Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (by Richard P. Feynman)

Virtual School ^ | ? | Richard P. Feynman

[theFIRMbss]

Let's pray someone finds
a person with Feynman's skills
for the new review.

(Feynman's comments on
the avionics package
may have bearing here...)

[IncPen]

The ghost of Feynman surely looks down upon us this day.

[theFIRMbss]

>The ghost of Feynman surely looks down upon us this day.

" There is not enough room in the memory of the main line computers for all the programs of ascent, descent, and payload programs in flight, so the memory is loaded about four time from tapes, by the astronauts." [!?]

[billorites]

"Surely You're Grieving, Mr. Feynman"

[KellyAdmirer]

The cold, brutal facts after over 100 shuttle launches say about a 2% chance of death each time you fly. They can spin it all they want, those are the rough odds. May not sound like much, but many of these guys go up multiple times, and that percentage can grow pretty high with career astronauts. Dicing with death. Those folks earn their pay.

[IncPen]

>> " There is not enough room in the memory of the main line computers for all the programs of ascent, descent, and payload programs in flight, so the memory is loaded about four time from tapes, by the astronauts." [!?]<<

Remember, he's talking about 1986.

I've read elsewhere that improvements in the shuttle over the years have improved the systems dramatically

[IncPen]

A salient play on the title of Feynman's book, "Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Feynman"

Thanks for a smile.

[WSGilcrest]

[RonF]

The combination of technical skill and the willingness to call a spade a spade despite what effect it might have on his subsequent ability to get grants will be difficult to find ....

[Iris7]

You talk of Feynman's skills. What always impressed me was his honesty, both with himself and others. He never fooled himself into believing he knew what was going on when he didn't.

I'm 57 this year, and all my life without exception people have behaved as Feynman describes. I hear that during WW2 it was different, but that was before my time. What I have seen has been the higher up persons were in the chain of management the more their thinking was divorced from reality. And do they ever hate to be reminded of it!

[Quix]

Does anyone have Feynman's comments on UFO's?

Guess I could do a Google search. But I don't think it was a well publicized comment. I forget the gist of it.

[Quix]

I agree--given the technology easily available, this is ridiculous.

[ELS]

A bump for later reading. Hopefully, I will read this article sooner than I will get around to reading his Lectures on Physics.

[PA Engineer]

Feynman Bump. Have them in hardback. A good man and a big loss.

[HardStarboard]

Pure brilliance is difficult to stifle - even from the grave. A toast to you Sir Richard - one of the best of the best.

[theFIRMbss]

>Dicing with death. Those folks earn their pay.

It's worth asking why?
Ocean-going explorers
brought back tangible,

bluntly real rewards--
new lands to settle, new goods,
new markets. Real things.

What real difference
have the lives and deaths of brave
astronauts brought us?

(Oher than serving
as romantic figureheads
for scum bureacrats.

I just don't see what
value the current NASA
gives America.

I'm a science fan.
And I love technology.
But NASA, to me,

just doesn't appear
to be doing anything
worth these dreadful deaths...)

[theFIRMbss]

>Does anyone have Feynman's comments on UFO's?

I haven't sorted
through it all, but there's a ton
of really good stuff

at Feynman On Line.
Some neat animation, too,
of his diagrams...

[boris]

I remember reading this the first time. Very incisive. However, for the record, as of 02/01/03, all 13 of his examples have been solved--right down to the 4,000 hertz problem (#13). This is not to say that there are not another 13 hiding somewhere.

--Boris

[boris]

Do you always
Make your posts
In blank verse?

I prefer haiku.

--Boris

[js1138]

Does anyone have Feynman's comments on UFO's?

Guess I could do a Google search. But I don't think it was a well publicized comment. I forget the gist of it.

google search turned up this:

Question: Mr Quinne, I have been a fan of the fox television show The X-Files for several years. There have been rumors that David Ducheovny, who plays Fox Mulder, would like to leave the program and pursue a stage acting career. Will this happen, and will the X-Files be cancelled as a result? -Worried in Washington County

Answer: Yes and No. David Ducheovny, who plays the unflappable Fox Mulder on Fox TV's The X-Files, would like to leave the series at the end of this season. He has been offered the part of Richard Feinman in the Broadway production Peter Schickely's minimalist opera Einstein on the Fritz. The producers plan on having Fox Mulder die of autoerotoasphyixiation in a Millennium/X-Files cross-over season finale.