My 12 Favorite Problems
The Questions I want to answer in my Life
Your 12 Favorite Problems
Yours to choose – Feel free to Edit!
About
„You have to keep a dozen of your favorite problems constantly present in your mind, although by and large they will lay in a dormant state. Every time you hear or read a new trick or a new result, test it against each of your twelve problems to see whether it helps. Every once in a while there will be a hit, and people will say, ‚How did he do it? He must be a genius!‚“
Richard Philips Feynman
Feynman’s 12 Favorite Problems
- How can we measure the probability that a lump of uranium might explode too soon?
- How can I accurately keep track of time in my head?
- How can we design a large-scale computing system using only basic equipment?
- How can I write a sentence in perfect handwritten Chinese script?
- What is the unifying principle underlying light, radio, magnetism, and electricity?
- How can I sustain a two-handed polyrhythm on the drums?
- What are the most effective ways of teaching introductory physics concepts?
- What is the smallest working machine that can be constructed?
- How can I compute the emission of light from an excited atom?
- What was the root cause of the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster?
- How could the discoveries of nuclear physics be used to promote peace instead of war?
- How can I keep doing important research with all the fame brought by the Nobel Prize?
Inspired by Tiago Forte during his Course How to Build A Second Brain.
It’s good to settle on the number 12, as there are only so many things you can keep in your head at a time. According to science, your short-term memory can hold only 7 +/-2 pieces of information. Of course, your favorite problems are not limited to your short-term memory, but your capacity to filter information in order to solve those problems is limited. In short: Opt for 12, but don’t panic if you arrive at 8 or 15.