Judging from his book, Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, he was not a very modest person himself, with regard to his own accomplishments and ideas, maybe that's why he was shocked by the modesty and restraint of other men with (presumably) similarly great talents.
I think you have to distinguish between being socially humble and being humble about truth.
Feynman was humble in that he tried to learn what was true instead of assuming that he already knew. He was always looking to improve his understanding.
Being humble in the search for truth can sometimes even seem arrogant socially. It means that you'll regularly question not only your own beliefs but those of other people as well.
>Being humble in the search for truth can sometimes even seem arrogant socially. It means that you'll regularly question not only your own beliefs but those of other people as well.
Although according to Murray Gell-Mann, Feynman might have gone a bit too far in that regard
Doesn't it depend on whether you feel he had a substantially realistic view as to his talents or not? Few would disagree that he was correct on that score. Moreover Feynman told a number of stories against himself - of how he turned out to be quite wrong about something. We may agree that false modesty is not much better than hyping one's non-existent qualities.
