TEDxCaltech - Leonard Susskind - Richard Feynman

Leonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch Professor of Physics at Stanford University. His research interests include string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics, and quantum cosmology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and, since 2009, has been serving as Director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
On January 14, 2011, Caltech hosted TEDxCaltech, an exciting one-day event to honor Richard Feynman, Nobel Laureate, Caltech physics professor, iconoclast, visionary, and all-around "curious character." Visit TEDxCaltech.com for more details.

[@RexGalilae]

Sat there for 15 minutes and kept millions fully entertained throughout it without using a single slide or experiment. You surely must be a Great great grandfather Mr. Susskind :) (pun intended)

[@QasimKhan-hu4nl]

geymenendwomen

[@pgzzz]

The thing I like about Leonard is how relaxed and natural he appears. You feel like you know him.

[@vibehighest]

feels like the grandpa story time

[@hamsterpoop]

Man... I could listen to Susskind talk about Feynman all day. Just FYI, if you liked this video, there is an AMAZING autobiography of Feynman called "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman".

[@a.thiren2459]

+hamsterpoop great book! Recommend it to everybody. EVERYBODY!

[@QMPhilosophe]

+hamsterpoop As a physicist, I feel Feynman and Susskind are intellectual giants; but, Feynman, for all his bluster about pretentiousness, was as pretentiousness as they come. Susskind is just about as bad.

[@basimmahmoud3840]

I know two main books, one for him and one about.Thank you for the name of the third one.

[@hamsterpoop]

***** I think it's because they both grew up in new york around the same time

[@nyfanmike7200]

If you close your eyes, you'll notice that Feynman had much more of an "Ed Norton" accent. Susskind is pure Bronx. This is not imitation.

[@petepamf]

He lived across the street from me. He always looked like he was thinking about something far more important than what was being talked about. Makes sense now.

[@jlmurrel]

That is exactly the feeling I got meeting a brilliant physicist who helped design a breeder reactor at GE's Milpitas facility in the early 1970s. He looked like he was thinking about something far more important than the subject we were discussing.

[@bobjones5869]

Peter Ruotolo who lived across the street - feynman or susskind?

[@TSteffi]

Even before watching the whole video: Leonard Susskind is awesome! i have seen all his lectures at stanford. uncounted nights i have fallen asleep while listening to his voice telling me about string theory, relativity and cosmology. and i also watched them while awake, too. Live long and Prosper Mr. Susskind!

[@constructioneerful]

I do exactly the same right now. Lying in my bed, listening to the Atlantic work up a swell, with Leonard talking me to sleep.

[@darkobreznjak4135]

didnt know that Mike Ehrmantraut is a physicist

[@EliezerPennywhistler]

That was important for us to know, as YOU are the important person here.

[@chrisp4138]

crossover of mike ehrmantraut and john malkovich

[@maximusdizon7267]

Darko Brežnjak thinking the exact same thing. Lol

[@el-mehdibenchaib9950]

I liked Feynman because he said that he was an ordinnary person who studied hard. It's a great scientist.

[@honkatatonka]

Susskind is such an amazing teacher. I love listening to his voice. Often use his stanford lectures during sleep

[@adeshpoz1167]

😂Damn. The last line.

[@nyak63RUS]

My father was a colleague of Feynman, and he doesn't talk much about him. He told me once that "Feynman's funeral was final." I don't really know what that means, but my dad is (obviously) a scientist, and he raised three little scientist, none of whom studied physics because dad was just too smart in that field! So we went to chemistry twice and geology once. The fourth child studied literature and remains dad's favourite :) I can't help but feel that Feynman's influence reached as far as us.

[@jerryrice885]

thats cool, you study chemistry? any physics curiosity resonating in your chemistry studies? i.e. liquid helium diagrams?

[@adamthomson6624]

Sounds like a difficult childhood - not pursuing what "dad" did because that was "his", not understanding what he meant by the phrase you quoted and, finally, him loving the non-scientist best. Way to go, dad!

[@sarthakgirdhar2833]

Nice story. Feynman continues to inspire millions even 30 years after his death. ❤

[@sbollmeyer]

I'm Feynman binging on youtube. I get so much more pleasure from thinking versus being entertained.

[@noditschi]

Susskind, TEDxTalk, Feynman... whoever came up with the genius combo?

[@bonhamhouse1169]

Huh?

[@neurokid1]

he looks like mike from Breaking Bad

[@lukeinvictus]

woooooooooooooooooooooord

[@nonesovile6019]

Yeah~~~. Science.

[@mike28110]

Wow, such a heartfelt speech by a close friend of feynman!! "I think we should honor Feynman by getting as much bologne out of our own sandwiches as we can"

[@TimDaniels12]

He talks and even sounds like Feynman! Wow

[@israrmarwat8294]

awesome , amazing, loving, brilliant both FEYNMAN & LEO SUSSKIND

[@TheGamingg33k]

I WANNA BE A PHYSICIST SO BAD LIKE FEYNMAN HES SOOOO COOL :(

[@DubStepMTL]

Become one my friend, nothing can stop intellectual hunger!

[@jetpaq]

TheGamingg33k Go straight to khan academy...right now..don't wait.. www.khanacademy dot org don't even read the rest of this sentence.. And choose the physics playlist..( what ? your still reading? Get the heck outta here!!)!! LOL good luck my friend.

[@TheGamingg33k]

jetpaq Thanks bro! I will xD

[@jetpaq]

TheGamingg33k Kool beans.. Youre very welcome. Also.. when you get a grip on physics. Move into quantum mechanics..Its ugly, but everything you learn in physics is almost destroyed. But those fundamentals are essential. MIT has a series of lectures titled Quantum Physics 8.04 it will prove invaluable.again.. good luck.

[@PoloBoyMal]

jetpaq haha what do you mean its destroyed? are you referring to all the unproven theories and postulations? :)

[@koonerd321]

i was actually able to focus on something for more than 15 minutes

[@HayleySarg]

On the topic of the father relationship. I'm a woman, and a student of physics. I find that my dad's influence of me made a huge difference in the way I see the world. Always teaching me to question. I think he took great pride and care in getting me to never just "accept" the world as it was. I have many memories of asking questions. Even a young age, every moment of everyday was an opportunity to learn. Perhaps a strong mentor influence, a "why" man, rather than a yes man--that is the key.

[@dmkramerica]

This is a fantastic tribute and message to future generations .

[@Icemanactual]

I never ever cry over stuff like this, but I admit, I shed a tear.....Anyone else? lol That was really touching. What a great man.

[@ratioveritas9983]

As if you were listening live to Aristotle or Plato centuries ago. Such a brilliant man

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

ratio veritas - If only...

[@aeroscience9834]

ratio veritas he's like Aristotle? That's a highly insulting remark to say about susskind

[@DIOGYK3D]

Great talk! Respect for Susskind & Feynman! I wish he talked more.

[@pinball1970]

A great teacher/communicator. I recommend his books too. Theoretical minimum classical and quantum mechanics.

[@starling100]

Awesome Awesome Awesome!!! Probably one of the very best TED talks ever.. thanks Caltech!

[@tamasmihaly1]

Thank you Professor Susskind. I was surprised you were willing to speak there either. I doubt Feynman would have. Susskind classy as always.

[@franciscohanna2956]

Spanish subtitles in the final sentence are wrong. The current translation says: "Creo que la respuesta es que deberíamos honrarlo al pedir nuestros sándwiches con tanta mortatela como podamos.", which states exactly the opposite of what Susskind was trying to say. A more precise translation would be: "Creo que la respuesta es que deberíamos honrarlo al pedir nuestros sándwiches con tan poca mortatela como podamos.".

[@nomaed]

That's fascinating. Thank you TED and Caltech, and Susskind and of course Feynman. We really do need to get rid of the baloney.

[@Cubcariboo]

Outstanding! "Get as much of the balogna out of our sandwiches as possible!"

[@RWBHere]

Baloney. An odd word.

[@chakazul]

Feynman is a great guy, and this talk is a great talk, as amazing and funny as himself. Thou I hope he have enough time to finish the last part (What naughty thing Feynman did on the problem of proton structure?) Thanks Mr. Susskind!

[@zoecsy8397]

“Surely, You’re Joking, Mr. Feyman!” The book im reading right now is literally the favourite book of mine

[@classicmail8239]

A great talk by a scientific legend!

[@EricSeaholm]

Well done, sir. Loved your talk.

[@yuanhuihuang1531]

"We enjoyed his presence... He made me feel smart."

[@hrmIwonder]

I imagine Feynman would be aghast at some of the stuff coming out of universities today.. At least the actual science departments still do good work.

[@Japan_Malaysia]

Susskind has a great mind and is a great communicator

[@CrushOfSiel]

Haha, Lenny is so funny. Feynman was exactly the type of lecturer/orator I would like to be. Both men are and were amazing human beings.

[@Spookyhoobster]

40 seconds in and i am in love with this man.

[@MrKorrazonCold]

"This electric universe of only wave-motion's forever moves to find rest, but never finds it." "Matter in violent motion simulates rest and balance through violent motion. The more violent is the motion the greater is the illusion of rest and balance. Motion can cease but it can never become rest." "The entire dynamic wave universe of electric matter is not what it seems to be. Everything which seems at rest depends upon violent motion to make believe it is at rest."

[@mrtpsoroush]

In conclusion...cut the bull shit everyone !

[@bobocsabin]

George Carlin would have approved this ! :)

[@MrMartinfo]

Suskind for president...

[@aniflannagan]

That was a adorable. Thanks.

[@Tucknrollgrampa]

"...Because of this the very things which are most obvious may become the hardest of all to understand. What has to be overcome is a difficulty having to do with the will, rather than the intellect." -Wittgenstein (not enough room to quote the whole thing :[ )

[@ddorman365]

Master, peace and love, Doug.

[@takuyat2843]

-Richard Feynman was very complex man. He was a man of many many parts. He was of course foremost a very very very great scientist--- Leonard Susskind said in this video. I want to know neural network of Feynman. It is very very very interesting.

[@9Ballr]

Whether or not whether machines can have minds or be conscious is a scientific question, is a philosophical question.

[@acyberguy]

Fantastic insight!

[@nurulamin-wv8ce]

Hats off to the great explainer of science Richard Phillip feynman on his birthday.

[@DoggoWillink]

I love Leonard Susskind, and everyone should read his books, especially The Black Hole War.

[@andyrooney12]

@acr08807 Let's be honest...that's one of the reasons why people LOVE & RESPECT Richard Feynman. He was a highly intelligent man who worked hard & did a lot for humanity but he never allowed his status to distance him from ordinary people. I honestly believe that if someone works their life to do for people as much as Feynman did, they deserve to enjoy all of the partying and crazy things that Feynman has been reported to have enjoyed :)

[@DouglasHPlumb]

Excellent and relevant message.

[@HigherPlanes]

I don't go for the deeper philosophical understanding of what we're doing. If we try to understand what we're doing we go nutty. -Richard Feynman

[@ChristopherBenson_1956]

comfortable (approximately)

[@Carefaceeeee]

This was wonderful!

[@mirkono]

Love Leonard Susskind !

[@TheStallion1319]

i like his Feynman impressions

[@heliocentric1756]

what does belony or whatever that is mean?

[@neutralcriticism4017]

bologna (baloney) is a type of sausage/ham. The term is also used to refer to inflated/exaggerated talks without much real content

[@henryandrews55]

Great TED talk Leonard

[@JamesJoyce12]

it makes me sad that a talk about Feynman gets less hits than a discussion about Quantum Theory for 8 year-olds.

[@spress15]

"Baloney" means "nonsense" in U.S. slang, and you'll sometimes hear the expression "phoney-baloney" (phoney = false, unreal). You might find the Grammarist website useful to look up things like this.

[@deepakraut6549]

Can somebody please explain what he meant by baloney in the sandwich!

[@primemagi]

now this is the Leonard Susskind which I like to listen. talking sense with hummer . something I can not do,because I always am serious. professor may be interested to know 1 - atom do not touch each other except in absolute zero temperature. not near, but absolute zero. at absolute zero they are no longer an atom. 2 - there are not lots of bits inside proton jiggling. Richard Feynman was using current model for his example. the greatest tribute to Richard Feynman is I was to give him the information on matter and space if I went to USA. I came to England and mankind stile do not know structure of mater or evolution of space bodies. MG1

[@glutinousmaximus]

Absolute zero is an interesting state for matter; but don't neglect Heisenberg uncertainty. I think that you will find that there _still are_ quarks jiggling inside the proton. *_:0)_*

[@primemagi]

Absolute zero nuclei is non functioning there for is not an atom. there is no such thing as quarks when you know real structure of atom. you are referring to current model which is wrong. giggling is an assumption not a fact. MG1

[@glutinousmaximus]

Now you are just being silly.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

mg1s , might want to check your sandwich for baloney.

[@95fyken]

What does comfy means?

[@sombh1971]

Truly amazing!

[@tejuswadbudhe7909]

Thank you

[@MARKCREEKWATER1]

love it: Feynman was awe-some .....

[@elhdel]

Stottlemeyers was a real sandwich shop on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, and there really was a Richard Feynman sandwich. Does anyone anywhere remember what was in it?

[@smartnutritionfitclub8847]

Lee Lehrman ham I think so lol

[@caspermilquetoast411]

It's interesting in that quantum physics is a field of study in which philosophy really could play a part, especially in trying to come to grips with what is actually occurring during some of these experiments. I suspect that pretense isn't really what Mr. Susskind is talking about here when referencing 'baloney', but the notion that quantum physics can answer some theistic questions about the true nature of our universe and our place in it. I'm using quantum physics to find God. No baloney.

[@marcelia3]

how privileged Susskind is to have known a great man like Feynman so close.....I love the way he talks about him

[@DecioDeCillis]

@10:38 "The Russian Mathematical Physicist" is Landau, not exactly a unknown Russian Mathematical Physicist, Feynman probably wouldn't appreciate

[@therealjordiano]

great talk by a great scientist about another great scientist :D

[@robertl.fallin7062]

This was fun to watch. My take is get the bologna out of the way , find the ham.

[@chrisp4138]

Susskind is a great speaker

[@vincentlevalois]

Hey what's in the flask??? :)

[@TomekSamcik69]

Professor Susskind rules.

[@randomousjam8590]

I'm curious about the part where the narrator says Feynman called him "Leondardo" because he was in Europe practicing his French: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqHNqKKqntWmbac In France most people use Leonard (with a silent d), to say Leonardo is not really French at all. So was this some sort of joke?

[@distrologic2925]

What a great speaker!

[@shadowlift1]

I can't stop smiling.

[@elhdel]

Lovingly remembering the sandwich shop Stottlemeyers

[@dorfmanjones]

This fellow has the biggest ears on a human being I've ever seen.

[@MrKorrazonCold]

They are not particle's, they are three-dimensional wave-center's! Spherical Wave's must propagate non-linearly at the central region, producing two coupling resonance's within every observable inversely spherical radius of infinity forming the positron input+0/1-output electron wave-front's compressing+4-0-4+decompressing eXpanding sphere's dissipating gravity dividing time symmetry, at the same ratio information is being multiplied by electrical potential oscillating volume of +/-mass c.2 Re2.

[@Ralph_-_]

Indeed. Perhaps back in the days, when he had the discsussion.

[@Linna480]

I love this guy, I was wondering if someone can suggest any good economic or physics/mathematic books?! I would appreciate it. American litt.

[@smartnutritionfitclub8847]

Hama Mutin QED

[@bostikforever]

Worship Feynman!

[@RobRoyal06]

One great guy celebrating another. Nice talk.

[@95fyken]

Thanks.

[@ThePatsyMusic]

truly awesome

[@classicmail8239]

So Feynman was a true believer in Ocam's Razor? Interesting.

[@krkaasyap8132]

why do these talks at TED have time limits?

[@RWBHere]

A few possibilities come to mind: Maybe because they have a list of other speakers who turned up from various venues to deliver their talks. The audience are not all there to listen to the same speaker. Some people can talk for hours and bore people to distraction. They want a balanced selection of viewpoints. The venue is only available for a specified time. People in the audience have schedules to meet. Speakers request a particular time slot. You might think of more possibilities. OTOH I can listen to people like Susskind for hours, so do understand your point.

[@RWBHere]

You're correct; Susskind is fascinating to listen to. Lots of things will cause the organisers to limit talk lengths; such things as people's interests, a balanced series of presentations, to cater for the other speakers, who, like the audience, might have travelled long distances and need to return, the venue is only available for a set time, many of the audience will be there to hear a different speaker, some speakers can bore an audience silly, a speaker may have requested a set time period for the talk, etc. You might think of more reasons.

[@Jakiejack]

That smile that the audience members have; that look, all of them knowing that they are all about to learn more about the great Richard Feynman...I wore that smile on my face for the whole 15 minutes of this video.

[@michellybaby]

such an inspiration!!

[@Moshingrobot]

Is it just me, or does that guy remind you of Mike Ehrmantraut?

[@BrucknerMotet]

Moshingrobot Ermantraut looks more careworn and cynical. Susskind is more of Shell Silverstein with some splashes of Neal Stephenson and Ermantraut for good measure.

[@TCF369]

Awesome!

[@yoyofargo]

Love it. 9:20 Leanord, you're so humble, it's okay to say down the drain. ;)

[@integrando1847]

amazing, one legend

[@milansolomaeoin6977]

What a great man.

[@MrJamesLongstreet]

Who? Me?

[@vedantchavda6919]

Are you kidding me? A great scientist talks about one of the greatest scientists of all time and you give him only 15 mins? These stories are very valuable for a lot of people. I can't believe Susskind had to say "I had more stories to share but I only have 1 more minute left". Imagine what other amazing stuff he had in his mind about Feynman to tell us. smh.

[@BrandonOsborn404]

Who is Sidney? Anyone - please reply.

[@sashaperezallen]

That's a question i was thinking,not only string theory ,higgs boson,multi universe ….This is what science it's about ADVENTURE

[@smartnutritionfitclub8847]

I love this video !

[@barticasun]

This is awesome.