"Quantum Genius: The Biography of Paul Dirac" Reading Notes#
Author: Graham Farmelo
Reading Time: 5 hours
These are the notes and excerpts I recorded while reading "Quantum Genius: The Biography of Paul Dirac" on WeChat Reading.
Preface#
A society's tolerance for eccentricity is usually proportional to the amount of talent, mental vitality, and moral courage it possesses. Few dare to act absurdly now, which is the danger of this era. — John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty," 1869
A society's tolerance for eccentricity is usually proportional to the amount of talent, mental vitality, and moral courage it possesses. Few dare to act absurdly now, which is the danger of this era. — John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty," 1869
Chapter Three: Experience in Engineering#
His ethical view is largely utilitarian; he believes that the ultimate good is the good that brings the greatest happiness to the most people, and that the correctness of human actions should be judged by their contribution to public happiness.
His ethical view is largely utilitarian; he believes that the ultimate good is the good that brings the greatest happiness to the most people, and that the correctness of human actions should be judged by their contribution to public happiness.
Chapter Six: Emerging Talent#
My sorrow is all within; these outward signs of grief are merely the shadows of the invisible sadness that quietly fills the suffering soul. — Shakespeare, "Richard II," Act IV, Scene I
My sorrow is all within; these outward signs of grief are merely the shadows of the invisible sadness that quietly fills the suffering soul. — Shakespeare, "Richard II," Act IV, Scene I
Chapter Nine: Friendship with Oppenheimer#
To immediate complement.
To immediate complement.
Chapter Seventeen: Reflections on Morality and Religion#
Those living in this vast world must inevitably face the end of life, which provides a logical reason for their selfless spirit. ... The fact that human life is finite compels people to take an interest in things that may continue to exist after their death.
Those living in this vast world must inevitably face the end of life, which provides a logical reason for their selfless spirit. ... The fact that human life is finite compels people to take an interest in things that may continue to exist after their death.
Chapter Eighteen: Almost Refusing the Nobel Prize#
For a boy, there is hardly any misfortune more severe than the consequences of having a deeply affectionate mother.
For a boy, there is hardly any misfortune more severe than the consequences of having a deeply affectionate mother.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Curtain Falls on Life#
Just because the wick will run out and the oil will be exhausted, and a heart full of passion has turned to ice, I only wish to hold in my hand the beauty of decay that has been forged, pretending to be joyful, to comfort my heart. What of the bronze sculpture, the stubborn stone carving? Even if I get to see it once, it will suddenly be nowhere to be found again. Coming and going without a trace, wandering like a ghost. Only leaving behind a lonely and miserable person, who has never been in my heart? Alas, we have grown old; the vibrant beauty belongs to those who come after: why shed tears in vain, wasting effort in vain!
Just because the wick will run out and the oil will be exhausted, and a heart full of passion has turned to ice, I only wish to hold in my hand the beauty of decay that has been forged, pretending to be joyful, to comfort my heart. What of the bronze sculpture, the stubborn stone carving? Even if I get to see it once, it will suddenly be nowhere to be found again. Coming and going without a trace, wandering like a ghost. Only leaving behind a lonely and miserable person, who has never been in my heart? Alas, we have grown old; the vibrant beauty belongs to those who come after: why shed tears in vain, wasting effort in vain!
Acknowledgments#
Art is about "me," science is about "us."
Art is about "me," science is about "us."
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