Paul Adrian Maurice (P.A.M.) Dirac, or just Paul Dirac, is one of the most brilliant physicists who has ever lived. He is also one of the most curious human beings ever to be a physicist, and that’s saying a lot in a field where curious personalities litter history. This week, we take a look at two perspectives on Dirac: one from the introduction to the biography, “The Strangest Man,” and the other by a sports columnist who wrote about Dirac in the 1920s.
Show Notes
- “The Strangest Man: the hidden life of Paul Dirac, mystic of the atom“. Graham Farmelo. Basic Books. 2009.
- “ROUNDY INTERVIEWS PROFESSOR DIRAC. An Enjoyable Time Is Had By All “. Joseph “Roundy” Coughlin. The Wisconsin State Journal. April, 1924.
- “See Me Through“. R. B. Smith. 1975. Released into the public domain.
- “Rhapsody in Blue“. George Gershwin. 24 February 1924. In the public domain in the USA.
- Learn more about Hermann Weyl, the mathematician who even Dirac found baffling in his intellect.
