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by larrywright 979 days ago
As I recall, they married quite young and the womanizing didn’t come until he was older. The optimist in me wants to believe that if Arline had not died, the womanizing wouldn’t have happened. Feynman was a brilliant man but it was clear that losing his wife shook him. Perhaps the womanizing was a consequence of that.

It certainly doesn’t excuse any behavior of his, but perhaps it explains it.
1 comments
aragonite 979 days ago
> Feynman was a brilliant man but it was clear that losing his wife shook him. Perhaps the womanizing was a consequence of that.

I'm having a hard time imagining how the cause you posited could conceivably lead to the effect in question. Let's also remember that when a guy "plays the field", it doesn't always have a deep story behind it! :)

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larrywright 979 days ago
It’s certainly possible there was no cause. I’m just imagining that falling deeply in love with someone and marrying them, only to lose them a short time later could cause one to lose faith in the idea of committing to a single person.

I have zero evidence to back this up, it’s just how I felt after reading his books, and the biography by Gleick.

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