Feynmann and Drumming
Submitted by Mr. L. Srivatsan, University of Texas at Austin (January 1998)
Feynman was known to be passionate about drumming, but he was irritated when people found this surprising in a famous scientist. In 1966 a Swedish encyclopedia publisher wrote asking for a photograph of Feynman "beating the drum" to give "a human approach to a presentation of the difficult matter that theoretical physics represents." This was his reply:
Dear Sir,
The fact that I beat a drum has nothing to do with the fact that I do theoretical physics. Theoretical physics is a human endeavor, one of the higher developments of human beings, and the perpetual desire to prove that people who do it are human by showing that they do other things that a few other humans do (like playing bongo drums) is insulting to me.
I am human enough to tell you to go to hell.
Yours,
RPF
