Six Not-So-Easy Pieces

Einstein's Relativity, Symmetry, and Space-Time

By: Richard P. Feynman

Narrated by: Richard P. Feynman

Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

No 20th-century American scientist is better known to a wider spectrum of people than Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988), physicist, teacher, author, and cultural icon. His autobiographies and biographies have been read and enjoyed by millions of readers around the world, while his wit and eccentricities have made him the subject of TV specials and even a theatrical film. The spectacular reception of the book and audio versions of Feynman's Six Easy Pieces resulted in a worldwide clamor for "More Feynman! More Feynman!"

The outcome is these six additional lectures, drawn from the celebrated three-volume Lectures on Physics. Though slightly more challenging than the first six, these lectures are more focused, delving into the most revolutionary discovery in 20-century physics: Einstein's Theory of Relativity. No single breakthrough in 20-century physics (with the possible exception of quantum mechanics) changed our view of the world more than that of Einstein's discovery of relativity. The notions that the flow of time is not a constant, that the mass of an object depends on its velocity, and that the speed of light is a constant no matter what the motion of the observer, at first seemed shocking to scientists and laymen alike.

But, as Feynman shows so clearly and so entertainingly in the lectures chosen for this volume, these crazy notions are no mere dry principles of physics, but are things of beauty and elegance. No one, not even Einstein himself, explained these difficult, anti-intuitive concepts more clearly, or with more verve and gusto, than Richard Feynman.

Don't miss any of Richard P. Feynman's engaging physics lectures.

©1963, 1989, 1997 The California Institute of Technology (P)2005 Perseus Publishing

Great to learn physics from Feynman himself

I enjoyed these lessons very much, though I would have needed some video support to understand better.
You need some strong maths to follow Professor Feynman.

chalkboard not included

While it may be inspiring to hear the man's voice. The content is difficult to follow without figures. If you're listening at home with pad and pen and have a mathematics or physics background it is easy enough to follow along with your own scribblings (equations, diagrams, etc) as he describes them. Otherwise, if you listening while driving (like I was) you only get the gist and miss out on the details where, of course, most of the beauty lies.

This is pretty advanced.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I never like algebra I actually learned it because of my interest of physics.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Richard P. Feynman. 2 reasons.
He is the only character. And I bought the book to hear him teach.
This is quite advanced compared other lecture I have heard.
But never heard any from the giant Set.
And he goes fast.
But I still listen, and I absorb bits hear and there.
Mostly because of his speed.
Still wondering what Theta is. :)

I do not have trouble with The basic foundation of QED/quantum physics.
I think because I think like a computer programmer.
Where logic and math meet.

Which character – as performed by the narrator – was your favorite?

Was Dick Feynman himself.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I would like to see the speeches if they were video taped.

Good but flawed

If your interested in physics, you'll want to hear these lectures. However, the audio quality is poor and the lectures have confusing moments when Feynman points to something or talks about equations he has written that you cannot see; it's very frustrating.

From the lips of a genius

Quite an experience to hear these lectures by Feynman in his own voice. Imagine a Nobel laureate giving an intro to physics course. Only he would’ve done that.

The lectures are at times difficult to follow, having only the audio, but it’s still possible to clean some wonderful nuggets.

Worth the effort to listen.

Mildly Interesting

The audio quality is acceptable, but not really good. Feynman is better in his books than in these lectures. If you have a pretty good background in math and/or physics and a good imagination, you should mildly enjoy this book. Surprisingly even Feynman describes the twin paradox poorly (if not incorrectly). Overall it was worth it, but barely.

great book...

This is another of Dr Feynman's great works. I love everything that he has written. I'll be re-reading this one many times. I'm very thankful for great men like Dr Feynman in my life to shed so much lite on difficult situations like physics. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Must listen!

It’s so much fun listening to Feynman speak, he makes physics so straightforward and engaging!!!

Very Interesting, but ...

This particular book is actually easier to follow (in audio format) than Feynman's individual lectures. I would, however, warn folks that aren't already somewhat versed in "real" physics (versus the popularized variety) - you may have some difficulty following his mathematical reasonings as he scribbles them on an invisible chalkboard. I had previously studied the 3 volume book set of Feynman's lectures and have many years of physics and mathematical studies so it was no problem visualizing the various equations being scribbled on the chalkboard. I would think this could be a bit frustrating if you haven't previously been visually aquainted with the visual material.

That being said, these six lectures aren't exclusively chalkboard math. There's a good deal of clever narration and you surely will, if nothing else, get a sense of Feynman's keen wit and wonderful skills as a physics lecturer. I'd give any of Feynman's lectures 5 stars if it wasn't for the fact that you can't see the chalkboard. If you really want to learn physics from Richard Feynman, I'd recommend buying the set of books. The 3 volume, high quality, paperback version can be had for around $70 US and is one of a dozen or so books that I'd probably choose to have along if shipwrecked on the proverbial desert island.

Too Smart for My Own Good

Feynman may be better when read than when listened to. The audio is taken straight from the lecture and without the diagrams that he references, it is difficult to follow along. Although, I generally have not been impressed by Feynman's popular books thus far.