Book · 1985
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
by Richard P. Feynman
A Nobel physicist narrates his own life as a sequence of pranks, safecracks, bongo sessions, and accidental discoveries — none of which he takes more seriously than the others.
What does Reddit think of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!?
The Reddit footprint here is thin: two mentions across r/askscience over two years, 2022 and 2023, with sentiment unscored. That's not a sign of a forgotten book — it's a sign of a book so settled into the canon that nobody argues about it. The one substantive r/askscience comment (↑7) describes it accurately as "a series of stories/anecdotes rather than a true autobiography" and flags it for "anyone who appreciates science and/or very interesting characters." That framing has stuck for forty years because it's correct. Feynman doesn't explain physics here; he explains himself, which turns out to be more useful. The second mention surfaces it alongside Luca Turin's biography in a science-adjacent reading list, which is the company the book usually keeps: biography-adjacent, accessible-scientist shelf. Both mentions are positive in tone. Reddit isn't debating this one. It just recommends it.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · scientific curiosity as a mode of life
- · autodidact learning across unrelated domains
- · anti-authority irreverence
- · anecdote as epistemology
- · the gap between reputation and self-presentation
Common praise
- + The anecdote structure means you can read it in any order and nothing breaks.
- + Feynman's safecracking chapter at Los Alamos gets recommended as a standalone story in r/askscience reading threads.
- + Readers who expected a physics book report being surprised that the personality landed harder than any equation would have.
- + The book earns its longevity without a single chapter about Feynman's Nobel Prize.
Common criticism
- − Some readers find the "loveable rascal" persona harder to take straight after reading about his treatment of women — the book doesn't address this.
- − If you want actual physics, this book won't give it to you; the science is backstory, not content.
- − The anecdotal format means there's no throughline — people who want narrative arc tend to stall mid-book.
Who it's for
You already know you should read it and have been putting it off. Start. The entry cost is zero — the first story is about Feynman teaching himself to pick locks as a graduate student at Princeton, and it takes five pages. Scientists who like biography tend to get here eventually via recommendation lists; r/askscience surfaces it alongside books like "The Emperor of Scent" for readers who want science filtered through a specific, strange person. If your interest is Feynman the physicist rather than Feynman the character, read The Feynman Lectures instead. This one is the character.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“Here are a couple of suggestions, in the vein of "science/biography" So, I'm obviously going to recommend "The Emperor of Scent", the biography of Luca Turin, since I just mentioned it. Turin's own book "The Secret of Scent" goes into a bit more detail on the development of his theory, but is both …
“For those that haven't read it, Feynman's book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", is an awesomely entertaining read for anyone who appreciates science and/or very interesting characters. It is more of a series of stories/anecdotes than a true autobiography; it gives some very accessible and great…
Convinced? Pick up Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
What else does r/askscience read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins argues that evolution makes more sense when you stop rooting for the organism and start watching the gene.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Siddhartha Mukherjee
Siddhartha Mukherjee traces cancer from ancient papyrus to targeted therapy, framing it as a 4,000-year war medicine is still losing on some fronts.
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
Randall Munroe
Randall Munroe takes absurd physics questions — what if a baseball traveled at 90% the speed of light? — and answers them with actual math.
Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body
Neil Shubin
A paleontologist finds a fish fossil in the Arctic and uses it to trace the evolutionary origin of your hands, ears, and hernias.
A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking explains black holes, the Big Bang, and the edge of time to people who never took a physics class.
Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive
Philipp Dettmer
Philipp Dettmer of Kurzgesagt turns the immune system into a 300-page illustrated war story, written for the person who watched every YouTube video and still wanted more.
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! — frequently asked
Is Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman actually about physics?+
No, not really. The r/askscience commenter who recommended it (↑7) put it cleanly: it's "a series of stories/anecdotes rather than a true autobiography." Physics is the backdrop, not the subject. Feynman talks about learning to draw, playing bongo drums, picking safes at Los Alamos, and frequenting bars in Las Vegas. If you want equations, this isn't the book.
What does Reddit actually say about Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman?+
Not much, statistically — two mentions across r/askscience over seven tracked years. Both are positive in tone. The book doesn't generate controversy or debate; it just appears on recommended reading lists for science-adjacent biography. That's a different kind of endorsement than a hot take: it means the consensus calcified a long time ago.
Where does Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman show up on Reddit?+
Both tracked mentions are in r/askscience, last seen in 2023. It tends to surface in threads asking for biography or science-adjacent memoir recommendations, grouped with books like Luca Turin's biography rather than with physics textbooks. The audience there is readers who want a scientist's life story, not a lecture.
Should I read Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman before or after the Feynman Lectures?+
Depends what you want first. The Lectures are for learning physics. This book is for understanding why Feynman approached problems the way he did. Reddit's r/askscience readers tend to recommend it to people who aren't necessarily physics students — the framing is always 'interesting character' first, scientist second. Either order works; they don't overlap much.