For Richard Feynman, a crazy idea was an opportunity to either prove it wrong or prove it right. Danny Hillis recalls building the Connection Machine with the theoretical physicist at Thinking Machines Corporation. Feynman joined after Hillis mentioned plans for a parallel computer with a million processors, calling it "the dopiest idea I ever heard" before agreeing to spend the summer.

The router was the most complex part, connecting processors in a 20-dimensional hypercube to avoid 10^12 wires. Feynman analyzed whether enough buffers existed for efficient operation, simulating circuits with pencil and paper. Meanwhile, the team handled fundraising, hiring, and DARPA contracts for the first prototype with 64,000 processors.

Feynman also improved organization, drawing on his Los Alamos Manhattan Project experience. He suggested appointing group leaders for each technical area and starting a seminar series focused on new applications. When the company was named Thinking Machines Corporation, Feynman delighted: "Now I don't have to explain that I work with a bunch of loonies."