David Mermin is an inspiring physicist who has blessed a broad range of sub-disciplines with countless insights, especially on the problem of the interpretations of quantum mechanics. A gifted writer, Feynman even said of his text on the so-called Mermin device to popularize EPR correlations,[1] that this was one of the most beautiful papers in physics!
Mermin is not only an erudite well beyond his fields of study (which are various), he is as well as a very funny person, who only tells his own jokes. He can therefore be defined as a never-boring polymath of physics who can always be read with great benefit.
A joke from Mermin:
Question: What is the difference between theoretical physics and mathematical physics?
Answer: Theoretical physics is done by physicists who lack the necessary skills to do real experiments; mathematical physics is done by mathematicians who lack the necessary skills to do real mathematics.