Richard Feynman explains the feeling of confusion

[sprattysy]

This is a great video

[IraqiMaqam]

I get the 'I'm an ape trying to figure it out' feeling all the time as well. I think I'll go grab a banana.

[jaimesthesaint]

Was this interview conducted next to a helium factory?

[willbirful]

great vid

[sooper2dooper3]

there is also a video of Bon Scott with a banana in his pants in London in 1976

[FeelingFreshSon]

need banana...

[MrKarpovy]

0:30 NIce :))

[jackp22]

Does his body language remind anybody else of Derren Brown in this video?

[hman111]

@jackp22 yes!!



[101LiquidNitrogen]

continuation please

[angel2rx]

that was it?! wheres the rest of the interview? this guy is awesome, i would of loved to have met him.

[ntipouan]

what an amazing guy

[8644371]

Well: We now know for sure that there are 18 assholes on this planet.

But something tells me that there are more.

[goldensleeves]

why in the world would anyone "dislike" this video...

[RaynalS3X]

anyone know when this was recorded? as in the OC.

[nagasako7]

No wonder archery feels good on an emotional level...

Bow + Arrow > Stick

[tasakattotarzan]

He was a honest man.That's why he explains everything so clearly.

[teejmd91]

he was a great person, i miss him.

[scuzzulus]

@multiplemugs this is true. i`m starting physics this fall and just reviewing algebra is a headache lol. i can`t even imagine the types of problems men like him have to grapple with, on the frontiers of what we know, always trying to push those boundaries further and further.

[BloatedSensations]

The first part of this video was filmed a fair bit before Feynman had fully cultivated his science-hair.

[DeepAbsentia]

Holy man.. he speaks about it in a way that it seems for me someone dripping rainbows in my ear.. what a delight.

[8Zeitgeist]

nothing matters and im alright with that

i may be an ape but apes look out for each other

we maybe be a little more intelligent

;and more aware of the mundaness of our lives

but i like to think we still have a little pack mentallity still.

empathy sympathy respect all around

for united we stand- divided we fall

together we are what we cant be alone.

[s0nnyburnett]

No, he's looking for the ultimate banana in Tuva.

[Measonz]

Yes he is so intense. and genious

[medeerbeer]

Thank you Mr. Feynman, I feel what you are saying every day...

[massi3331]

Hi, i'm not speak english very well, so what he says when he talks about ape and banana? thank you!

[comface]

@massi3331 He is saying that when we are confused we feel like a monkey who is not able to get a banana down from a tree by putting two sticks together to have a longer reach.

Hope that helps!

[comface]

@massi3331 Oh, and at the end he says that sometimes he is able to put the two sticks together and get the banana!

[massi3331]

@comface oh ok, thanks!

[gregarious24]

Whoever edited this clip needs to be thrown into a gas chamber.

[franknblunt]

A show of humility from a mind greater tan many others that have somehow and absurdly been able to gain positions to create much harm. This should be noticed by many citizens to recognize the people disregarding their own incompetencies or ignorant of their own hubris as their acts and policies are causing others to suffer.

[scuzzulus]

lol yes richard i get that question alot as well.

oh wait not rly lol

[zinazina11]

WAT HAPPENED???!!!!! IS HE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT ULTIMATE LAWS OF PHYSICS????AAAAA

[DexterHaven49]

@zinazina11 No, this video-maker made a lousy edit by including that incomplete ending. In the original full piece, he continued by saying basically: NO, NATURE IS GOING TO TURN OUT HOW SHE IS. IF THERE IS ONE UNIVERSAL THEORY, FINE. BUT THAT MAY NOT BE THE CASE. IT MAY BE LIKE AN ONION WITH MANY LAYERS, WHICH IS FINE TOO. WHAT'S STUPID IS TO PRE-DECIDE THAT THERE IS ONE ULTIMATE LAW AND THEN GO LOOKING FOR IT. YOU MAY BE CHASING GHOSTS OF YOUR OWN MAKING, WHICH IS STUPID AND UNNECESSARY.

[Lorentz5]

14 people have missed the banana

[WickeDFate4]

@Lorentz5 The 'bananer' fits perfectly in my hand; The tides go in, the tides go out! No confusion allowed in 14 peoples minds! :)

[mmedeuxchevaux]

i feel stupid but who is the guy talking about confusion? i like him.

[oblanob]

no im looking for the ultimate banana

[charlieking100]

Now I know am stupid!! No Really!!

[phraedusthamusicdigr]

I'm still trying to get that damn banana.

[GluttonForSex]

There's such a curious irony to the world. Our greatest, most brilliant, most illuminated minds tends to always admit their ignorance, their "stupidity" and their shortcommings, despite the fact that they know and understand sometimes far more than any other human beings do.

Those drowning in the ignorance of religion, and who know and understand sometimes far less than other human beings do, are always cock-sure and completely unquestioning about how they are the ultimate beacon of truth.

[MrClickity]

@GluttonForSex Well said. I have an idea why this is the case: With faith, you take the answers given to you at face value and that's it, you don't bother digging any deeper (anything left resolved is a "mystery" that is not meant to be understood.) On the other hand, the rational man will actually try to explore the questions and answer them for himself. However, every answer you find just raises more questions to explore.

So the more you know, the more you realize you still don't know.

[Icemario87]

@MrClickity "So the more you know, the more you realize you still don't know."

It would be more accurate to say:

The more you learn, the more you realize how vast the knowable spectrum (of unknowns) is.

[scuzzulus]

@GluttonForSex

"the whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are so sure of themselves, and wiser people, so full of doubt"

Bertrand Russell

[borg22222]

@GluttonForSex Yes Yes Yes. Doubt is Fine

[MarvelsofaLifetime]

What an akward ending.

[MrStartingGun]

Hah, I love his accent.

[eizieizz]

Richard Feynman sounds like Tony Curtis.

[parannoyance]

I love a person who is this bright but still humble. His legacy lives on, confusion reigns!

[MazeleyFanClub]

Thanks for that random 44 seconds of no particular importance

[furrykef]

@MazeleyFanClub - I strongly disagree that it has no particular importance. I often deal with problems -- granted, much simpler than the ones Feynman dealt with -- that make me feel stupid, and that Feynman constantly felt this too tells me that this is a universal, very human thing. It's comforting to know that, in some sense, even the greats share your struggles.

[theOGslagster127]

i dont get it

but some time i think i do

i just dont know

gimme a banana

or i twat you widis stik.

[FullBarrePlayer]

14 monkeys did not get their banana.

[artregeous]

HE WAS DARN HAPPY AFTER HOURS PARTY PLAYING BONGO TO CELEBRATE ATOMICBOMB SUCCESS WITHOUT ANY IMAGINATION FROM THE STAND POINT OF MEDICAL SCIENCE OR SOCIAL SCIENCE OR COGNETIVE SCIENCE BUT HEY HE KNOWS EVERYTHING HE IS AFTER MATTER HE IS GREAT AND ALL YOUNG KIDS SHOULD ADMIRE THIS BE LIKE HIM KIDS BE HAPPY ADMIRE HIM FLATTER HIM AT THE CAMPUS IF YOU CAN AFFORD TUITIONS HE ALSO KNEW POLITICS FEDERAL RESERVES WHOLE NINE YARD SUCH A NIHILIST SOB IGNORED THE WORLD HUMANITY SUCH AN AS...

[Averagegamer100]

@artregeous DURR HURR!

[Naturality]

That clip at the end made me feel confused.

[petervuu718]

@Naturality you must not think very often.

[dsbnh]

@petervuu718 What a stupid thing to say.

[Ektinstein]

@Naturality LOL

[experthe]

feynman>chuck norris

[ceaser500]

@experthe you got so many likes because its so true

[experthe]

@ceaser500 haha ikr

[Galbusoculus]

He is the hope to our kind

[maddynicholls]

I would like to watch the full interview (the black and white footage). Does anyone know where I can find it? thanks

[IronChariots]

@maddynicholls Video srSbAazoOr8 might be what you're looking for (I can't post the full URL or YouTube gives an error).

[maddynicholls]

@IronChariots Thanks for your help. It linked to the first of the five part Horizon interview - very interesting. I do like it. But the one I'm interested in is definitely black and white and made when he was much younger. I'll keep looking. Best regards

[Kenjineering]

He is such an inspiration. The ending was unexpected and hilarious

[medexamtoolsdotcom]

This is the problem with taking a random clip out of a video which was itself a string of clips.

[nickharvey7]

Feelings are like music they are a process in time maybe that is why he is feeling confused.

[eddiequest4]

Hmmm - that last part... was confusing.... LOL

[spartacandream]

Yep...we're just a bunch of dumb apes full of confusion, trying to figure out what's greater than us, the universe.

[WoodstockHippie1969]

pablompa Rocks !!!

[Ecite]

This guy truly inspires me to study physics, and cosmology, it's just so interesting! I don't understand how people DON'T find these subjects interesting. Yet, I always get discouraged because I am a third year in college studying accounting :(, and growing up, I never got into mathematics/physics/astronomy like I should've. But I am still young, I just don't know what to do anymore lol. But on a side note-this man was great!

[perplegrl]

@Ecite: You should always do what you love, and not what people expect you to do. Just make sure it is something you really love. Physics and cosmology (at least the theoretical side) involve mostly mathematics and computer programming. You have to love these things if you want to do physics, because that is what you would be doing most of the time. But if it is what you want, it isn't too late!

[QUARKyNERD]

I can't believe ANYONE voted that they DON'T like this video. they must be psychologists.Feynman had greatly insulted their field-- and rightly so!!!!

[spartacandream]

@QUARKyNERD

It beats me, then again, people voted that they didn't like sagan.....

It must be creationists/overly religious people, and those who misunderstand because they hear stuff like "we're insignificant and unimportant", and respond in emotion negatively, like any other dumb ape's instincts would tell it to.

[QUARKyNERD]

@spartacandream Quite possibly. And most people, it seems, prefer to "view" things through an emotional filter (and "view" is in quotes, because they never really see things). How displeasing and destructive.

[spartacandream]

@QUARKyNERD

True. How unfortunate though. They won't even know what they're missing.

[speaktruthiness]

how he says "stupid" is kind of adorable

[TimothyRiches]

Awesome analogy! Monkey trying to put two sticks together to get the banana!

[kantastisk]

haha, what a wonderfully charming guy he was

[electronQM]

This is why American politics is so crazy -- too many confused people, unhappy, anxious, and confused about things they don't understand. It must drive them mad, and we see that madness expressed in who we elect.

[stefthe80]

he is so intense isn't he? i notice that in other geniuses too, in different fields, music e.t.c

[neilzep]

@stefthe80 focused energy.

[elimik31]

@stefthe80 he is no genius, he just loves physics, and that's what makes him such a great man.

[Snowboarder54688]

@elimik31 No he was a genius he won the nobel prize in physics, the albert Einstein award and a few others. He was a very intelligent being,

[elimik31]

@Snowboarder54688 I know, but I think that mainly just because he LOVED physics and because he LOVED thinking he was able to accomplish this. no need to ennumerate his honours, he himself really hated them.

[Snowboarder54688]

@elimik31 Fair point :)

[skydome29]

@stefthe80 some are excited, feynman, some are just crazy.

[sfurner]

Awesome mind

[manqrove]

the last journey of a genius

[yatah]

What's the title of the documentary?

[havik1]

@ Xperiment512

"When your thinking about something that you don't understand you have a terrible uncomfortable feeling towards confusion its a very difficult and unhappy business and so most of the time your rather unhappy actually with this confusion you cant penetrate this thing..now is it..the confusion because were all some kind of apes that are kinda stupid working against this..trying to figure out to put the two sticks together to reach the banana and we cant quiet make it..the idea..

[4outdoor]

@havik1  That was nice of you :)

[havik1]

and I get that feeling all the time that I' am an ape trying to put two sticks together so I always feel stupid ..once in awhile though the sticks go together on me and I reach the banana."

Richard P Feynman

[ELkuken]

It sounds to me like he's talking about frustration, not confusion. Then again, my native language isn't English.

[Papageorgeo]

@ELkuken Frustration is a product of confusion.

[ELkuken]

@Papageorgeo please think things through

[SkeksisRule]

This guy had to have tried psychedelics at some point in his life. He is just too awesome.

[eltotoX]

It is known that he smoked cannabis, and that he went into isolation chambers to get a psychedelic effect. It's on his book "Surely..."

[SkeksisRule]

Neat. I've always been interested in trying out a sensory deprivation chamber myself.

[Mr404forbidden]

awesome

[junhyun1219]

Does anyone know or is intrigued by what he said after making that question at 0:39?

[djdrocco]

Paraphrase:

"I'm not looking for the answer to any one question in particular, but rather, I'm trying to find out things about the universe. If the search for information about reality leads to a grand unification theory, then great. But there's no point trying to answer any question that we arbitrarily assume there is an answer for in the first place."

[wmcdo1]

Some things we will not know til we get there.

[jimmyshitbags]

@junhyun1219 its in another video on here, he says no. lol. he says something along the lines of not making any presumptions about what he might find out, and just aiming to observe nature for what it is, if he can.

[comelycumbrianwench]

A man so smart that he has no bluster. I have an intellectual crush, I think.

[nickharvey7]

Nice video

In my video The Paradox of Schrodingers Cat an artist view Time has symmetry and geometry could this explaining the paradoxes of Quantum Physics? If time was formed by the emission and absorption of EMR from one atom to another continuously forming the broken symmetry of spacetime.

[LiveToThink]

i'm confused...

[BF2OMG]

I didn't understand this

[ploschad]

beautiful man; inside and out.

[DonZabu]

Look at them eyes.

[Tachyon55555]

when humans c QED they go for TED so fast... about mach 15 is limit if you can think.

[FeelOfFriction]

I'll be experimenting with ketamine soon, definitely going to read about this guys experience.

[Br1an37]

Oh but what an exceptional ape he was

The jungle needs more Richard Feynman's

Sadly missed :-(

[jack19790]

Oooo good comment.

[Br1an37]

Thanks for your response

He used some fine examples in his lectures and talks, with a great sense of humour too.

[jack19790]

Bill Gates just bought the rights to some of his lectures. Google "Project Tuva", its pretty cool. I was up until two the other night watching him.

[burnhippiesforfuel]

brilliant! thank you!

[elizabethfaraone]

@jack19790 Feynman would strongly disapprove.

[jayasimhan]

@jack19790 Thanks for the Project Tuva tip!

[rawpon]

@jack19790

Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to here the lectures.

[littletanbear]

being stupid is a decision..no one is

[smudge6699]

The key to wisdom is simplicity.

Creativity comes from letting the mind work freely and playfully rather than trying to think down one perspective.

[mandraak84]

shortest straight way instead of complex beautiful curved way . yeah.

"appearance(illusion) requires art and skill, truth only requires calm and simplicity"

[smudge6699]

All the best solutions to problems have a certain elegance about them, a certain deeper "Yesness" that resonates. E=mc2, simple perfect, the relationship has been found, matter is a form of energy.

For me it's how you look at what you look at, that can be a trap of mis-perception where only dead ends lie. It's standing back and letting awe and wonder take its course.

Hence I'm a fan of Richard, you can almost SEE him thinking around rather than along.

He has a hugely flexible mind!

;-)

[mandraak84]

I like richard,true rebelle, i dont like dawkins, fake one, mostly arrogant

[smudge6699]

Dawkins has forgotten how to be a scientist, he has an agenda and a hugely flawed argument in his book the God Delusion. Sheldrake on the other hand is a lateral thinker who includes everything, a truly open and inquiring mind. He is a child in his play ground of the mind.

I'm considering challenging Dawkins, I've already sent him three emails that he has failed to respond too but I half expected that.

They're the questions he doesn't want asked.

;-)

[mandraak84]

"I've already sent him three emails that he has failed to respond too but I half expected that." haha

[smudge6699]

Debate exposes truth, those that wont must have a reason not to.

They were very reasonable questions and perspectives.

[mandraak84]

"When you have people in power and basicaly in power only because they know how to get there, and they have to interact with minds like Feynman's there's a real battle there all the time. Cos Feynman just really want to know the truth, and most of people just want to be right" (comment on some other video)

[smudge6699]

Well made point.

Dawkins however is racking it in with his book sales so can't have his argument fail.

Dead argument = dead book sales and lecture tours.

[seaaaaaaaaa]

who is richard??

also i am curious what your questions to dawkins

were why not post them instead of just saying

--yeah i have these three great questions--

anyway thanks

[smudge6699]

Richard Feynman the guy in the video?

I've posted the questions to Richard Dawkins himself.

He has still to reply about Rupert Sheldrake being removed from his debunking program because he actually had evidence Dawkins didn't want to interfere with his agenda.

Indeed he hasn't answered any of them but that doesn't surprise me.

9sigh)

[seaaaaaaaaa]

still dont really understand but thats cool

and yeah i think feynman is awesome also

[AteoConPimienta]

Rupert Sheldrake is a quack, as simple as that.

[smudge6699]

He's a noble prize winning theoretical physics, your academic background is what?

[AteoConPimienta]

Feynman yes, great man. Sheldrake, nop, snake oil seller.

[smudge6699]

Ah didn't realise who you were talking about.

Sheldrake ops!

He has evidence and I believe an on-line experiment the public can take part in. It's he one thing Dawkins didn't like in his debunking program and Sheldrake, another biologist, reminds interviewers that Dawkins edited him out.

I think it's the reverse of quote mining.

Dawkins has become a lawyer like Ben Stein and lost his scientific ethic, include ALL evidence.

Apologies again for misinterpreting you.

[AteoConPimienta]

I dont mind if Dawkins is the devil or w/e, Sheldrake is still a sloppy snake oil seller, he has been pointed many times to correct the statistical bias, the sample bias, the sloppy randomization in trials, to put in in double blind, etc.

So far all the responses from Sheldrake and fans are "nooo hes doing it ok, he have produced strong statistical data, nooo".

Quack.

[smudge6699]

I accept you're right on the basis you know what a double blind randomised trial actually is.

The problem is one I have.

HOW do you design rigorous studies to detect the sorts of phenomena he's trying to investigate.

It's not easy so I cut him some slack.

Things always fail in the beginning.

I think his work will gain value as he himself realises better experimental models and protocols that will either prove or disprove the existence and functionality of what he's examining.

[mistermay1]

Sheldrake is almost as bad as Michio Kaku.

[matt247ryan]

hey come on guys, let's just relax and make love you know?

you wanna get high?

[irritatedpsycho]

dont forget to bring a towel

[grazer770]

when i was at school they thought i was dyslexic but realised i was just stupid!!

and as einstein said, it is all relative anyway!

[McWinduws]

the difference is between being confused by simple things or in fact tough things.. if you're the former, then sorry you ain't feynman

[theluke01]

i hate people comparing themselves to feynman (or others) by stating that they "had been bad at school".

there's also popular misinformation about albert einstein's achievement at school.

you want to be like feynman? just do science and stfu (the real science, not your popscience books for dummies, that tend to spread halfknowledge of popular subjects under the exotic ones).

[gdjuniform]

be cool man, they are just joking when making the comparison.

[PixelEater64]

zomg half-knowledge is a word.

[ian7208]

He could easily have lived another 20 years... such a tragedy.

[eazylee369]

It's good to know that one of the modern greats of physics was frequently confused.

There's hope for me yet!

[DrIce926]

There's always hope. I don't know you, but I went to college already - the wrong college. I have a B.A. in Computer Information Systems, but this year I realized that math and science should have been my primary focus instead. It's funny how much other people impact you in high school when they call you "the computer guy"...*sigh*

I have a long journey ahead, but the future of the entire world depends on us. I know I can make more of a contribution than being some dredge at some "MEGACORP".

[YodanboogerLives]

Drice926,

MEGACORPs aren't the only ones who need computer guys. Do you have any appreciation for how heavily the scientific community relies on computer modelling and scientific software?

If computers don't interest you any longer, if it's about your passion, then change course completely, by all means. If it's really just about the contribution you make, you don't need to enter an entirely new field.

[DrIce926]

I definitely have an appreciation for that need, YodanboogerLives.

The issue is that my B.A. degree was from a conservative Catholic school - it was designed to get me a job, not to get me to understand the world.

It sucks, but it's true - this is the direction many non-research-focused colleges are taking in America. =(

That said, I just don't have the knowledge to program and develop that type of software yet, either. It's ok - I just need to take steps to correct my life and fix this.

[YodanboogerLives]

Well, best of luck!

[LeMegasandwich]

@DrIce926 You are on the right track, keep it up! My degree was also like that, but I'm switching, and in the mean time learning advanced physics from ebooks + a pencil and paper.

Thanks to the internet and libraries, information is everywhere and free! Keep up your ambition, it's inspiring!

Seriously! Completely inspiring!

[MesPartner]

I experience this "uncomfortable feeling" in school every day.

[theluke01]

cos you're an idiot

[Hania454]

theluke01, that was a mean and ignorant thing to say. Many people are confused at school and they tend to be the very people that change the world because they are not sheep and question things. Albert Einstein was confused at school, so was Issac Newton, need I say more. Please think before you call someone an idiot because the only person who ends up looking like an idiot will be you. Peace.

[theluke01]

thanks for enlightening me. i didn't know that all the dumb people in school are in fact geniusses.

but honestly: your post is total crap and mainly untrue. it's nothing but a pop-post.

this is not about questioning, but about not understanding on the grounds of being dumb.

also, i know the people that "tend to be the very people that change the world", they are mostly my colleagues.

[mfyy]

sorry man, I guess my brother wrote it from my profile, ı have a lot of knowledge and respect for Feynman. I read his book ''Surely you are joking mr Feynman''. it was very good. I know that he a genius is... :D