On this Sunday morning, a question springs to mind: How much of an idiot is “Captain Underpants“?
Elon Musk is beside himself that President Biden awarded philanthropist George Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his pursuit of “global initiatives that strengthen democracy, human rights, education, and social justice.” (Biden gave the award to 18 others, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.) Musk posted a meme mocked up to show Biden handing the medal to the evil Emperor Palpatine. “Must be the lighting,” he quipped.
Naturally, the right is as incensed that their liberal bogeyman received the award as it wasn’t when Donald Trump awarded one to Rush Limbaugh during a State of the Union Address in recognition of Limbaugh’s Three Decades Hate.
What draws attention to Musk besides his infantile sense of humor, his inability to string more than 10 words together in most of his tweets, and his turning Jack Dorsey’s world forum into a MAGA cesspool, is the contrast with a real genius. One of Musk’s users (a bibliophile, believe it or not) posted a delightful thread about physicist Richard Feynman:
I thought I was crazy until I found Richard Feynman.
Feynman was not only among the most brilliant people on earth, but he transmitted something I’ve never seen in others.
Thread with some lessons from his peculiar way of being:
Feynman never did anything for the prestige he might get out of it.
He didn’t even want to receive the Nobel Prize. Richard felt he had already gotten what matters.
The prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out.
People think beauty is only about aesthetics.
But Feynman believed that there’s something beautiful in depth, in understanding processes.
Knowledge contributes to beauty. It doesn’t subtract from it.
Richard Feynman embodied deep curiosity.
You don’t understand what “first principles” really mean until you listen to a physicist reasoning.
It’s about going to the end of the world chasing a chain of ‘whys’. “Where does fire come from?”
You have enough time to pursue other interests. Don’t listen to people who say you need to do only one thing to excel at it.
Feynman got a Nobel Prize in physics, but he still pursued other interests to a state worth of admiration.
Let’s explore a very peculiar one.
Richard didn’t know how to express a profound feeling about the beauty of the world through a set of equations, so he began drawing.
“It’s a feeling of awe — of scientific awe .. which I felt could be communicated through a drawing to someone who had also had that emotion. I could remind him, for a moment, of this feeling about the glories of the universe”
Feynman drew for over 20 years and even sold some of his work.
Charles Darwin was a giant of a man who greatly advanced mankind. But he had one huge regret:
Not cultivating his appreciation for poetry and music. “The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness.”
It might be more about imitating Feynman in this aspect.
There is another real loss in life: The loss of one’s sense of humor.
It doesn’t matter how many labels, prestige, and wisdom you may have. You don’t want to go through life without laughing.
Feynman was especially known for this. This book compiles some of his funny anecdotes.
How did he get away with all of this?
Feynman’s ethos was rooted in independent-mindedness. He developed great respect towards his mind and heart.
Not caring about what others think is a superpower.
Feynman was the real deal.
Update: VP-elect marked safe from being mistaken for a genius.
