Background: In 1988 there was a perception that a widespread misunderstanding of science and technology threatened the future of democratic government. The idea being that democracy is built on the principle that people who vote are both responsible and informed. Specifically, people were concerned about high school physics education. The concern was that the shortage of high school physics teachers would produce an electorate not sufficiently informed on technical and scientific issues as they impact our democracy.
I called on Mr. Feynman with a suggestion for a solution. The idea was to make a summer long event combining Mr. Feynman's charisma, the then ubiquitous VCR, early morning television air time, community newspapers and meeting facilities, corporate sponsorship, and the demonstrated success of Tutored Videotaped Instruction.
Here is part of what was agreed on during a twenty-five minute conversation with Richard Feynman on January 18, 1988 [ Mr. Feynman's telephone was listed and he answered it in person. He appeared quite willing to entertain ideas.]:
- Immigrants and their children do great things for this country.
- His lectures took three whole years to produce and he didn't remember all the stuff in his lectures. [this is an important point: the idea being that some time or another even the most talented people have to work hard not only to prepare but also to learn]
- If he did something like that, he would have to put everything he had into it. At that time there were too many competing things on his schedule.
Toward the end of the conversation, a dog was heard barking in the background. He mentioned that it looked like a German Shepherd with ears that start to go up and then, just before they get to the top, they flop foward. "We get a lot of enjoyment out of that dog."
Oh, there is one other thing. At the end of that conversation he asked me, "Why don't you do it?"
Richard Feynman (physically) died on February 15, 1988.