In Feynman's autobiography, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, does the scientist Dr. Young who is described in the "cargo cult science" section actually exist?
2 Answers
I believe Feynman was referring to psychologist, P. T. Young. See, for example, Young's 1938 paper, "Preferences and demands of the white rat for food" in the Journal of Comparative Psychology, Vol 26(3), Dec 1938, pp 545-589. The first part concerns spatial factors in feeding behavior, and may have been the very research Feynman referred to.
No, Young 1938 is not the correct citation, I just read the paper after seeing your response. He talks about spatial factors by way of placement of feeding tubes in boxes (the rat picks the right side or the left side of the box, habits recorded), and rotating cups of food around rats. The issues seemed comparable, but I did not find any of the specific issues described by Feynman.
I'm still looking for the actual citation, starting with the Journal of Comparative Psychology.
I'm still looking for the actual citation, starting with the Journal of Comparative Psychology.
