> They aren’t a record of my thinking process. They are my thinking process. I actually did the work on the paper.
-Richard Feynman
-Richard Feynman
The Feynman Algorithm:
1. Write down the problem.
2. Think real hard.
3. Write down the solution.
There's a quote for everything, and its opposite, too. Sometimes from the same guy.
As far as I can tell, most theoretical physicists: (a) can do a surprising amount in their head, especially when deeply familiar with a problem; and (b) have their ability greatly expanded when working on paper or with some other external aid (whiteboard etc).
Source: worked as a theoretical physicist for ~13 years. On a few occasions I solved publishable problems in my head, though usually after a lot of immersion in conversation and on paper first, just getting familiar with the problem, but (superficially) making little progress. More often, though, serious work involved a lot of exploration using external aids. I haven't done a poll of other theoretical physicists, but based on informal conversations wouldn't be surprised if many have a similar experience, with considerable variation.
Update: the Gell-Mann comment is here: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/20/magazine/part-showman-all... My interpretation is that he's being facetious, but with a grain of truth - a habit research students sometimes need to break is when they rely too much on methods as a crutch. Sometimes, no method will work, you just need to think really hard and try lots of things.
Gleick provides us with a vivid portrait of Feynman's character and his descriptions of what Feynman's contemporaries thought of him not only round out that portrait but also reveal parts of their characters. And he masterly weaves all that into the then - and still current - physics zeitgeist.
I'd not seen that article previously but I've Gleick's book Genius so much of it was familiar to me, but having not read it in years his NYT article was a wonderful short refresher.
Gleick's an excellent science writer, I'd highly recommended that those reading and or commenting here read the article.