tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post3189466301046404447..comments2024-03-18T06:11:04.848-07:00Comments on The Curious Wavefunction: Richard Feynman, sexism and changing perceptions of a scientific iconWavefunctionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-48008786053740417202015-02-06T07:11:36.656-08:002015-02-06T07:11:36.656-08:00It is interesting but I hated Feynman as soon as I...It is interesting but I hated Feynman as soon as I read about him. I did read his lectures books and those I found moderately useful. But the person was at once obnoxious to me. Note that I am 45 and must have read this in the mid 80s. <br /><br />I have always found it interesting how everyone always fawns over him and his achievements (which were quite substantial). I have always found myself to be someone who would always be silent in such conversations. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-988261951774905452014-08-01T06:02:07.432-07:002014-08-01T06:02:07.432-07:00You could write an almost identical article about,...You could write an almost identical article about, for example, Einstein. Or Gandhi. Or JFK. Or...<br /><br />The common factor is that they're human. Which is, of course, the entire point of this article - not missed.<br /><br />The point of this comment is that Feynman is / was exactly as one should expect.<br />Menachemhttp://www.google.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-86514514674217831772014-07-31T23:54:47.299-07:002014-07-31T23:54:47.299-07:00dude, what's your problem with watching girls ...dude, what's your problem with watching girls on the beach? it's totally normalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-12053513447753329422014-07-31T23:09:46.631-07:002014-07-31T23:09:46.631-07:00Ah! I get it, you thought the 'ist' in ...Ah! I get it, you thought the 'ist' in 'sexist' is the same as the 'ist' in 'artist' or 'pianist' or 'florist'. It's probably a common mistake. While an 'artist' is indeed someone who does art, a 'sexist' is not just a term for anyone who does sex.<br /><br />Good article, ridiculous conclusion. Elijahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084889397915024426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-46179755475923875202014-07-31T21:24:55.196-07:002014-07-31T21:24:55.196-07:00Wait, what?
"As far as we know, there is no ...Wait, what?<br /><br />"As far as we know, there is no evidence that Feynman discriminated against women in his career; the letters he writes to women in the collection of letters edited by his daughter indicate no bias. Both male and female students admired him. His sister Joan documents how he was always supportive of her own career in physics. At one point he came to the aid of a female professor filing a discrimination suit at Caltech. In addition he was a devoted husband to his first and third wife and a loving and supportive father to his daughter who in fact tried hard to get her interested in science."<br /><br />So by your summary he was - in a time when women in Australia were suing airlines so they could become pilots - entirely even-handed towards men and women in his professional capacity.<br /><br />Surely, the title of this article should be "Feynman was not sexist"?Duncan Baynehttps://duncan-bayne.github.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-56324578693079445492014-07-21T11:28:18.897-07:002014-07-21T11:28:18.897-07:00More fundamentally, should we even believe this te...More fundamentally, should we even believe this testimony from an anonymous poster who leaves the woman scientist unnamed?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-60849086559256751992014-07-21T07:20:13.975-07:002014-07-21T07:20:13.975-07:00Of course, "we" are supposed to immediat...Of course, "we" are supposed to immediately take this woman at her word? If she was "regularly receiving death threats" -- perhaps SHE was one-half of that dance?! Is there another woman who reports such vitriol and impressions of hate from Feynman? How can you balance this one woman -- with her report of being a target 'from so many' -- with the reports by many others that he was no more sexist -- and, in fact, more supportive and helpful -- to women? Oz Zafur (sp?) has some great words about how some/many folks CHOOSE situation in which they are mistreated (e.g., the woman who puts an abusive husband in jail, and then married another... What of HER culpability for her own bad choices?) <br /><br />Can this brilliant physicist you interviewed perhaps own some of her own mistreatment?Elenornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-58347403022760678522014-07-19T10:00:38.077-07:002014-07-19T10:00:38.077-07:00That Feynman, a Nobel prize winner, should exhibit...That Feynman, a Nobel prize winner, should exhibit non-pc thoughts and behavior is ABSOLUTLEY SCHOCKLEY!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-54218289217618863782014-07-18T19:15:44.287-07:002014-07-18T19:15:44.287-07:00Ash,
I also think that R.P. Feynman was a great ...Ash, <br /><br />I also think that R.P. Feynman was a great scientist and a, as he subtitled his book, a curious character. I found nothing "controversial" about this article that shows how your views of him have changed as you've read more about him. That is natural as was Feynman's behavior for his time. <br /><br />I think it's ridiculous that Scientific American has decided to remove you from their blogger pool. There was no reason for that. I understand that they have that prerogative but they need to be rational about it. It's hearing things like this and the ads in the magazine that promote conferences that feature the rationally impaired like Andrew Weil that make me second guess my subscription. If the science articles weren't so good, it might be time to say goodbye to SciAm. John Milliganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09856054374664024457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-61917121893282654952014-07-17T13:12:53.735-07:002014-07-17T13:12:53.735-07:00What is a sexist? Isn't it a form of bigotry?...What is a sexist? Isn't it a form of bigotry? Of prejudice? Of hatefulness? I see none of these elements in Feynman's reports of his behavior with women and of the results of his experiences with them. He was just being a scientist, curious about everything. Luke Leahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11290760894780619646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-86832394485414922952014-07-17T10:07:31.578-07:002014-07-17T10:07:31.578-07:00Feynman is a sexist? Then what is Bill Clinton? Th...Feynman is a sexist? Then what is Bill Clinton? They were human then, we are human now, and all of us are imperfect, no matter how hard we try to be otherwise. It will be (almost) forever thus. Embrace humility and compassion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-57090355577500164792014-07-17T09:18:28.917-07:002014-07-17T09:18:28.917-07:00Would someone please point out to me the part of t...Would someone please point out to me the part of this article that is "controversial"? I don't understand why SA would take this excellent article down.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-11181643779687384492014-07-17T04:02:56.022-07:002014-07-17T04:02:56.022-07:00I think you're using the word "sexism&quo...I think you're using the word "sexism" in an unconventional way. Most of these anecdotes people would describe as "heterosexual".<br /><br />I'm like you, not a Feynman fan anymore. I had never heard something critical about him before your post; relieved there are other people out there who agree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-8193100704600973022014-07-15T19:10:28.201-07:002014-07-15T19:10:28.201-07:00A response to recent events at Sci Am Blogs http:/...A response to recent events at Sci Am Blogs http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2014/07/a-response-to-recent-events.htmlWavefunctionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-11820548113347607342014-07-15T17:11:36.742-07:002014-07-15T17:11:36.742-07:00I like this post, though I would like to see a mor...I like this post, though I would like to see a more coherent definition of "sexism" that distinguishes various types of conduct.<br /><br />Having a deep attraction to beautiful women (or having the urge to fornicate with such women) has no place in a discussion of "sexism."<br /><br />Gender-based bias is terrible. Our sexual urges are something else entirely, and by bringing them up in this context, it dissipates the horror of real gender-based bias.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-57846189139004088252014-07-15T17:09:59.376-07:002014-07-15T17:09:59.376-07:00Peter G Werner: Welcome to feminism. you will be ...Peter G Werner: Welcome to feminism. you will be assimilated. Any dissent will result in character attacks and the anything but rational discourse. If their position is so valid, why do they censor rational discourse?<br /><br />Who wants to spam twitter with feynman quotes for a few days? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-90281474056351099482014-07-15T13:30:10.304-07:002014-07-15T13:30:10.304-07:00Appalling that this simple, well-argued blog post ...Appalling that this simple, well-argued blog post was actually considered so incendiary that Scientific American felt the need to (temporarily at least) unpublish it and part company with the author, while apparently having no problem with Stemwedel's vitriolic articles. It's sad to see that SA is the latest to cave to the party line "social justice" mentality - that when somebody, in this case Feynman, is declared an Enemy of the People, anybody who even offers a halfway defense is also to be purgedPeter G Wernerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922760618535667259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-77015296664348153232014-07-15T12:33:05.293-07:002014-07-15T12:33:05.293-07:00I think his explanation of passing as a student m...I think his explanation of passing as a student made sense. Anyone in his early 20's telling a girl he was a professor of physics who had worked as an atomic bomb designer would be taken as sociopathic liar or some maybe harmless but definitely unibterseting fabulating idiot. The affairs were between consenting adults and are of no import...Jacques René Giguèrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08044522160459914143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-37457326642222628552014-07-15T09:12:06.102-07:002014-07-15T09:12:06.102-07:00How Scientific American would remove this, while l...How Scientific American would remove this, while letting Stemwedel's vitriol remain is weird. I have cancelled my subscription to the magazine, and worry about science in general if political BS now means that a man that likes picking up women is sexist. I seriously wonder if Stemwedel has ever observed what occurs in a bar or nightclub, Feynman apparently experimented with the scientific method to find a way to get laid easily, and she chooses to ignore reality.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-53566330896347178132014-07-14T17:51:04.354-07:002014-07-14T17:51:04.354-07:00Was it Pauling who was suspected of an affair with...Was it Pauling who was suspected of an affair with Oppenheimer's wife, or the other way round? Can't recall.<br /><br />As for the times, just a glance at the Sinatra booze fests on stage at the Sahara (youtube) reveals the broadly acceptable sexual objectification of women of the period, seen as a badge of honor in some university circles. dsrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17744223178534558244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-2196270354040873832014-07-14T11:56:21.329-07:002014-07-14T11:56:21.329-07:00Ash,
I glad you left a trail to follow. I read yo...Ash,<br /><br />I glad you left a trail to follow. I read your post and I was not incensed with indignation. That left me feeling a little disappointed after first reading two posts that clearly thought you had said something wrong. It seems that the Feynman habit of picking up women in a bar is universally viewed as his greatest act of sexism. A single man, or woman, going to a bar to hook up for the night is now considered by some as an act of sexism seems a bit extreme. As long as no coercion or drugs are involved this seems to me to be the still accepted and most popular way for young folks to meet and perhaps pursue a relationship, even if it is only for a few hours. Besides the two bloggers who think this is despicable behavior has anyone else been attacking this traditional form of social interaction? <br /><br />I am more troubled with Feynman’s misrepresentation of his faculty status to coeds and his pursuit of married women. The former being much more offensive but the latter has always been considered bad form. I do agree with the thrust of your post as you sum up in the last two paragraphs. <br /><br />I would also mention that Einstein enjoys a celebrity industry and it is possible to find references you his pursuit of women while married to his second wife. But Einstein did not brag about is exploits so it is not commonly written about.<br /><br />Marie Curie had an affair with a married man. I think he was separated from his wife at the time but it caused a scandal. I guess Marie is not commonly rebuked these days because it was a onetime incident.<br /><br />If you want to read about a truly sexually ‘enlightened’ individual in the history of science look at the personal life of Erwin Schrödinger. <br /><br />I will get the hang of posting here eventually...I selected Anonymous because that seemed easiest.<br />M TuckerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-64008379100012456572014-07-13T23:34:23.366-07:002014-07-13T23:34:23.366-07:00Thanks for the comments, all. It's indeed good...Thanks for the comments, all. It's indeed good to be moving (back) to my home of 10 years. While I have enjoyed blogging on Sci Am for two years, it's true that I will appreciate the flexibility of blogging about all my interests on this site.Wavefunctionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-38671439087157138982014-07-13T19:44:55.717-07:002014-07-13T19:44:55.717-07:00Oh, the pain. Serves you right for idolizing him, ...Oh, the pain. Serves you right for idolizing him, the more precipitous one's idol strikes one full in the face in its fall. Yeah, he was a woman chaser. Would you like to dwell on several hundred other great names in science who were or are also similarly pixilated? I can supply them, but I wouldn't want to hurt anybody's precious object of idolatry. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-12443329371812262032014-07-13T18:39:37.030-07:002014-07-13T18:39:37.030-07:00Thank you for the post and standing by the truth. ...Thank you for the post and standing by the truth. I also think that it's best for you and science to blog here. Maybe you will not able to reach that many readers. But, you will be able to express your opinions freely now. <br /><br />It is sad to see that some people (and "scientists") can forget or ignore what he did for the humanity (if those people know anything about his science of course) and simply blame him for being "sexist.<br /><br />I can't believe that people can label him as "sexist" based upon couple stories he wrote and a few anecdotes. Apparently, this is all the "evidence" present. If he was anything to blame for, we should blame him for being honest and brave enough to write his embarrassing moments. I wonder if any of these people who criticize him can be honest enough to tell the truth about themselves ever. <br /><br />It is a shame that "scientists" who should be supporting freedom of speech can try to lobby against bloggers', writers' and individuals' ideas and try to censor them. <br /><br />If hope you keep writing what you believe in to be the truth.<br />Chemdiaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06428076032546974013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-81407418039641384572014-07-13T16:06:17.832-07:002014-07-13T16:06:17.832-07:00I recently interviewed a brilliant physicist who k...I recently interviewed a brilliant physicist who knew him - she was his colleague and as soon as I started to discuss him, she immediately said, "he hated women" and that he dismissed her as a physicist because she is a woman. The same woman would regularly receive death threats whilst studying and working in physics in the USA in the 1950s and 60s. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com