Finally, around 11 p.m., Feynman emerges into the crisp Ohio night. A few students remain, sitting on the grass. One raises a hand.
Richard Feynman is coming to BGSU.
The students expect a lecture. They pack the hall. Engineering majors sit next to flute performance majors. The local paper sends a photographer. The dean clears his throat and approaches the podium, but Feynman isn’t there. He’s in the basement, wearing a leather jacket over a rumpled shirt, crouched next to a steam pipe with a stethoscope and a rubber band. feynman bgsu
He spends four hours calculating on a napkin from the Union Coffee Shop. He draws diagrams of the ventilation system, measures duct lengths with shoelaces, and borrows a flute from a music grad student to generate test tones. A crowd gathers in the hallway. No one understands the math, but everyone understands the joy. Finally, around 11 p