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Comment by idibidiart | Hacker News Reader

First time I hear he had a sister who is also a scientist. I've not read any of his books or seen any of his lectures but I've heard plenty about his work and insights, just nothing about his sister, who is also a brilliant mind... I wonder why (rhetorically)

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Generally the public only hears about scientists who (1) become prominent in a field that is of interest to the general public, or (2) do something in another field that becomes prominent in the news, or (3) win a major award like a Nobel Prize, or (4) become prominent popularizing science for the general public.

For example, Stephen Hawking is well known because of #1 and #4, and his medical condition helps make him memorable.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is well known because of #4. As a scientist he's just average, but he's great at talking science to the general public.

Richard Feynman is known because of #1 (quantum mechanics), #2 (Manhattan Project, the Challenger investigation), and #3 (Nobel Prize).

Joan Feynman's work has mostly been in areas that are just not that interesting to most of the general public. Interactions between the solar wind and the magnetosphere just do not excite the general public the way black holes and quantum mechanics do.

Read Genius by James Gleick if you want to read an excellent biography on Feynman. It includes lots of great details about his childhood.

I've read Genius, but "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynmane" and "What do you care what other people think" are his best auto-biographies.

I believe they were mentioned in both Larry Page and Serge Brin favorite books.

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