I was watching a video on the famous physicist, Richard Feinman. I only became familiar with him when I met someone who is married to his biographer. There are numerous references to Dr. Feinman by Sheldon Cooper in the Big Bang Theory, particularly in the bongo episode. What struck me was this quote from the show: “Brilliant people are odd, but not all odd people are brilliant”.
When I first started working at Hughes Aircraft I sat in a cubicle next to the wall of Sr. Scientists. Now these were some of the most brilliant minds in the company, they were also some of the strangest behaving people. What made these people strange was their quirkiness. That also comes from the Big Bang Theory when Leonard tells people to use the term “quirky” when describing Sheldon. These days whenever I meet someone somewhat quirky, I start looking for glimpses of brilliancy. Sometimes I find them, sometimes not.
Now we all know that I do not fit the “brilliant” category, but I do find myself fitting the “odd” description. I don’t believe I look odd, or act overtly odd, I just think odd. The implication is that I usually find myself thinking differently than others and coming to different conclusions. And I'm not sure why. If you ask Gayle, she readily points to my heredity.
Feinman knew he saw things differently. he knew it was a part of him and he accepted it. He used it not only to satisfy his own curiosities, but to further impart his knowledge to others. He was great at explaining complex theories in a simple manner. Gayle’s frustration is that I have not found a use for it other than irritating her. She and a few others wait to see if I snap out of this current mode and break out for some usefulness. Most thought the bypass would have accomplished that feat. It has not. Apparently bypassing the clogged arteries does nothing to affect the clogging of my motivation.
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