Nonfiction Book Discussion
The next meeting of Thetford’s informal nonfiction book discussion group will take place at Latham Library on Thetford Hill on Tuesday February 27th at 12 NOON and on Zoom. For the Zoom link, please contact librarian@thetfordlibrary.org
We will be discussing The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman.
Why do we do science? Beyond altruistic and self-aggrandizing motivations, many of our best scientists work long hours seeking the electric thrill that comes only from learning something that nobody knew before. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, a collection of previously unpublished or difficult-to-find short works by maverick physicist Richard Feynman, takes its title from his own answer. From TV interview transcripts to his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, we see his quick, sharp wit, his devotion to his work, and his unwillingness to bow to social pressure or convention. It’s no wonder he was only grudgingly admired by the establishment during his lifetime–read his “Minority Report to the Space Shuttle Challenger Inquiry” to see him blowing off political considerations as impediments to finding the truth.
Feynman had a fantastic sense of humor, and his memoirs of his Manhattan Project days roil with fun despite his later misgivings about nuclear weapons. Though one or two pieces are a bit hard to follow for the nontechnical reader, for the most part the book is easygoing and engaging on a personal rather than a scientific level. Freeman Dyson’s foreword and editor Jeffrey Robbins’s introductions to each essay set the stage well and are respectful without being worshipful. Though Feynman has been gone now for many years, his work lives on in quantum physics, computer design, and nanotechnology; like any great scientist, he asked more questions than he answered, to give future generations the pleasure of finding things out.
The book may be obtained from your local library, via interlibrary loan, possibly as an audio or e-book via ListenUp Vermont or in New Hampshire, New Hampshire Downloadable Books. Users need only get a barcode number from their local library to use the services. Or you can obtain the book from your favorite local bookseller, or via www.bookfinder.com, the aggregator site for booksellers both large and small from all over the world, and for books both new and secondhand.
All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you.