Richard Feynman's talent for finding things out

Abstract: This article is a summary of a talk about Richard Feynman, given at a conference Polymaths across the Eras organized in November 2023 by the St Cross Centre for the History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP) in Oxford. It describes Feynman as an unconventional polymath, primarily concerned with his own understanding of nature, having little regard for previous authorities. His curiosity, respect for experiment, ability to calculate and notable ingenuity led to important developments in quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics, and strong interactions. In particle physics, Feynman diagrams have been a mainstay of calculation for the last 75 years. His relish for the spoken word led to renown as an educator and raconteur. His perceptions were influential in a wide range of other scientific fields, including weak interactions, gravity, superconductivity, biology, nanotechnology, algorithmic computation and quantum computers. In all of this, he held to the idea that nature has an intrinsic simplicity and beauty that permit us to find things out, if only we will try hard enough.