Feynman, Richard P.

A LONG DIVISION PUZZLE FOR HIS FATHER MELVILLE, SENT DURING FEYNMAN'S FIRST SEMESTER AT PRINCETON

Perhaps because they were only seven years apart in age, Feynman and his advisor at Princeton, John Archibald Wheeler, became fast friends and lifelong colleagues. In this letter to his mother written early in his graduate career, Feynman says that although he has hit some "mathematical difficulties" that have occupied all of his time, he has progressed "to Prof. Wheeler's great satisfaction." Wheeler may have been impressed by Feynman's characteristic ability to see mathematical and physical problems in new and different ways (a skill he supposedly inherited from his father).

Feynman's love of puzzles and ciphers is also well known — a love he shared with both his first wife, Arline, and his father Melville. On the final page of this letter, Feynman writes out a long division puzzle for his father to solve.

Richard Feynman's autograph letter reads, in part:

"My academic life has its usual characteristic of being "not write homable."

However, last week things were going fast and neat as all heck, but now I'm hitting some mathematical difficulties which I will either surmount, walk around, or go a different way ⁠— all of which consumes all my time ⁠— but I like to do very much + am very happy indeed. I have never thought so much so steadily about one problem ⁠— so if I get nowhere I really will be very disturbed ⁠— However, I have already gotten somewhere, quite far ⁠— and to Prof. Wheeler's great satisfaction. However, the problem is not at completion altho I'm just beginning to see how far it is to the end + how we might get there (altho aforementioned mathematical difficulties loom ahead) ⁠— SOME FUN! "