Physical reality overrides spin, as Feynman’s O-ring test showed

Evidence

The problem with the O-rings was dramatically illustrated by Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, a member of the commission, who dunked one of the O-rings in a pitcher of ice water that was sitting on the table at one of the public hearings. The facts were the facts. No amount of spin, lies, bullshit, or happy talk could contradict them. After the shuttle crashed, no one much cared about the instinct or intuition of the NASA officials who had thought they could control reality. Soon after, Feynman released a statement that included the following phrase: “for a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.” — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 347

Categorization

• CANDY: Delightful image of Feynman dunking an O-ring in ice water at a public hearing; great party fact about the Challenger investigation.
• SHARE: Send to anyone in engineering or science communication who savors Feynman lore.
• XREF: connects to: Brute factual reality resists attempts to impose an alternate one — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 167

Broader Connections

• Brute factual reality resists attempts to impose an alternate one #expands (0.78) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 167