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The Character of Physical Law

The Character of Physical Law

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  • Create Date：2023-01-02 05:52:45
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Richard P. Feynman
  • ISBN：0140175059
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Summary

Collecting legendary lectures from freewheeling scientific genius Richard P。 Feynman， The Character of Physical Law is the perfect example of Feynman's gift for making complex subjects accessible and entertaining。

Here Richard Feynman gives his own unique take on the puzzles and problems that lie at the heart of physics， from Newton's Law of Gravitation to mathematics as the supreme language of nature， from the mind-boggling question of whether time can go backwards to the exciting search for new scientific laws。

Using simple everyday illustrations to bring out the essence of a complicated principle - for example the surprising parallels between the law of conservation of energy and drying yourself with wet towels ­- these lectures are a brilliant example of Feynman's mind in action。

'The greatest physicist of the twentieth century'
  Sunday Times

'It is unlikely that the world will see another Richard Feynman 。。。 his style inspired a generation of scientists。 This volume remains the best record I know of his exhilarating vision'
  Paul Davies

'Fascinating 。。。 an insight into the thought processes of a great physicist 。。。 the acknowledged master of clear explanation'
  The Times Literary Supplement

'One of the most enjoyable books written by a major scientist'
  Observer

Richard P。 Feynman （1918-1988） was one of this century's most brilliant theoretical physicists and original thinkers。 Feynman's other books， also available in Penguin， include QED， Six Easy Pieces， Six Not-so-Easy Pieces， Don't You Have Time to Think， The Pleasure of Finding Things Out， What Do You Care What Other People Think？ and The Meaning of it All。

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Reviews

Rex Wu ，

How it reminds me the great beauty of physics。 Feynman is such a great physicist/writer/educator。 The deep appreciation of physical laws so effortlessly shines through the lectures。 I have also gained a greater appreciation of math too。 Math not only succinctly describes a （physical） law， but explains， extends， and predicts。

Ashwin Kamaldien ，

“For those who want some proof that physicists are human， the proof is in the idiocy of all the different units which they use for measuring energy。” – Felt this one as an engineering studentRichard Feynman is the definitive physics teacher you wish you had in high school。The character of physical law sees Feynman explaining several physical phenomena through the beautiful simplicity it seems to follow。 A big plus is how his tongue-in-cheek humour shines through even the most complex of explanat “For those who want some proof that physicists are human， the proof is in the idiocy of all the different units which they use for measuring energy。” – Felt this one as an engineering studentRichard Feynman is the definitive physics teacher you wish you had in high school。The character of physical law sees Feynman explaining several physical phenomena through the beautiful simplicity it seems to follow。 A big plus is how his tongue-in-cheek humour shines through even the most complex of explanations。This is a dense read at times， but Feynman has an uncanny ability to explain these incredibly difficult concepts in an easily understandable manner。 He touches base with all the basic Newtonian laws， some electromagnetism and gravity。 His explanation of quantum theory was interesting as well but that’s a book for another day。I really appreciated Feynman’s likening of these physical laws to a bigger picture。 Something approximating a beautiful symmetry， irreversibility and continuous novelty。“I am going to tell you what nature behaves like。 If you will simply admit that maybe she does behave like this， you will find her a delightful， entrancing thing。 Do not keep saying to yourself， if you can possibly avoid it， ‘But how can it be like that？’ because you will get ‘down the drain’， into a blind alley from which nobody has yet escaped。 Nobody knows how it can be like that。” 。。。more

Devin Driggs ，

An incredibly interesting book， that can widen your perspective of the universe。 It requires a relatively small amount of math and physics knowledge to understand， as it focuses primarily on concepts， although it does include examples which utilize low-level physics calculations。

Keshav ，

Reading Feynman is always a pure delight。

maria clara ，

“… a dificuldade， realmente， é psicológica e reside na preocupação permanente que nos causam pensamentos do gênero “como é que isso pode ser？” que refletem um desejo espontâneo， mas perfeitamente inútil， de voltar a ver as coisas em função de algo familiar”。Que livro bom。 O cara realmente tem uma didática fenomenal， e me devolveu um pouco da motivação que perdi nesses anos na ciência。 Cada dia mais aprendendo a sutileza e a abstração que essa área tem。 O último capítulo sobre validação teórica e “… a dificuldade， realmente， é psicológica e reside na preocupação permanente que nos causam pensamentos do gênero “como é que isso pode ser？” que refletem um desejo espontâneo， mas perfeitamente inútil， de voltar a ver as coisas em função de algo familiar”。Que livro bom。 O cara realmente tem uma didática fenomenal， e me devolveu um pouco da motivação que perdi nesses anos na ciência。 Cada dia mais aprendendo a sutileza e a abstração que essa área tem。 O último capítulo sobre validação teórica e a certeza de que a Física vai chegar ao fim me deixou impactada。O Feynman， infelizmente， foi um físico brilhante mas um ser humano não tão bom assim。 Merecia 5 estrelas， mas não vou deixar isso passar 👺 。。。more

Mason ，

I especially appreciated the parts where he admitted that we don’t understand aspects of why physical laws are the way they are。 It seems like too few physicists—or， at least， those who write popular and semi-popular books on the subject—will admit this in the way Feynman does。This book contains his famous quote， “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics。” I’d seen that quote repeated before， but didn’t have a good sense of why he said that。 So here’s a bit more from Fe I especially appreciated the parts where he admitted that we don’t understand aspects of why physical laws are the way they are。 It seems like too few physicists—or， at least， those who write popular and semi-popular books on the subject—will admit this in the way Feynman does。This book contains his famous quote， “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics。” I’d seen that quote repeated before， but didn’t have a good sense of why he said that。 So here’s a bit more from Feynman on this issue:“… the difficulty really is psychological and exists in the perpetual torment that results from your saying to yourself， ‘But how can it be like that？’ which is a reflection of uncontrolled but utterly vain desire to see it in terms of something familiar。”At least a couple of chapters are recycled from the Feynman lectures。 （In particular， Chapter 1 on gravitation and Chapter 6 on quantum mechanics， which are both in “Six East Pieces，” which are taken directly from the Feynman lectures。 I’m looking forward to reading Anil Ananthaswamy’s “Through Two Doors at Once，” for an update on the two-slit experiment （which Feynman’s chapter on QM focuses on）。Incidentally， the Feynman lectures are now available for free online， both as text and as audio recordings: https://www。feynmanlectures。caltech。edu/ 。。。more

Andre De Souza ，

。。。

Ivan ，

"Svaki put kada nastaje dugi zastoj， kada se skupi previše neriješenih problema， to je zato što smo se služili istim metodama kao i do tada。 Novo rješenje， novu shemu， treba tražiti sasvim na drugom mjestu tako da od povijesti znanosti ne treba tražiti pomoć。"Imat ću to na umu kad zapnem na nekom istraživanju :） "Svaki put kada nastaje dugi zastoj， kada se skupi previše neriješenih problema， to je zato što smo se služili istim metodama kao i do tada。 Novo rješenje， novu shemu， treba tražiti sasvim na drugom mjestu tako da od povijesti znanosti ne treba tražiti pomoć。"Imat ću to na umu kad zapnem na nekom istraživanju :） 。。。more

Carol Fischer ，

Glad I listened to the audiobook。 Have heard of this scientist， but know little about him - or physics！ Appreciate the conversational tone he took， using everyday language rather than jargon。 I'll have to listen a couple of more times。 On first listen， was stuck with me was not the physical laws， but the methodology of scientific research。 Glad I gave it a go！ Glad I listened to the audiobook。 Have heard of this scientist， but know little about him - or physics！ Appreciate the conversational tone he took， using everyday language rather than jargon。 I'll have to listen a couple of more times。 On first listen， was stuck with me was not the physical laws， but the methodology of scientific research。 Glad I gave it a go！ 。。。more

😵‍💫❤️‍🩹 ，

•—•

Dan ，

Feynman was a rare physicist who was recognized as one of the best physicists of all time and was also one of the best at communicating scientific ideas to those who are not physicists。 This book is a transcription of lectures that he gave at Cornell University to an audience that was not required to have studied physics。 I believe Feynman achieves his goal of making the nature of physical laws more understandable to the broader population。 A few excerpts may help give a flavor of his lectures:" Feynman was a rare physicist who was recognized as one of the best physicists of all time and was also one of the best at communicating scientific ideas to those who are not physicists。 This book is a transcription of lectures that he gave at Cornell University to an audience that was not required to have studied physics。 I believe Feynman achieves his goal of making the nature of physical laws more understandable to the broader population。 A few excerpts may help give a flavor of his lectures:"In order to avoid simply describing experiments that have been done， we have to propose laws beyond their observed range。 There is nothing wrong with that， despite the fact that it makes science uncertain。 If you thought before that science was certain -- well， that is just an error on your part。""。。。to stand with evil and beauty and hope， or to stand with the fundamental laws， hoping that way to get a deep understanding of the whole world， with that aspect alone， is a mistake。 It is not sensible for the ones who specialize at one end， and the ones who specialize at the other end， to have such disregard for each other。 （They don't actually， but people say they do。）""It is not unscientific to make a guess， althought many peoplle who are not in science think it is。。。。It is scientific only to say what is more likely and what less likely， and not to be proving all the time the possible and the impossible。"The current disdain some seem to show towards science seems to be rooted in the belief that science claims to be certain。 When the scientific consensus changes on a given topic， based on additional information， some are too quick to say that science is worthless because it was wrong。 I prefer to base my decisions on the current scientific consensus on the explanation of phenomena rather than ignoring it as being worthless。 。。。more

Caroline Mann ，

Feynman’s comprehension is amazing， but， just as notable， his tone is humble。 I still don’t *get* physics （one book and I don’t get it？？ ILLEGAL！）， but I have a better sense of it and appreciate the careful explanations and simple （as simple as possible） vocabulary used in this book。

Emil Petersen ，

It's a short book， but it has the no-nonsense characteristics known from Feynman。 Many physical concepts are dealt with， each reduced to things that are much easier to understand。 I am pretty sure that Feynman was the kind of person who would relentlessly follow the rabbit hole until he understood all the pieces that made up some theory or law。 He must have spent A LOT more time on the simple concepts in order to understand the composite， more complex concepts。 I think that approach is worth it。 It's a short book， but it has the no-nonsense characteristics known from Feynman。 Many physical concepts are dealt with， each reduced to things that are much easier to understand。 I am pretty sure that Feynman was the kind of person who would relentlessly follow the rabbit hole until he understood all the pieces that made up some theory or law。 He must have spent A LOT more time on the simple concepts in order to understand the composite， more complex concepts。 I think that approach is worth it。 。。。more

Ben Field ，

Feynman is not only a genius， but unmatched in his ability to teach。 I left this book with both a sharper practical understanding of fundamental physics and a deeper appreciation of the beauty of nature。

Nishant Deshpande ，

Anyone interested in science （and probably physics although I think this might work for everyone） should read this！I always loved listening to explanations vs reading。 This book is a transcription （edited） of Feynman's lectures。 So I found them very accessible。They are also for the lay audience， but he actually goes pretty deep into the/his philosophy of science。I got it from the library but contemplating buying it。。。 it is a book you can pick up and reread all or some particular lecture！ Anyone interested in science （and probably physics although I think this might work for everyone） should read this！I always loved listening to explanations vs reading。 This book is a transcription （edited） of Feynman's lectures。 So I found them very accessible。They are also for the lay audience， but he actually goes pretty deep into the/his philosophy of science。I got it from the library but contemplating buying it。。。 it is a book you can pick up and reread all or some particular lecture！ 。。。more

Prometheus ，

Every time I read something by Richard Feynman it tweaks my understanding of things I thought I had a reasonable handle on。 In his own inimitable style， this time it was the nature of wave / particle duality and 4th （and higher） dimensional planes。 The way he describes the fundamental laws puts me in mind of Tolkiens description of Eru Ilúvatars song of the Ainur。 Not bad for a book aimed at laymen， like me。

Kunal Sen ，

It is so very rare to come across someone who understands something with such clarity that leaves you stunned and in awe， and perhaps a little dwarfed。 It is even rarer to find someone with such clarity to communicate the same clear understanding to another person。 This book is exactly that。 I have not come across another piece of writing that is clearer than Feynman's understanding of the basic principles of Physics， his deep understanding of the scientific method， and above all， what is the me It is so very rare to come across someone who understands something with such clarity that leaves you stunned and in awe， and perhaps a little dwarfed。 It is even rarer to find someone with such clarity to communicate the same clear understanding to another person。 This book is exactly that。 I have not come across another piece of writing that is clearer than Feynman's understanding of the basic principles of Physics， his deep understanding of the scientific method， and above all， what is the meaning of understanding anything。While reading this series of lectures from more than 50 years ago， I had to constantly wonder will I ever have the satisfaction of understanding anything to this depth。 I don't think so， and that is the greatest tragedy of most of us。 We will never be able to claim that we truly understood something。 There are only a few people who ever lived who can enjoy this feeling of seeing into a messy， opaque sphere and seeing through it to its center and understanding the elegant mechanism that makes it tick。 The rest of us will only penetrate the first few layers， but then our vision gets fuzzy， confused by the less important details。This is where science and arts come together。 Scientists see through one part of the sphere， artists through another， writers through yet another。 Perhaps Dostoyevski had a similar clear view through his part of the sphere and could see the deepest truths behind human nature。 Perhaps Picasso could see through physical forms。 The ultimate goal of any thinking person can only be the desire to see through and make some sense of it all。There are many open questions that Feynman was pondering in these essays， and many of them got solved。 Some were resolved during his lifetime， others after he died。 For all curious people， this must be the ultimate detective story。 The story keeps unfolding， but we all know that we will die before the book is over。 。。。more

Hiep Pham ，

About mathematics: "Physics cannot make a conversion to any other language。 If you want to learn about nature， to appreciate nature， it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in。"I adore the way he talks about the relation between Physics and Mathematics， how to embrace the idea to understand and seek new laws of Physics。 But I found some explanations are more lengthy and roundabout than they should be。 About mathematics: "Physics cannot make a conversion to any other language。 If you want to learn about nature， to appreciate nature， it is necessary to understand the language that she speaks in。"I adore the way he talks about the relation between Physics and Mathematics， how to embrace the idea to understand and seek new laws of Physics。 But I found some explanations are more lengthy and roundabout than they should be。 。。。more

Abdulhafedh ，

“We are very lucky to be living in an age where we are still making discoveries。 It’s an age that will never come again” - Richard P。 Feynman。

Jonat ，

*4。75*« What we are looking at when we see the moons is not how they are now but how they were the time ago it took the light to get there »I realize how lucky I am when， the fruit of so many years， of centuries of research， of thousands of lives agglomerated in these discoveries by geniuses of times gone by， have been able to be translated from complex mathematics to the benefit of any mathematically untrained audience in such a small book that I was able to read in less than 3 days。Less than *4。75*« What we are looking at when we see the moons is not how they are now but how they were the time ago it took the light to get there »I realize how lucky I am when， the fruit of so many years， of centuries of research， of thousands of lives agglomerated in these discoveries by geniuses of times gone by， have been able to be translated from complex mathematics to the benefit of any mathematically untrained audience in such a small book that I was able to read in less than 3 days。Less than 3 days is the time that took me to have access to this gold mine in such a playful， stimulating， clear way， for someone who has not done physical sciences since high school （5 years）。Having read Einstein’s book on relativity， I’ve noticed he even explained Einstein theory in a way with more clearness to me。IVe found myself returning to this review each time I need to remind myself of physics’ solid base and for that， it’s among my favorite non fiction book。 It is an essential for beginners in my opinion。 The following review is going to be a non-linear lump of my notes！Two electrons repel each other inversely as the square of the distance due to electricity and they attract each other inversely as the square of the distance due to gravitation （actually tous Les corps）-Planets are not only attracted by the sun but also they pull on each other a little ， only a little。-Einstein said that: x cannot occur instantaneously。 ==> all masses fall， light has energy， and energy is equivalent to mass。 So light falls and it means that light going near the sun is deflected。 Using The Quantum Theory of Gravity （how does gravity look on a small scale） in order to correct Newton’s laws。No laws are exact， we have to put the quantum theory in。 Quantum physics is something imperceptible by the eyes in our everyday basis; the author managed to chronicle with such vividness how atoms behave and give them shape， going from abstract to something much more transparent and clear in any reader’s mind。The only possible way in which a person moving and a person standing still could measure the speed to be the same was that their sense of time and their sense of space are not the same， that the clocks inside the space ship are ticking at a different speed from those on the ground and so forth。Two balls attracting， has to be expanded ten million xxx times to become the solar system。 Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns （of the same law）。It is possible to tell that the earth is rotating by a pendulum or by a gyroscope without looking at the stars。It is possible to tell that we are going around at uniform angular velocity on the earth without looking outside， because the laws of physics are not unchanged by such a motion。The symmetry of laws， makes us aware of the fact that we cannot tell whose view is correct; when I talk about everything that is happening in the world ‘now’， that does not mean anything。 We cannot agree what ‘now’ means at a distance。 If you are moving along at a uniform velocity in a straight line， then the things that happen that appear to you as simultaneous are not the same events as appear simultaneous to me， even though we are passing each other on。Two events which from one point of view seem to be simultaneous， at the same time （t）， from another point of view can seem to be at different time （t’）。 A generalization of the two-dimensional rotation was therefore made into space and time， so that time was added to space to make a four-dimensional world。 Real space has the characteristic that its existence is independent of the particular point of view， and that looked at from different points of view a certain amount of ‘forward-backward’ can get mixed up with ‘left-right’。 Similarly， a certain amount of time ‘future-past’ can get mixed up with a certain amount of space。 Space and time must be completely interlocked。 Hence the necessity for a four-dimensional space-time。The interrelationships between energy :Elastic and chemical energy both have the same origins， the forces between the atoms。When the atoms rearrange themselves in a new pattern some energy is changed， and if that quantity changes it means that some other quantity has to change。For Ie， if we burn something ， the chemical energy changes ， and we find heat where we did not have heat beforeThe interactions （of the 2 energy up there） are always a combination of the electrical energy and the kinetic energy， （quantum mechanical this time）。-The connection of symmetry laws to conservation laws comes from quantum mechanics。The case that rotation in space does not make any difference comes out as the conversation of angular momentum。Past And FuturePhysicists believe that most of the ordinary phenomena in the world， which are produced by atomic motions， are according to laws which can be completely reversed。So they sought to look further to find the explanation of the irreversibility。the Earth’s rotation on its axis is slightly slowing down。 It is due to tidal friction， and you can see that friction is something which is obviously irreversible。If I take a heavy weight on the floor， and push it， it will slide and stop。 If I stand and wait， it does not suddenly start up and speed up and come into my hand。 So the frictional effect seems to be irreversible。But a frictional effect is the result of the enormous complexity of the interactions of the weight with the wood， the jiggling of the atoms inside。 The organized motion of the weight is changed into disorganized， irregular wiggle-waggles of the atoms in the wood。 So therefore， we should look at the thing more closely。Atoms of different kinds in perpetual irregular motions get mixed up and that is why the water becomes more or less uniformly blue。 （it was an experience in the book）The laws of molecular collision are reversible; but in his experience blending blue and white water; the different atoms through all the collisions made seemed not to be。If you start with a thing that is separated and make irregular changes， it does get more uniform。But if it starts uniform and you make irregular changes， it does not get separated。 It could get separated。 It is not against the laws of physics that the molecules bounce around so that they separate。 It is just unlikely。 It would never happen in a million years。 And that is the answer。“Things are irreversible only in a sense that going one way is likely， but going the other way， although it is possible according to the laws of physics， would not happen in a million years。”It is just ridiculous to expect that if you sit there long enough the jiggling of the atoms will separate a uniform mixture of ink and water into ink on one side and water on the other。The actual objects with which we work have not only four or five blues and whites。 They have four or five million， million， million， million， which are all going to get separated like this。 And so the apparent irreversibility of nature does not come from the irreversibility of the fundamental physical laws; it comes from the characteristic that if you start with an ordered system， and have the irregularities of nature， the bouncing of molecules， then the thing goes one way。--One of the rules of the world is that the thing goes from an ordered condition to a disordered。 all on one side and all on the other， or they are mixed up – and that is ordered and disordered。When we look at any ordinary situation， which is only partly ordered， we can conclude that it probably came from one which was more ordered。The phenomena of nature will go one way as long as they are out of equilibrium， as long as one side is quieter than the other， or one side is bluer than the other。 （or the towels example， The towel has the same ease of removing water from it as you have， so when you touch yourself with the towel， as much water comes off the towel on to you as comes from you to the towel。 It does not mean there is the same amount of water in the towel as there is on you – a big towel will have more water in it than a little towel – but they have the same dampness。 When things get to the same dampness then there is nothing you can do any longer。）Now the water is like the energy， because the total amount of water is not changing。In the same way if you imagine a part of the world that is closed， and wait long enough， in the accidents of the world the energy， like the water， will be distributed over all of the parts evenly until there is nothing left of one-way-ness， nothing left of the real interest of the world as we experience it。See how he presents clearly how physical laws intertwines， each needing and re-affirming each other; utilizing everyday examples that we can all understand such as the dampness of water， in order to re-affirm **both** the law of conservation of energy in the world and the order - disorder universal law。 --Quantum Mechanical， The description of the actual behaviour of particles on a small scale。Electrons behave in this respect in exactly the same way as photons; they are both screwy， but in exactly the same way。 The electron behaves sometimes like a particle and sometimes like a wave。 It behaves in two different ways at the same time。Explaining us why it’s impossible to predict the fucture because it is impossible to predict in any way， from any information ahead of time， through which hole the thing will go， or which hole it will be seen behind。 That， it is not our lack of knowledge in physical laws that prevent us from accurately predict the future。 Nature herself does not even know which way the electron is going to go。CONCLUSION:I love this book because it unlocked my passions in so many different physics topics despite my shortcomings since I have not studied neither physics nor math since 5 years now。 It’s such a well-crafted work that motivated me to read more and more on physics and for that， I am forever grateful。Making us more aware to the behavior of objects in motion， with each other， all the recurrent forces that apply to most things and their effects。 Exposing us to how nature， as a matter of fact， seems to be so designed that the most important things in the real world appear to be a kind of complicated accidental result of a lot of laws。“What we need is imagination。 We have to find a new view of the world that has to agree with everything that is known， but disagree in its predictions somewhere， otherwise it is not interesting。 And in that disagreement it must agree with nature »« The age in which we live is the age in which we are discovering the fundamental laws of nature， and that day will never come again。 It is veryexciting， it is marvellous »You can just feel his genuine passion and joy in physics through these last words， it’s so contagious 。。。more

Dmitry Zinenko ，

Would recommend to anyone who's not a physicist but wants to understand the basics about how physics works。 It has no real formulas and requires very little background。 Anyone who is a physicist and has some spare time would probably be interested already 🙂Basically a transcript of Feynman's lectures for the wide audience given in mid 1960s。 Feynman stuck to the basics， and the content stays surprisingly relevant。 It shows a few interesting tricks of looking at problems from a new perspective， g Would recommend to anyone who's not a physicist but wants to understand the basics about how physics works。 It has no real formulas and requires very little background。 Anyone who is a physicist and has some spare time would probably be interested already 🙂Basically a transcript of Feynman's lectures for the wide audience given in mid 1960s。 Feynman stuck to the basics， and the content stays surprisingly relevant。 It shows a few interesting tricks of looking at problems from a new perspective， gives a good exposition of the really important stuff like conservation laws， entropy， and particle wave duality。 All of that is marinaded in some informal philosophy of science。Overall I enjoyed it， although I expected a bit more。 The lecture transcript format is sometimes hard to follow， but most of the time works surprisingly well thanks to Feynman's genius。 。。。more

Vlejd ，

Classic Feynman。 But i have to say， it was a pain to listen to it as an audiobook。 Audible have not included any complementary pdf。 And there is a lot of graphs/illustrations。 That are pretty important for some explanations。

Xuan ，

"There is also a rhythm and a pattern between the phenomena of nature which is not apparent to the eye， but only to the eye of analysis; and it is these rhythms and patterns which we call Physical Laws。"I listened to the lectures when I was cooking。 There's something oddly enlightening to connect the concrete mundane details of life of the here and now to the abstract ideas of the vast universe and the underlying invisible laws of the universe。 "it is all about pattern matching" - an interim CTO "There is also a rhythm and a pattern between the phenomena of nature which is not apparent to the eye， but only to the eye of analysis; and it is these rhythms and patterns which we call Physical Laws。"I listened to the lectures when I was cooking。 There's something oddly enlightening to connect the concrete mundane details of life of the here and now to the abstract ideas of the vast universe and the underlying invisible laws of the universe。 "it is all about pattern matching" - an interim CTO once told me when I asked how he developed his skills of being able to quickly spot challenges， problems， and opportunities of improvement when he took on interim CTO roles （i。e。， a professional problem solver）。 Use the trained eye， look for patterns and rhythms - it is not just a skill that is unique in the trade of physics， but can be applied to any scenarios of problem solving。 。。。more

Heiki ，

Feynman is a legend and this book is a summary of his physics lectures。 Compelling and thorough。 Funny to think that a physics textbook can keep a man so engaged。 Recommend for everyone interested in physics。

Mentallic Sansar ，

I might read this again。

Samvel ，

Բավականին հոյակապ լեզվով ա գրած օրիգինալը， բայց թարգմանությունը շատ վատն էր

Alok Pepakayala ，

The narrative sounds deeply passionate and there is compassion in the way things get explained， this book tries to draw a line that shows a lot of what we know today but also contrastingly how inadequate and very immature our whole understanding of the universe has been， and also how quickly and thoroughly we have tried so far in many ways。

John Michael Strubhart ，

Given that volumes have been written about Feynman's writings and thus， there be little enlightenment I could possibly provide on the subject， this review will be about my reaction to this wonderful little book。If I could have the mind of any person who ever existed， I would want the mind of Richard Feynman。 Why？ Because he saw the world around him and perceived it with laser vision and clarity of understanding to such a degree that it causes me to lose any hope that humanity will ever be smart Given that volumes have been written about Feynman's writings and thus， there be little enlightenment I could possibly provide on the subject， this review will be about my reaction to this wonderful little book。If I could have the mind of any person who ever existed， I would want the mind of Richard Feynman。 Why？ Because he saw the world around him and perceived it with laser vision and clarity of understanding to such a degree that it causes me to lose any hope that humanity will ever be smart enough to grasp reality。 I don't think that anyone in history has ever seen reality more clearly than he。 I even suspect that his words were a poor attempt at explaining the way he saw it and his explanations are marvelous to behold。 If you read one book by Feynman to gain insight into his perspective， this is the one。 If you are driven by a love of the understanding of reality， it will actually make you cry。 。。。more

Gordon Macdonald ，

Still well worth reading， but I wish I head read it at high school and again each year at university。

Howard ，

I love the book。 Just to share share time with this legend in physics！ The book badly needs a PDF for the figures that are referred to。 But the book is still fine without them。 There is so much you can learn from him！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Character of Physical Law

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Character of Physical Law&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Character of Physical Law&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0