Common Sense for the Biochemist

If you haven't heard of Richard Feynman, check him out. Dr. Feynman(now deaceased) was, according to his website a:

scientist, teacher, raconteur, and musician. He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb, expanded the understanding of quantum electrodynamics, translated Mayan hieroglyphics, and cut to the heart of the Challenger disaster. But beyond all of that, Richard Feynman was a unique and multi-faceted individual.

Feynman is one of my favorite intellectuals. I have read two of his books, both autobiographies, and would highly recommend them. You are probably thinking, this guy was a physicist, and his life was interesting enough for two books? Well, yeah, basically it was. In "What Do You Care What Other People Think", Feynman basically recounts his younger days growing up and how he first got interested in physics through fixing radios. The book goes on to explore his days working in Los Alamos on the atomic bomb and how he learned to pick the locks (for fun) of safes that contained top-secret information. Dr. Feynman also explored some very interesting techniques for picking up women. To make a long story short, this is not the story of your average college professor, I would almost dare to say he had a quite interesting life outside of science (sorry if I have offended any average college professors reading along). In the sequel to "What Do You Care . . ." entitled "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!" Dr. Feynman recounts parts of his latter career while sprinkling in a few more stories from his earlier days. Dr. Feynman is the person that is most credited with the discovery of the O-ring failures that lead to the Challenger destruction, but he will tell you in his book that this was not necessarily the whole story . . . I'll let you read more about that on your own. So with Thanksgiving coming up, I would suggest picking up one of these two books for a post feast reading.