Part 2: Mindreaders Summary and Analysis

When Feynman's father is a young boy, he receives private tutoring from a man who has a carnival-style mind-reading act. He asks the tutor what the secret of the trick is, and the tutor explains it to him. Many years later, Feynman (the son) tries the trick on his fellow students at Princeton, and is surprised by how effective it is.

Several years later, father and son attend a carnival in Atlantic City where they see a mindreading act. Feynman, the son, figures out the mindreader must be communicating with this accomplice but is unable to decipher the code. Feynman, the father, schmoozes with the mindreader and convinces him to explain the entire code to him in detail. Feynman (junior) acknowledges he will never have the salesmanship skills his father has.