[hilbert42]

Thanks for that link, the fuller Gell-Mann quote was good to note but that article by Gleick is so much more.

Gleick provides us with a vivid portrait of Feynman's character and his descriptions of what Feynman's contemporaries thought of him not only round out that portrait but also reveal parts of their characters. And he masterly weaves all that into the then - and still current - physics zeitgeist.

I'd not seen that article previously but I've Gleick's book Genius so much of it was familiar to me, but having not read it in years his NYT article was a wonderful short refresher.

Gleick's an excellent science writer, I'd highly recommended that those reading and or commenting here read the article.