In the article, the author says "The harsh words stung at first, and caused me to question whether I belonged in theoretical physics."
What prevented the author taking this to heart? "In the next breath, he would always be encouraging me to try a different approach and inviting me to return when I made progress."
The appropriate takeaway is that when you call someone's ideas stupid, that does make them feel stupid unless you counteract it with positive feedback in the same conversation.
This! Also, tone and general behaviour matters. I think many comments here mistake this beautiful article for advice to use words like this.
I’ve read both his biographic books multiple times, read into the Feynman Lectures and watched many an interview and other stuff with and about him.
If I’d ever gotten to meet him (he’s a top candidate on my “if you could have dinner with any person, living or dead” list) and he’d have called an idea of mine stupid, I’m pretty sure that my reaction wouldn’t have been to be hurt. I would have hoped for him to explain to me why it’s stupid or give me a hint on where to look to find out for myself. Context matters. Character matters.
Don’t call people stupid. Don’t call things (or ideas) stupid unless you can explain what’s stupid about the thing or idea and why.
If you’re passionate about something, try to appreciate when someone tells you, without euphemism, why it won’t work.
If anyone has an idea on how one could get to travel back and meet him, we can find out together why it’s stupid. Or “impossible” :)
What prevented the author taking this to heart? "In the next breath, he would always be encouraging me to try a different approach and inviting me to return when I made progress."
The appropriate takeaway is that when you call someone's ideas stupid, that does make them feel stupid unless you counteract it with positive feedback in the same conversation.