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Comment by shadowfox | Hacker News Reader

> Seems not everyone was a fan of Mr. Feynman

Oh. Many people didn't really like him (in spite of acknowledging his ability). For example, Murray Gell-Mann - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnMsgxIIQEE

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That's a terribly fun and interesting video for a couple of reasons, but what I note is that Gell-mann after explaining how eventually he felt Feynman spent too much effort creating anecdotes about Feynman then launched into several anecdotes about Feynman that were really wonderful.

To stand out, it often pays off to be different, especially when it comes to 'normal' things. The reasons for doing so are, I suspect, often a murky combination of on the one hand truly wanting to be different and applying that in all areas of life, and on the other hand just a need to signal how different you are.

Whatever the reasons, it can be really irritating to those close to you, but it pays off when it comes to those further away and your 'legacy'. And those close to you get used to it anyways and might even sort of like it despite the superficial frustration.

I have quite a few friends who are 'different', and without exception their 'differentness' at times crosses over into what I'd consider bullshit territory. But even the bullshit differences seem to be worth the drawback of minor irritations to those close to them, at the greater benefit of signalling their differentness in an obvious way.

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