Giuliano Profile picture
Jan 4 11 tweets 4 min read Read on X
I thought I was crazy until I found Richard Feynman.

Feynman was not only among the most brilliant people on earth, but he transmitted something I've never seen in others.

Thread with some lessons from his peculiar way of being: Image
While reading and thinking, there were moments when I felt I was having actual fun.

But I doubted myself: "How could I be having fun doing this? Maybe I don't understand fun."

It was not until I saw the joy Feynman transmitted that I understood this profound emotion.
Feynman never did anything for the prestige he might get out of it.

He didn't even want to receive the Nobel Prize.
Richard felt he had already gotten what matters.

The prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out. Image
People think beauty is only about aesthetics.

But Feynman believed that there's something beautiful in depth,
in understanding processes.

Knowledge contributes to beauty. It doesn't subtract from it. Image
Richard Feynman embodied deep curiosity.

You don't understand what "first principles" really mean until you listen to a physicist reasoning.

It's about going to the end of the world chasing a chain of 'whys'.
"Where does fire come from?"
You have enough time to pursue other interests.
Don't listen to people who say you need to do only one thing to excel at it.

Feynman got a Nobel Prize in physics, but he still pursued other interests to a state worth of admiration.

Let's explore a very peculiar one.
Richard didn't know how to express a profound feeling about the beauty of the world through a set of equations, so he began drawing.

"It's a feeling of awe -- of scientific awe .. which I felt could be communicated through a drawing to someone who had also had that emotion. I could remind him, for a moment, of this feeling about the glories of the universe"

Feynman drew for over 20 years and even sold some of his work.Image
Charles Darwin was a giant of a man who greatly advanced mankind.
But he had one huge regret:

Not cultivating his appreciation for poetry and music.
"The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness."

It might be more about imitating Feynman in this aspect. Image
There is another real loss in life: The loss of one's sense of humor.

It doesn't matter how many labels, prestige, and wisdom you may have.
You don't want to go through life without laughing.

Feynman was especially known for this.
This book compiles some of his funny anecdotes. Image
How did he get away with all of this?

Feynman's ethos was rooted in independent-mindedness.
He developed great respect towards his mind and heart.

Not caring about what others think is a superpower. Image
Hope you found this thread interesting and feel free to share if you have!

I post about books and interesting things I read.
Follow me at @giuliano_mana to start reading more.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Giuliano

Giuliano Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Giuliano_Mana

Feb 15
Poor Charlie's Almanack has truly thoughtful advice on its back cover.

Feynman, Bezos, and Michelangelo are evidence that applying it really works.

Thread breaking down Munger's insight: Image
There is no miracle people.
No one comes to the world with extraordinary abilities or knowledge.

Great things take time, just like a tree takes decades to grow.

Rushing is pointless.
And those mocking newcomers still have a long way to go.
Taking an idea seriously entails living by it, breathing it.
No days off.

All practices are subject to the effects of compound interest.
Warren Buffett is the person who best understood this.

When something is 'certain,' hurrying it might actually backfire. Image
Read 13 tweets
Feb 8
If you want to learn Economics, don't enroll in any course.
Just read this book.

I'm not kidding.
It will seriously teach you more than anything else can.

Thread: Image
Adam Smith was the father of modern Economics.

He's the person who first put this beautifully infinite field into a cohesive framework of ideas.

You'll get a really complete education out of only reading this book. Image
By reading Smith, you'll avoid a massive mistake everyone makes:

People tend to read summaries, interpretations, and stuff like that.
These things don't work.

If you understand human psychology, you know why this is the case.
(And Smith was smarter than interpreters). Image
Read 10 tweets
Feb 1
"I largely blame The Selfish Gene for a series of bouts of depression I suffered from for more than a decade"

"Others have asked me how can I bear to get up in the mornings"

Thread breaking down this rather disturbing book: Image
The Selfish Gene came to improve upon Darwinism, but at a huge cost.
It could easily be seen as making the case for nihilism.

I still found it fascinating, so I'll go over its core idea and implications.
But read at your own risk.

(Friendly guy) Image
In The Origin of Species, Darwin wrote about a novel theory.

Over 25 years, he traveled the world.
While exploring Nature, he methodically took notes of what he saw.

And he couldn't help but notice an incredible, overlooked, thing. Image
Read 15 tweets
Jan 28
My obsession over reading started in July 2020.
4.5 years later it's just gotten worse.

Long thread about why I insist so much upon it: Image
There's a simple way up in most societal hierarchies:
Become a learning machine.

If you go to bed every day a little bit wiser than you woke up, it's crazy how much more helpful you'll be to the world.

It'll take time, but it is certain, and you'll be rewarded for it. Image
Your focus on learning will generate weird behavior around you.

No one wants to be beaten at anything.
No one wants the other person to know more than them.
Most 'friends' and peers want you to remain where you are, not to improve.

Go for it anyway. Image
Read 18 tweets
Jan 18
"When you find a genius, give them all power."
I've been obsessed with this idea for 12 months now.

I learned it from Munger but then saw all successful people apply it.
From Steve Jobs to Robert Oppenheimer.

Thread: Image
Truly gifted, high-integrity, people are rare.

When you find a person like this, you want to do 2 things:
-Partner with them.
-Get out of their way.

This seems obvious, but few people do it. Image
The difference between the best and average is not 20%, it's 50x.

Working with the best people is overwhelmingly better.
Productivity and efficiency skyrocket, and the gap widens as compounding takes effect.

Steve Jobs' mission at Apple was only to let A players in.
Read 15 tweets
Jan 8
Lee Kuan Yew was one of the most extraordinary leaders in history.

He turned a tiny island into a modern civilized powerhouse, in the face of all the troubles you can imagine.

Thread with how Lee Kuan Yew took Singapore from third world to first: Image
Lee Kuan Yew's genius was in systematically picking the correct system to fix huge societal issues.

Singapore's GDP per capita increased from $500 in 1965 to $83,000 in 2023.

We'll go over how he laid the foundations for such a crazy outcome. Image
The whole ethos of Lee Kuan Yew's government was very simple:

-Figure out what works and do it.
-Don't be a prisoner of an ideology.
-Avoid what didn't work for others.
-Give a sense of fair play to society.
-Align interests towards Singapore's success.
-Learn from mistakes. Image
Read 27 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(