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Article

The Young Feynman

FEB 01, 1989
How a 21‐year‐old grad student met this 28‐year‐old assistant prof and went on to amaze the kids, wreak havoc in the lab and invent a new way to understand quantum mechanics.
John Archibald Wheeler

“This chap from MIT: Look at his aptitude test ratings in mathematics and physics. Fantastic! Nobody else who’s applying here at Princeton comes anywhere near so close to the absolute peak.” Someone else on the Graduate Admissions Committee broke in, “He must be a diamond in the rough. We’ve never let in anyone with scores so low in history and English. But look at the practical experience he’s had in chemistry and in working with friction.”

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References

  1. 1. J. A. Wheeler, R. P. Feynman, Rev. Mod. Phys. 17, 157 (1945); https://doi.org/RMPHAT
    J. A. Wheeler, R. P. Feynman, Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 425 (1949).https://doi.org/RMPHAT

  2. 2. R. P. Feynman, “A Principle of Least Action in Quantum Mechanics,” PhD thesis, Princeton Univ. (1942).

  3. 3. R. P. Feynman, Rev. Mod. Phys. 20, 367 (1948). https://doi.org/RMPHAT
    R. P. Feynman, A. R. Hibbs, Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals, McGraw‐Hill, New York (1975).

  4. 4. Nova, “The Pleasure of Finding Things Out,” broadcast 25 January 1983.

  5. 5. R. P. Feynman, as told to R. Leighton, “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” Norton, New York (1985).
    R. P. Feynman, as told to R. Leighton, “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” Norton, New York (1988).

More about the authors

John Archibald Wheeler, Emeritus, Princeton University.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 42, Number 2

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