Richard Feynman

Physics American 1918 – 1988 323 quotes

Nobel laureate known for path integrals and Feynman diagrams

Quotes by Richard Feynman

The pleasure of finding things out, the kick of the discovery, the joy of the creation, is what makes it all worthwhile.

Private writings

I like to play with things. I like to experiment. I like to see what happens.

Private writings

The only way to have real success in science is to describe the mess.

Various informal discussions

There's plenty of room at the bottom.

There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom 1959

I have no responsibility to live up to what I ought to have done. I have no responsibility to be like other people. I have only responsibility to be myself.

Various informal discussions

Fall in love with some activity, and do it! Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter. Explore the world. Immediately pay attention to anything that has your curiosity.

Various informal discussions

You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like other people. I have only responsibility to be myself.

Various informal discussions

I don't believe I can really do anything useful in science unless I realize that after I've made the best effort I can, I still might be wrong.

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out 1981

The game of science is to find out what makes the world go 'round.

Various informal discussions

Why are there so many scientists? Because they are interested in the things that they are doing.

Various informal discussions

The real glory of science is that we can find things out and that we can understand them.

Various informal discussions

I don't know anything about anything, but I know that everything is interesting if you go into it deeply enough.

Various informal discussions

You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! 1985

The whole problem of life is to find out what you're good at.

Various informal discussions

If we are going to have a science in the future, we must have a generation of scientists who are not afraid to admit when they don't know.

Various informal discussions

I simply want to get the facts straight.

Challenger Disaster Investigation 1986

The game is to find out how the world works, not to prove that you're right.

Various informal discussions

The only way to do something is to do it.

Various informal discussions

I don't have to be a genius. I'm a scientist. I just have to be curious.

Various informal discussions

The world is a great big puzzle, and we're all trying to figure out how it works.

Various informal discussions