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Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, by Richard Feynman
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Do you want to be as smart as Dr. Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was? According to this Nobel-Laureate, he wasn't necessarily smarter than you. He just followed a set of "life lessons" which he described from incidents from his own life. Such as--
--look at problems as a challenge
--get out of your comfort zone; try to learn new things because when learning is fun, it is effortless and when you make mistakes you learn from them
--engage experts in conversation; and, a corollary, if something doesn't make sense try to find out why
If I had met Feynman in person, I don't think I would have liked him. The writing is not particularly good; it reads like he just chatted with someone who copied it down word for word without editing. It's off-hand and self-deprecating, perhaps to make us think he is a regular guy.
However, the last vignette, Cargo Cult Science, may be his best. He suggests that when you have a problem - such as the best way to teach reading or how to eliminate crime, two examples he gives - don't follow a cult belief. Create your own theory and test it from all angles finding out what works and what doesn't. Get opinions from others, but take care that you haven't fooled yourself, that the results you get don't just serve your own purposes - more grants, more fame, etc. Work with integrity. Can't quibble with that.