Taken from https://i0.wp.com/www.kiss.caltech.edu/Tolman-Bacher/images/Feynman-S49_24B.png
” … “The term’s ending soon, so … in case I don’t see you before the summer … I just wanted to thank you … for all you’ve taught me.”
“I haven’t taught you anything,” he said.
“You’ve taught me about myself.”
“That’s bullshit. What have I taught you?”
“I guess I’m still sorting it out … but like just now … you’ve taught me a way of looking at the world, I guess. And where I fit in.”
“First of all, like ‘just now,’ I didn’t teach you that, you did. I can’t teach you how you fit in, you have to discover that yourself. And secondly, I’m a lousy teacher, so I doubt I have taught you anything.”
“Okay, then … thanks for all the … conversations we’ve had. Whether or not you’ve taught me anything, I’ve enjoyed them.”
“Look, if you’re going to insist that I’ve taught you something, I guess I should give you a final exam.”
“Really?”
“One question.”
“Sure.”
“Go look at an electron microscope photograph of an atom, okay? Don’t just glance at it. It is very important that you examine it very closely. Think about what it means.”
“Okay.”
“And then answer this question. Does it make your heart flutter?”
“Does it make my heart flutter?”
“Yes or no. It’s a yes or no question. No equations allowed.”
“All right, I’ll let you know.”
“Don’t be dense. I don’t need to know. You need to know. This exam is self-graded. And it’s not the answer that counts, it’s what you do with the information.” …”
From L. Mlodinow: Feynman’s Rainbow. A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life; Warner Books 2003.