Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Feynman

There are lots of celelbrities and famous academics on Twitter. Then there's Professor Richard Feynman. Who died in 1988.

Every so often, one of "his" pearls of wisdom is regurgitated into my Twitter feed.

Prof. Feynman

@ProfFeynman

When you are dead, you don't know you are dead. It's pain only for others.

It's the same thing when you are stupid.

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Except - and I hate to be a party pooper - this is a joke by the Belgian comedian Philippe Geluck. It has nothing to do with Feynman.

(From 1995's "Ma langue au chat")

Go on. Search all of Feynman's published works. You won't find that phrase in there.

Or, take these "quotes" - which just appear to be trite "Live Laugh Love"-style clichés.

Prof. Feynman

@ProfFeynman

So many years of education yet nobody teaches us how to love ourselves.

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Prof. Feynman

@ProfFeynman

Replacing 'Why is this happening to me?' with 'What is this trying to tell me?' is a game changer.

Learn from your experiences! 🧠

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Prof. Feynman

@ProfFeynman

You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even a day ago. You are here to create yourself, continuously. 🧠

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I can't find any evidence in Feynman's works that he said these things. So why do people follow and promote these ghoulish accounts?

When this account was created, in 2017, its first few Tweets all appear to be genuine Feynman quotes:

Prof. Feynman

@ProfFeynman

When you're thinking about something that you don't understand, you have a terrible, uncomfortable feeling called confusion. pic.x.com/r3njqsi9hk

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Although it occasionally veered off into pretending to be an actual person

Prof. Feynman

@ProfFeynman

Happy Birthday Albert Einstein!

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At some point, the people running the account got bored of publishing the same old quotes repeatedly and started using some very dubious sources for their publication.

Now it just churns out any old inspiring rubbish - mixed with a few genuine quotations.

It reminds me of when Aaron Sorkin's "The Newsroom" started. Fans created accounts for the fictional journalists.

https://twitter.com/MaggieJordanACN/status/225857203414904835

Will McAvoy

@WillMcAvoyACN

If I see one more so-called "news organization" talk about the "zombie apocalypse", I swear I am going to eat someone's face off.

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Then, inexplicably, those fan-accounts started tweeting about real events as though they were actual journalists.

vote for Harris, not the felon

@MaggieJordanACN

Private Medical Staffing Companies Owned by Rich Investors Cut Doctor Pay and Now Want Bailout Money propublica.org/article/medica…propublica.org
Medical Staffing Companies Owned by Rich Investors Cut Doctor Pay and Now Want Bailout Money
Companies that employ emergency room medical personnel, many owned by private equity firms, say they are reeling from vanishing demand for non-coronavirus care. But critics worry that bailout money...

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Will McAvoy

@WillMcAvoyACN

Plain Dealer Put Out to Pasture. In Final Death Blow to Plain Dealer, Remaining Reporters Given Impossible Choice clevescene.com/scene-and-hear…

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Do people know that those accounts aren't from real journalists? Do they care?

Similarly, do people think that Feynman account is somehow official or endorsed by his estate? Do they think it only tweets out Feynman's thoughts?

Following the "Feynman" account is like having a "quote of the day" calendar. It's a fine way to consume micro-slices of information. But in an era of fake news, we all need to be a little more careful about the sources we follow - especially when they claim to speak on behalf of others.