Feynman's Rainbow by LEONARD MLODINOW

Author:LEONARD MLODINOW [MLODINOW, LEONARD]
Format: epub
Tags: WORLD
ISBN: 9780759527980
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2003-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

XII

SPRING WAS NEAR. It’s a nice season in Pasadena—warm weather, but not yet hot, and less rain than winter. A time to enjoy the blue sky, palm trees, and a clear view of the San Gabriel Mountains still blanketed in green. Somehow, somewhere, Ray finally met a girl he liked, or, more to the point, who liked him. The only problem, according to Ray, was that she lived in the state of Washington. Bellevue, to be exact. I saw additional problems. Like the fact that he had decided not to tell her he was a garbage man, only that he worked for the city. And that the only thing they seemed to have in common was that they were both great at math, at least elementary math. But since Ray happened to hate math, I didn’t necessarily see the math connection as a plus. Still, he seemed pretty serious about her, and I was happy for him. He was even thinking of moving to be near her. She did some work for a small software company up there called Microsoft. He thought maybe she could help him get a job. I, of course, selfishly hoped he would stay put.

Since I often spoke to Ray about the Caltech physics department, and especially of, as he always put it, “that guy Feynman,” Ray decided he wanted to see the place and meet the guy. I agreed, though not without trepidation. Introducing a loquacious cannabis aficionado who hates math but loves talking philosophy to a gruff old professor who likes math, hates talking philosophy, and is fiercely protective of his time is not without risk. But Ray and I were friends, so I agreed to do it.

Ray often asked me what physicists did, and why they did it. One time I answered him by reciting an Einstein quotation I had read in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: “Man tries to make for himself, in the fashion that suits him best, a simplified and intelligible picture of the world . . . and thus to overcome it. . . . He makes this cosmos and its construction the pivot of his emotional life in order to find in this way the peace and serenity which he cannot find in the whirlpool of personal experience.”

“That’s just like Einstein,” Ray had said. “His head was way up in the clouds. What I wanna know has to do with planet earth. I wanna know . . . what—do—you—do, and why—do—you—do—it?” He said it as if repeating the question slowly and with emphasis on each word somehow gave it another meaning. If it did, it went over my head. But I thought a visit to campus might provide that picture that was worth a thousand of my ineffectual words.

On the way over, I tried my detective metaphor.

“It’s a lot like Sherlock Holmes, or Rockford, depending on your personal style, of course. The first thing is, you have to choose a problem.”

“Like choosing a crime to work on.

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