The Character of Physical Law
by Richard Phillips Feynman, Frank Wilczek, Sean Runnette · first published 1965
50% recommend46% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short, accessible Feynman lectures giving laypeople real physics insight, such as symmetry and conservation principles and how new laws are guessed and tested; suits readers wanting something lighter than a textbook.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Richard Feynman is one of, if not the, most famous physicists of the latter half of the 20th century. In 1964, at Cornell University, he delivered the famous Messenger Lectures. This book, The Character of Physical Law, sprung from these lectures. In this classic work, Feynman explores the relationship between math and physics, describes the great conservation principles, the puzzle of symmetry in physical law, how to reconcile physical problems that yield infinite results with their manifestations in the natural world, and quantum mechanical views of nature. Feynman's accessible speech and c
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Feynman's lectures on the character of physical law should be something everyone sees in school. In general we look for a new law by the following process: first we guess it, then we compute the consequences of the guess... and then we compare those…
on “Trust: The Need for Public Understanding of How Science Works” ↗I'd add Conjectures and Refutations (Karl Popper) The Fabric of Reality (David Deutsch) Also Feynman has some shorter/easier but serious physics books that some might prefer: QED and The Character of Physical Law. And his computation lectures book is good.
on “Reading list for those who love to learn” ↗The author recommends some interesting popular books: 1. The Feynman Lectures on Physics 2. The Character of Physical Law by Richard Feynman 3. Deep Down Things: The Breathtaking Beauty of Particle Physics by Bruce Schumm 4. The Particle Odyssey by Frank Close 5. Weinberg's The First Three Minutes IMO someone who seriously…
on “So You Want to Learn Physics (2016)” ↗…Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker Molecular Biology: David Clark, Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun Physics: the canonical answer is "Feynman". I won't argue with that. His little books (QED and The Character of Physical Law) are quite nice.
on “5 Great Science Books to Expand Your Mind” ↗…Invisibles by Grant Morrison - Incerto (Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, Antifragile, The Bed of Procrustes) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - Iron John by Robert Bly - Catch 22 by Joseph Heller - The Character of Physical Law by Richard P. Feynman - Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges - 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Pharmakon by Dale Pendell - The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss - Greek Mythology…
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗To be more clear, the lecture series you are talking about is called "The Character of Physical Law" and is not the same content that one would get from reading "The Feynman Lectures on Physics", which is a rigorous course in most of undergraduate physics. But I highly recommend the "Character" series.…
on “If you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it” ↗Textbooks are indispensable for really getting the material down, but I've found it much easier to read lectures. Feynman has great examples of this type of work: "The Character of Physical Law" or "The Feynman Lectures on Computation" are both excellent. I've found that these books walk somewhere between textbook and popular science book. Easy to read but all the while teaching you the material.…
on “Ask HN: Do you read math & hard science books? How?” ↗Feynman does a pretty great laymen explanation in part 6 of his "Character of Physical Law" lecture series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5RQ3QF9GGI And goes into greater depth in the Douglas Robb Memorial Lectures series: http://vega.org.uk/video/subseries/8 If you want to go all the…
on “A wave of experiments is probing the root of quantum weirdness” ↗The Messenger lectures are the basis for Feynman's book the Character of Physical Law, which I would highly recommend.
on “The Best Teacher I Never Had” ↗…been slowly working my way through it, with some personal curation, ever since. Some of my favorites: Conscientious Objections Freedom and Culture Visual Thinking Notes on a Synthesis of Form The Character of Physical Law and anything Tufte Here is the old post, with some good discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=664324
on “Alan Kay's reading list” ↗…Pessoa). Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software (Excellent explanation on how computers work from bottom -> top). The Machinery of Life (Includes excellent visuals in biology). The Character of Physical Law (Great insights in physics by Feynman). The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (Great book on business process improvement). How to Win Friends & Influence People (Nothing groundbreaking, but still…
on “Patrick Collison's Bookshelf” ↗…speculative research in physics is done, they don't actually teach any physics. I personally would recommend Feynman's books for the layman, such as QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter or The Character of Physical Law, or Six Easy Pieces (followed by Six Not So Easy Pieces), as ways for people to get at least some exposure to physics without popsci buzzwords. IMO even those books are limited, because you can't really…
on “Speculation that wormholes and entanglement are two aspects of the same thing” ↗On the other hand the books intended to teach physics for lay audience are really good. Feynman had teaching skills. QED is maybe the best of these. The Character of Physical Law is also good.
on “The sham legacy of Richard Feynman [video]” ↗Glad to see The Character of Physical Law on there. One of my all time favorites. The emphasis on symmetry and conservation principles was a real eye opener when I read it.
on “Steven Weinberg: Science books for the general reader” ↗You're not alone : "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." Richard Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (1965)
on “Quantum Weirdness Now a Matter of Time” ↗