I think it might still be worth sharing with caveats.
I got a lot out of reading Feynman as a 14-year-old girl. In particular, I was spending much of my time on creative projects (making props for theatre shows, drawing comics, etc.) even though I grudgingly felt like I’d need to work towards a STEM career to be more useful. His stories about painting and picking up random library books and learning languages (another hobby of mine at the time) made STEM careers seem much more compatible with the kinds of thinking I enjoyed.
That said, I have much more mixed feelings upon re-reading the book as an adult. Stories that seemed like harmless good fun now read as incredibly inconsiderate.
For example, Feynman describes playing a prank on a waitress at a local restaurant by putting her tip under an inverted full glass of water. When she goes to collect her tip, she spills the water. He shows her how she could have avoided the spill by slipping a sheet of paper under the glass and carefully sliding it to the edge of the table. The next time he goes to the restaurant, he inverts an empty glass, and is amused to watch the waitress very carefully and slowly slip paper underneath. I don’t find this funny, especially since he describes how busy and rushed the waitresses are, but he clearly did.
The book also includes some stories about how he’d pick up women at bars in somewhat manipulative ways, but that didn’t faze me as a teenager (I think I chalked it up to ambient sexist and adversarial relationship norms, which aren’t unique to Feynman’s writing) and still bothers me less than the above story.
I think sharing with caveats can make sense. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for a teacher to recommend this book without clarifying that they do not endorse the views by the author.
My vague memory of me reading it at 16 is that I found a lot of the stories interesting, but was also put off by his attitude.
Thank you for mentioning this. I’ve recommended it in the past based on having enjoyed it as a teenager, though not with any sort of EA intention, but won’t be doing so again to students of any gender.
Feynman is one of the great public intellectuals, and I loved this book. A gripping and hilarious read that teaches you a lot about the kind of clear thinking that is required to solve real-world problems. It could change a gifted kid’s perspective for sure.
This was a favourite of mine as a teen (and many others judging by the upvotes), though I’m now re-evaluating based on the comment above, as I haven’t read it since. There are multiple copies of this, as well as QED, Six Easy Pieces, and Six Not-So-Easy Pieces already in the library, all of which are very popular, and frequently recommended by me (I teach maths and physics). I’m not sure I’d consider any of them a strong nudge towards being more likely to end up as an EA though.
Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman by Richard Feynman
I wouldn’t recommend this book, especially not to gifted women. Feynman is very sexist.
I think it might still be worth sharing with caveats.
I got a lot out of reading Feynman as a 14-year-old girl. In particular, I was spending much of my time on creative projects (making props for theatre shows, drawing comics, etc.) even though I grudgingly felt like I’d need to work towards a STEM career to be more useful. His stories about painting and picking up random library books and learning languages (another hobby of mine at the time) made STEM careers seem much more compatible with the kinds of thinking I enjoyed.
That said, I have much more mixed feelings upon re-reading the book as an adult. Stories that seemed like harmless good fun now read as incredibly inconsiderate.
For example, Feynman describes playing a prank on a waitress at a local restaurant by putting her tip under an inverted full glass of water. When she goes to collect her tip, she spills the water. He shows her how she could have avoided the spill by slipping a sheet of paper under the glass and carefully sliding it to the edge of the table. The next time he goes to the restaurant, he inverts an empty glass, and is amused to watch the waitress very carefully and slowly slip paper underneath. I don’t find this funny, especially since he describes how busy and rushed the waitresses are, but he clearly did.
The book also includes some stories about how he’d pick up women at bars in somewhat manipulative ways, but that didn’t faze me as a teenager (I think I chalked it up to ambient sexist and adversarial relationship norms, which aren’t unique to Feynman’s writing) and still bothers me less than the above story.
I think sharing with caveats can make sense. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for a teacher to recommend this book without clarifying that they do not endorse the views by the author.
My vague memory of me reading it at 16 is that I found a lot of the stories interesting, but was also put off by his attitude.
Thank you for mentioning this. I’ve recommended it in the past based on having enjoyed it as a teenager, though not with any sort of EA intention, but won’t be doing so again to students of any gender.
Feynman is one of the great public intellectuals, and I loved this book. A gripping and hilarious read that teaches you a lot about the kind of clear thinking that is required to solve real-world problems. It could change a gifted kid’s perspective for sure.
This was a favourite of mine as a teen (and many others judging by the upvotes), though I’m now re-evaluating based on the comment above, as I haven’t read it since. There are multiple copies of this, as well as QED, Six Easy Pieces, and Six Not-So-Easy Pieces already in the library, all of which are very popular, and frequently recommended by me (I teach maths and physics). I’m not sure I’d consider any of them a strong nudge towards being more likely to end up as an EA though.