“Six Not-So-Easy Pieces” by Richard Feynman

Science - 8 Minute Read

Taken from his famous “Lectures on Physics,” Richard Feynman’s “Six Not-So-Easy Pieces” proves to be an impossibly cohesive delineation of the most fundamental yet unintuitive, and at times, disagreeing, concepts in modern physics. When compared to the previous “Six Easy Pieces,” I find this work to be more compelling on all fronts, delivering stirring but lucid explanations of increasingly complex ideas to undeniably position Feynman as one of the greatest scientific communicators. 

Now reflecting upon my review of “Six Easy Pieces,” I find that my approach was inherently imprecise and misrepresentative of the quality of scientific writing. Specifically, I believe that when reviewing compilation or collection works such as these Feynman lectures, it is unjustified to overly-assess the continuity of the “pieces” and rather, these books are best absorbed through appreciation of each chapter or lecture as an independent work in and of itself. Therefore, unlike my review of the prequel to “Six Not-So-Easy Pieces,” I have approached this work through a more detached lens, intentionally delving into each lecture independently rather than undertaking an analysis of the book as a whole. Notwithstanding this approach, I do find this work to be, to a great extent, far more cohesive than the prequel piece, with Feynman not only referencing aforementioned equations and diagrams by necessity, but also making effective use of sustained analogies and conceptual ideas to brilliantly retain reader engagement and comprehension. 

In his opening two lectures, Feynman explores “Vectors” and “Symmetry in Physical Laws” respectively, with a thorough examination of the mechanics behind the laws of nature. These chapters are expectedly intertwined given that in the first chapter, Feynman introduces vectors themselves as an offspring of the need to explain the physical laws. Previously, in “Six Easy Pieces,” I found Feynman’s tendency to justify each discussed topic as a prerequisite to understanding the more complex ideas to be dissatisfying; the gripping moment where the reader realises the interconnectedness of the different concepts on their own account was diluted by this approach, akin to spoiling the revelatory conclusion to a narrative, albeit for the sake of thorough understanding. However, though Feynman does not abandon this approach in “Six Not-So-Easy Pieces,” I believe that the nature of this book compliments his tendency to identify prerequisites and “spoil” the ending, creating a much more compelling read. To elaborate, unlike “Six Easy Pieces,” which catered to novices, in this volume, Feynman takes on the approach of addressing students of physics who hold rudimentary ideas about the fundamental concepts but perhaps have an underappreciation for their intricacies. Due to this, when referencing later, more advanced concepts, Feynman strikes an impressive balance by enticing with promises of imminent intriguing discussions while never undermining the knowledge of the reader.

With the pieces themselves being university lectures delivered by Feynman, another element to this book that I found thoroughly enjoyable was its comprehensive integration of mathematical explorations of physical laws rather than merely conceptual examinations of the ideas. Unlike most science writing, which leans on analogy and strictly avoids true mathematics, in “Six Not-So-Easy Pieces,” Feynman seamlessly integrates relevant equations into his discussion of physical principles, a feature to his writing that I perceive to be a hallmark of his teaching prowess. Specifically, I found myself riveted by his delineation of vector transformations in the first two chapters as a means of discussing symmetry in physical laws, where his integration of the laws of motion into vector analysis made the connection between the topics uncomplicated and seamless. 

Along with this, I found his later explorations of special relativity and space-time to be deeply engaging, with his breakdowns of Lorentz transformations being, undeniably as he intended, analogous to the dissection of vector transformations from the preliminary chapters. With sustained elegance and simplicity in his mathematical derivations, Feynman’s discussion of four-dimensional vector geometry in the final chapters was remarkably intuitive. I found this to be particularly astonishing, as despite the intrinsic unintuitive nature of four-dimensions, for which Feynman describes our imagination to be “not good-enough,” he still manages to reduce its complexity to simple vector equations, illustrating his mastery as not merely a teacher but a thorough appreciator of physics. 

Finally, it would be improper to not address the visual representations that Feynman integrates into this book, all of which are interpretable yet not overly-reductive illustrations of the profound fundamentals of physics. Though Feynman would undeniably be able to sufficiently communicate the core principles of each discussed idea solely through his command of the written word, his brilliant use of diagrammatic and visual depictions extends his work from a mere discussion to a thorough exploration. Recounting, I find the figures used in the final chapter, wherein Feynman discusses the ideas of curvature in space through easily-understandable and concise depictions of ants inhabiting their distinct dimensional universes, to be both the most memorable and contributory of the figures used. This is perhaps unsurprising given that the final chapter delves into the curved shape of space-time itself, an idea that is not easily explored through formulaic means and instead requires the creative employment of visual content to complement the author’s writing. 

Throughout the book, Feynman not only demonstrates this employment creatively but he far exceeds it by leaving a lasting impression on the reader’s cognitive and analytical abilities. For instance, in the penultimate chapter, Feynman skillfully dissects the concepts of the past, present, and future through a light-cone diagram (Figure 5-3), identifying regions on the diagram as distinct realms of reality to facilitate his crucial discussion of causality. Following this diagram, Feynman leaves the reader with an unanswered question, probing them to consider what paradoxes, if any, would arise if the discussed conditions of the diagram were not met (specifically, if information could travel across space instantaneously). Personally, I found this to be incredibly engaging, prompting me to list the associated issues I could think of that arose from such a situation before conducting my own research into identifying what the true implications of Feynman’s “homework problem” were. Unquestionably, as a reader, my ability to correctly interpret and answer this question was a direct consequence of the lucidity with which Feynman himself explores similar situations through an amalgamation of diagrammatic, mathematical, and conceptual approaches. 

I found Richard Feynman’s “Six Not-So-Easy Pieces” to be a fitting testament to the admired physicist’s ability as a communicator of knowledge and a devotee to science. The book was unceasingly engaging and incredibly cohesive, exploring some of the most complex and intrinsically disruptive ideas in modern physics with elegant lucidity but without reductive simplicity. As any courageous physics student picks up this daunting title, I find it impossible for them to leave Feynman’s work without feeling that, owing to one of the greatest teachers of the modern age, these six pieces are perhaps “not-so-not-so-easy.”