Richard Feynman — "I was also a little bit of a clown."
I was also a little bit of a clown.
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More from Richard Feynman
"I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by understanding; they learn by some other way — by rote or something. Their knowledge is so fragile!"
"I have no respect for age. I have no respect for names. I have no respect for titles. I have respect for understanding."
"I don't like to be told what to do."
"The thing that bothers me is that I can tell that the students don't understand. They are taught to remember things, but they don't understand."
"The thing that bothered me about it was that I was doing work for the military, and I didn't like that."
About Richard Feynman (1918-1988)
American theoretical physicist who shared the 1965 Nobel for QED, developed Feynman diagrams, and wrote the Feynman Lectures on Physics. Closely associated with Julian Schwinger (co-Nobelist for QED) and Murray Gell-Mann (Caltech rival and Eightfold-Way physicist). For an intellectual contrast, see Deepak Chopra, physician and quantum-mysticism author — Feynman's Caltech 'cargo cult science' commencement address is the precise template for what he saw as misuse of physics terminology — Chopra-style appropriation of quantum vocabulary for metaphysical claims is the canonical example of what Feynman called 'fooling yourself'.
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The speaker acknowledges a playful, mischievous side to their personality — a tendency to joke, tease, or not take themselves too seriously. It's an admission that beneath serious work or reputation, there was genuine silliness and a delight in humor, pranks, or irreverence. Being a clown isn't an insult here; it's worn almost as a badge of authenticity and self-awareness.
Relevance to Richard Feynman
Feynman was legendary not just for Nobel-winning physics but for his personality: he played bongos in strip clubs, cracked safes at Los Alamos for fun, and peppered lectures with jokes. He wrote entire memoirs — 'Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!' — celebrating his mischief. His clowning was inseparable from his genius; both stemmed from radical curiosity and refusal to perform false seriousness.
The era
Mid-20th century American science culture prized stoic professionalism — scientists were expected to be sober, formal figures. The Manhattan Project and Cold War elevated physicists to near-mythic status, intensifying that pressure. Feynman's open clownishness was quietly countercultural, anticipating the later democratization of science communication and the idea that brilliance and irreverence could coexist.
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