method

923
00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:40,080
was all about.

924
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,920
The clip easily laid it all out in

925
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:44,680
under a minute.

926
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:46,880
According to Feynman,

927
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,640
“Now I’m going to discuss how we

928
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:51,960
would look for a new law.

929
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:53,360
In general,

930
00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:56,400
we look for a new law by the following

931
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:56,960
process.

932
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:57,400
First,

933
00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:58,680
we guess it.

934
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:02,160
Then we compute the consequences of the

935
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:02,280
guess,

936
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,960
to see ...if this law we guess is

937
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:06,160
right,

938
00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:07,520
what it would imply,

939
00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,040
and then we compare the computation

940
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:10,640
results to nature,

941
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,440
or we compare to experiment or

942
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:14,240
experience,

943
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,440
or compare it directly with

944
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,440
observations to see if it works.

945
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,120
If it disagrees with experiment,

946
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:22,360
it’s wrong.

947
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,280
In that simple statement is the key to

948
00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:26,120
science.

949
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,280
It doesn’t make any difference how

950
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:29,280
beautiful your guess is,

951
00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,200
it doesn’t matter how smart you are

952
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:33,280
who made the guess,

953
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:36,960
or what his name is ...If it disagrees

954
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:37,640
with experiment,

955
00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:38,520
it’s wrong.

956
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:39,640
That’s all there is to it."

957
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,040
You can probably see why Feynman was

958
00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,080
regarded as such a charismatic teacher

959
00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:45,800
and communicator!

960
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:47,480
Let’s take a look at what he is

961
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:49,400
really saying about the scientific

962
00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:49,760
method.

963
00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:53,960
Step 1 .- To look for a new law,

964
00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:55,520
first guess it.

965
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,320
Step 2 .- Compute the consequences of

966
00:31:59,320 --> 00:31:59,680
the guess.

967
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,840
Step 3 .- Compare the computation

968
00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:04,720
results to nature.

969
00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:09,120
Step 4 .- If the results disagree with

970
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:09,480
nature,

971
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:11,120
then our guess is wrong.

972
00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,000
Step 5 .- Repeat!

973
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,280
(Optional.)

974
00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:16,480
So,

975
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:18,840
the scientific method is nothing more

976
00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,480
complicated than making a guess about

977
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:23,960
reality and observing reality in many

978
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:24,480
different ways,

979
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,800
and if our observations don’t support

980
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:28,640
what we observe,

981
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,560
we can say something about our

982
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:31,960
guess—that is,

983
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:33,400
it wasn’t right.

984
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:37,200
If what we guess about reality turns

985
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,920
out to match what we observe (say,

986
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:41,000
in experimentation),

987
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,160
then we have reason to believe that our

988
00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:44,560
guess holds some water.

989
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,440
We continue asking questions,

990
00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:49,120
making observations,

991
00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:52,120
and designing ways to test whatever we

992
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:52,920
guess next.

993
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,600
In more formal scientific terms,

994
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,480
the “guess” Feynman is talking

995
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:01,400
about is a hypothesis.

996
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:03,520
It can be based on what we already know

997
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:04,960
or what we have observed,

998
00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,360
it can emerge because there are obvious

999
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:08,440
gaps in what we know,

1000
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,840
or it can be driven by nothing more

1001
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:11,600
than curiosity.

1002
00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:13,720
For published academics,

1003
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:15,880
the name of the game is to look for

1004
00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:17,640
hypotheses that are relevant and

1005
00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:18,080
original.

1006
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:19,040
But luckily for you,

1007
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:20,600
as a layperson,

1008
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:23,120
you are not beholden to such limits!

1009
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:25,160
You can ask whatever question you

1010
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:28,200
like—bearing in mind that making a

1011
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:31,320
hypothesis is just a way to ask reality

1012
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:32,080
a question.

1013
00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:35,880
Imagine that reality is a little like

1014
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:38,320
one of those Magic 8 Balls that can be

1015
00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:39,920
shaken to reveal an answer to a

1016
00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:40,400
question.

1017
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:43,400
Let’s say that this Magic 8 Ball only

1018
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,360
has three possible responses to any

1019
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,240
questions you ask - it can say yes,

1020
00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:50,240
no,

1021
00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:51,760
or try again.

1022
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,120
The try again response could mean a few

1023
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:57,440
things—your question is phrased

1024
00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:57,880
incorrectly,

1025
00:33:57,880 --> 00:33:59,920
there’s been an error along the way,

1026
00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:01,400
or you need to,

1027
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:01,840
well,

1028
00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:03,240
try again.

1029
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:05,120
Your guess might be true,

1030
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:06,080
it might be false,

1031
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:06,840
it might be both,

1032
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:08,320
it might be neither.

1033
00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:11,680
When you ask a question of this great

1034
00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:13,160
universal Magic 8 Ball,

1035
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:13,920
then,

1036
00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,080
you cannot ask it “Why do some people

1037
00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:19,120
not die of this virus that is killing

1038
00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:21,560
everyone?” or “What medicine will

1039
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,040
help people infected with this virus?"

1040
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,040
The ball will only tell you that any

1041
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:28,440
one guess is correct,

1042
00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:29,720
incorrect,

1043
00:34:29,720 --> 00:34:30,520
or undecided.

1044
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,960
You could ask “Do the people who

1045
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:35,800
survive this virus have higher serum

1046
00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:39,120
bilirubin levels than those who

1047
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:39,600
don’t?"

1048
00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,200
Now this “asking” can take the form

1049
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:43,960
of an experiment.

1050
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,640
You set up a research design where you

1051
00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,000
get three groups—people who have died

1052
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:49,440
from the virus,

1053
00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:52,000
people who have the virus but have not

1054
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:52,560
died from it,

1055
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:54,800
and people who have not had the virus.

1056
00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,200
You then look at the blood work of all

1057
00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,040
three groups and ask what their serum

1058
00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:01,200
bilirubin levels are.

1059
00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:04,080
Since you have thousands of people to

1060
00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:04,760
measure and observe,

1061
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,280
you use statistics to help you crunch

1062
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:07,760
the numbers.

1063
00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:10,320
You put everything together and notice

1064
00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:12,360
a pattern—the people who have the

1065
00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:15,680
virus but are not dead do indeed have

1066
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:18,280
higher bilirubin levels than both of

1067
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:19,160
the other groups.

1068
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:23,440
This result is essentially the Magic 8

1069
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:23,960
Ball saying,

1070
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:25,120
“Yes,

1071
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:26,640
this is a pretty good guess."

1072
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:29,080
But that doesn’t mean that that’s

1073
00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:31,280
the end of the story and we have

1074
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,320
conclusively proven something forever.

1075
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,720
It just means we have discovered some

1076
00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:37,720
evidence and support for our guess.

1077
00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:40,240
When it comes to hypotheses,

1078
00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:43,520
scientists always frame their questions

1079
00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:45,200
so that they can be disproven.

1080
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:45,880
For example,

1081
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,720
they make a claim (“bilirubin

1082
00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:50,520
protects people from the virus”)

1083
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,160
and then set up an experiment so they

1084
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,440
can observe if this guess matches up

1085
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:57,120
with what really happens in the world.

1086
00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:00,240
Either they conclusively prove the

1087
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:01,240
statement false,

1088
00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:04,760
or they find tentative evidence that it

1089
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:05,440
might be true.

1090
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:06,880
So,

1091
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:09,480
we seek to find out whether a

1092
00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:11,120
hypothesis (guess)

1093
00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:12,600
can be rejected or not.

1094
00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:15,440
We advance in our knowledge about the

1095
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:15,720
world,

1096
00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:16,760
in other words,

1097
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,400
by ruling out what definitely isn’t

1098
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:19,560
true,

1099
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,440
with the goal of gradually and by

1100
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,160
degree approaching what is true.

1101
00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:26,840
We begin with speculation,

1102
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,720
and putting that speculation out into

1103
00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:30,440
the real world,

1104
00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:31,880
we see how it performs.

1105
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:32,720
Then,

1106
00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:33,800
based on our results,

1107
00:36:33,800 --> 00:36:35,640
we can make another experiment,

1108
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,880
and our next guesses and speculations

1109
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:40,560
can be a little smarter than the

1110
00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:41,200
previous one.

1111
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,160
Naturally,

1112
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,840
real experimental science has strict

1113
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,240
protocols to follow and its own logical

1114
00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:50,640
rules that help formalize this process.

1115
00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:54,040
Scientists have a whole range of

1116
00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:55,360
activities that count as

1117
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,320
“observation,” and there is a

1118
00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,120
difference between theoretical and

1119
00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:00,080
applied sciences,

1120
00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:03,160
between different kinds of observations

1121
00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:04,400
(for example,

1122
00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:06,280
in the social sciences versus in

1123
00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:06,560
medicine),

1124
00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:09,920
and between different approaches that

1125
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:11,360
use tools like mathematics,

1126
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:12,560
statistics,

1127
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:13,560
software,

1128
00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:16,880
or technology to extend and expand the

1129
00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:18,680
normal powers of human perception.

1130
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:19,240
But in the end,

1131
00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:22,320
it all comes down to Feynman’s basic

1132
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:24,040
recipe - make a guess,

1133
00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:26,760
observe what reality is actually doing,

1134
00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:28,320
compare the two,

1135
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:29,960
rinse and repeat.

1136
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:33,040
Another important thing to remember,

1137
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,960
and Feynman does approach this in his

1138
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:37,200
simplified explanation,

1139
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,560
is that there is no ego in the

1140
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:40,840
scientific method.

1141
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:43,440
If we make a guess that turns out to

1142
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:45,400
not explain reality in the way we

1143
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:45,920
thought it might,

1144
00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:47,480
this isn’t a problem.

1145
00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:48,680
We haven’t made a mistake,

1146
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,440
and that doesn’t mean we’re bad or

1147
00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:52,560
wrong or stupid.

1148
00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:56,040
Making “wrong” guesses is Doing

1149
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,640
Science in the exact same way that

1150
00:37:58,640 --> 00:37:59,880
making “right” guesses is.

1151
00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,120
They both take us closer to the truth,

1152
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,440
and therefore they both have value.

1153
00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:06,840
In the same way,

1154
00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:10,360
a guess is right because that’s what

1155
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,520
it is—not because it’s been made by

1156
00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:15,240
someone who is good or intelligent or

1157
00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:16,120
has been right before.

1158
00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:19,240
A guess can be right and still be

1159
00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:20,040
something we don’t like,

1160
00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:21,360
and vice versa.

1161
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:23,880
Finally,

1162
00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:26,520
a true scientist asks a question for

1163
00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:28,440
one reason and one reason only .- They

1164
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,360
want to know the answer!

1165
00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:33,680
They don’t ask it because they want

1166
00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:35,560
to confirm that what they already

1167
00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:36,320
believe is true.

1168
00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,320
They are not looking for “proof”

1169
00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:40,280
that will permit them to continue

1170
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:42,160
holding on to what they suspected was

1171
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:43,040
the case all along.

1172
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:46,480
Their first duty is to find something

1173
00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:47,520
that is true and correct.

1174
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,600
If the process that leads them there

1175
00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:52,240
entails dozens of wrong guesses,

1176
00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:53,600
then so be it.

1177
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:57,720
If human beings were doing science in

1178
00:38:57,720 --> 00:38:57,880
this way,

1179
00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:00,400
you would expect them to regularly

1180
00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:02,040
publish findings in which their

1181
00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:04,880
hypotheses were shown to be rejected by

1182
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:06,600
their observations and experiments.

1183
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:07,320
In reality,

1184
00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:07,560
though,

1185
00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:10,200
academic publishing contains an

1186
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:14,120
improbably high level of papers showing

1187
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:16,480
that the researchers’ guess just so

1188
00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:17,720
happened to be correct.

1189
00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:20,480
In 2005,

1190
00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:22,400
John Ioannidis,

1191
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:25,160
a professor at Stanford School of

1192
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:25,440
Medicine,

1193
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,840
argued that the majority of papers

1194
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:29,800
published in medical journals were

1195
00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:33,000
likely false positives (that is,

1196
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,160
found evidence where there was none)

1197
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:38,240
and could not be replicated.

1198
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:41,280
The way the researchers were using

1199
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:42,800
hypothesis testing,

1200
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:45,240
and processing their results

1201
00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:46,000
statistically,

1202
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:49,040
meant they tended to get exactly the

1203
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:50,720
kind of response that was most

1204
00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:51,720
desired—i.e.,

1205
00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:54,480
support for their hypotheses.

1206
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:56,480
In academia,

1207
00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:59,040
there is considerable pressure to

1208
00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:00,880
produce a certain kind of knowledge in

1209
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,040
certain high profile and lucrative

1210
00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:05,040
research domains,

1211
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:08,760
and the Great Replication Crisis showed

1212
00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:10,800
just what happens when we seek only to

1213
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,080
find evidence for what we want to

1214
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:13,640
believe is true,

1215
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,280
rather than asking outright what is

1216
00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,560
true.

1217
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:20,240
Questionable research practices,

1218
00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:22,640
“publish or perish” culture in

1219
00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:23,240
universities,

1220
00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:24,560
political pressure,

1221
00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:27,840
and the rampant misuse of statistics

1222
00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,400
are all impediments to what Feynman

1223
00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:31,840
would have considered truly

1224
00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:34,600
scientific—but that doesn’t mean

1225
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:36,440
the principle itself is not sound.

1226
00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,120
On a smaller scale,

1227
00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,760
we are all at risk as flawed human

1228
00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:44,880
beings of succumbing to our blind

1229
00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:45,200
spots,

1230
00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:46,160
biases,

1231
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:47,560
prejudices,

1232
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:48,400
and pet theories.

1233
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,640
We can convince ourselves we’re

1234
00:40:50,640 --> 00:40:52,480
encountering truth when we’re really

1235
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:54,720
just creating something we like and

1236
00:40:54,720 --> 00:40:57,320
naming it truth because it’s

1237
00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:57,840
convenient.

1238
00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:01,000
Let’s zoom out and consider an

1239
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:02,720
example from the non-scientific,

1240
00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:05,120
non-academic everyday realm.

1241
00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:07,840
Let’s say your car is acting up.

1242
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:09,440
You don’t know much about cars,

1243
00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,400
but it’s been making a weird noise,

1244
00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:13,560
and one day you see a light on the

1245
00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:16,280
dashboard—one you don’t recognize,

1246
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:19,600
with some weird circles and a cross

1247
00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:20,280
through them.

1248
00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:23,600
You look in the car’s manual to see

1249
00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:25,040
what the symbol means .- It says

1250
00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:26,400
“brake lights."

1251
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:27,920
But what does that mean?

1252
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:31,360
Your hypothesis - the brake light is

1253
00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:31,680
broken.

1254
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:34,320
How do you test this hypothesis?

1255
00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:37,200
You could step outside of the car and

1256
00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:39,040
look with your own two eyes.

1257
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:41,320
But then you see something

1258
00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:43,960
curious—both brake lights appear to

1259
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:44,480
be working.

1260
00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:45,880
Okay,

1261
00:41:45,880 --> 00:41:50,040
time for a new hypothesis .- The brake

1262
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,800
light is itself broken!

1263
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:52,040
Now,

1264
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:54,840
how are you going to test that?

1265
00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:57,120
And how can you determine whether this

1266
00:41:57,120 --> 00:41:58,840
phenomenon is connected with the noise

1267
00:41:58,840 --> 00:41:59,480
you’re hearing?

1268
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:01,800
The next day,

1269
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:04,680
you notice two things .- The brake

1270
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:05,360
light is off,

1271
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:07,680
and the noise has stopped.

1272
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:08,000
Now,

1273
00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:11,040
this does offer some support for the

1274
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,280
idea that the light and noise are

1275
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:14,400
somehow connected.

1276
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:16,000
But you haven’t proven it yet!

1277
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:19,000
If you’re not a mechanic and can’t

1278
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:19,440
get to one,

1279
00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:21,480
you might simply conduct an

1280
00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:23,280
“experiment” that consists in you

1281
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:26,440
noticing whether the two phenomena ever

1282
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:27,520
occur together.

1283
00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:29,720
Every time they do,

1284
00:42:29,720 --> 00:42:32,400
you gather more evidence for the idea

1285
00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:33,680
that something is going on,

1286
00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,560
and these two events have something to

1287
00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:36,960
do with it.

1288
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:41,480
When one day the noise occurs without

1289
00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:42,200
the light being on,

1290
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:45,800
you reason that they could in fact be

1291
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:47,200
two independent phenomena ...

1292
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:49,960
Sometimes,

1293
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,000
the spirit of the scientific method

1294
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,080
simply reveals itself in our ability to

1295
00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:55,400
stop ourselves from saying,

1296
00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:58,200
“It can’t be done,” so we can

1297
00:42:58,200 --> 00:42:59,200
instead actively ask,

1298
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:00,880
“Can it be done?

1299
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:03,320
How can it be done?” or even better,

1300
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:05,520
“What is being done right now?

1301
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:08,320
What do I observe and why is it

1302
00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:09,080
happening?"

1303
00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:12,520
The scientifically minded person has an

1304
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,920
attitude of experiment—they don’t

1305
00:43:15,920 --> 00:43:17,920
make pronouncements and leave it at

1306
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:18,280
that.

1307
00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:20,320
They frequently think,

1308
00:43:20,320 --> 00:43:23,440
“I wonder what will happen if....”

1309
00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:25,000
and follow through.

1310
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:27,080
If something is unanswered,

1311
00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:28,160
mysterious,

1312
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:28,840
or unknown,

1313
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:30,880
they don’t shrug their shoulders or

1314
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:33,800
choose the “answer” they like best

1315
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:34,800
and cling to it.

1316
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:36,080
They say to themselves,

1317
00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:37,720
“Let’s find out!"

1318
00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:40,880
While such examples of trial and error

1319
00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:43,600
and logical common sense seem almost

1320
00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:44,880
too obvious,

1321
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:47,840
the fact is that we cannot really

1322
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:49,920
arrive at knowledge and understanding

1323
00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:50,680
by any other way.

1324
00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:54,960
The same applies to things outside the

1325
00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:55,600
five senses.

1326
00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:58,840
In C. B. T.  (cognitive behavioral

1327
00:43:58,840 --> 00:43:59,080
therapy),

1328
00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:02,280
counselors often advise people to test

1329
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:03,720
their theories of reality,

1330
00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:06,080
rather than just assume that their

1331
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:08,440
knee-jerk interpretation of events is

1332
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:09,240
always correct.

1333
00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:12,200
If someone frowns at you on public

1334
00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:12,800
transport,

1335
00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:15,240
you could quickly conclude that

1336
00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:17,440
you’re weird and unlovable and

1337
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:19,000
everyone knows it.

1338
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:22,200
Or you could seek the most likely

1339
00:44:22,200 --> 00:44:24,600
explanation that requires the least

1340
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:27,160
number of assumptions .- The person was

1341
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,400
unhappy for some other reason that has

1342
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:30,240
nothing to do with you.

1343
00:44:30,240 --> 00:44:33,080
But you don’t necessarily have to go

1344
00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:33,600
on faith.

1345
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,320
You can test your “unlovable”

1346
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:37,960
hypothesis the next time you go on

1347
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:38,800
public transport.

1348
00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,400
Is what you observe in line with your

1349
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:42,800
theory?

1350
00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:44,640
In other words,

1351
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:47,840
is everyone you encounter frowning at

1352
00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:50,600
you or behaving as though they dislike

1353
00:44:50,600 --> 00:44:51,000
you?

1354
00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:53,720
If people are just minding their own

1355
00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:55,920
business and being perfectly neutral

1356
00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:56,880
about your presence,

1357
00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:59,240
you can safely conclude that your

1358
00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:01,080
original hypothesis was just plain

1359
00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:01,360
wrong.

1360
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:03,960
Remember what Feynman said - “It

1361
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:05,800
doesn’t make any difference how

1362
00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:07,120
beautiful your guess is,

1363
00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:10,440
it doesn’t matter how smart you are

1364
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:11,640
who made the guess,

1365
00:45:11,640 --> 00:45:14,680
or what his name is ...If it disagrees

1366
00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:15,240
with experiment,

1367
00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:16,640
it’s wrong.

1368
00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:19,000
That’s all there is to it."

1369
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,280
In our example,

1370
00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:23,480
it doesn’t matter how right your

1371
00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:24,840
hypothesis feels,

1372
00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:27,800
or how much your guess seems like it

1373
00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:30,240
fits your pre-existing worldview (that

1374
00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:30,280
is,

1375
00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:32,800
the one in which you are pretty sure

1376
00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:34,520
you’re unlovable).

1377
00:45:34,520 --> 00:45:37,280
It doesn’t matter how right you want

1378
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:40,600
to be—if observation doesn’t align

1379
00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:41,240
with reality,

1380
00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:44,040
then your guess about reality is wrong,

1381
00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:46,440
and that’s all there is to it.

1382
00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:49,400
Summary

1383
00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:53,560
•Feynman was a brilliant scientist

1384
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:55,480
because of how he thought,

1385
00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:57,120
not what he thought.

1386
00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,000
Whatever your vocation,

1387
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:00,120
skill set,

1388
00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:01,400
expertise,

1389
00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:02,840
special interest,

1390
00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:04,320
or personal challenges,

1391
00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:07,800
your life can be improved by learning

1392
00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:08,240
to learn.

1393
00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:12,120
•To see the world anew and without

1394
00:46:12,120 --> 00:46:13,920
stale old misconceptions,

1395
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:16,160
try to look at it as though you were a

1396
00:46:16,160 --> 00:46:18,600
Martian arriving on Earth for the very

1397
00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:19,200
first time.

1398
00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:20,680
What do you see?

1399
00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:23,280
What would the world look like to you

1400
00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:25,680
if you had no pre-existing beliefs

1401
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:26,120
about it,

1402
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:27,160
no biases,

1403
00:46:27,160 --> 00:46:29,800
no prior understanding to cloud your

1404
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:30,480
observations?

1405
00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:35,480
•Knowing the arbitrary symbols

1406
00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:38,440
assigned to a thing is not knowing it.

1407
00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:40,080
Look beyond language.

1408
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:42,880
•Relaxation,

1409
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:44,040
daydreaming,

1410
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:45,560
creativity,

1411
00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:48,880
and fun are not impediments to serious

1412
00:46:48,880 --> 00:46:50,040
intellectual activity,

1413
00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:51,840
but an important part of it.

1414
00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:55,280
Your mind is naturally curious about

1415
00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:55,600
the world.

1416
00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:58,640
Curiosity and playfulness is a big part

1417
00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:01,120
of how it survives and evolves.

1418
00:47:01,120 --> 00:47:02,400
Work hard,

1419
00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:03,520
let go,

1420
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:05,800
then work hard again.

1421
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,200
“Serious play” still requires

1422
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:11,960
domain knowledge and is focused and

1423
00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:12,560
purposeful.

1424
00:47:12,560 --> 00:47:16,320
Burnout can be helped by this kind of

1425
00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:16,520
play.

1426
00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:20,320
•The scientific method is a way to

1427
00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:22,880
structure our thinking and our approach

1428
00:47:22,880 --> 00:47:23,720
to observation,

1429
00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:25,120
gathering data,

1430
00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:27,400
making predictions and theories,

1431
00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:30,600
and inching our way closer to truth and

1432
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,160
understanding using reason and

1433
00:47:33,160 --> 00:47:34,360
empiricism.

1434
00:47:34,360 --> 00:47:38,640
•First make a guess about a new law.

1435
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:41,920
Then compute the consequences of the

1436
00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:42,080
guess,

1437
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:44,880
then compare the computation results to

1438
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:45,120
nature.

1439
00:47:45,120 --> 00:47:47,920
If the results disagree with nature,

1440
00:47:47,920 --> 00:47:49,200
then your guess is wrong,

1441
00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:50,600
if they agree,

1442
00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:53,520
you have support for your hypothesis.

1443
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:57,480
What you want to be true is irrelevant;

1444
00:47:57,480 --> 00:48:00,880
a scientist asks a question because

1445
00:48:00,880 --> 00:48:02,040
they want to know the answer,

1446
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:04,840
not because they want to confirm what

1447
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:06,840
they already believe is true.

1448
00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:11,720
This has been

1449
00:48:11,720 --> 00:48:14,800
Richard Feynman’s Mental Models:

1450
00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:15,920
How to Think,

1451
00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:16,520
Learn,

1452
00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:27,000
and Problem-Solve Like a Nobel Prize-Winning Polymath (Learning how to Learn Book 23) Written by

1453
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:34,240
Peter Hollins,  narrated by russell newton.