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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.

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More from @Giuliano_Mana

Dec 21, 2024
There is an incredibly peculiar idea that I've seen everywhere:
Attractor States.

It's in economics, biology, physics, statistics.

Long thread breaking it down: Image
The first time this idea hit me from an unexpected place was in physics.

If you leave a system by itself, it will tend towards the state of minimum energy and maximum entropy.

In a bowl, balls sink to the middle. Image
Then I was reading about biology, and this is when it got interesting.
There's a concept called Evolutionarily Stable Strategy.

Biologists got it from game theory.
They use it to analyze animal behavior and how they compete within their ecosystem.
Read 25 tweets
Dec 14, 2024
I always felt academia was wrong, but couldn't see how.
Then I read this book.

Charlie Munger found the correct approach to knowledge:
Worldly Wisdom.

Thread breaking down this unpopular but right idea: Image
This is a dangerous approach to acquiring wisdom.

Your friends will say you are wasting your time, others will call you crazy, and professionals will despise you for getting into their territory.

To them, Charlie's message: Image
Academia, as it's structured, faces two massive problems:

1. It does a bad job at explaining the interconectedness between disciplines.
2. It ignores the fundamentalness of ideas.

People are working very hard to solve both and, to some extent, they may be succeeding.
Read 20 tweets
Dec 7, 2024
Lee Kuan Yew was the most extraordinary nation-builder in history.

He turned "a malarial swamp into a modern civilized powerhouse"

This is the full story of how LKY took Singapore from third world to first: Image
Lee Kuan Yew's genius was in systematically picking the correct system for fixing 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, starting at the beginning. Image
Singapore's problems began right away.
The country was a British colony from 1820-1959.

In 1963, they merged with Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak to form Malaysia.

After disagreeing on how things should be managed, Singapore became independent in 1965. Image
Read 29 tweets
Nov 30, 2024
Guns, Germs, and Steel is Sapiens^2.

While Sapiens goes for the 'What', Guns, Germs, and Steel answers the much more tougher question: 'Why?'

Full breakdown: Image
Jared Diamond went to New Guinea in the 70s to study birds.

One day, he was walking along a beach and Yali, a local politician, happened to be there.

They decided to walk together and Yali started quizzing Jared.. Image
200 years earlier, New Guinea was 'still in the Stone Age'.
Then Europeans arrived and colonized New Guinea.

In the 70s, independence was in the air and Yali was getting people ready to self-govern.
But there was one question he couldn't get out of his mind. Image
Read 23 tweets
Nov 23, 2024
The most complex systems are rooted in deep simplicity.

This pattern is seen across physics, biology, and chemistry.

Thread breaking down this astounding book and idea: Image
After religion started losing the spot as the main explanatory agent, science hopped on a peculiar path.

Information was stored more rigorously and, suddenly, we were in a huge mess.

There was isolated knowledge everywhere.
True chaos.
Galileo investigated rational mechanics, Kepler and Copernicus studied celestial bodies, Descartes advanced logical thought and mathematics.

But there were no syntheses.

Their wonderful insights led to the most important work in scientific history: Image
Read 16 tweets
Nov 9, 2024
This book has incredibly profound insights.

Thread with some extracts that could change your life: Image
When all paths go somewhere, there may be something there. Image
The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth." Image
Read 11 tweets

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