Well, I personally think their perspective is like the one described by Wheeler's most famous student, in _Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman!_ Where he described the tricks he played to seem like a real smartie, as well as how easily he forgot to show the proper deference when confronted with gods:
- - - -
'I also met Niels Bohr. His name was Nicholas Baker in those days,
and he came to Los Alamos with Jim Baker, his son, whose name is
really Aage Bohr. They came from Denmark, and they were very
famous physicists, as you know. Even to the big shot guys, Bohr
was a great god.
We were at a meeting once, the first time he came, and everybody
wanted to see the great Bohr. So there were a lot of people there,
and we were discussing the problems of the bomb. I was back in a
corner somewhere. He came and went, and all I could see of him was
from between people's heads.
In the morning of the day he's due to come next time, I get a
telephone call.
"Hello - Feynman?"
"Yes."
"This is Jim Baker." It's his son. "My father and I would like to
speak to you."
"Me? I'm Feynman, I'm just a - " Is eight o'clock OK?" So, at
eight o'clock in the morning, before anybody's awake, I go down to
the place. We go into an office in the technical area and he says,
"We have been thinking how we could make the bomb more efficient
and we think of the following idea."
I say, "No, it's not going to work. It's not efficient. . . Blab,
blab, blah."
So he says, "How about so and so?"
I said, "That sounds a little bit better, but it's got this damn
fool idea in it."
This went on for about two hours, going back and forth over lots
of ideas, back and forth, arguing. The great Niels kept lighting
his pipe; it always went out. And he talked in a way that was
un-understandable - mumble, mumble, hard to understand. His son I
could understand better.
"Well," he said finally, lighting his pipe, "I guess we can call
in the big shots now." So then they called all the other guys and
had a discussion with them.
Then the son told me what happened. The last time he was there,
Bohr said to his son, "Remember the name of that little fellow in
the back over there? He's the only guy who's not afraid of me, and
will say when I've got a crazy idea. So next time when we want to
discuss ideas, we're not going to be able to do it with these guys
who say everything is yes, yes, Dr. Bohr. Get that guy and we'll
talk with him first."
I was always dumb in that way. I never knew who I was talking
to. I was always worried about the physics. If the idea looked
lousy, I said it looked lousy. If it looked good, I said it looked
good. Simple proposition.
I've always lived that way. It's nice, it's pleasant - if you can
do it. I'm lucky in my life that I can do this.'
-- http://www.multitran.ru/c/m.exe?a=DisplayParaSent&fname=Richard%20Feynman\Chapter17