--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I entered graduate school I had…" description: "\"When I entered graduate school I had carried out the instructions given to me by my father and had knocked on both Murray Gell-Mann's and Feynman's doo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/kenneth-g-wilson-32347_answers_when-i-entered-graduate-school-i-had-car_3208304.png" --- # When I entered graduate school I had carried out the… ![“When I entered graduate school I had carried out the instructions given to me by my father and had knocked on both Murray Gell-Mann's and Feynman's doors and asked them what they were currently doing. Murray wrote down the partition function for the three-dimensional Ising model and said it would…” quote by Kenneth G. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/kenneth-g-wilson-32347_answers_when-i-entered-graduate-school-i-had-car_3208304.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/kenneth-g-wilson-32347_answers_when-i-entered-graduate-school-i-had-car_3208304.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/kenneth-g-wilson-32347_answers_when-i-entered-graduate-school-i-had-car_3208304.png) > “When I entered graduate school I had carried out the instructions given to me by my father and had knocked on both Murray Gell-Mann's and Feynman's doors and asked them what they were currently doing. Murray wrote down the partition function for the three-dimensional Ising model and said it would be nice if I could solve it (at least that is how I remember the conversation). Feynman's answer was 'nothing'.” [Kenneth G. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-g-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wilson describes his early ambition to tackle major unsolved problems by seeking mentorship from leading physicists. **In simple terms:** He pursued big challenges by learning from experts. Key Takeaway Seek mentors and aim for ambitious problems. Themes ambition science mentorship problem solving Mood inspirational determined Type advice motivational When to use this quote - academic research - career planning - networking - goal setting - learning from experts Key Concepts physics career development intellectual curiosity Questions to Reflect On - What big problem excites you? - How can you find the right mentor? A Different Perspective Mentors may not always give direct answers; perseverance is required. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-nice/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Graduate school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-school/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [“Dick Feynman was a genius of visualization (he was also no slouch with equations): he made a mental picture of anything he was working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-susskind/dick-feynman-was-a-genius-of-visualization-he-was-also-no-slouch-with/) [Leonard Susskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-susskind/) > [“But our relationship to these infinite pasts and futures isn’t random—plausibility throws its weight around, per some freaky quantum mechanics stuff that Dr. Oda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/but-our-relationship-to-these-infinite-pasts-and-futures-isn-t-random/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“Richard Feynman had to say this about energy in his 1961 lecture: “There is a fact, or if you wish, a law, governing all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/richard-feynman-had-to-say-this-about-energy-in-his-1961-lecture/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“Richard P Feynman was fascinated by the Moon; he tried in earnest to see the Moon. 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Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [ \[Richard Feynman\] truly believed that if you couldn't explain something simply, you didn't understand it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-susskind/richard-feynman-truly-believed-that-if-you-couldn-t-explain-something/) [Leonard Susskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-susskind/) > [Feynman's cryptic remark, "no one is that much smarter ...," to me, implies something Feynman kept emphasizing: that the key to his achievements was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-warren-anderson/feynman-s-cryptic-remark-no-one-is-that-much-smarter-to-me-implies/) [Philip Warren Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-warren-anderson/) ## More by Kenneth G. Wilson > [One other hobby of mine has been playing the oboe but I have not kept this up after 1969.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-g-wilson/one-other-hobby-of-mine-has-been-playing-the-oboe-but-i-have-not-kept/) [Kenneth G. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-g-wilson/) > [My grandfather on my mother's side was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; my other grandfather was a lawyer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-g-wilson/my-grandfather-on-my-mother-s-side-was-a-professor-of-mechanical/) [Kenneth G. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-g-wilson/) > [Through this additional support, we must renew our commitment to provide talented young people with the opportunity to build scientific careers based on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-g-wilson/through-this-additional-support-we-must-renew-our-commitment-to/) [Kenneth G. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-g-wilson/) > [In consequence, science is more important than ever for industrial technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-g-wilson/in-consequence-science-is-more-important-than-ever-for-industrial/) [Kenneth G. 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