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Richard Feynman

Some things I wanted to remember after reading The Pleasure of Finding Things Out:

"It is our responsibility not to give the answer today as to what it is all about... because we will be chained to the limits of our present imagination. ... Whereas, if we leave some room for doubt, some room for discussion, and proceed in a way analagous to the sciences, then this difficulty will not arise."

"To every man is given the jey to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell." (From a Buddhist proverb)

"We have found it of paramount importance that in order to progress we must recognize the ignorance and leave room for doubt."

"Scientific knowledge is a body of statements of varying degrees of certainty - some most unsure, some nearly sure, none absolutely certain."

"For a succesful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

"I don't know anything, but I do know that everything is interesting if you go into it deeply enough."

Floating

New month, must be time for a new post. This month's trip was to Charlottesville to see some indication of seasons and catch up with some old friends. One of the other activities on the agenda was a hot air balloon ride. I was a little skeptical since I had always associated this with, well, old people. It turns out, though, that it was really neat. Floating above the city, completely silent in between burns, kids looking up waving at you, the autumn colors blanketing the mountains as far as you could see - it was quite memorable. Even being chased by snarling dogs as we tried to figure out where we landed so we could radio back to the chase crew couldn't ruin the mood. We also learned that hot air balloon rides traditionally end in a champagne toast since that was what saved the passengers from an angry mob of peasants when they crashed into a field. Luckily, since we didn't have the champagne with us when we encountered the dog, my ability to remain calm and pet the dogs when they got close seemed to work ok. Even more luckily, since we only found a dead end over the hill, a farmer came in from the other direction and was kind enough to go lead our chase car back out to where we were.

I also want to use this moment of my slight google-relevance to remind people that when they go to Charlottesville they should eat at L'Etoile, the best restaurant in Charlottesville. So tasty!