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Bill Gates Providing Classic Physics Lectures Online

by Warren Riddle on July 16, 2009 at 07:45 AM


Very few scientists are blessed with the ability to explain physics and detailed theories and equations without eliciting yawns from their audience, but Richard Feynman is one them. Most people think of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking when they think of "scientists," but Feynman is one of science's greatest ambassadors (and the 1965 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics).

Known for his work on the Manhattan Project and for his book 'What Do You Care What Other People Think?,' which explains how he determined the cause of the Challenger disaster, Feynman possessed an uncanny ability to not only make science interesting, but humorous and entertaining as well.

To help preserve Feynman's teachings, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has secured the rights to a collection of Feynman's Cornell University lectures from 1964 and will make them available over the Web, for free. In an interview with CNET's Ina Fried, Gates said he hopes to share the "unbelievably good" lectures so that young people can get "a sense of the fun, and how science works."

Notable prestigious universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, are already providing lectures online, but classic material from departed scholars could serve to attract a much broader audience with no previous interest in complicated scientific topics. While Gates' acts of global philanthropy are certainly admirable, sparking a renewed interest in science among U.S. students could provide long-term incalculable benefits. After all, somebody has to discover viable alternatives to gasoline, or make flying cars a reality. [From: Microsoft Research via Cnet]

Tags: Bill Gates, BillGates, Microsoft, microsoft research, MicrosoftResearch, Richard Feynman, RichardFeynman, top

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